Hana sat next to the small private plane's window, looking out over the vast grasslands of the African continent. She had almost never had the opportunity to leave Korea anymore, and she had never gotten to Africa when she had more freedom. But now, she had an entire month off!
The door to the cockpit opened and a young man with thinning brown hair stepped out. His pilot uniform was a little rumpled and he had a grave expression on his slightly sweaty face. "Excuse me, Miss Song," he said, both quietly, and nervously.
"Yes, mister…." Hana's eyes narrowed slightly as she racked her brain. "Paul?"
"Sanderson, ma'am," the man almost smiled before going back to grave. "I'm afraid we will be force to turn back from Numbani, ma'am. There has been somes ort of terrorist incident."
"What?" Hana sat up straight, all traces of amusement gone in an instant. "Explain!"
"We have received reports that somebody attempted to kill Efi Olande and the Shambalian Monk by the name of Zenyatta. There have been explosions," Sanderson explain.
"No, no, no…." Hana frowned and bit at her thumb nail as she thought. Efi...that was the girl that was a genius with robotics...the one Brian's brother, Timmy worked with. They could be hurt!
"Stay on course," Hana nodded gravely. "I am going to Numbani to assist in relief efforts."
"But, ma'am…" Sanderson froze under Hana's dark stare. "Y..yes ma'am."
Still biting her thumbnail she made a call.
"Mister Kyo," Hana nodded as her superior's superior answered. "Thank you for taking my call."
"It is my pleasure, Miss Song," Kyo nodded. "I understand you are on leave. I have also received the reports of your destination."
"Yes, sir," Hna bowed slightly. "I intend to continue. I wish to help in the relief efforts in the city."
Kyo sat for a moment, looking at her, before making a small nod. "Very well. Officially you are no longer on leave, so that you can take a break after," she man smiled slightly. "Of course we will be using this politically. It will give us a good image."
"I understand Mister Kyo," Hana bowed again. "If it is possible, I would request the use of my meka."
"Hmm…" Kyo picked up a small pad and looked at it. "Very well. Your meka is very distinctive and will stand out. I will have it prepared for a transfer drop."
"Thank you very much sir," Hana bowed for a third time as the call terminated.
Efi groaned quietly. She ached all over. Dust scratched at her dry throat, making her cough lightly. Something was digging into her back. It felt like she was laying on a pile of rocks.
Rocks! Efi's eyes shot open. It was dark, but small bits of light poked through the rubble above her. Around...Brian?
The young man stood above her...well...more like her stood, bent at the waist, almost like he was bowing to her. His arms were braced on his slightly bent knees as if he were holding something on his back.
Which he was.
Over Brian, and pressing down over the pair were large, broken shards of rock and debris. It must have weight close to a ton, if not more, but he stood with a sad half smile on his slightly sweaty face.
"Awake are you?" he said in apparent good humor. "You got a pretty nasty cut on your forehead there, above your right eye."
Efi blinked. Then she felt the pain, wincing, as it was pointed out.
"Brian," she croaked, the dust making it hard to speak. "What's going on? Are you alright?"
"Oh...fine, fine," Brian chuckled, glancing over his shoulder. "Not particularly how I planned to spend my afternoon."
"How are you even doing that?" Efi demanded as she crawled up to her knees, looking at the rock above him. That was where she noticed the glow. "Do...you have a forcefield or something?"
"Mmm…" Brian made a face, then sighed. "No, but sort of. I have a weird thing. I'd rather not get into it. Especially not right now."
"Yeah...okay," Efi nodded as she began to shake. She was a bright girl. She was going into minor shock. "Okay...okay…" She said quietly to herself as she took deep breaths.
"Are you hurt? Anything major?" Brian asked, his eyes roamed over her, looking for wounds.
"Ah, no...just ache everywhere. And apparently I have a cute over my eye," Efi smirked before becoming serious. "How long can you hold that? Can you last until rescue gets here? I'll try my phone…"
Pulling her phone from her pocket, she winced. In the explosion and collapse, the phone was cracked. "Well...I'm not making calls," she sighed. "But I activated the beacon. Orisa will know where we are. If she's okay….Timmy…" Efi's eyes began to water as she fought down the tears. This was not the time. She could go into shock and cry later!
"Pretty sure they will be fine," Brian sighed, glancing up. "They were outside when whatever happened, happened."
"Yeah, that's right," Efi smiled again. "But you never said how long you can hold that."
"It isn't really a question of how long I can hold it," Brian frowned. "It's unstable. The amount I can hold doesn't really matter if the sides shift or cave in."
"Is there something I can do to shore it up?" Efi looked around for something she could help with.
"Yeah, I can get you out of here," Brian nodded, looking at her, then at the rubble above him.
"I..how?" Efi frowned in confusion. "I can't crawl through solid rock."
Now Brian looked at her with a sly grin. "Sure you can," he chuckled. "I can help you."
"Orisa loves you," Efi blurted out with wide eyes before slapping her hands over her mouth.
"Okay...that wasn't what I expected," Brian blinked with a small laugh.
"I mean it," Efi nodded as she lowered her hands. "She is in love with you. Like, romantically."
"I see," Brian looked confused for a moment. "I honestly don't know what to say to that."
"I shouldn't have told you that. It wasn't really my place. It's just," Efi gestured around her. "I wanted you to know...in case."
Brian looked at her for a long moment. "Thank you, Efi," he said, seriously. "I had never considered it. But...maybe I'll think on it. Assuming I make it out."
"You will," Efi smiled.
"Well, you first," Brian smiled a warm reassuring smile. One that made her feel like there was a way out.
Brian reached out and grabbed a handful of Efi's shirt, pulling her to him for a moment. "Okay...this is going to feel really weird," Brian smiled. "You might want to close your eyes. It makes it easier. And when you get out, you will probably throw up."
"That doesn't sound like fun," Efi swallowed.
"Not in particular," Brian laughed. "But the pile above us isn't too deep, so I'll get you out in one throw."
"Thr-AAAA" Efi had been about to ask what he meant when he said throw, but then, he threw her.
He was right. It was weird. Really weird. Like, really, really weird. Instead of being smashed into the rocks above them, she passed straight through. She could feel them passing through her. It was like..like sliding through cold pudding, except also on the inside.
She wished she had closed her eyes. She could see through the rock. She could see inside of the rock that was inside her eyes. It was terrifying.
Then she popped out. As if she had been simply tossed away by Brian's hands. She landed, solidly, yet gently, as if she just dropped an inch or two, onto the rubble above where she and Brian had been trapped.
"Efi!" she heard Oris'a voice shout as the Omnic began to crawl over the wreckage that had once been their workplace. He chassis was dented and scratched all over, but nothing serious seemed wrong with her. "Efi! Thank god! You just appeared out of nowhere!"
For a moment, Efi Stared at her friend. The vomited onto the omnic's chest