A hot hand—hot enough to almost melt his armor—suddenly jerked him sideways and into the water.
The moment he hit—
his armor began to soften.
Melt.
Run.
His dark wings dripped black ooze into the clear, bubbling surface.
The shock of the heat slammed into his nerves.
Instinct took over.
He launched upward—
and landed heavily on the stone beside the spring.
Molten metal dripped from his torso, exposing pale skin and torn cloth beneath. His wings sagged with unfamiliar weight, half-liquefied and reforming unevenly.
He snapped his head toward the water.
Ready.
Expecting an enemy.
Instead—
Razilia's head bobbed just above the surface.
She was staring at him.
Confused.
His helmet was still intact.
Which meant the AI was too.
It immediately panicked.
[What have you done to us?! Get out! That water is dangerous!]
Bubbles rose as Razilia lifted herself higher.
The water slid off her skin unnaturally clean.
Untouched.
But her eyes weren't on his face.
They were on where the water had touched him.
Her expression shifted.
Not fear.
Not concern.
Something closer to… realization.
"…It's purifying you."
R2 froze.
"…Clarify."
She tilted her head slightly, still half-submerged.
Watching.
Studying.
"…What should've already been purified when you were made…"
A faint pause.
"…wasn't."
Silence.
The water rippled again.
Not violently.
Just… reacting.
R2 looked down at himself.
At the exposed skin.
At the parts of his armor that hadn't reformed correctly.
At the places where the black residue had simply…
vanished.
"…That process is not listed in standard training protocols."
She huffed a quiet laugh.
"Yeah."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…that's what worries me."
She sank lower into the water for a second, then pushed herself back up.
Now fully watching him.
"…Did they skip it?"
R2 didn't answer immediately.
Because he couldn't.
That wasn't something he had access to.
"…Unknown."
She stared at him.
Then sighed.
"Oh that's not good…"
A pause.
Then—
she smiled.
"…but that explains a lot."
R2 stiffened slightly.
"…Explain what, ma'am?"
She lifted her hand from the water.
The liquid clung to her skin—
then moved.
Not like water.
Like something responding.
"It reacts to instability," she said casually.
"Foreign energy… corrupted layering… incomplete integration…"
Her eyes flicked back to him.
"…new soldiers."
R2 did not move.
"…Respectfully, ma'am… it attempted to dissolve me."
She shrugged.
"Yeah, that's the first step."
A beat.
"…Ma'am."
"…Yeah?"
"…Why are you bathing in it?"
She smiled again.
That same quiet, strange smile.
"Because it listens."
Silence filled the cave.
R2 processed that.
"…Water… does not listen."
She tilted her head.
"It does if you teach it how."
The surface of the spring rippled.
Then stilled.
R2 took one step back.
Instinct.
Razilia noticed.
Her voice softened just a little.
"Relax. It won't grab you again unless you spike your energy."
"…Define 'spike.'"
She pointed at him.
"You panicked."
"…Understood."
She leaned back, floating effortlessly.
Her wings rested beneath the surface like they belonged there.
For a moment—
everything was quiet.
Then she spoke again.
Softer.
More distant.
"You're not supposed to feel that heavy, y'know."
R2's gaze flicked to his wings.
"That weight?"
She tapped the water lightly.
"That's buildup."
A pause.
"Things you weren't cleaned of."
The cave seemed to hold its breath.
"…Systems," she added quietly.
The word didn't echo.
It sank.
R2 straightened.
Not rigid.
But focused.
"…Ma'am."
"…Mm?"
"…Is this location secure?"
She glanced at him sideways.
"…You're late."
His posture shifted instantly.
"Clarify."
She rose from the water.
This time—
it didn't cling.
It released her.
"I felt you before you arrived."
A pause.
Her gaze drifted toward the cave entrance.
"…which means something else probably did too."
Silence.
R2's wings flexed.
Still unstable.
Still reforming.
The AI chimed in, sharper now.
[Warning: Environmental anomaly increasing. Energy fluctuations detected outside perimeter.]
R2 turned toward the entrance.
Ready.
"…Ma'am."
She stepped past him.
Barefoot.
Calm.
Then smiled.
"Try not to melt again."
And just like that—
the air shifted.
Something was coming.