“Haaaah, finally.” the weary girl sighed, stroking the young child's head resting on her lap. “Really, how is it one little girl has so much energy..?”
Lia made sure that every word she spoke was in a whisper, lest she wake the child she spent so much time trying to lull to sleep; every time she rose from her bedside, the little one would call out. “Miss Lia, could you tuck me in more?” Or, “Miss Lia, can I have a drink of water?”
And this was after she had tried making the room as warm and soothing as possible, with dim candles inside apricot tinted jars, making the room glow with soft comfort; like the inside of a familiar home, behind the safety of the vault and domed cities. When nothing else seemed to work, she at last recommended the girl try sleeping on her lap, as she had done before. And, to her lack of surprise, within the minute the girl’s breathing turned rhythmic, and every one of her muscles relaxed atop her caregiver’s thighs.
“My my, what a spoiled child you are.” Lia quietly giggled. “But…that’s partially my fault too.”
She lifted her head, the sounds of soft commotion coming from beyond the tent shifting her attention. The hushed whispers and quiet shuffling were queues that the expeditioners had returned, and as expected, it was just a handful minutes later that the tent flaps opened to two people covered in dirt and sand, entering their home once more.
“Hahh…I’m sorry. She was being demanding again wasn’t she?”
“Ahaha, not at all Miss Firtha, just cheerful. Faylin has more energy than any eight year old girl I know.”
“Probably gets it from her mother, these two can be relentless.” said the man, picking up the little girl and giving Lia a playful wink. The woman behind him pouted in protest, but didn’t say anything for the sake of not waking the girl. It was only after Faylin’s father tucked her back into bed that Lia rose from the fur carpet, dusting herself off.
“Leaving already Lia dear? Won’t you have something to eat before you go?”
“Thank you Miss Firtha but I can’t impose.” she smiled. “Besides, I need to be ready in case of another Forecast.”
“Let’s speak more of that outside.” said the man.
“And thank you so much for looking after Faylin while we were away, it truly gives us peace of mind. I think she enjoys it, too. She thinks of you as an older sister.”
Lia wryly scratched the back of her head. “I don’t know if I’m that good but…I’ve always wanted a sister.”
“Now now Firtha, leave the girl be. Come Lia.”
She bowed goodbye to the mother stroking her daughter’s cheek, and stepping outside, she began following the father as they walked across the tribal grounds. The cool night air was a drastic shift from the warmth of the home— it stung her senses, waking her. Somehow it made her feel more lucid beneath the silver of the moon.
“Anything new?”
Lia shook her head. “Thankfully not. We still have Swarmers to our west, but giving them a wide berth should be more than enough; I didn’t see any other Outsiders. We should be able to reach the Mesa Valley vault city by tomorrow evening.”
“Good, good…”
“……Chief?”
“Oho, sorry about that.” the older man said as if coming out of a trance. “I was just thinking how fortunate we are. Our tribe, our bonds, all of it; we are fortunate to have you, Lia. Our little harbinger.”
The Chief stopped walking at the same time Lia did— they reached their destination: a small, humble tent, the fabric barely illuminated by a flickering light within. Lia offered a small smile at his words.
“I’m just happy that I can somehow help.”
The Chief put a hand to her shoulder. It was calloused— dry from the many expeditions into the desert ruins. And yet, there was always warmth radiating from it.
“Your mother and father would be proud.”
She said nothing as her smile turned solemn. Flickering, just like the light that illuminated it.
“Are you sure I can’t change your mind? Faylin…she truly does think of you as an older sister. Miss Firtha and I…we would also be more than happy to have you.”
“I……thank you, Chief, but……to be adopted…somehow, I feel I’d be letting go of my mother and father if I accept. I want to remember them…if that makes sense.”
His grip tightened ever so gently, like he expected her answer, but had to try asking.
“It does, but…please remember that you’re always welcome in our home. Your mother and father have done much for our people. They were a great comfort to Firtha and I, especially.”
“Mm…thanks Chief.”
His weary yet warm smile stretched thin as he put a hand to her cheek.
“Get some rest, little harbinger.”
She nodded as the leader of her nomadic tribe returned across the sand. When she could no longer see him, Lia turned around, pushing open the two thick flaps that served as the entrance to her own home. Inside, two flickering candles illuminated the dark woven rugs covering the ground and a single bed stuffed with fur and feathers to keep her warm. She fell flat atop it, letting her weight mold the shape of the stuffing before putting a hand to her hair. It took a bit of maneuvering with only one hand, but she eventually managed to remove the headband she wore at practically all hours of the day, save for her sleeping and bathing.
It was a simple accessory, traded in a vault city some years ago— but it meant more to her than that, because it was a gift. One of the only remaining mementos from the days when she had family by blood.
“She thinks of me as a sister…huh..?”
It was true that she had considered the Chief’s offer, but…she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth of her rejection. Faylin is a wonderful child, of that she is honest, but she doesn't feel like a sister when caring for her. More like a mother— a caregiver. Though there was nothing wrong with that, she couldn't bring herself to tell them the truth that she wants a sister with whom she can share her burdens equally. Not someone she must care for, and neither someone she entirely relies on. Just someone to stand with her on equal footing, not due to their gratitude towards her parents. Maybe, if she had been born with a sister, they would be able to comfort each other after the loss of mother and father. Maybe they would be able to bicker about seemingly unimportant topics, and laugh over equally arbitrary ones.
She can not say she is alone, because she never has been— her tribe loves her, and she them. But is it wrong to want a different kind of blessing than the one given to her? How many in the cities don’t have someone to help them after the passing of their family? How many don’t have someone that can lament with them, reassure them, comfort them? It feels…heedless, to want to be more fortunate. It’s a feeling she doesn't like thinking about, because it feels selfish when they already live difficult lives as scavengers. They, Lia’s tribe, have all sacrificed so much for her, especially this past year and a half.
So she can’t say these feelings out loud, nor will she ever. Because it feels unloving to those who have shown her nothing but love.
“The world is not a kind place,” her father used to smile, “that is exactly why we must be kind in its place.”
Her eyelids had long since closed, easing her consciousness into the gift of sleep…until the tremors beneath her suddenly became violent.
She bolted upright, putting a hand to the ground. No, there was no mistaking it— there is definitely something moving towards them. She tossed on her headband, lurching aside the flaps beginning to blow inside from the raging winds, twisting amid their temporary camp. She had to shield her eyes from the sand while the crowd of her fellow red-haired nomads congregated, looking up at the source of the disturbance. It was only after some handful of seconds, when the tremors were at their doorstep, that Lia dared do the same, unable to keep her jaw from dropping despite the sand that entered. She didn’t believe her eyes.
She had heard of the mechas before, of course, everyone had. But what had appeared in the sky……was such a thing possible? A giant human, its pristine metal body painted shades of blue and pink, glittering beneath the moonlight.
Her hair whipped violently around her— the majority kept out of her face by the accessory— as its descent was slowed by the roaring flares of its thrusters. When it landed, it did so right on the edge of their camp. The Chief took up a position in front of the crowd as the dust settled, but none of them could see anything except the grand shadow cast by the mecha; and when it eventually cleared, the sight of two women walking towards them audibly shocked some of the nomads. One of them was young, older than Faylin but clearly younger than Lia herself, wearing an outfit of pink, blue, and white. The other had burgundy hair with skin visibly scarred from some kind of burning, yet carried herself with a poise Lia had never seen before.
And when she spoke—
“I’m looking for Lia of the Tribe of the Meridional Wanderers.”
“We are they,” responded the Chief, slamming the butt of his walking staff, “but I must ask who you are and what business you have with her.”
The woman’s studious eyes scanned through the crowd, briefly examining each face before moving on to the next. And when she met Lia’s, the redhead couldn’t help but look away. And the scarred woman smiled.
She started her way forward, but as if in silent unison, the tribe of the Meridional Wanderers congregated around her, blocking the way forward for the woman.
“We do not let go of our own.” said the Chief at the forefront of the murmuring redheads. “Not the dying, not the lost, and certainly not our little harbinger.”
“Harbinger, you say?” replied the woman with a piercing smile.
It was then that every voice became silent, both her tribe’s and the woman’s. As if on a stroll, ignoring all else, the young girl in uniform sauntered forward. The crowd did not break, but neither did she ask them to; smaller than all of them, she squeezed through their bodies with her delicate frame, pushing past robes and befuddled expressions until, finally, arriving face to face with the tender redhead.
Her gaze wasn’t studious like the woman’s, Lia noted, but her eyes were different. She’d met people with similar facial structures in the north, but it had been years since her last visit. For now, in the moment and against the young girl’s gaze, all she could do was swallow her saliva. And in response, the girl spoke.
“Name’s Hanna.” she said, stretching out her hand. “Yours?”
“……L…Lia.” she murmured, returning the gesture.
“Well Lia, neat place you got here, but you’re needed elsewhere.”
“Where..?”
Hanna smiled, but a different smile than the woman’s. It was mischievous, cocky— the kind Lia occasionally wore when pranking her parents.
“Everywhere.”
Her eyes widened, reflecting the silver of the moon.
“Every…where?”
“Mm. But don’t worry, you’ll fit right in. And since you’re a Resonator now, I should probably mention—” Hanna said, turning back to the Chief, “—we don’t let go of our own either!”
—————————————————————————————————
“I don’t!…have time FOR THIS!” she seethed through her teeth, the fire slowing her down alongside the weight of her shield. “gi-iCH…GYAAGH!”
The ground exploded right where she stepped, the surrounding flames only serving to amplify the force of the blast— it was more than enough to send her flying beyond the wall of flames, reducing the small distance she took towards Hanna back to zero.
“gHa-AAGH!”
“LIA!”
Lelvedere’s weight was light— far too light for close quarters combat. Her only thought as she collided into a rocky scree was centered on the fact that, had she not the shield, Lelvedere would’ve long since been a scattered pile of melted slag. Ice filled her veins as a ball of flame sped closer, she only just managed to rip her Slayer from the stone to dive out of its range before it erupted.
But the tongues of its fire were one thing— the force of its shockwave was entirely different. For a Slayer like hers, the shield could only do so much.
“IIIYAAAAHHHH!”
“LIA!!”
Like a child’s doll, Lelvedere flew from the scree beneath the cliff; the stone pillars in her path crumbling into dust, unable to slow her down until she felt herself fall into a cut and narrow ravine. Behind the shield, she saw the light above her become dimmer, vaguely aware she was falling back-first. It might even have been a mercy, if the bottom didn’t also have pillars that chewed through her armor, Flight module, and straight through the innermost armor of her Slayer.
“-A!-uAH!—!!”
“WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.”
The damage to her mecha flew right into her mind— each failing system, the catastrophic damage to her fuel gauge, the life support now rendered inoperable. All of it flew into her mind, through her very nerves, but she didn’t recognize any of it.
She only recognized the screams coming through her radio.
“STOP IT!” said the normally brusque voice. “Stop Lia! You need to leave before—”
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“SHUT UP!”
Lia was met with silence. Bright auburn hair stuck to her forehead, her sweat the very glue it used to keep itself in place— she was panting, sweltered from the fire, aching in every joint. And yet, she stood up, sparing no time in using the few intact horizontal pillars to begin her climb.
“Shut up.” she squeezed through her lungs. “And don’t you dare say another word to me about leaving.” The climb was arduous, Lelvedere’s joints had also been damaged from sustaining the impacts through the shield, but she was nearly out. The moon’s soft, silver glow reminded her of that night.
Sounds of fighting pierced through the static in her ear, and eventually so too, did her infuriated senior’s voice.
“Don’t utter fucking NONSENSE, LIA!” She spat, suppressing a painful yelp. “I can barely survive fighting restrained against Ravagers and a Lasher! Go back before the Fire kills you too!”
“ENOUGH!” Lelvedere erupted out of the ravine just in time to roll out of a fireball that engulfed the space between the plateaus. White and orange flames coated the entirety of the ravine, erupting out in a way not unlike the wall of flames; she sprinted towards it only for the demon of fire to launch another explosion, skidding her mecha across the stone. She used the momentum to stand upright, but her recovery was hindered by the damage to her joints.
“Maybe you’ve forgotten, but you told me the same thing when Akane died— to leave!” She dove behind an arch, taking a moment to unclasp her rifle and use her shield to cover the massive hole in the center of her back. She spun around the column, taking a shot that pierced right through Ifnielis, damaging him enough that a wave of fire accompanied the howl escaping its body.
“And maybe you’ve also forgotten,” she continued, inserting an intricately designed bullet into the chamber, “that I didn’t listen to you then— and I certainly won’t start now! Resonators don’t abandon their own!”
“Lia, that sound, don’t tell me you’re—!”
“GET DOWN!”
The chamber of her rifle glowed a brilliant neon aqua as she took aim at the wall, praying she didn’t hit her friend. In desperation, recklessness was the only action she could take.
“Kaleidoscope round— Fragmented— FIRE!”
The kickback to Lelvedere created a shockwave with enough force to shatter the stone archway around her, but the result created the aqua colored round flying through the night like a terrestrial comet. The very second Lia’s voice came into her ear, Hanna deflected a Ravager’s blade and threw herself as flat against the plateau as possible. She saw the round puncture a massive hole in the wall, fracturing into pieces and piercing through whatever stood in its path. The Ravagers’ armor was no match for the honed tips of the metal, and even the Lasher squawked in pain as blazing thin shrapnel blew entire holes in its body.
It wasn’t enough to take them down, of course. But it didn’t need to be.
“Fly out!”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Using her mechanical arms, Hanna pushed herself off the scorched top of the arena and felt the ignition from her still operational Flight unit. But to her right, an ear-grating crepitate like thousands of pyres sounded through the rocky terrain, and she saw Ifnielis raising its only arm in that same stance it used in the Redoubt. The world suddenly became brighter, and she looked down to see the wall of fire rising, quickly catching up to her.
Her eyes widened as its shrieking continued, and with them, the increasingly elevated wall of flame. Bursts of sniper fire sounded in the distance, but Ifnielis ignored them all, channeling its focus and energy on raising the entrapment’s walls. She cursed, reaching for her gun when a sudden, violent yank pulled at her leg, stopping her ascent.
“What!?”
The Lasher— fangs bared inside its hidden mouth, pulling the biological tether she had a hellish time dodging let alone trying to cut. She readjusted her gun, only realizing her mistake as she stared down the sight.
“No—!” it detonated in her hand before she could throw it down, the concentrated blast tearing through the last of her arm’s Dreadnought armor.
“FUCK!” How was it possible the rounds got cooked off after being unholstered for only a few seconds?! She brought out her blade, trying to cut through the rubbery tendril only to find it had finally started to liquefy. “Lia! Your lightning!”
The damage and exertion seemed to have taken their toll on Ifnielis, and sensing her chance, Lia ran out of cover to take perfect aim at the exposed limb stretching into the sky. But when she fired, the world suddenly turned into molasses.
As the current left her palm, before her very eyes, the green electricity arced wide— jarring left at an impossible angle to strike the top of a massive boulder.
But…how?
Ifnielis saw his opportunity and thrust his arm forward; the ground responded, illuminating the stone right beneath Lia in a brilliant burst of fire. The force and impact against an arch caused her legs to become unresponsive, and she was only able to brokenly stare from afar as her friend was pulled back into the cage of fire. A monster dragging its victim to her grave.
How? How could it come to this?
She heard Hanna’s plighted curses through the radio, saw her getting wrenched bit by bit— but couldn't move. She couldn’t do anything. The explosion had been point blank, and without her shield to absorb it, the damage had finally been more than she could handle.
She looked down, her legs were gone at the knees. And as with her mecha, so too did her bodily nerves respond to the absent machinery, going completely numb like she’d never walked in her life.
How is it that she fails again, and again, and again?
She bit her lip— preventing the sob from escaping, but not the tears. Her parents, Akane, Hanna, Anon— so many she tried to help only to become a burden in the end. Maybe it was a sign? Testimony that being a Resonator that day was a mistake after all.
“You just need a moment, right?”
She looked to the left, an older man alongside a woman, huddled safe in the alcove she put them in.
…had she really gotten knocked so far back?
“Remember, little harbinger; if you don’t have the time to do something…”
Make it.
She remembered, even having taught it to Hanna, Akane, and Yukiko some years ago. But what good would time do now? In the distance Ifnielis wailed— the sound of burning timber slowly replaced by that of a gas leak.
“In that case, I’ll make it for you. Go, and save your friend.”
“N.o..!” she croaked. But the old man didn’t listen. “Miss Firtha, stop him!” she thought. But her voice wouldn’t come. The Chief climbed up a tall, rocky hill that would no doubt make even a pebble like him visible.
“No..!” The wires dangling off her limbs snapped apart as she tried lifting herself up only to fall under the pressure of her destroyed body. The shriek turned louder, the ball of light gathering at the tip of the demon’s fingers, aimed at the sky, became fluorescent. The Chief stood atop the zenith of the hill, pointing a rifle pulsing with orange light at the living fire as a piercing sound like a siren screamed throughout the valley. Lia’s arms moved in frantic waves but she couldn't pull herself out of the dirt.
“FUCK, they pinned me—!” she heard, panic in her veins. “They’re tearing into my armor!”
“H-Hanna..!” she sobbed.
There had to be some way to stop them— there needed to be…that’s what she wanted to believe.
But just like her voice, the hope faded as a beam of light erupted through the night, piercing the fire’s body. From a rifle in a size meant for humans it was a formidable weapon, but it only managed to garner the Ifnielis’ attention. And garner it, it did.
There was no place left to go; Hanna’s, the Chief’s, and her own death. They’d all be her fault. Hanna’s screams in her ear, the aimed attack flourishing beneath Ifnielis’ hand, and she— Lia— broken.
Maybe, all those years ago…maybe this is what Akane felt? If so, her desperation…to be amplified by others…
“Hanna, everyone…” she cried. “I……I’m so sorr—”
*EEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHHHHHH*
A sharp scream disrupted the steadily building sound of steam trapped in a pot. Lia looked up— an arm of flame had completely detached itself from the demon’s body, fizzling out of existence as it fell to the earth. She could hardly recognize the culprit, only seeing a streak of pale nimbus blue disappear as it cut the flame and dove into the arena of fire.
Still, she didn’t need to see it to know who it was.
“Hello Hanna, Lia.” said a high pitched and genteel voice, creating another radio channel with a *click* to her ear. “Still getting yourselves into trouble I see.”
“You…?” Lia didn’t need to see Hanna to know her expression as she stared at the glacier-colored Slayer. And as for her own…
“Ha…ahaha……wonderful timing.”
“At your service.” she said, curtsying to their voices. As the Ravagers targeted their threat, the new combatant pulled back a thin, razor sharp string, weaving between them both as she jumped over one of the Lasher’s tentacles, expertly tying up its limb as she landed next to Hanna.
“My oh my, down already?”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
The maid smiled as she weaved between three of the Lasher’s limbs aimed for her, entrapping them in wire. “Specialization of Yin— Glacial command,” she chanted, yanking the cord connecting its limbs, “Diruo.”
The jet black wire suddenly became the color of ice, and with it, cuts deep enough to expose the Lasher’s muscles caused the Outsider to cry in pain. Though ice disappeared near instantly, it was not before blood splattered across the stone and the creature retreated behind the Ravagers, now finally free of the wire.
“Lia,” said Hanna over the radio. She could hear her standing up, “Yukiko and I will handle this, Ifnielis is all yours. I know you’ll get us out of this.”
“But I…”
She paused her words, a sudden memory replaying in her mind. On their first mission together, Anon asked her if she could catch Hanna. Back then, she didn’t think she could— but she had no other choice. Then, clenched her jaw, biting down on her molars so hard there was an audible *pop*. And so here, too, she mimicked that same action
She had to.
Lia looked up; the Flame Outsider hovering above all like a king over his land. She wouldn’t be able to elevate herself with heat and explosives like Hanna nor does she have a Flight system like Anon’s, let alone one that functions, but…
“…the lightning!”
She perked her head up, looking at the actual terrain around her. The moon in the middle of the sky gave off enough light to dispel any doubt in her mind— they were surrounded by morstone. It was no wonder her electricity went wide.
She shut her eyes tight, amplifying the voice module of Lelvedere and hoping for a miracle.
She had to believe that it was never a mistake that she became a Resonator.
“HARBINGER!”
She yelled at the top of her lungs, her metallic voice ringing as loud as the sound of the fighting. And lo and behold, so too did Ifnielis turn his attention.
“FROM ONE HARBINGER TO ANOTHER, I WILL ERASE YOU FROM MEMORY!”
He screeched, his chest glowing bright as a beam of fire shot directly towards her. She lifted her arm, electricity crackling around it.
“Please work, please work, please work…!”
Magnetism stronger than she anticipated yanked her in the direction of the boulder as the attack lit up the area she was in moments ago. She crashed hard into the stone, but noticing the beam following her, extended her arm once more to leap towards another. The force was equally as great, and Lia felt herself fly over the ravine, valley, even the terrain itself— unhindered by the loss of her limbs.
She turned atop a giant boulder to see her enemy stopping the attack. Instead, it appeared as though his wings were becoming…bigger.
“No…” she said, static flowing around her and the barren stone. “I won’t let you..!”
He turned to retreat, flying at a speed that bore doubt in Lia’s mind— she welcomed it, responding to it with a scream amplified by the module she forgot to undo.
“IFNIELIS!”
Wind roared as a massive cyan colored shockwave destroyed her launching pad, and the once disappearing orange light quickly became as bright as when she faced him at the Redoubt. She soared above him, and as they bolted out of the rocky terrain and over the ocean, he flipped over, firing a concentrated stream of fire out of his chest directly towards the pink and white Slayer.
But she had prepared for it.
Unclasping the shield, she felt the impact slow her down as she received it head-on— but that was exactly what she needed. The constant stream of fire allowed her to adjust her position towards the source, but the cracks in the already strained defense meant it would only last for so long.
Why was she going so far for this particular enemy? Because of the situation he had put Hanna, and the rest of the Redoubt, in? Nearly killing Anon and Faylin by means of suffocation? Or maybe it was because they had ended up fighting near the same place where she became a Resonator.
She felt all were true, but her subconscious came up with one answer beyond the rest.
“His appearance always heralds disaster.”
The Commander had said that, knowing full well of Lia’s own abilities, when she was yanked into Skull Beach without Anon or Faylin.
“It’s no exaggeration to call it a precursor; cities swarmed after its appearance, vaults dug up and razed. Believe it or not, it also appeared two days before the Endbringer incident two years ago. Ifnielis is a harbinger for disasters much, much greater than he.”
An Outsider that shared in her name and used it to bring malice…as she told the Commander, it was then that it became personal. One should use their abilities for goodness— to mold the future of world where a child would yearn for a sibling to surpass tragedy. Because she has lived by the words her father told her since she was a girl.
“The world is not a kind place. That is exactly why we must be kind in its place.”
“I’ll erase you from the present!” she shouted, taking on the full force of the fire that had burned through the shield. Finally, having closed the distance, she tackled the Outsider, hugging his body as they plummeted towards the ocean. And as they fell, the hole in the back of Lelvedere invited inside the flames already consuming her Slayer, swallowing both of them whole.
Even so, Lia screamed.
“And from one harbinger to another— I will erase you from the future!”
* * *
The ring of fire instantly died around Hanna and Yukiko. Without the cage of flame, they finally had room to maneuver, making quick work of the three enemies. To the latter’s genuine surprise, Hell’s Belle was able to fight almost as well as before her arrival. Almost.
“Your armor certainly isn’t to be scoffed at.” said the glacier colored Slayer as the wire retreated into her arm. “But let’s not take any risks.” Hanna simply panted, examining the massive hole in her chest; to her shock, the enemies didn’t tear all the way through.
“Guess I should say thanks.”
“At your service.” she said, curtsying. Her stance instantly shifted, however, at seeing the far distance behind Hanna.
The damaged girl turned around— an immense, mountainous cloud of smoke and vapor was rising out of what looked to be the direction of the sea. It soared into the sky, blocking the sky and even part of the moonlight.
“Lia…!”
In an instant, the girls’ ignition hurled them towards the sea, and from a thousand feet above the surface they saw a lone Slayer floating in the waves. She was face down, and a giant hole in the mecha’s back was scorched pitch black.
Hanna immediately dove forward, but when her Flight unit started to malfunction she had little choice but to wait on land, disembarking from her mecha as Yukiko dove into the sea and out again, surfacing with a metal sphere bearing a large hole with the same scorch marks as Lelvedere. They both recognized it— the sphere that houses the Resonators.
The former maid flew back to the rocky shore, setting the metal ball onto the gravel and delicately cutting it in two with a thin wire. Water spilled out like a waterfall, eventually revealing a girl burned horribly from head to toe. One of her cheeks was charred black, skin peeling away and falling. All over her body, threads of cloth were melded with exposed strands of muscle— a result of the extreme heat, even if it was put out by the ocean’s waves. Her skin, once pale, was now red with blood stains and bare muscle.
“Lia……”
Yukiko was quick to disembark as well, running towards the girl holding the redhead in her arms.
“Hanna, is she…?”
“Not yet,” said an old man, walking towards them with a woman and rifle as support. “But time is of the essence. Both for Lia, and your fellow Resonators.”