It was strange how, despite the alarm screeching in my ear, it wasn’t the sound filling my body with quiet panic. No. The tension— thick enough to choke on, thick enough that my lungs felt full of lead— came from the flashing garnet lights illuminating the hallways before us. My my body was moving, but—

“Focus, child. This is neither the time nor place for rest.”

“Sorry.” trying to pant away my exhaustion. I placed my hand alongside the iron corridor, but the cold did little to bring me back to my senses. “I..I just…”

The words faded as an ivory hand reached from behind me, holding a short, thick bar wrapped in aluminum foil.

“You haven’t eaten.” said Lia, opening the wrapping. It looked bland— completely beige in color and devoid of detail or shape. “You might be a Resonator, but we still need to keep our strength up.”

I hesitated before taking it. “Thanks.” To my surprise, a blended taste of peaches and coconut melted onto my tongue.

And to my disappointment, I had no time to savor it. “The Outsiders…from where wou—”

“GET DOWN!”

I nearly choked as Chelsea yanked Lia and I by the collar, throwing all of us down the corridor; I only had time to notice how her eyes blazed an iridescent lilac, as a half a second later, the right iron wall exploded, launching serrated pieces of metal in every direction of the hallway.

Even without training, it took me less than a second to recognize it.

“A Swarmer!?”

“How could it burrow beneath…?…”

The weakest species of Outsiders, right in front of us. It looked much more intimidating now that I wasn’t towering over them. My brain couldn't process the details, it was only the goosebumps covering every inch of me, my instincts, that let me recognize it as something resembling an obese, human-sized tick.

*SCGRREGGHHRGGG*

I felt my Aegis starting to form as the monster in front of us began its charge, but Chelsea moved faster than either of us. It was almost paradoxical that, despite her moving in the blink of an eye, I was able to see her moves almost in slow-motion; swinging her sword upwards, the sheath flew from the sword, striking the tick in one of its eyes. It let out another ear-piercing wail, different from the first. And by the time it could properly recoil she had already vanished.

Right beneath its drooling maw.

“Vile.”

In a mere moment the cries were silenced; the lights returned to normal as the Swarmer just…stood, its sordid maw still open. But thick, amethyst colored blood poured out of its face, then throat, before its heavy, rotund body spilled the organs and remaining fluids all over the metal corridor and eventually down the tunnel it had carved to arrive in the first place.

“Absolutely vile.”

As embarrassing as it was, the food was still lodged awkwardly in my throat, leaving Lia as the first to recover.

“Chelsea— are you alright?”

“Fine.” she said, swinging the blood off her sword and sheathing it. She paid remarkably little attention to the dead Outsider at her feet, opting instead to examine the hexagonal hole borne through the Redoubt’s reinforced metal structure. It was intimidating in size, seven or eight feet in diameter at the very least. And beyond the few feet of visibility provided by the lights of the now stable hallway, there was nothing but a void of darkness.

“They came from below.” I said, having had enough of sitting on the floor. I struck at my chest, flinching at the pain from the injuries that still hadn’t recovered, but it did the trick. Clearing my throat, I stood up and continued. “They burrowed their way in here…and if it happened here, it’s probably happening elsewhere. Has they ever done that before?”

Chelsea narrowed her eyes, her expression showing that though my words reached her, she didn’t have an answer. She was lost in thought, staring into the blackness.

“Lia.” she said suddenly, “inform ESDF High Command of the situation. The child and I will confront the Outsiders approaching us from above ground while another group will enter the burrow prioritizing threats that would damage the structure of the base and mapping Outsider movement. All other Resonators will exterminate Outsiders in or close to the Redoubt.”

“Entering the burrow? Isn’t that suicide?”

“Survival is the same above— or below— ground.”

“'That which is above is like to that which is below.'” echoed a voice from behind us. Her red dress swayed alongside methodical steps as fire laced around her fingers, burning away the last vestiges of purple blood on her skin. “We witches used a similar phrase for our incantations, albeit for different purposes.”

“I suppose that means you’re volunteering to come face to face with the Outsiders, Fiametta.”

A playful glow surrounded the young woman. Embers and thin lines of fire made her appear constantly in motion even as she stood completely still; they tugged at the hem of her dress, surrounding her hair and eyes like a guardian that shared her whimsy.

“I’m not unused to traveling beneath the earth. One tends to find all kinds of ways to slip past pursuers and watchmen when being hunted.”

“What…no! Even taking that into account a Resonator shouldn’t go alone, you’ll be fighting without your Slayer!” I turned to Chelsea, acutely aware of the violent rumbling that rippled throughout the redoubt. “I’ll be a good fit considering my Aegis, I can go with—”

I froze as warm flames licked the white skin of my cheeks. From the corner of my eye I watched bright orange flames clean away the purple blood that had already dried against my face, snaking its way down my neck and clothes. Though its heat didn’t burn me, I suspected it was only because its owner commanded it not to. And it was unhappy to be restrained.

She walked closer, resting her palm against my cheek as the embers and flames slowly climbed her arm, returning to their rightful place by her side.

“That attitude will be the death of you, boy,” removing her palm, a single nail traced along my jaw until suddenly lifting it upwards. “Still, I don’t dislike such selflessness. In fact, it’s quite a nice change considering the circumstances. Both of my old world,” she spoke, snapping her nail away from my chin, “and this one.”

“Enough, Fiametta. Child, I did not select her on a whim.” criticized the senior Resonator. “She is the one best suited for the task because unlike any other Resonator, she is not limited by what the Resonance gives her in terms of ability. You would do well to remember— she is a witch.” Fiametta’s flames glowed, as if to emphasize the point. Was her shirt on fire too?

“Ability…?”

“Not as powerful as the ones through my Resonance, of course, but the blood of my clan has allowed me many abilities I’ve been able to keep even here.” Her laugh did little to hide the pride spoken through her words. “As to the dismay of my persecutors, so to the dismay of these creatures.”

“She is one of our most adaptable Resonators, and as such, one most suited to confront this……situation.”

The pause in her words— had it come from someone other than Chelsea it still would have been enough to remind us all of the danger surrounding us. But from her, the infiltration of the Redoubt went from worrying, to bone-chilling.

“Still,” I shook my head, “going alone isn’t worth the risk. We might—”

“SO BE IT!” boomed a voice to our side. “I will do you the honor of accompanying you. Alone with a beautiful lady— powerful at that! This place simply keeps getting better!”

A tall man with lapis blue hair strode into the hall, immediately taking his place by Fiametta.

“We’re short on time, Ildefons, take your place in the vanguard if you’re going. Fiametta will remain behind to clear the path, and you—” Chelsea turned around with a cold tone, speaking to an empty hallway. Save for the still bleeding corpse of the Swarmer, it was devoid of life, but she resumed her words with a command as strong as her own abilities.

“—will guard the rear, tracing all movement. You cannot run from your duty, Juan.”

After some seconds of uncomfortable silence, a tan figure with shoulder length black hair reluctantly revealed himself, turning the corner and approaching the burrow.

“I-I’m not your dog for you to bark orders at! I already got orders to reinforceeeieiii—!”

Her gaze wasn’t directed towards me, and still I felt goosebumps crawling up my forearms and spine. Though Juan was almost a foot taller than her, Chelsea’s glare and the hand on her blade made the man involuntarily squeal.

“Take. Your. Place.”

He quickly scrambled between the wall and Ildefons, a trio of Resonators now lined at the entrance to the burrow. “Juan, you will remain behind Fiametta as your skills as a trafficker will assist in navigation and mapping. You two will transfer all data live to the ESDF; in the case you’re unable to reach them, save the data and make it back at all costs. Ildefons, do not fight if you do not need to; I want you all here alive. Am I understood?”

“I do wish I were alone with such beauty, but I can’t complain about the situation.” he spoke, winking at Fiametta. She paid him no mind as she curtsied in approval to the plan.

“U-Understood…fucking bi—”

“Then haste! Defend the Skull Beach Redoubt!”

Without another word the three ran inside the void; I watched as Fiametta’s trail of flame spread outwards from her arm, clinging to the circular wall in a spiral as it moved forwards with the group. It took all but a handful of seconds for the moving light to fade into the darkness, but as soon as it did, another rumble shook the Redoubt.

“We should likewise move quickly, our enemies are likely at our doorstep. Lia,” she spoke to the girl who’d begun running beside her, “we don’t know our enemies’ strength, cover the child and I from the Redoubt. With your Electromaster ability, if anything should happen then relay communications from other Resonators to the ESDF and vice versa. Lia?”

Lia had slowed down, stopping herself right at the entrance to the massive hangar, Even and Lelvedere visible in the distance.

“Lia, what on earth are you doing?” Chelsea’s tone was urgent, almost harsh in its delivery. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice the worry that came through.

“My Forecast I……why didn’t I see this?”

“Even with your ability, you cannot be omniscient. Even Senpai with his prescience does not know the future in its entirety.”

“But my forecast yesterday…no, even now how did they……”

“Lia.” Chelsea said, slamming the end of her sheath onto the ground and griping one of Lia’s shoulders. “You. Are. Here.”

Even still, Lia’s eyes were dazed, as though the lingering visions of a forecast remained at the forefront of her mind. But the cloudiness in her eyes disappeared, replaced with the vivid, resolute magenta color I saw upon first entering this world.

“Right…yes, of course. I’ll provide covering fire from base and assist with any Outsiders that may manage to attack.”

“That won’t happen.” she said, turning to me. “We will not allow it.”

I nodded. “Lia…sorry, I’ll be counting on you again.”

I tried for an apologetic smile, feeling truly guilty that she needed to watch my untrained back again. But whether I did a poor job of conveying it, or more likely, whether she didn’t seem to mind— a comforting smile met my departure.

“And we, you.”

With that, Chelsea and I sprinted to enter our Slayers, having already been prepared by the Engineering Corps. From the corner of my eye, on the other side of the hangar, other Resonators began doing likewise, though I couldn't tell who they were given the distance. The view of bodies scrambling around the hangar, the shouts of commands and orders, disappeared, replaced with a growing darkness. Familiar sounds of pressurization and the glow of white lights reminded me that not twenty-four hours had passed before my last fight— before I was to be thrown to the wolves again. A cog in the machine.

Is this a curse, or simple misfortune?

……no. It didn’t matter either way.

Maybe that’s why I was so surprised at hearing my own thoughts lean towards the fact that, at the very least, this was far from damnation. Whether misfortune or curse— I can fight against a death deemed fate.

The fight with Senpai flashed in the back of my mind.

The mountain of corpses and……that girl.

…I……can fight something like this…

I need to.

“Annika,” crackled the radio in my ears, “ESDF should have intelligence on Outsider concentration and type by now. Send us to where the enemy poses the greatest threat to the Redoubt itself— regardless of our roster difference.”

“Right-o~!”

“WHAT?!”

“Not to worry Anon! Chelsea is our second most experienced Sla-Resonator~, I’m sure you’ll—”

“Annika.”

“Right, sorry! Umm, looks like Senpai’s already been deployed to the hottest zone, but there…huh….?”

“Annika.”

“Sorry, sorry! Inputting coordinates……umm, turns out you won’t be using your flight gear. Confirmed— thirty-two miles west, approaching fast. Two Chrysfiends and…an Omega-class Behemoth.”

“Then we meet them head on. Anon, deploy!”

Before I could protest, the walls behind me created a familiar pull, and the golden light of a charcoal-tinted sky illuminated the still-alien landscape. Before the walls could halt ,however, Chelsea already detached herself from the hangar. Running towards a distant field of sand, its only distinguishing feature from a distance were small, steep cliffs littered with holes and burrows.

I followed soon after— her incredible speed quickly leaving me behind; though it was clear she was still holding back for my sake.

Not a minute had passed before the Outsiders— two beasts with an enormous creature between them, became visible.

“Chz—elsea, Anon— do you copy?”

“Annika? Yeah I hear you, what's going on?”

“I double-checked our system— Skull Beach has self-defense alarms in a thirty-five mile radius, and our Outsider detection systems are nearly a hundred. These guys just…appeared— inside our self-defense range!”

Even two hundred feet behind her, I could feel Chelsea’s brow furrow at those words.

“So good and bad news— the bad is…well, I guess that’s self explanatory. B-U-T the good news is that Lia’s going to have an easier time assisting from Skull Redoubt. Not to mention my automated babies are FINALLY going to have their time to shine~!”

“…babies?”

“Annika. Prioritize receiving any data from Juan, Ildefons, and Fiametta. I sent them below ground in the Redoubt so their signal will no doubt become weaker. If ESDF issues a command, relay it as soon as possible, and let them know I recommend no Slayer to go beyond our range of self-defense.”

“Roger that~!”

The three beasts spotted us in the distance, two light pink crystalline humanoids breaking off to the sides while the one in the middle…an enormous monstrosity, with muscles so large they nearly tore through its skin. Glowing blood seeped down its mouth and beneath the nails of its hooves covered in toes.

“Chelsea, do your best! The few other Outsiders look to be normal Ravagers and some Lashers, but none so serious the others can’t take them.” encouraged Annika into our ears. “And Anon…ahaha, I guess things haven’t been great for you lately, but don’t worry, cause—”

An eruption of earth drowned out the rest of her words as I hurriedly stumbled backwards, nearly having my head impaled by a giant spike of earth now flying towards the sky at jet-like speeds. I cursed at losing my balance as one of the humanoids skid across the barren dust in the blink of an eye, a spear of glowing stone pointed towards me before—

*CLANG*

—it was sent tumbling across the dirt via an enormous bullet.

“On your feet child.” demanded the crimson colored Slayer as it nearly pinned the fallen Outsider. Unfortunately it recovered too quickly, retreating behind the Behemoth with blood seeping through the hole in its side. “I will fend off the Behemoth— you will confront the Crysfiends.”

“By yourself?”

“Your worries are wasted on me.”

A resounding pitch, like a lock coming undone, echoed between the cliffs surrounding us, even the Outsiders momentarily halted at the sight of Chelsea unsheathing her blade. Having wielded it for only a short amount of time, I understood the danger it possessed even in the hands of an amateur like me. I don’t know why I was so surprised then, to see an exact replica of her sword emerge from the Slayer’s sheath— a deep, profound plum shade of lilac covered the metal.

Pulsing.

Radiating.

I could feel, just by looking at it. It wasn’t anger that she poured into her weapon...

It was retaliation.

“I cannot protect or safeguard you,” she admitted. “The only thing I can do is bear witness to your growth, and should your resolve be strong enough—”

Metallic joints blew dust in every direction as her Slayer took a stance low to the ground, arms behind her body, blade pointed towards the enemy. And as if sensing the tension building within the Behemoth, the Crysfiends quickly retreated.

“—teach you to survive.”

A tectonic roar strong enough to vibrate through the armor of my Slayer exploded from the Behemoth’s mouth, signaling the Crysfiends to fissure the earth with their needle-thin arms, launching truck-sized boulders towards the two of us. But after hearing her words I…felt oddly in sync. My mind saw them coming, and my body reacted by diving to the side as I reached for and unsheathed my silver blade only to see Chelsea had already disappeared.

Or, more accurately, she had already reached the Behemoth.

She was like Hanna in a way, dancing around the hoofs and horns the monster so desperately tried to hit her with. Hanna’s fighting was sophisticated, yes, but there was a clear anger and fury that accompanied it.

But Chelsea, like her blade, forewent those feelings.

“Forget about other worlds and give this one everything you’ve got.”

As she drew thin lines of blood from the monster, I could only believe that this, her method of fighting, was the result of eight years of focus.

Eight years of survival.

Eight years……of forgetting her home.

*RROOOAAOOORRR*

A boulder swept dangerously close to her armor, but as if knowing it would happen she spun just enough to evade it, able to catch the blade of a Crysfiend and use its momentum to push backwards, expertly leaping over the Behemoth that charged straight at her and landing behind it.

What…in the world was I doing just watching her fight!?

“C’mon, lead them to the cliffs!” radioed the excited voice in my ear. “You don’t need to worry about Chelsea. And besides, Lia and I will support your fight against the Crysfiends~!”

I couldn't help a but smile at the childlike excitement in her voice.

I breathed inward, putting the intention to run into my legs— and the Resonance responded.

My surroundings blurred as I flanked one of the Crysfiends, forcing him away from Behemoth and its injured doppelganger. But it saw me coming, leaping away from what would’ve been a decapitating blow and escaping towards the cliffs full of burrows.

Behind.

I spun around in time to see a boulder shatter into debris, showering Even with fine rubble and dust. The faraway glint told me who was responsible, but more importantly, who had thrown the boulder.

“Injured so you’re fighting at a distance?” I mocked. “Or are you focusing on me so we can let our aces fight it out? Well, either’s fine with me!”

I sprinted towards the fleeing Crysfiend, fully aware of the one chasing me from behind. I raised my sword, prepared to leap away from any hurling stones until—

“WUAGH!”

My instincts screamed danger— I was face first into the desert sands, immediately understanding what had happened.

One of those things created a pitfall.

My Flight systems roared to life, aware of the injured but approaching crystalline monster not far behind me. Blazing fire and adrenaline threw me forward and in a vague direction I recognized as up, but red lights filled every corner of my human eyes.

“Malfunction!?”

While sixty feet in the air I looked behind me, the pursuing Crysfiend had actually managed to stab me— not penetrating the armor, but destroying the added boosters for Even’s flight system. Smoke poured from the wings of my Slayer as I tried to maneuver into a soft landing to no avail. Incomprehensible curses filled the cockpit as I disengaged the extra system altogether— free falling into the earth, and crashing against a giant cliff of red and gray stone.

Chunks of rocks and metal fell around me as I panicked; I reached for the silver glints only to realize they were simple pieces of steel. Sword— did my sword shatter?!

I looked up to see the two monsters side by side, approaching fast. Their light purple arms refined like a needle, outstretched to tear straight through me. I prepared to summon my Aegis, hoping it’d be enough to at least soften the blow before rambunctious laughter filled my ears.

“ahAhAHAHAHA! Finally—FINALLY! MY BABIES FINALLY HAVE THE CHANCE TO SHINE IN REAL COMBAT!”

I was too dazed, too full of adrenaline to care about what she said; did my sword shatter on impact? Why were there—!

………pieces of metal.

A cacophony of thousands of gears roaring to life sounded from everywhere around me— and rising from what I thought were burrows for the animals of this world came entirely different creations.

“Annika…don’t tell me…”

“AFTER THAT DAY I TOLD ESDF THIS WOULD COME IN HANDY SHOULD IT EVER COME FOR US— YES I DID~!”

The cliffs, the entire environment surrounding us, violently rumbled as she maddeningly rambled. And from their burrows, hundreds of turrets the size of houses revealed themselves beneath the sunlight, some even born from the desert itself, fine particles falling off of the barrels like rain.

And of the hundreds given life— every single one took aim at the Crysfiends.

“Anon—! An alcove a hundred feet to your right!”

I quickly thanked Lia, as I half sprinted towards a recess that clearly wouldn’t fit me, but I didn’t need to be out of the line of fire.

I just had to survive.

“Self defense turrets of sector Nine Three Zero: all units locked, loaded…hAhAHA—FIRE!!”