Lia woke with a start and winced at the renewed pain in her side. She slowly rolled to her non-injured side and pulled up her shirt to inspect the damage Jasper's blows left behind. Her torso sported fresh bruises and the original had deepened in color. She delicately pushed on her side, seeking any breaks in her ribs The pain crescendoed at her prodding, causing a groan to escape her lips. She had to hope for the best and believe her ribs were only bruised.

A quick scan of the cave showed it was just as empty as her previous cage was. But there was no background noise of the beasts growling and roaring. In fact, the only sound she could hear was her own hitched breathing. She looked out of the cage and saw more of the humanoid shapes dug into the walls of the canyon and destroyed machinery. There was no sign of Jasper.

Lia admonished herself for trying to escape. She should have known Jasper would be faster than her, especially while nursing sore ribs on a diet of MREs and water. All she had to do was cooperate and Jasper would have let her go!

Lia shook her head at her train of thought as she remembered Jasper's fit during her fusion "experiment". Jasper probably never had any intention of letting Lia go. And if this fusion thing didn't work, Jasper might hurt her even worse.

… Or kill her...

Once Lia let that possibility enter her consciousness, she bit back a wail. It was unfair! Lia was just enjoying a camping trip before her move to Beach City. She had no idea who this "Rose Quartz" was. Or what "fusion" was supposed to be. She just wanted to go home! And... And...

She sniffed as she wiped at her eyes. Her breath hitched again as tears flowed faster than she could hold them. In a few moments, Lia's shoulders shook with the weight of her situation and she let herself cry. She silently prayed to whatever would listen to let her live through this. As the sun dipped over the canyon edge, Lia had cried herself dry and curled up against the wall next to the bars, watching for Jasper's return.

Sleep returned instead.

Dawn returned without Jasper. Lia spent the day either finding a comfortable position or attempting to sleep away her pain. She tried to ignore her tightening throat and itchy skin as the day wore on. By the time night returned, Lia fought the temptation to pick at her dry lips. She didn't even have enough of a voice to call out for Jasper. Somewhere in the night, Lia sprawled out on the floor of the cave, waiting for her fate.