As his eyes set sight upon that ghostly apparition, the roar of the fire and the pounding rain seemed to quiet. Emilia stood behind the girl, and spoke but two words. "Save her."

A world without war, a distant fantasy of perfect coexistence. Could such a place even exist? Olivia's pondering distracted her from the ache of her bruises, the sting of fresh cuts that sung of her fragility. From the crackling fires that set the town alight in a fierce amber glow. From the merciless rust flaked rain that refused to put them out. Even from the scattered gunshots that seemed to come from every nearby street. The city had not been kind to her, its people scarcely looked at her as she had huddled in that damp alley, clinging to her rags for warmth. Yet still... it had been her city. It was the point at which she finally felt safe enough to stop running. Maybe it wasn't far enough. Was this her fault? No... she'd escaped her hunters years ago, this was simply war. A world without peace.

The heavy thud of steel against the stone tiles of the street woke her from her wondering, the pain that cut her to the bone returning all at once. She kept quiet, praying they would pass her by, as so many had before. Around the corner of the last building on her block, a large metal hand gripped the rubble and pulled itself forth, like a nightmare thrusting itself into her reality. The chassis that came into view was like nothing she had ever seen. Its dark steel exterior carried on two thick legs that cracked the road beneath them. In its hands was held a rifle of such size and scope that she was certain it's rounds were larger than she was. She stared up in awe as this titan approached, every step certainly heralding her demise. Patiently, it came to her, stopping at her ruined alley and turning to address her. Her prayers it seemed, had gone unanswered. Amidst the beating of her own heart and the blood rushing through her head, she was certain she should flee, yet her legs didn't have the strength left to stand. When she heard that familiar thudding behind her, she knew her thoughts of escape were folly anyhow. She was surrounded. Without word, the mech lifted it's gun, the barrel passing her by, and it fired a single round behind her.

A deafening blast caused Olivia to winch, the sound immediately followed by that of crunching metal, and the scraping of the collapsing chassis behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see it's form twist and slump against the side of the building, collapsing the corner of the brick structure. As she looked back upon the metal giant that had fired the shot, her eyes widened to see it's hand outstretched towards her. With a gentleness she hadn't realized it was capable of, it scooped her from her place among the rubble, lifting her and cradling her to it's chest. She sat there, still and panicked in a nest of rubble, in her metal cradle. Through the cracks between it's fingers she could see enough to confirm what her other senses had already guessed. They were moving. This thing was carrying her from her city, escorting her away as her world burned to ash. Her sight was filled with a sudden flash, another deafening blast, more bearable as the metal provided some effort to muffle the noise. As the mech that held her pivoted, it began to pick up speed, and in that turn she caught a glimpse of another gutted chassis, torn asunder by a round from this fearsome knight. Another blast, this time distant sounded out, steel screeching as it was shorn off of her savior. The impact caused the mech to lurch forwards, and in a surge of desperation Olivia clung to one of the giant metal fingers that encapsulated her, fearing she may still yet be thrown from her perch. The blast that followed from her protector was swiftly followed by two more, the burst of rounds evidently finding their mark, as the sound was followed by a flash bright enough to illuminate her space alongside a roaring explosion in the distance. The heavy alloy hooves of her carrier pounded against the street beneath them, charging swiftly towards the city limits, no longer making any attempt to hide its escape.

She watched in terrified hope as the city passed them by from the narrow windows of her sanctuary. She knew these roads, and as she recounted their placement she knew they would soon be away from this terrible place. And then, suddenly the movement stopped. The mech came to a screeching halt, its hooves dragging across the stone tiles as jets that lined the front of it flared to life to correct its forward momentum. She gave silent thanks to her rescuer for having the foresight not to hold her in front of one of the jets that would have surely incinerated her. Over a loudspeaker, she her a voice, peering out of the hand once more to see a chassis facing them, its build seemingly identical to the one that held her.

"Never though you'd turncoat. What happened Marcus? You go soft? Something you want to get off your chest?" As it spoke the last word, the mech lifted its rifle, and for all that Olivia could tell the barrel seemed to be leveled right at her. She gazed out at the sight of her Armageddon, unable to fight, nor able to flee. The chassis that carried her mirrored the aggression, lifting it's gun in prompt reply. Neither one fired a shot, the distant rumble of flames, collapsing rubble, and pounding rain seeming like silence as she awaited the violent cacophony to come. But it didn't, the mech before them lowered its gun, stepping aside and taking a seat atop a nearby collapsed building, the bricks crumbling beneath it until it at last settled into place. "I know better than to stand in your way. This job isn't worth my life. We both know I'll have to tell command what happened, I'll let them deal with you. Just get out of here, Marcus."

And like that they were moving once again, thundering footsteps carrying her away from the city of Tross. As they reached the wilds, the amber glow of her cage was slowly replaced with darkness. She had no way to measure how far they ran, knowing only that she was grateful to be borne on metal legs that did not feel, nor ache. The distance was far more than she could ever have accomplished on her own, and as the minutes passed to hours, exhaustion caught her, heavy eyes succumbing to the weight of sleep.