Risále soon joined the other two women and walked out to see two boys who looked about similar in age to herself.
The shorter boy had extremely light blonde, almost titanium messy hair and what really stood out was that one of his eyes was green and the other was silver. She also noticed he was wearing a black t-shirt that seemed a few sizes too big on him. Of the two boys, he seemed to be more built.
The other had ginger hair, falling in place to cover his left eye. His visible eye was sea green, a perfect replica of what Risále could only imagine oceans to look like. He seemed a bit shorter than Lumina and was decently tanned although he was still quite a bit paler than his companion, and lankier as well. Risále felt like she could probably snap him in half like a twig if she tried. He was wearing a black hoodie with the word "Phoenix" on it.
There was nothing out of the ordinary until Lumina asked a question, "Wait, Owen, is that Fenix's shirt?" She said, pointing at the t-shirt that the blonde boy, Owen, was wearing. The size made sense, as the height difference between the two was quite large.
"Uh, yeah. Why are you asking?" Owen responded, confused. Risále noticed right then and there that the boy had an innocent charm to him. Somehow, he gave her an enchanting feeling, like a sprite, or a nymph, or a faerie.
"Owen, we bought you clothes so you could wear them, not leave them to collect dust in your closet while you steal Fenix's clothes," Mina sighed, checking over both the boys for injuries.
"So, who's the new girl?" The ginger, Fenix, tried to change the subject before Lumina and Mina could really get into lecturing them.
"Say hi boys, this is Risále. She doesn't know what the hell is going on—Has amnesia or something but she's also part cyborg. She's staying with us until we figure out who she is and where she's supposed to be," Mina explained.
The younger boy smiled sweetly and held his hand out for her to shake, "Hi, my name is Owen and I'm the resident gay."
"I'm literally right here," Lumina pointed at herself.
The taller boy, Fenix, spoke up, "No, Lumina, you're the resident old lesbian. Keep up," Mina couldn't seem to hold back her laughter at Lumina's spluttering about the comment, "You can't even deny it, you are literally the oldest lesbian we've got."
"...I'm also the only lesbian you've got," Lumina pointed out.
"Cool. Who's he? Wait, are you two the ones who are dating? Or is it the other two? Sorry, still trying to process everything that Mina told me," Risále sighed. Lumina was about to correct her but Mina gave her a look that told her to shut up. Owen took a moment to process what she'd asked.
"Fenix? My boyfriend? Oh, no. We're just really close friends," The ginger made an expression of mock hurt at that comment.
"What, Owen? Really? After everything we've been through together? How could you?" Fenix said dramatically, putting his hand to his forehead as if he was feigning stress like a maiden in a play. Owen just rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.
"Yes, after everything we've been through. Shut up, you dramatic little shit," He sighed, but he couldn't hold back his amused smile.
"You're calling him, little? You sure about that, munchkin?" Lumina asked and Owen glared at her, slapping her arm. She rubbed it, but she was still smiling.
"Fuck you, too, Lumina," Owen said, "Anyway since he's decided not to introduce himself, I guess I'll do it for him. This is Fenix. He just turned nineteen a few weeks ago. And no. He's not my boyfriend; he's my best friend," Owen said, speaking for his friend.
"Hey, great to meet you," Fenix said, shaking Risále's hand.
Risále nodded, "Same to you. I guess we're the same age then, right? Lumina, I'm nineteen, right?"
Owen sighed, "Goddamn, I'm still the youngest, huh? I don't turn nineteen until next year."
"Yeah, the scan said you're nineteen, Risále. Anyway, boys, dinner is almost ready, so go get cleaned up. I don't even want to know the trouble you've gotten in, seeing all the propaganda shit that Sector 2 has been sending out," Lumina said, exasperated.
"Loads of trouble, Lumina, loads. Let's just say, uh, Sector 2 is probably not very fond of us right now. Like, at all," Fenix grinned.
Owen smiled, "Well, I don't think we could ever piss them off as much as some of those small insurgency groups have. Speaking of which, we still haven't managed to actually contact any of those groups, unfortunately."
Lumina sighed, "Yeah, we're still working on that as well. It would be great to have a larger group to work with but I can understand why they're being so cautious. The White Lotus isn't above lying and sending in spies for covert operations and with us being off the grid…"
Fenix hummed, "Hopefully Xander and Kaedan or Leon have better luck than us in finding any of them. Oh yeah, I know Xander and Kaedan mentioned they'd be back tonight which is great, I definitely missed watching Mina and Kaedan swear at each other like sailors—"
"It's a form of affection," Lumina said, looking at the younger woman fondly, who scowled.
"Affection, bleh. More like annoyance," Mina replied.
"—Well, in any case," Fenix continued, "Is Leon ever planning on coming back or what? It's been like…A week or something."
Owen snorted, "Wow, very nonchalant way of saying you miss him and are worried about him, Fenix," The boy rolled his eyes.
"I'm not!" Fenix said, crossing his arms, "No, this bitch just owes me thirty bucks and if he dies before I get that, I will personally drag him back to life from whatever pit in hell he ends up in."
"Firstly, lovely of you to assume one of your best friends is going to hell after he dies, secondly, all that for thirty bucks?" Mina asked, "Petty."
Fenix grinned, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ear, "I know, it's a talent."
Suddenly, there was a beep from Lumina's phone. The woman looked down and immediately smacked her forehead, "Are you fucking kidding me, Leon? Is it really that hard for you to not get into trouble," She muttered before looking up at them.
Mina sighed, "What has he done this time?"
"He's been a goddamn fool, that's what he's done. We need to get going. Risále, I'm only letting you come with us because it might be good for you to get some experience of being out on the field. We'll explain everything in the car," Lumina continued as Mina looked over the taller woman's shoulder to see the message.
"Everybody get in the car and fasten your seatbelts. We need to get to Sector 2 quickly, so—"
"—Hold on, Sector 2?" Fenix asked before groaning, "That fucking idiot, Owen and I were literally just there, we could have helped him and all of us could have come back together!"
"That's why I said he's been a goddamn fool. Anyway, prepare yourself, Miss 'Doesn't Understand The Words 'Slow Down'' is driving," Lumina grinned.
Risále looked extremely confused but was only met with Owen and Fenix laughing. "Just a little bit of context for you, she's talking about Mina," Owen leaned over to whisper to her.
"Sector 2 is a much more dangerous place for Lumina and me, so we'll be in and out of there. Fenix and Owen already know this," Mina explained to Risále, "But we need to do our best not to stall."
Risále nodded, "Got it."
The light-blue-haired woman grinned, "Alright, then. Operation 'Save Leon' is a go."
It was only a few minutes later that they reached the entrance of the Sector, "Oh my God, she basically does not know what a speed limit is," Risále gasped, getting out of the car, completely dizzy. Fenix, Owen, Mina, and Lumina appeared to be completely fine. "How are you guys even standing straight?" She gasped for air.
"Well, for one, it's the only thing I can do straight, and two, don't worry, you'll get used to it. If we're not being chased, I'll drive on the way back. I'm a bit more sane," Lumina laughed.
"Wait, maybe, if we aren't being chased, can I—" Fenix was about to ask but Owen covered his mouth.
"I am not ready to die at the age of eighteen. You're not driving us anywhere until you get a proper license, at least from Xander," He hissed.
"You trust Xander to tell you that? You do realize that even if he is one of the smartest and most responsible out of all of us, we aren't exactly the best scale to compare to," Lumina raised her eyebrow.
Suddenly, they all jumped at the sound of a sudden gunshot. Lumina only sighed before face-palming.
"I mean, at least we know where that idiot is, right?" Mina asked, pulling out a handgun from the back of the trunk and handing it to Risále. "In case things get messy. I'm hoping your robot brain will teach you how to use a gun."
"Thanks. I can work with guns but I think I do prefer…" Risále paused, and the others looked at her, "Hey, Mina, the thing you told me about when you woke up thinking something that wasn't possible, is that contagious—Oh, and she's gone. Holy fuck, where did she go?" Risále whirled around and Lumina sighed putting an earpiece in Risále's ear and pointing towards the top of a cathedral.
"Leon's getting attacked. I'm going to take a shot, alright? If you get near him, take cover. I don't want anyone accidentally getting hit again, got it?" Mina's voice came in through the earpiece. Risále hadn't even noticed the woman had scaled the building nearby.
Lumina muttered, "One time. That was one fucking time, Mina, let it go—"
"One time is one time too many, you gave us all a heart attack," Owen glared at her, "She's right to hold it against you, you goddamn maniac."
As they made it a small courtyard in the middle of four buildings, Risále could make out the figure of a man wrestling with two others in armor, "God, you're so annoying. All I wanted was to go home and take a nice nap," She heard the man groan.
Remembering what Mina said, she ducked behind one of the pillars of a building just in time to see one of the men in armor get shot in the leg.
The man fighting them off kicked him away. Fenix and Owen moved closer, but then Fenix frantically pointed somewhere. Risále followed his gaze only to panic as well, "Lumina, behind you!" She half-yelled. A guard ran towards her and she pulled out her gun, only for the man in front of her to be shot in the leg. She made a mental note to thank Mina later.
Lumina had hit the guard hard with her whip, letting out a loud sizzling crack from the electric charge. She managed to get it wrapped around their leg and pulled, causing the person to fall. She grabbed them by the collar, choking them for exactly long enough so that the person in front of her would have just passed out. She dropped them, kicking them away. Risále looked at her in fear and amazement.
"It's okay, you don't have to be scared, he's just passed out," Lumina called out to her.
Risále nodded before muttering to herself, "That was both terrifying and weirdly attractive. I had no idea I was into shit like this," She then turned to see Owen and Fenix back to back, fighting the two guards in front of each of them. Owen used his battle scythe to knock the feet out from under the guard in front of him before punching them square in the face.
Fenix narrowly avoided the second guard's sword and grabbed Owen's shoulder, dragging him down as well, as his head was almost taken off by the swing of the sword. Fenix took the opportunity to stab the guard in the thigh, "Risále, behind you!" Fenix yelled and the woman spun around, only to be met with a guard about to stab downwards on her. She tried to aim her gun, knowing that she wouldn't move fast enough when suddenly, the guard stiffened and almost fell on her. She sidestepped him quickly to see that he had been shot in the back.
She looked around but everyone else was already preoccupied and Mina couldn't shoot in the area she was standing in. So, that meant….
She looked at the man they had run in to save. When she met his eyes, he put his hands down, the gun at his side, and saluted her. She rolled her eyes before noticing a guard trying to sneak up on him. Her eyes narrowed as she held out her gun and precisely shot right over the blonde man's shoulder, hitting the guard directly in the neck.
The blonde whirled around to see the guard's body slump to the ground and looked back at Risále in surprise. She grinned and gave him a wink and watched as he did a double take. Now they were even.
"Alright, that's it! Everyone split up and get out of here! Someone get Risále, she doesn't know the Sector the way we do!" Lumina yelled. Risále kicked down another guard and without thinking, slammed her elbow down on his head, effectively knocking the guard out. She spun around to see Owen and Fenix had already taken off and Lumina was just about to go.
The blonde man ran over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face him and his eyes widened, "Holy shit, you're—You know what, now is not the time. Follow me," He said, running into a building with Risále on his heels. They dashed up the stairs to the roof and in the faint moonlight, she could make out certain features like his blue eyes and dull, gray-blonde hair, tied back in a short ponytail. His skin was quite a bit lighter than her own, but he was also much taller, really around Lumina's height if not a bit taller. He was lean, but not extremely muscled, he looked extremely flexible.
"We're almost there. Follow me," He said, taking off in a run and leaping between buildings. He landed gracefully, bending his knees to absorb the impact.
"Are you crazy? I can't jump that!" Risále yelled to him, looking at the gap in between the building and then looking back up to him.
"Look, we need to get a move on. Just—If you jump, I'll catch you. I won't let you fall, I promise!" He yelled back. Risále looked at the gap again, took a deep breath, and turned back. The man held his breath, ready to jump back and run after her. He knew he was going to meet her again eventually but he didn't expect it to be now, "It's already different from what I know…I can't tell if this is good or bad," He whispered to himself.
But suddenly, Risále turned around and yelled at him, "If you don't catch me, you can bet your ass that I will come back to haunt you!" Then, she began running towards the edge of the building. Right before she hit the edge, she jumped, and the next thing he knew, his arms were on her shoulders and she had a tight grip around his waist, using him to hold herself up. She was so close to him and Leon felt the air get knocked from his lungs.
He couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "I know you," In his mind, he couldn't help but add mentally, I'm sorry I couldn't fix everything. I'm not making the same mistake again. I won't let anyone put you in that state again. I can't lose you. Not after Hyunwoo…
Risále pushed herself off of him and looked at him confused, "Look, if we have, I'm really sorry. I have amnesia and can't remember anything about myself, let alone other people I knew," She explained. The man seemed to almost deflate, and Risále was confused.
But his attitude changed quickly. "Forget it. It's—It's nice to meet you. My name is Leon, and we should probably hurry back if we don't want to be stuck in Sector 2 all night long." He smiled, holding out his hand.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too. I'm Risále, and I'm realizing that I know a lot less about this world than I did a few hours ago, which is to say, I knew nothing," She smiled, taking his hand and shaking it firmly, her hand slightly turning his hand so it was on the bottom.
Oh.