Sara ever handled a Zoning Esper before, but she never saw a rampaging Zone.

Though sometimes regarded as an almost similar term, ‘Mental Out’ is usually more used when an Esper is having lighter sensory overload, while ‘Zone’ is a condition where they’re already prone to berserk.

Mr. Angelo brings them to the hallway between two rooms where they can hear screaming and screeching. Sara can sense the force field coming from the room on her left side, and as for the room on the right side—

CRASH!

A sound of something hitting a cracked … wall, or glass, or something hard. They hurry to peek on the surveillance window to monitor the situation, while Mr. Angelo follows up with his assistant, another harried Esper man who likely left to guard the doors.

“Two of our available Espers are handling Miss Varia at the moment but she nearly knocks them all out.” the assistant says. “We even broke her weapon so she won’t use it, but she’s—she’s so strong bare-handed! If, if only our communication can work—”

Just as the assistant described, the two Espers in the room are hardly a match when Shura teleports and punches them to the wall. Sara can’t clearly see Shura’s expression as her wild hair obscures her face, but noticing her pattern-less movement, and how the Esper shouts at her to no avail, there’s no way to try to pull her back without force.

Penelope regards the scene in front of them in utmost calmness. Her eyes follow Shura’s movement, as if she tries to study it, and she falls quiet as she analyzes.

“I already called for back-up and informed Mrs. Angelo via another Guide,” Mr. Angelo tries to settle him down. “The back-up is here, Miss Penelope Ardan.”

The assistant gives Penelope a once-over. Mr. Angelo nods his assent. The assistant allows Penelope inside the room and quickly shuts the door.

“Don’t w-worry, Shu. B-Big sister is coming for you.”

Sara hears Penelope’s mumble before the door closes. Sara watches as Penelope removes her yellow tie and ties it on her right knuckle. Penelope gestures to the Espers to move away from Shura’s line of view, and Penelope walks up to her.

As though sensing an opponent, Shura once again teleports, her trails unseen. But then, Penelope, despite not moving from her spot, easily figures out where Shura will show up, and she deflects on that thrusting fist midair. Shura teleports again, aiming for another angle this time, but Penelope parries it.

When Penelope is able to grab that incoming flying fist, instead of pulling the attacker's whole body roughly and throwing her body, Penelope does otherwise. 

The assistant beside Sara gasps. Sara doesn’t blink when Penelope pulls Shura to her, letting her small body engulfed by Shura’s taller one, and they fall on the floor, with Penelope hugging her tight. A faint glow rises from Penelope when her spirit animal materializes, hovering near them.

Tense seconds tick by as nothing happens thereafter, only the materialized tiger lingering around. The two Espers scramble to check, and later one of them gestures with a thumb up that the situation is under control.

Flurry of footsteps fill the dreary hallway then Mrs. Isabella Angelo shows up with a number of healers, Guides, and other staff as requested. They move to secure the area and handle the rest of cleanup in jiffy. Sara and the assistant move aside to make room for the working people on duty, while Mr. Mortimer takes over with the explaining when inquired by the staff.

Mrs. Isabella look around with her eyes wide in the aftermath. As the hallway clears, she throws herself over his husband. Sara and the assistant are left gaping.

“Um, Bella, people are looking-”

“Idiot. How can you say that when you’re so close to Mental Out yourself!?”

“B-Bella, please.”

“U-Um, Mrs. Angelo?” Sara tries to call her.

“Ah.”

Seems to be aware of her position, she straightens up. Mr. Mortimer coughs awkwardly as he slides away. Mrs. Isabella is back to her business smile when she addresses Sara. “Yes, Miss Khalida?”

“Is—Is Miss Shura Varia going to be okay? And how about Penelope—Miss Ardan?”

The door to the rehabilitation room swings open to reveal Penelope. Only then Sara realizes that the corner of her mouth is bleeding and there’s a bruise on her left temple. Penelope, however, smiles when Sara approaches her in worry.

Like she’s been so relieved, despite the injury.

“Miss Varia will be taken to the Ward and receive treatment, as for Miss Ardan …” Mrs. Isabella checks on her. “Please come to the clinic after this to treat your wound.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am.”

“Does it answer your question, Miss Khalida? If yes, then please, help yourself.”

An awkward pause. Sara notices the longing glance that Mrs. Isabella exchanges with her husband. She’s clearly very worried.  

Sara then supplies, “I’ll accompany her, then, ma’am, thank you.”

 “Penelope, that’s so reckless!”

Sara grumbles after Penelope gets herself treated and they go for a snack as they have promised. Though not in the canteen anymore, Sara takes her downtown, to the neighborhood shopping alley where they get a few finger fried foods and cold drinks. Sara buys a cold compress for Penelope’s cheek even though the smaller woman tries to reject it.

The shopping alley is lively in that afternoon with time sales going on here and there in a few grocery shops. Paper lamps hanging on the pillars begin to light up as evening slowly settles. Hubbub of activity passes them by as people trundle through narrow alleyways then through the main joint, where mismatched tiled floors in a riot of colors meet. 

They sit on a long bench right beside a convenience store, ignoring the passerby housewives whispering to see that they look beaten up.

Penelope says that Shura ‘isn’t kidding when throwing her punch’. The black-haired woman now has a plaster on her cheek. Through the window, it’s hard for Sara to tell exactly what had happened, and the two of them move so fast that the sword training Penelope does with her earlier seems like an understatement.

Apparently, in a way to force Shura to submit, Penelope uses her body as a bait, and—

“I d-did Phase 3.”

Sara nearly spits her soft drink.

“It—It’s the only way to invade her m-mind to force a P-Phase 2.”

Phase 3, mucosal exchange— and now it’s no wonder that Penelope’s lips swell a bit.

“That’s not … something you can say so casually, you know, Penelope?”

“W-Why? It’s just k-kissing. W-We do it all the time.” Penelope pauses. Blinks. Then seems to rethink her decision on opening up. “I-I mean, with S-Shura. W-Well.”

“Erm, okay, okay, say no more Penelope, I get it.”

Sara picks on her fries as she tries to work around the secondhand embarrassment. Penelope takes a sip from her bottled tea, fiddling with its plastic label. A red jacket that Penelope usually wears whenever she clocks out feels too big on her small shoulder as it shakes.

“T-Thankfully, it, it works. I-I don’t want to injure S-Shura.”

Sara falls quiet for a bit, “... Even as she hurts you?”

“I–I just … don’t want to see s-someone I c-cared to be hurt more th-than that,” Penelope frowns. “She… her unfocused eyes … her state wh-where she is unaware of herself. I-”

Sara senses something familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. A comprehension, an impression of knowing, as she was in a similar situation before, though not as intense as Penelope’s. Sara can’t be sure if she can face someone she knows, who’s on the brink of no return, straight in the eye just like Penelope does. Her chest tightens, as though her old wound begin to hurt.

A shrapnel that catalyzes the Aether that almost endangers someone. Faceless bodies mangled because of the monsters and peaking Aether activity within the breach. Voices. Screams. More voices. The smell of blood. So thick. Suffocating. Smoke. Blood. Mental Out. Overuse of Power. Exhaustion—

“S-Sara?”

“Oh, right. Yes? Do you need something, Penelope?”

“A-Are you o, okay?”

“Mm, sorry. Just lost in thought,” Sara talks faster. “I hope we can visit Shura soon and you two can make up.”

“Ah, y-yeah.”

.

Is it safe for her to think that … she also doesn’t want Amara to endure other hardships again under her watch?

Does that mean she also ‘cares’ about her?