She was numb. She was lonely. She took every step slowly and calmly. Madrigal's absence in front of the stairwell door was only slightly puzzling. To be fair, they needed all the help outside they could get. There was an acolyte to help with that, at some point. She'd surely be back soon.

The screams in the streets hadn't halted. In reality, they'd grown louder. There was more Dissonance, possibly. It was unlikely, really, given the way the bell was still ringing forever. Still, Octavia supposed Selena had carried more than enough bad memories to curse the Blessed City in earnest. It wasn't as though what she'd managed to expel would've been enough. The Velpyre Acolyte got what she wanted in the end, maybe.

She could always go ask if that was the case. Every time Octavia blinked, she could see Selena's body. Maybe she was dead. It was debatable. Had she stopped breathing? Did it hurt when she hit the ground? What did she think on the way there? Did she think anything at all?

People were still sprinting around her, hands still either full of loved ones or belongings. They were nearer to the Dissonance this time around, their screams yet closer. She doubted they could see the murky fog, sweeping along the ground as it was. She could. To know it was there and yet not perceive it was a horror she didn't wish on anyone. She cast her eyes left, right, forwards, and backwards, and found not a single familiar Maestro.

She knew where she could find two of them. She knew where they were supposed to be, rather than where they were. One was still playing. Everything would be fine. So, too, was Octavia's only logical course of action to battle against the agony plaguing the blossom--alongside a different blossom, maybe. She was still getting them mixed up, double-sided as the term had become. To fight back was her responsibility as a Maestra, ultimately.

She sounded like Sonata. How ironic. Did she scream all the way to the world below?

Still, Stradivaria never made it to her shoulder. She never even had the chance to make the motion, and something encircled her wrist tightly. She was yanked forwards with such force that it nearly hurt, stumbling in an indiscernible direction. It took more than a moment to recognize warmth, particularly relative to the touches of those she knew. It was unfamiliar.

"Octavia, are you alright? Come, we must hurry!"

Her eyes widened, chasing his back alone as he ran. She relaxed in his grip, her voice hoarse. "Drey?"

"Where are your friends?" he continued breathlessly. "Have you lost them?"

"They'll be fine!" she called, angling Stradivaria's bow so as not to stab his arm. "What are you still doing here?"

He turned to face her, eyes loaded with worry. "I was here to find you, of course. We must flee while we have the chance."

Despite his firm grip, he was surprisingly gentle. His pace was equally so, although she could've run faster if she chose--fatigue be damned. "Where's Samuel? And Cadence?"

He shook his head, never slowing his pace as he led her through the city streets. She'd never traversed the eastern flank of the church before, nor had she circled it in full. She didn't resist his unfamiliar navigation. "I am unsure. I can only hope they have found their way out, as well. We were meeting with our client when we heard the news, but I know not the details. Have you any idea what's happening?"

It had taken her far too long to notice his other hand, more than occupied in its own right. It was a beautiful weapon, for what little of them she was familiar with. True to his word, he'd found something of merit in Velrose--tools of violence or otherwise. The polearm was as ornate as it was functional, by appearance alone. The blade glistened beneath the cracking light of dawn, and the inlays were sprawling. It was, by no means, short. How he could run with both her and the weapon in hand simultaneously was baffling.

"I'm not sure," she lied through her teeth, shaking off her distraction as she chose her words carefully. "I heard something about a big disaster happening. Something's in the air. We need to evacuate out of the city."

"That we do. I have been informed of a secondary exit from the city, beyond the walls ahead. You must watch your step!"

"Watch my…step?"

It took her a moment, for how the way by which they burst past the arches left her crossing into a sudden threshold of greenery once more. She really did almost trip, and his continuous tugging didn't help. The back exit was somewhat smaller, if not every bit as ornate. It was isolated, and not another soul trailed outwards behind them. She shuddered to imagine the crowds and subsequent panic that surely hastened to the front gates. The sea of grass that crashed into her gaze and boots in tandem was familiar, swaying relentlessly beneath every gust of wind. It halted, eventually. There was gravel, rocks, and a second sea entirely. She skidded to a halt so quickly that sod was left disrupted in her wake.

She'd forgotten it was an ocean city. She'd forgotten about the ocean altogether. In a way, her first view of the sea was beautiful, seafoam crashing against jagged rocks so far below in burst after burst of salty spray. In any other scenario, it would've been a sight to savor. She could've sat and watched it for hours. She didn't enjoy that the experience was probably tainted for life, given the circumstances. As it stood, the drop was dizzying. The cliff was absolutely tremendous, and the plummet was undeniably vertical. It rivaled the bell tower, if it didn't outdo it altogether. She wondered how things were going back there. It was amazing that she could hear Valkyrie's Call from here.

Drey set her hand free, grimacing. "Damn. My client had stated that this exit was often unused, but he neglected to mention the vast ocean at our feet!"

"Can we go around the walls of the city instead? You know, circle it from the back?" Octavia offered.

He nodded. "A fine idea, if you yet possess the energy to do so. Shall we be off?"

Octavia returned his nod. "I can take it."

Drey smiled. "Truly a brave girl. We shall make it through as one."

Even in her current emotional state, still privy to the ghosts of the bell's roaring cries in her eardrums, his smile was irresistible. His presence was somewhat comforting.

"How did you know where to find me?"

He shook his head. "I did not. I have searched far and wide across the city."

With the peaceful rush of the ocean at her back and the gentle sunrise blooming high above, the dichotomy between the exterior and interior of Velrose was unthinkable. Octavia was dreaming, maybe. "Why didn't you save yourself? You were in danger."

His face softened. "You are a treasured friend. You must live another day, cherishing a peaceful life in this wonderful world. Besides, I continue to owe you a favor for your assistance at the auction, remember?"

It was laughable. If only he knew how tumultuous her life truly was.

She wanted to thank him, and she made it as far as opening her mouth. She lost out to the violet, for what opportunity of gratitude it stole from her.

It made enough sense, given that the blossom--the city, at least--was more or less overflowing with agony. The Dissonance was raw and excessive, murky clouds swirling slowly at the foot of the gate. They'd hardly gone far, for the sea that greeted them below so quickly. She expected the screeching, somewhat, vividly disorienting and consistently nauseating. With one hand still tightly clamped around the weapon, Drey winced as his other palm rose to his ear.

"What is that horrible noise?" he cried above the shrill sound.

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Octavia had no time to offer up an excuse. He turned in full, facing the gate head-on as agony incarnate rose ever higher. It was practically a wall, opaque and sickening in every way. The haze was all-encompassing, sneaking and spreading to such a degree that circling the walls was no longer an option. It continued to scream, just as the same smoky violet continued to writhe and billow. She hated it. Her heart raced. With the restless ocean so far below at their backs, they were out of options. Even outside of the Blessed City, they weren't free from agony.

"What…what is this?"

Octavia adjusted her grip around either portion of Stradivaria. "What's…what, exactly?"

"This fog, do you not see it? The smoke that rises high?" Drey asked breathlessly.

Octavia's eyes widened. "You can…see it?"

Drey took several steps forward, wedged firmly between Octavia and the approaching Dissonance. "How could one not? This…foul mist, is it screaming?"

He was correct, of course. The violet smog rolled ever closer, and widening the gap was instinctive. When Drey claimed one step backwards instead, Octavia did the same. The gravel she continued to catch underfoot made her feel ill, and every look over her shoulder left her panicking. The drop-off wasn't that far away.

"Drey!" she cried, more than distressed by the tiny gap between her soles and the cliff's edge.

"I know, my apologies!" he offered quickly, his tone strained. "I will think of something. We must not make contact with it. It could be hazardous!"

Again, he was technically right. Octavia was grateful he had the common sense not to touch it. Still, it didn't help with a plan of action. Her life was at risk, as was his.

There was one solution. She wondered what Viola would have to say about it, somewhat. Even now, the idea alone left her heart pounding. He was more important than a secret, his life worth more than an explanation. If it was for his sake, she couldn't hesitate. She wouldn't hesitate.

"Drey, step aside. Please."

"I will not," he spoke resolutely. "I will protect you as need be. Stay behind me."

The Dissonance was closing in, what peeking grass she could still see swallowed beneath broiling smog on every side. Octavia's eardrums were aching from the ever-increasing volume of the screeching she loathed. The world was spinning, slightly. She felt sick to her stomach, although she questioned whether that was due to the Dissonance alone. Still, if she was suffering, there was no way Drey wasn't privy to the same pain. They were out of time.

"Drey, please!" she begged.

Drey didn't answer her with words, initially. She got to see the polearm in action, almost. His skill and dexterity were impressive, for how quickly he found his stance and how effortlessly he claimed his grip. He leveled the shimmering tip of the honed blade with the screaming smoke, narrowing his eyes. "Octavia, I wish for you to lead a life of peace and happiness. I will protect that life with my own, and strike down those who would take that away!"

"But why me?" she asked again.

He glared down the Dissonance alone, never once turning to face her. "As I've said, you are a precious friend. Please, let me do this for you!"

The Dissonance was practically close enough to touch him. With one wispy, unfortunately-placed tendril of bubbling smoke, it tried. Octavia didn't give him time to lunge.

"I'm sorry, Drey!"

Octavia!

It was frantic in her head once more. It was loud. She didn't have time for it right now.

Stradivaria crashing onto her shoulder was instinctive, as was the bow coming down hard against the strings in turn. Starlight scattered in her veins, the sun was born of her song, and the same radiance she'd grown to expect was once more sharp and taut. She spilled it with everything she had, her luminous melody undaunted in the face of another as she offered up all she had. With her fingers pulsing and her blood igniting, she had her rays once more. They were stolen from the sunrise, long before the sky could claim them in full.

Level with the strings, it took only simple slashes of the bow and a cry she couldn't contain to send them barreling high into the innocent air. The arch she offered up brought with it radiant rain, bursting beautifully as it struck upon every cloud of violet. Deep into the Dissonance it spiraled and speared, every ruthless sizzle compromised only by that which screamed ever louder. It took effort not to hit Drey, her aim as careful as it was true. It paid off.

She did it again and again, striking beams born of her brilliant song boiling beneath her touch and bursting forth without mercy. Her volleys were accurate, her radiance powerful. Her light was piercing, and every writhing cloud that met with her luminous wrath was left to fizzle and shriek. She didn't dare stop, exhausted or otherwise. For the quantity she created, she was a solar flare all her own, exploding time after time against the surging violet. It receded. It was working. The recoil was an issue in its own right, every incandescent shot leaving her staggering more than was tolerable. With Drey's life on the line, she hardly had a choice. She'd already failed twice over today.

"Octavia?" Drey murmured softly, his eyes wide and his voice muffled beneath the chorus of screeching.

Where he ignored, it advanced. The Dissonance would've clashed with his neck, perhaps, had Octavia been the slightest bit slower. She nearly was, and she nearly missed it just the same.

"Don't move!" she cried.

She couldn't quite control the size of the burst that followed, panicked as it was. The brilliance that erupted forth from the strings barely sufficed, blasting forth above his right shoulder. It hit its mark flawlessly, and the boiling smoke splintered in an instant. The shrieking was not to be ignored, and yet the wisps her merciless light claimed in place of fog were far preferable by comparison.

It was just enough recoil.

She slipped on the gravel kissing her soles, tumbling backwards with zero resistance at her back. Octavia screamed, gripping the violin tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Octavia!" she heard Drey shout.

Something clenched around her wrist. She lurched forward, her body colliding violently with the cliffside as she cried out in pain. It was all she could do to hold fast to Stradivaria, dangling precariously in Drey's grip. She opened her eyes, greeting his fearful gaze with one of her own.

"Are you alright?" he called, staring down beyond the rim.

"I'm fine! Is the smoke still there?" she called back, straining her eyes behind him.

"It is gone, but why would you not heed my words?" he cried. "Why will you not allow me to defend you?"

The ocean was roaring dangerously in her ears. This was not the time nor the place for this discussion. "You don't understand! Your life was in danger!"

"Are you so quick to throw away your life for others?" he growled.

His anger was new. It was startling, and she flinched.

"You just offered the same!" Octavia protested.

"That is a different matter! You are but a child. What happens to me must happen! That is how all things should be!"

He sounded almost fine with death. It was unsettling. "Drey, please just pull me up! We can talk later!"

"I shall, but I must take your hand! Drop the violin! It is replaceable where your life is not!"

She shook her head, her braids snagging painfully against the jagged rocks of the cliffside. "I can't! It's precious to me!"

He frowned, his expression otherwise worried. "The bow, then! Release it!"

Again, she shook her head. He growled in frustration.

"Your life is in danger, and yet you fear for a violin? Give it here, and I will pull you up!" he offered instead, extending one hand towards Stradivaria.

"I can't!" she cried.

He fell silent for a moment, watching her dangle with hurt in his eyes. "Octavia, please! How else will I save you?"

If her view of his free hand was valid, he'd dropped the polearm at some point. "You can pull me up by my wrists, it's okay! I know you're strong enough!"

Again, silence fell before he spoke. This time, his voice was equally as hurt. "What is that violin to you that you would rather give your life than relinquish it? What is your life that you would throw it away so easily when others have pledged to protect yours?"

"Drey, please just pull me up," she pleaded. "I can't let go of it, I'm begging you. Please."

He was quiet for a moment. She watched the heavy rise and fall of his shoulders as he met her gaze wordlessly. She feared moving of her own accord, lest she compromise what grip he already had around her wrist. It was all she could do to beg with her eyes.

"Octavia," he finally spoke, softly and slowly. "If I aid you now, will you continue to fight as you have done? Will you truly risk your life to change this world?"

She exhaled, her breath rattling on the way out. The danger didn't matter, and it was reflexive. Her words were tinted with pride, true as they were. She couldn't help it.

"I will. I always will," she spoke confidently.

The silence that settled between them was eternal. Only the crashing waves beneath her dangling feet filled the gap, and Drey's eyes never once left her own. His shimmered, glistening under the softest light of morning. He withheld his tears, and yet his pain was clear. It stung.

"Drey?" she murmured.

"Then you are no better than your sister."

The strong, sturdy warmth around her wrist faded in an instant. Eyes wide, Octavia plummeted, and her world went black.

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