It hurt. It hurt so much. His head pounded, his muscles screamed, his stomach boiled with bile; it was a clearance sale of terrible sensations.

"Wa.. ..." "..ke up ...se." "Plea..! ... ..ve to wake up!"

A frantic call freed him from the veil of unconsciousness, the curtains drawn by the presence of outside desperation. Shouri was being gently rocked by... something; it wasn't quite a hand, though still had the strength to rock his form. Concerned blue eyes met his blank stare. Focus came gradually and with it the realization that his limbs were bound, no care paid to the comfort of the young Maestro.

"Taika...?" he asked, vision still clearing in the darkness of his surroundings. "You're awake!" an unfamiliar voice expressed their relief. "Taika?" Shouri repeated. He blinked twice and finally dismissed the haze that plagued his sight.

"What? No, my name is Pacifica."

Sure enough, the girl hovering over him was not his own Resonator, but a different girl entirely.

She had long, but wavy sandy blonde hair, tied up in a side ponytail. Her small brown ears poked out of her hair, larger than human ears, but much smaller than Taika's black vulpine ones. She wore a pale yellow tube top with an orange sleeveless vest over it.

It was a bit of a struggle, but Shouri managed to sit up, continuing to study the mystery girl in his company. Wherever he had ended up was dimly lit and his connection with Taika was severed, returning his vision to the human standard. As such, he was forced to exert some effort to take in the features of his current conversation partner. His heart sank as he discovered she was tied up the same way he was: arms behind her back and feet bound tightly.

Examining her further, he saw she was clad in blue swim shorts and had a long, thick tail with short brown fur covering the length of it. The shape of her tail matched the strange appendage that had been trying to shake him awake.

"Are you okay?" she inquired. "Head hurts like a motherfucker, but I'll deal," he grunted. "What's your name?" she asked with a smile. "Shouri," he replied while scanning his new surroundings.

His heart raced – he already had an idea of what was happening but hoped otherwise. Closer scrutiny revealed the makings of a mineshaft, albeit an older most likely depleted one. A damp, earthy scent hung in the air, mixed with the distinct odor of mildew. A single wooden door barred their way to freedom. There wasn't much in the way of other objects in the room, just the dim lighting too far out of their reach to be of any further use.

His eyes returned to the awaiting Pacifica. He braved asking her the pertinent question: "Where are we?"

Pacifica stared at him for a moment, before averting her gaze. She knew that question was coming, but still dreaded having to answer. "Try not to freak out-" she paused to take in a deep breath. "-but we've been kidnapped," she told him. Of course, he instantly panicked. "From what I've overheard, they plan to ransom us back to our families." The more she spoke, the worse it got.

Shouri gulped. "Fuck." It truly was the worst possible scenario. "I can't let that happen." He began violently struggling to free himself from his bindings. "Wait stop!" Pacifica shouted, tapping him with her tail. "You're gonna hurt yourself!" she exclaimed.

That didn't bother him, if anything it only served to intensify his efforts. "If I have to break my hands to get out of here, so be it. I can't let them sell me back to my parents," he grunted.

Pacifica's jaw caught slack. What drove this boy to such extremes? Clearly he had his own story, and admittedly she was curious. Regardless, the more pressing matter at the moment was stopping him from injuring himself. "Stop it!" she demanded. "No." He continued his losing battle against the ropes.

The girl's brows descended into a glare. He wasn't going to listen to her. So, out of real options, she did the only thing she could physically do; she scooted as close as she could and threw her entire body weight on top of him.

"What are you doing?!" he barked at the girl who now lay on him. She lifted her head from his chest, returning his glare with one of her own. "Listen to me, PLEASE!" she shouted back.

He fell silent and allowed Pacifica to speak.

Taking in a breath, she finally had the opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue with the boy. "You're a Maestro, right?" she began.

"I am," he replied. "But like an idiot, I left my tuner in my room at the MA office." He averted his regretful gaze.

"It's okay, I'm a Resonator too!" Pacifica exclaimed. "I see that." With great effort, he managed to lift his head enough to see her tail. "You're an... otter?" he guessed.

"Yup! Got it in one! I'm a water-piercing otter." she seemed to boast; glad he was able to recognize her species. "So, what are you getting at?" he questioned.

Her smile only grew, evolving into a determined smirk. "I wanna get out of here, and you wanna get out of here – we have the same goal," she said.

"Right, but we're tied up," he pointed out. "Yes, but you're a Maestro!" "That I am." "Give me a spell."

And now he drew pause. He didn't know any of the water spells off-hand, plus he didn't have this girl's tuner. She sensed his apprehension. "What's wrong?"

He frowned. "Well, I don't have your tuner."

Confidence shattered to shock. "Ah." Her eyes shimmered with disappointment. "Th-that's right," her voice quavered; hope dashed upon the rocks. She buried her face into his chest. "Damn it. I'm so stupid." She lightly tapped his chest with her forehead, muttering small admonishments for her impulsiveness.

When their gazes met next, tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes. "I just... they've kept me here for god knows how long... and they haven't been feeding me," she told him. "So I just... I saw you were a Maestro and I..." Her head dropped once more. "I'm so hungry," she whimpered.

Shouri ground his teeth. This was so frustrating. Despite being a total stranger, he wanted to help her. She was suffering and he was her last hope, but he was useless to her. There had to be some way they could help one another, some way they could reach their shared goal.

It then clicked. "Wait," he spoke in a whisper. "I don't need your tuner."

Pacifica looked up once more. "Y-you don't?"

"Um, I-" There was a strange hesitation from the boy. "-I read something once like, if your tuner gets knocked out of your hand in battle you can give rhythm with a touch," he trailed off, thinking that over. "Though I think it's easier to do with a Resonator you're a Maestro for."

"I want to try it! I'll do anything!" Pacifica declared. "I want to be useful."

Resonators were strange creatures, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that. "I guess our first problem is we're both tied up." Shouri closed his eyes, reviewing their situation. Despite being bound, he did have some motion in his hands, as little as it was. Sadly, not enough to untie his own ropes.

But-

"Oh!" His gaze returned to Pacifica, who was on top of him. "Maybe we can untie each other's ropes!"

Hope returned to the otter girl's eyes. "Let's try it!"

After some struggle, the pair positioned themselves back-to-back and began taking turns tugging at the ropes. They weren't sure how long it took but after some time of painful maneuvering- "I got it!" Pacifica exclaimed, arms liberated from her bindings. She quickly undid the ropes around her feet, then voraciously freed Shouri.

As soon as his ropes were removed, Pacifica tackled him again, hugging him tightly. "We're free! Thank you so much!"

He smiled but kept his relief in check. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know where we are, much less how to get out of here." Their captors certainly wouldn't appreciate their new-found freedom - they could return at any time. The would-be escapees had to act quickly and decisively.

Shouri rose to his feet. "Come on." Pacifica tried to do the same but ended up stumbling. "I-I can't..." she whimpered, looking at her legs. "They won't stop shaking." Her whole body was trembling, Shouri could hear the fear that percolated her voice. She wasn't sure how long she had been trapped here, and it was apparent she was starving.

He had strength to spare and a heck of an adrenaline rush going. "I'm not going to leave you here," he decided. Kneeling next to the girl, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her up to her feet.

"Lean on me," he urged. "O-okay," she squeaked.

The two shuffled to the door. With his free arm, Shouri gave it a tug and a push. Locked, as he had suspected, but surprisingly solid. Upon further inspection, everything was fairly rusted. They could probably break through it. He glanced at Pacifica who was starting to deteriorate. She had been putting on a brave front; she was in much worse shape than he thought.

"D-don't hold back." She turned to him with a pained smirk. "Use me," she demanded.

"I don't know any water spells," he admitted. "I know two of mine. Ghiacciolo is ice, Idrante is water," she told him.

"Okay, aim at the lock."

Pacifica nodded. Her vision swam, but she needed to focus.

"Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo!" commanded the Maestro. Try as she might though, she couldn't feel a thing. "Nothing's happening," said the otter girl with a disappointed lilt. "I know this is possible! Why isn't it working?" Shouri fretted, growing more anxious by the minute. Maybe he got the pronunciation wrong?

"Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo!" He tried again.

Silence.

"Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo!" he cried out desperately. Pacifica by this point had turned her attention back to him, brows turned up with worry.

It wasn't working. He couldn't feel any kind of link with Pacifica like he did with Taika. His mind began to race with possibilities. What would happen if their kidnappers returned? What if it wasn't working because Pacifica was too exhausted? How long did she have? Was he going to watch her die?

"Shouri."

Pacifica snapped him out of his panic attack. "Maybe you have to be touching me in a certain way," she suggested. He studied her for a moment. She hadn't given up yet, and neither should he.

"Let me think." He propped her up against the wall for a moment, examining the door and then stepping back from it. Spells could be sent through direct touch, that was a fact. What else did he know about rhythm? It traveled through the body as long as one lived and continued to regenerate while the user was in good health.

It traveled through the body...

Through the body...

"I got it!" He stepped towards Pacifica with purpose, only realizing what he was about to suggest when he met her gaze. He quickly refused her eyes with a sharp jerk of his head. After finding his conviction he spoke, "I think I have an idea of how to do this."

The otter girl brightened up. "Really? How?" she questioned.

Back and forth, his eyes swayed as he avoided looking the girl in the face. A moment of silence passed while he tried to find his words. "Well, if I'm right, I have to put my hand over your heart."

"My-" She looked down at her own chest. "-heart, huh?" She gulped. However, she was quick to find her determination. "Go ahead." Her eyes squeezed shut tight and her embarrassment only served to spotlight what he had suggested, making his face flush with fluster. They had to deal with it though. A moment of discomfort was leagues better than the alternatives. Slowly Shouri reached out, but right before he made contact with her, he yanked his hand away.

"I have a less... intimate idea," he said suddenly. Once again positioned himself next to her, but rather than holding her up as he did before, he ran his hand up the back of her vest and then her top, placing his hand on her bare back roughly where her heart should have been. She jumped at the sudden clammy touch.

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"Sorry." He turned his head away. "It's okay, your hand was just cold," she admitted. Her heart pounded in her chest, but besides that, there was a new feeling slowly invaded her. "Let's try it again," she urged with a quiet excitement.

He took a deep breath, the warmth he stole easing the throb of his panicked heart. "Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo."

There it was! He felt the sensation that he experienced when he had Taika cast spells. And sure enough, Pacifica found herself creating ice needles with her free hand. With a flick of her wrist, she sent them lock-ward. The ice did a small amount of damage to the lock, but it remained firm.

Pacifica released her held breath; eyes wide. What a rush! This was way better than using crystals to cast spells, it wasn't even close! Maestros were awesome! "Again! Again!" she demanded, unable to suppress the exhilaration in her voice.

"Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo Staccato!" Shouri commanded. "Break it down!"

The rhythm flowing from Shouri's fingertips was addicting, and now the feeling became persistent. It was as if he gave himself entirely to her – his rhythm was hers to wield. He said some extra stuff, maybe that's what was doing it? Either way, she had the power to keep casting her ice spell now and threw a flurry of needles at the lock. It began to crumble under the pressure of the attacks until finally-

Click!

Shouri stepped forward with Pacifica and they were able to pull the door open. "Ah, Shouri!" Pacifica pivoted around and hugged the boy tightly. "We're free!" She couldn't help the flow of tears. Shouri hugged her back but knew better than to celebrate a preemptive victory. He broke off their hug and held her at arm's length.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he reminded her. She nodded. "R-right."

Through the now open door, they were in the mine shaft proper. Like the room they had been trapped in, the lighting of this cave left a lot to be desired. The passageway was narrow, with a set of minecart tracks leading the way.

"If we follow these, we should be able to find the exit," Shouri reasoned. "That makes sense to me," agreed Pacifica.

With the Maestro supporting the Resonator, the two trudged through the depths of the mine they had been stashed in. The trek was difficult, both young adults covered in a thick sweat, breathing hard. Deep shadows were cast by the limited lighting, and there was the ever-present fear of an assailant jumping from the murky darkness that threatened them from all sides.

"How far... did they take us?" Shouri wheezed. He probably could have made it the whole length of the cave with minimal complaints, but he was carrying Pacifica. She was doing her best to contribute but was nearly deadweight all the same.

"I'm sorry Shouri..." she breathed out. "Don't apologize. Those fuckers did this to you," the boy growled. He had a small suspicion of the culprit, however, he was in no position to pursue it. Pacifica flashed a confident smirk to the Maestro. "We're gonna get through this," she assured him. He returned her confidence in kind, nodding shortly.

Her smile faded though as a certain sound hit her ears. "Hide! Hide!" she squeaked.

Hastily, Shouri ushered Pacifica into a dark crevice in the wall. He pulled her in and wrapped himself around her while trying to flatten themselves against the wall as much as he could.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap

Pacifica clung to Shouri, her eyes tightly closed, head buried in his chest, all while she shivered fearfully. Shouri had a vice grip around the trembling Resonator. He had all but stopped breathing, eyes wide open despite how badly he wanted to close them.

Two large men walked by, one a Resonator, and the other a Maestro. Shouri recognized them as the men that had run him off of their "territory", confirming his earlier suspicion of who had attacked them.

The territorial men passed by without taking notice of the smaller pair huddled in the shadows.

As soon as they were gone, Shouri and Pacifica went in the opposite direction, moving at just barely a run despite Shouri still supporting Pacifica's weight. Neither spoke a word, tears streamed down Pacifica's face as they both fled in absolute terror.

But the fear gave way to the light of hope as the entrance to the mine came into view. They picked up the pace even further, though now from excitement rather than fear. Finally, they saw the light of the rising sun.

"Ah... what a beautiful sunrise," Pacifica gasped as she got her first breath of fresh air in a long time. "We gotta keep moving." Shouri continued to push them forward. In her state he had to get her somewhere safe, he had to get her into town.

"Fuck I don't know where we are," he grumbled as he studied their new surroundings. They were higher up, but the forest around them was obscuring their direct view of any landmarks that would have aided their navigation.

"Let's go that way." Pacifica pointed downhill from their current location. "I have a good feeling," she clarified.

Shouri gave her a tired smile. "Sure, if you say so." It had been a long night for the both of them and certainly, it was easier going down than up. Even if it wasn't the correct choice, it's the one they wanted to make. The cool morning wind that blew across the mountain was refreshing. The walk would have been picturesque if the two travelers weren't in such dire straits.

Eventually, Pacifica perked up. "I hear people nearby – I think we're near town," she told the Maestro holding her up. Sure enough, above the treetops they could spot small plumes of smoke, signs of civilization. "We did it Shouri!" Pacifica exclaimed.

"Rullante di Radice, Piano."

Suddenly thick roots shot out of the ground, ensnaring Shouri and Pacifica. "GAHH!" the pair screamed out in pain as the roots contained thorns that dug into their bodies while crushing them all at the same time.

From behind the trees, one of the kidnappers stepped out. The second kidnapper, the Resonator of the pair, jumped down from the trees to join him. The younger duo could only muster up hateful glares at the perpetrators of their suffering.

"Thought you could make a break for it, huh city kids?" the elder man sneered. "Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo!" Shouri responded.

Despite being bound, Pacifica had just enough freedom of motion to launch several ice needles at the pair. Though she couldn't commit all of the rhythm received to forming the needles, spending some of the rhythm on propulsion due to her limited range of movement.

"Corteccia Armatura," the elder Maestro spoke calmly. His Resonator grew bark from his body, encasing him in a set of wooden armor. Unfortunately for Shouri and Pacifica, the defensive measures were more than enough to deflect the weak water-element spell, shattering against the bark-laden surface. "Cute," the kidnapper remarked with a chuckle.

"Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo!" Shouri cried out again. Pacifica launched more ice needles at the armored Resonator, despite the futility of the situation.

The kidnapper shook his head. "Yer wasting your breath, and rhythm." He almost pitied the ensnared. Almost.

"Ghiacciolo, Pianissimo!" came another desperate shout. Pacifica let out a small cry of her own as she once again tried to send more needles at their attackers. These needles didn't even stick in the bark armor, they simply bounced off the wood and quickly melted in the morning sunlight.

Having enough of his captive's struggle, he decided to just end their resistance. "Foglie a Lame, Pianissimo." The nature Resonator cast a flurry of bladed leaves toward the bound pair. "AAAUGH!" they cried out. Despite the roots that restrained them, Shouri managed to pivot their bodies around to take the brunt of the spell himself.

"Sh-shouri... stop," Pacifica wheezed. "I'm the Resonator, I can take it..." she breathed out. "You're in no shape to," he countered. "We're gonna get through this right?" He gave her a weak smirk. "Yeah." She returned his smile with one of her own.

"Foglie a Lame, Pianissimo," the kidnapper repeated. Once again, Shouri and Pacifica were assaulted by a flurry of sharpened leaves.

It hurt, it all hurt so much. Even with Shouri taking the majority of the damage, Pacifica was growing weaker by the second. "D-darn it... I can't keep my eyes open," she whimpered.

"Stay with me, Pacifica! Please!" Shouri cried out, doing his best to shield the girl from any further harm.

There was a sadistic sort of pleasure the man was getting from watching these two deteriorate. However, he needed to hurry this along before any curious looky-loos decided to investigate. "Foglie a Lame, Piano."

A stronger flurry of leaves assaulted the pair.

"Shou...ri..."

The otter girl went completely limp. "Pacifica?" Shouri's heart stopped. He struggled against the thorny vines, trying to shake her awake, but there was no response. "Pa-cifica?" his voice cracked, trembling fearfully as tears poured down his face. She no longer struggled with him; silent, no longer protesting their situation. Had he actually witnessed this girl's final breath? "PACIFICAAAAA!!" It was all too much to bear and the only thing he could do was scream her name.

As if summoned by the anguished cry, a black blur flew through the underbrush making impact with the much larger nature Resonator. A single fist easily shattered the bark armor that had protected the Resonator from Pacifica's icy needles. A fist that sent the larger man flying away from his Maestro.

The Maestro in question stepped back. Before him was a small fox-girl, hunched over and baring her fangs at him like a beast. The pupils of her eyes contracted so far you could barely see them. Such bloodlust in her heart; it was bleeding out into reality as a tangible force. "Se gli fai del male... io ti uccido," she snarled.

The Maestro glared at the small girl before him. She was a Maestroless Resonator right now, what could she possibly do? He raised his green tuner to issue a command. A costly mistake. Within fractions of a second, his wrist had been thoroughly broken from a savage kick delivered by the raven-clad vixen. The tuner he once held was punted into the woods, completely lost.

"AAAAAUGH!" Now it was the hunter's turn to hurt as he stumbled back from the violent blow.

"LASCIARE!" she roared at the man.

Getting the hint, the former kidnapper swallowed his pride and fled into the woods, his Resonator close behind.

"Taika!" Shouri yelled. "Sho!" She turned to reunite with her Maestro, but her joy faded when she saw the state he was in. "H-help, Taika... Please."

The roots previously wrapped around him had faded away and in his arms, he held a girl Taika didn't recognize. The girl in question wasn't moving though. Taika rushed over and slid down to her knees in front of him. "Who is she?" the lunar Resonator immediately asked, looking the unmoving girl over.

"Pacifica, she helped me escape and was also kidnapped by those guys," he told his Resonator. "But she was on death's door when they found us."

That proclamation chilled Taika's heart. "Maybe I can heal her." Before he could ask, she fished their tuner out of her jacket pocket and handed it to her Maestro. Shouri eagerly accepted the device, ecstatic to have it back in his grasp.

"La Bella Vita, Rubato. Just focus it on her," he instructed.

Taika nodded and began projecting the healing spell on Pacifica. The physical injuries were fading, but the otter did not stir. On closer observation, she was growing pale, her breath shallow. "How far is the town from here?" Shouri asked, the fear in his voice apparent.

Taika looked up from her spell-craft. "Not too far. Less than five minutes?"

Shouri grunted as he hoisted the unconscious otter into his arms. "Come on!" he managed to get out.

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