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“You’re not Nano.”
She gives a slow smile, her expression teasing even as Lalna clenches his fists at his side, watching her with barely-contained rage. He’s seeing it all now, the differences that he should have picked up on earlier — her eyes are purple, her flowers and necklace are both an almost radioactive green, and the wings granted to her by what he assumes is her own angel ring give off an eerie golden glow. Even her flux is strange, covering more of her body than he remembers as the torchlight allows him to take a closer look.
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d notice your partner was gone.” Her voice has changed now as well, playful in a completely different way than before.
“What have you done with Nano? If you’ve hurt her…” Lalna trails off, his voice shaking as he fights to steady trembling hands. His expression is fierce, anger sparking behind his eyes and fueled by worry for his friend.
“That look does remind me of my dear Hector,” she comments with a giggle, ignoring his question as he gives a growl of frustration. “How cute.”
His eyes narrow at her mention of the name Hector, mind flying to make the connection between the name and what they usually refer to his previous kidnapper as. “You… you’re Specimen Five.” It’s not so much a question as a statement, one that she confirms with a toothy grin.
“I go by Echo, but yes, that would be me.”
“Okay, Echo, then,” Lalna spits, his tone icy as he continues. “I don’t care who you are, but I know you’ve done something to Nano. And I want her back.”
“Oh, Hector probably hasn’t done anything to her. Not yet, at least,” she replies, blinking her purple eyes with feigned innocence. “I’m sure he won’t do anything permanently damaging.”
“I swear to the gods, I will destroy both of you if you’ve done anything to hurt her.”
Echo’s face lights up at his snarled response, her steps bringing her a bit closer to Lalna. He takes a step of his own, moving away from her as his hand flies to the hilt of his sword. “And how do you plan to do that, hm?” She takes another step toward him, hand on her hip while the other brushes her hair back with a slight flip. “With those defenses for your base that you told me all about? Or with that nuke virus you picked up?”
Lalna visibly pales at the realization that he’d given away most of their defense plans, something that Echo picks up on easily. Her grin takes on a predatory nature, her eyes sharp as she forces him back another step. “How easily you gave up your secrets. I wonder what else I could get out of you?”
“Nothing,” Lalna snaps, drawing his sword to hold between them, the honed edge facing Echo. “Now tell me where Nano is, and I won’t hurt you.”
She ignores his inquiry once more, pausing to strike an over-dramatic pose while she pretends to consider something. “How else to get information from you, hm? Maybe putting a few holes into your friend would do the trick.”
Echo barely manages to avoid Lalna’s abrupt lunge forward, his enraged yell reverberating throughout the large cavern they’re in. He swings toward her with a growl forming deep in his throat, driving Echo backwards with a fury that soon causes her to lose balance. Her next step lands on a loose stone, the small rock sliding out from under her and dumping her on the hard floor. Lalna closes in, sword raised to strike as her expression flips from one colored by arrogance to one that can only be described as frightened. He swings hard, Echo’s arms flying up in a feeble attempt to protect herself as she cries out in desperation.
“Please don’t hurt me!”
Her voice makes Lalna stop mid-swing, barely inches away from her arm, his heart skipping a beat at the hauntingly familiar sound. “Lalna, please…” He can hear Nano’s voice, quivering as she says the words, begging him not to hurt her; and as Echo lowers her arms carefully, eyes still wide with fear, he can see Nano looking back at him, her expression hurt and terrified as he slowly blocks her in the tower, to protect her and to protect him.
“Lalna…?”
He can feel his sword arm lowering slowly to the side, the blade no longer poised to cut with a single downward stroke. His mind, consumed by guilt for what he’d once done to his friend, snaps back to the present a moment too late when a harsh laugh reaches his ears.
“What a fool.”
The sword goes flying from his grasp as a hard strike connects with his hand, jerking him sideways with the unexpected force. His eyes focus on Echo, her cunning smile back in place as she launches herself at Lalna, slamming him down against the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him; even as he struggles to catch his breath, his mind takes a moment to register that Echo is built rather solidly for her smaller size.
A knee jams itself into his throat, the sharp pain it causes taking over his mind for a moment while he futilely tries to gasp for air. He can feel the press of something heavy and vaguely sharp — probably Echo’s ruby sword — against his upper thigh. Medical knowledge buried deep in his brain tells him he’ll bleed to death if she hits the artery pulsing beneath the blade, and it’s partially that knowledge that traps him beneath Echo’s weight.
“So much for destroying me and Hector, hm, Lalna? How do you plan to rescue your fuck buddy now?” Echo’s words are biting, her voice still pitched in a way that’s far too similar to Nano’s for his liking. The edges of Lalna’s vision begin to dim, forcing him to focus on her sadistic smile as she leans in to whisper cruelly to him. “You’ve managed to fail her again. How pitiful.”
“N-Nano,” he wheezes as his vision goes dark, Echo’s fiendish laughter ringing in his ears as his consciousness fades completely.
“I’m sorry.”