Twelve remembers the first time he heard her voice. The minute she spoke he was caught under her spell. Pale yellow, how funny this timid girl was associated with courage. He had tried ignoring her though, she was unimportant.
But once again their paths crossed, Lisa caught him in the middle of their first bombing. Twelve didn't want to kill innocents, but he wasn't sure about witnesses, so he left that doll with her to be safe. Nine had passed his judgement and the girl lived. As he caught her, he realized why she had earned her mark of courage, you were either stupid or brave to jump into a terrorist's arms.
She was so lonely, so sad, whenever he saw those broken eyes Twelve couldn't help but wonder if she could understand them. All his life it had been him and Nine, but was it possible for her to understand?
How idiotic, no one could understand them, understand why they'd burn Tokyo to the ground. So he made sure to scare Lisa off. 'It'll only hurt if I get involved,' He repeated those words in his head til they disintegrated into nonsense.
But he couldn't, no he couldn't stay away. She was lost, and so alone, so much like them. He had found her, tried convincing her to go home, while she still had one. But she screamed at him to go away, so reckless, telling someone who had threatened her not a week ago. And then she broke, she broke down, and Twelve knew he couldn't abandon this kindred soul. So in the middle of the night he spirited her away, and they laughed together as the rest of the world faded away.
Nine disapproved of her, understandable but still frustrating. Maybe he was putting them in danger, but Lisa just grew on him so quickly. She seemed happier now, sometimes he found her rambling, painting brilliant pictures with her voice. He noticed she grew on Nine too, it had been so long since they had interacted like this with someone else.
Later, he couldn't help but comment on how her voice was pale yellow. It was irrelevant, but for some reason he wanted her to have a piece of him. That's how people connected with others right? They gave pieces of themselves til they couldn't live without the people who held the majority of them. It was strange how she envied him and Nine. He envied her, getting to have a childhood and normal life. But Twelve supposed she wished to have someone hold pieces of her like he did.
When he saw that pale yellow and heard her, panicked and scared, Twelve almost had a heart attack. 'I can't lose her' those words flashed through his head. He had wanted to curse that bitch Five til he ran out of breath, but time was of the essence. Nine had been supportive when he saw Twelve's fury. They understood each other deeply, and he knew Nine wouldn't let him down.
So Twelve did his best to calm Lisa, he gave her instructions, trying not to worry about the seconds ticking away. And then he saw her, wind playing with her raven hair. He held out his arms, just as he had from back then. Again she jumped, flying free and fearlessly, til she landed on him, knocking him down. Twelve couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, despite the bruises he felt forming. For just a second he enjoyed the feeling of her safe in his arms. Even as they drove away he did not let go, keeping her securely on his lap.
"I messed up didn't I?" Pale yellow lights up before him.
"Yeah you kinda did," He moves to ruffle her hair affectionately. "But we couldn't have done it without you." He feels her relax against him as she takes her turn to sigh in relief.
"Welcome Sphinx 3," For the first time since he can remember, Twelve feels at peace.