The Scavenger’s Sister

Raziel's fists tightened again, her nails digging into her palms. "Brimstone. My flames... they're not like other splicers'. They think I'm cursed. They think... I'm going to bring down the House."

Leon was quiet for a moment, taking in her words. He'd heard stories of powerful splicers before—ones with abilities so dangerous, they were exiled or worse. But this... this was different.

"And they're hunting you because of that?" Leon asked, his voice softening slightly. "Because of your powers?"

Raziel nodded slowly, her expression hardening again. "They want me back. Or dead."

Leon leaned back against the wall, his eyes still fixed on her. "Hell of a mess you've gotten yourself into, Priestess."

Raziel scoffed. "Tell me about it."

For a brief moment, the tension between them eased, the weight of their shared situation hanging in the air. But it didn't last.

"We need to move soon," Leon said, standing up and glancing toward the entrance again. "They'll figure out we're here eventually."

Raziel slowly got to her feet, though her exhaustion was clear. She rubbed her arm where the mechanical parts were exposed, wincing slightly. "I can handle myself."

Leon gave her a sideways glance, his expression skeptical. "Can you?"

Raziel's flames flickered weakly in response, but she didn't argue. She knew he was right, even if she hated to admit it.

Leon adjusted the strap of his pack, his eyes scanning the cave one last time. "Look, I don't care what you think of me, but I'm not letting you burn yourself alive because of your pride. We're getting out of here—together. You don't have to like it, but you do have to deal with it."

Raziel's lips tightened, but she didn't protest. Not this time.

Leon turned toward the entrance, motioning for her to follow. "Let's move before they catch up."

Raziel hesitated for just a moment before stepping forward, her eyes glancing toward Leon. "Why... why are you even helping me?"

Leon smirked, his tone light but with an edge of truth. "Because I'm not stupid enough to let someone with flames like yours run off on their own. Besides... I've got a knack for finding things that others miss."

Raziel didn't respond, but for the first time, she allowed herself a small, tired smile.

Together, they moved toward the exit of the cave, their steps careful and measured. The threat of the Splicers still lingered, but for now, they were one step ahead.

As they pushed further into the forest, the trees around them thickening, Leon's mind churned. He hadn't fully processed it earlier, but now it hit him hard. Raziel had mentioned her core being ripped out. For someone like her—someone spliced—living without a core should've been impossible. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, her flames flickering faintly with each step. This didn't add up.

He slowed his pace slightly, his voice low. "Raziel… back there, you said something about your core."

She didn't look at him, keeping her eyes on the path ahead. "Yeah, so what?"

Leon clenched his jaw. "If your core was ripped out…how are you still here? Still running around with those flames?"

Raziel hesitated, her steps slowing just a fraction. "I told you, I found something else."

"Found something else?" Leon repeated, incredulous. "Splicers don't just 'find something else.' You can't operate without a core. You know that."

Raziel shot him a sideways glance, clearly annoyed by his tone. "Yeah, well, I managed."

Leon raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming on his lips. "Managed? You mean you stumbled onto it by accident like everything else, right? You're not exactly a top-tier scavenger, you know."

Raziel scowled, her flames flickering slightly with her irritation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leon chuckled, shaking his head. "You remember when I first found you? Running around like a lost puppy, messing with traps like you had no idea what you were doing?"

Raziel's frown deepened, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "I had it under control."

"Oh yeah, sure. That's why I had to save you from getting flattened, right? Face it, you're not a scavenger. You're just cosplaying as one." Leon shot her a teasing grin, clearly enjoying getting under her skin.

Raziel's eyes narrowed, and her flames flared slightly, making her wince as her skin continued to painfully regenerate. "I've survived this long, haven't I? I'm doing just fine."

Leon snorted. "Surviving? You've been stumbling through the ruins like you're auditioning for a disaster movie. The only reason you're still alive is because you lucked into some weird core you don't even understand."

Raziel clenched her jaw, clearly frustrated but unable to argue. "Shut up."

Leon, still smirking, held his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying. You've got some impressive flames, but scavenging? Not your strong suit."

Raziel huffed, glaring at him. "I don't need to be a scavenger. I'm a splicer."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, a splicer with no core, who somehow managed to find one by sheer dumb luck. You're full of surprises, I'll give you that."

Raziel crossed her arms, her expression sour. "I don't care what you think."

Leon's grin widened. "Oh, I know you don't. But seriously, next time you're out scavenging, maybe try not to look like you're cosplaying as a lost traveler. It's not a good look."

Raziel shot him another heated glare, but she didn't fire back this time. The flames on her arms flared briefly, then settled back down, leaving the air thick with tension.

Leon's teasing demeanor faded slightly as he glanced at her regenerating skin, the pain still evident in her eyes. "But seriously, you need to figure out what that core is. Splicers don't just stumble on stuff like that."

Raziel turned to him sharply, her flames flaring up for a moment, making her wince as the heat intensified around her left side. "I don't know what it was, okay? I just know it wasn't normal."

Leon stopped, watching her carefully as she winced again. "And it's still working, even though you're... burning yourself alive?"

Raziel frowned, brushing off his concern. "It's keeping me alive. That's all that matters."

Leon blinked, noticing how the flames danced over her, searing away the damaged flesh and replacing it with raw, regenerated skin. It was strange—this wasn't just splicer tech repairing her like it should. This was something else entirely.

Leon stopped dead in his tracks, grabbing her arm out of reflex. But as soon as his hand touched her, the flames flared up, burning his skin slightly before he yanked his hand away. "Damn it," he muttered, shaking off the burn. He raised his hands in surrender, backing off. "Sorry. But seriously, what kind of core regenerates like this?" he asked, more to himself than to her.

"I don't know," Raziel snapped, visibly irritated by the line of questioning, even though her skin continued to painfully heal. "After they ripped out my core, I was dying. I found this... thing in some old ruins. It wasn't like the other cores I've seen. But it worked, so I used it."

Leon's brow furrowed. "And you just... plugged it in?"

"What choice did I have?" Raziel shot back, her flames flaring briefly before dying down again. She winced as more skin knitted itself together. "It was that or die."

Leon stared at her, his hand reaching up instinctively before stopping. He knew better than to touch her, especially with the flames still dancing along her body. "So, you have no idea what this core is or what it's doing to you?"

Raziel's frustration deepened, her eyes narrowing. "I know it's keeping me alive, and that's all I care about."

Leon exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "And no one else knows about this?"

Raziel hesitated, the flames licking up her arms again, forcing her to grit her teeth against the pain. "No. No one knows. And they're not going to."

Leon took a step back, his mind racing. "This isn't just splicer tech, Raziel. Whatever's keeping you going—it's not normal."

"I know it's not normal," Raziel growled, her flames briefly surging again before she clamped them down. "But it's the only reason I'm still here."

Leon eyed her for a moment longer, taking in the sight of her skin regenerating, her body still tense from the pain. "You're a walking miracle. Or a disaster waiting to happen."

"I'm just trying to survive," Raziel muttered, her voice strained as the last of her wounds sealed up.

Leon rubbed the back of his neck, trying to make sense of it all. "Alright. But we need to be careful. If anyone finds out about this... especially the Houses..."

Raziel's gaze darkened. "I know. But no one's going to."

Leon sighed, dropping the subject for now. "Fine. Let's just keep moving before those splicers catch up."

Leon and Raziel continued through the dense forest, the weight of the silence between them growing heavier with each step. Leon's mind was racing, trying to piece together what they'd learned so far, but every time his thoughts returned to Raziel's core, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was drawing them into something far more dangerous.

Finally, he couldn't keep quiet any longer. "That core of yours… it's more trouble than you think."

Raziel shot him a sharp look, her patience already thin. "What are you talking about now?"

Leon met her glare, his tone careful but firm. "It's not just some ordinary splicer tech. I think it's putting out energy—enough that someone could track you by it."

Raziel's fists clenched, her flames flickering dangerously at her fingertips. "And why the hell would that matter? You think I wanted this thing? You think I asked for any of it?!"

Leon took a step back, trying to keep calm. "No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying we need to figure it out before—"

"Before what?" Raziel snapped, her voice rising. "Before they rip it out of me again? Before they turn me into some lab rat? I know how this ends, Leon! I've been through this before. I'm not going to be anyone's experiment!"

Her flames flared up, burning hotter than before, casting long shadows across the trees. The sheer force of her emotions caused the air around them to heat up, the oppressive energy making Leon take a cautious step back.

"Raziel, calm down—"

"Calm down?!" she shouted, the dark flames dancing up her arms. "You think I'm just going to sit here while you tell me I'm some kind of walking beacon for whoever wants to hunt me down? You don't know what it's like—none of you do!"

Leon's eyes darted around, feeling the increasing danger from both her and the possibility of someone tracking them. He raised his hands, palms out. "I get it. I do. But razing the area isn't going to help us right now."

Raziel's breathing was heavy, her flames burning brightly for a few more moments before she forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to tamp down the surge of power. The flames dimmed, though the tension between them remained palpable.

She turned away, her voice low and bitter. "It's always the same. Everyone wants something. House Infinite wanted my power. You want answers. They always want something."

Leon let out a slow breath, watching her carefully. "I don't want to hurt you, Raziel. I'm just trying to make sure we don't end up dead."

Raziel didn't respond right away, but her body language softened slightly, the flames fully extinguishing as she exhaled.

Leon continued to keep an eye on Raziel as they moved forward. The tension from her earlier outburst still hung in the air, but as they pressed deeper into the woods, the unease in his gut only grew stronger. His instincts, honed from years of scavenging and surviving, flared up, telling him that something wasn't right.

They weren't alone.

"Hold up," Leon said, stopping abruptly. He held out an arm, motioning for Raziel to stop. His voice was low, filled with caution.

Raziel, still irritated from their earlier argument, shot him a scowl but stayed quiet, her eyes flickering with annoyance. "What now?" she muttered, her tone sharp.

Leon crouched down, his fingers brushing the dirt beneath his feet. "Tracks. Fresh." His voice was clipped, tension rippling through him.

Raziel glanced at the tracks, unimpressed. "So? Could be anything. Could be from a day ago."

Leon shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the forest around them. "No. Too clean. And the pattern... This isn't random wandering. Whoever's following us knows what they're doing."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping the treeline as his ears perked up at the faintest sound—a mechanical whirring, barely audible over the soft rustle of the leaves. Raziel noticed his shift in demeanor and finally began to focus, her earlier irritation melting into suspicion.

"What?" she asked, her flames flickering faintly at the edges of her fingers, instinctively reacting to the growing tension.

Leon's eyes darted upward, scanning the skies. "Drones," he muttered under his breath, his voice low and tense. "I hear drones."

"Drones?" Raziel frowned, her voice hard. "What the hell would drones want with us?"

Leon's brow furrowed, and he crouched again, this time more urgently. "These tracks… they're too deliberate. Someone's been tracking us for a while. And it's not random. They know exactly what they're looking for."

Raziel scoffed, though her unease was growing. "So, they're after me?"

Leon's expression darkened. "Looks like it."

Before he could continue, the whirring sound grew louder. A few moments later, a small, sleek drone appeared just above the treeline, its sensors glowing faintly as it hovered over them. Its lenses focused, zooming in on their position with an unsettling mechanical precision.

"Damn it," Leon growled, instinctively reaching for his weapon. "They found us."

Raziel's eyes burned with a flicker of dark flames. "Great. Just what I needed. More people after me."

Leon eyed the drone, carefully calculating his next move. "This isn't House Eternal tech. It's something else—newer. More advanced."

Raziel's flames flared at the edges of her hands. "So, who the hell are they?"

Leon kept his eyes locked on the drone as he answered. "There've been rumors of a rogue scientist. Someone obsessed with tech, cores, energy sources. He's been working outside the Houses. Word is he's been experimenting with dangerous stuff. Unregulated."

Raziel narrowed her eyes. "And you think he's after me?"

Leon didn't answer right away, but the grim look on his face said it all. He turned to her, his voice low. "If your core is unique—different from what's normally in splicers—then, yeah. He'd want it."

Raziel clenched her fists, the flames burning hotter. "Of course. Another lunatic who thinks he can use me as some experiment."

Leon pulled out a small EMP grenade from his pack, weighing it in his hand. "We've got to shut this thing down before it reports back. Once they have our location, they'll send more. Fast."

He motioned for Raziel to move back, giving him room. "Cover your ears," Leon muttered, pulling the pin.

Raziel rolled her eyes but did as he asked, stepping away as the grenade left his hand and sailed through the air toward the drone.

The EMP went off with a sharp, electric hum, and the drone shuddered violently as its circuits shorted out, crashing to the ground in a heap of smoldering metal. The noise of the forest returned, but now it felt more ominous, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.

Leon immediately crouched by the fallen drone, examining it closely. "This tech... it's advanced. Way beyond what normal scavengers or even House splicers have."

Raziel knelt beside him, her eyes narrowing. "So this scientist—he's tracking me, isn't he?"

Leon nodded grimly. "Looks like it. Whoever he is, he's got resources. And if he's after your core... we need to move. Fast."

Raziel stood up, the flames around her fingers flickering brighter. "Let's get this over with then. I'm tired of being hunted."

Leon paused, his eyes locked on the remnants of the drone. "There's something else..."

"What?" Raziel asked, already growing impatient.

He looked up at her, his voice low. "These drones… they don't belong to just anyone. They're government-issued. Which means whoever's tracking us has more power than just a rogue scientist. He's working with someone else."

Raziel's eyes darkened, her flames crackling in response. "So, not only am I being hunted by a lunatic, but he's got backers?"

Leon nodded. "Exactly. And if he's working with the government—or any of the Houses—we're in deeper trouble than I thought. We need to move. Now. That was just a scout—they'll be sending in more."

Raziel straightened up, her flames flickering with agitation. "Great. Just great. I finally get a chance to rest and now we're back to running?"

Leon shot her a serious look, already scanning their surroundings for an escape route. "This isn't a joke, Raziel. These drones are advanced tech. Whoever's after you isn't messing around."

"Yeah, well, neither am I," she shot back, but her flames flickered a little more wildly than usual. There was an edge of uncertainty behind her defiance. "Where do we go?"

Leon glanced around the dense forest, calculating the best way out. "There's a river not far from here. We follow it upstream—harder for them to track us through water."

Before Raziel could protest, Leon grabbed his gear and took off toward the trees, motioning for her to follow. Raziel rolled her eyes but sprinted after him, her feet barely brushing the ground as her flames flickered around her hands, lighting the path ahead.

The forest seemed to close in around them as they moved, the oppressive silence broken only by their hurried footsteps and the occasional snap of branches beneath their boots. Leon kept his pace steady, though his sharp eyes were constantly flicking toward the sky, watching for more drones.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Raziel called out, her voice breathless as she ran to keep up with him.

Leon didn't break his stride. "Of course I know. We hit the river, follow it upstream, and lose them in the rapids. The water will mask our tracks."

Raziel scowled. "Sounds like a plan... if we actually make it that far."

"We will," Leon replied, his tone unwavering. "I'm not dying here. Neither are you."

As they pushed further into the forest, the whirring of another drone grew louder behind them. Leon cursed under his breath, glancing back. "Faster! It's closing in!"

Raziel growled, her flames flaring hotter. "I could just burn the damn thing out of the sky!"

Leon barked a quick reply, "Not unless you want to give them our exact location!" He led them deeper into the trees, weaving between branches, his feet kicking up dirt as they went.

The river came into view, the sound of rushing water a welcome reprieve. "There!" Leon pointed toward the riverbank. "Into the water!"

Without hesitation, they splashed into the shallows, moving as fast as they could against the current. The cold water stung, but Leon pushed forward, guiding Raziel toward a narrow bend in the river where the bank provided some cover.

"Get down!" Leon hissed, crouching behind the bank. Raziel, though bristling with frustration, did the same. The drone's whirring grew closer, passing directly overhead. Leon watched it, his breath held, as it scanned the area.

The drone hovered for a few moments, then whizzed away further downstream, searching the area. Leon released a long breath, motioning for Raziel to stay low.

"We need to keep moving," Leon muttered, shaking water from his gear. "That was too close."

"Tell me about it," Raziel muttered, wringing out her soaked hair. "So, what now? Keep hiding like rats?"

Leon shot her a sidelong glance. "Until we find a way to get these guys off our trail, yeah. You got a better plan?"

Raziel's eyes flared with fire again, but she didn't argue. The truth was, she didn't know what to do. She was used to relying on her powers, and being constantly on the run was grating on her. But for now, Leon's plan was their best shot.

They began moving along the river, staying low as they followed its twisting path. The forest seemed quieter now, the tension in the air growing thicker with each passing second. Every sound felt amplified—the crunch of their boots, the rustling leaves, even their breathing seemed too loud.

After what felt like an eternity, Leon finally stopped. "We've put some distance between us and the drones, but they'll keep searching."

Raziel's eyes narrowed. "So what's next? You know this place better than me."

Leon's face grew grim. "We don't stop. There's a clearing up ahead—a spot where we can rest briefly and regroup. But we have to be quick about it."

They made their way to the clearing, keeping their movements as quiet as possible. When they finally arrived, Leon motioned for Raziel to sit while he scouted the perimeter.

Raziel, still fuming from the earlier chase, leaned against a tree, trying to catch her breath. Her mind was racing, frustration bubbling up inside her. Every instinct screamed to fight, to burn down whatever came after her, but Leon's words echoed in her mind: Not unless you want to give them our exact location.

She hated it. Hated the idea of running and hiding like some cornered prey.

Leon returned, his expression serious. "We're clear... for now."

"Great," Raziel muttered, crossing her arms. "So, who exactly are we dealing with? These guys seem way too organized for a random group of splicers."

Leon hesitated, then spoke in a low voice. "It's worse than that. They're after you for your core, and from what I've seen, this tech... it's new. Advanced. Someone with serious resources is backing them."

Raziel scowled. "House Eternal?"

Leon shook his head. "Maybe. Maybe something worse."

Raziel narrowed her eyes, watching him closely. "What do you mean?"

Before Leon could answer, the sound of movement in the forest caught their attention again. This time, it wasn't a drone—it was heavier, more deliberate. Footsteps.

Leon's grip tightened on his weapon, his instincts screaming at him to be ready. "Get down," he whispered sharply, motioning Raziel down with him as they crouched behind the dense brush.

The figures emerged from the treeline—a group of agents, each wearing sleek black armor with visible augmentations. They moved with precision, their gazes scanning the area with practiced intensity. One of them, a woman with cybernetic implants lining her jaw and arms, stepped forward.

She stopped, her eyes scanning the clearing, and her gaze landed on where Leon and Raziel were hiding. A faint smile crossed her lips.

"Found you."