Olivia didn't move a muscle as Orion knelt down beside her, pressing a cold hand to her cheek.

"My dear, you're shaking. Let's get you away from all this, shall we?"

"H-heck no." Finally forcing her stiff limbs to move, she smacked his hand away, shaking like a leaf as she scrambled back. "What the heck do you want with me?"

"Do you recall our first meeting?"

"How could I forget?"

"Then surely you must recognize that my purpose here is the same."

"I- you wanna- ha. You want me to prove I can live?"

"Precisely."

"So gallivanting across the country and trying to find your weakness isn't good enough?"

"Hardly so."

"You're i-impossible to please." She scoffed, hands curling into fists as she tried to slow the trembling. "So wha- what now? You kill me?"

"Not yet."

"For Notch's sake, make up your mind! I'm pretty sure it's been 24 hours!"

"Oh, of course. Your sentence has been… extended. If, solely because I find you to be an incredibly interesting specimen."

"Remember when I a-asked if you were a person?" She stammered out. "I know the answer now."

"I'm sure. But tell me, young miss, why should I spare you? What have you done that warrants my trust in your ability to serve humanity?" Olivia didn't answer for a few moments, chest heaving with shallow breaths. Her mind was racing, overwhelmed by the sheer number of no good bad things going on, but one thought stood out from the rest.

Lurching forward, she spun and slammed her elbow into Orion's face.

She heard a thump as he fell backwards, then nothing. Her opponent didn't make a sound, at least, nothing she could hear above the crackle of the flames. The trembling began again. There was no way she'd knocked him out with that strike, right?

Orion's laugh pierced through the static sound of the fire as it crept ever closer.

"Oh, you have spirit!" He exclaimed, a note of pride in his voice as he made his way back upright. "There is hope for you yet. For this, I bestow upon you an answer to another question, as well." Olivia scowled through chattering teeth.

"Not interested."

"I didn't ask." The next instant, a freezing hand took her by the chin, and her body seized as Orion leaned down to whisper in her ear,

"Your brother is alive."

And then a horrible, burning sensation shot up her arm from where he touched her, overwhelming her senses until the only thing she could understand was the sound of her own screams.

"Hero-"

"Don't talk." Hero snapped, ignoring his brother behind him as he slipped an arm across Alex's back. "Come on. You can interrogate me later." He almost expected a retort from his brother's fiery wife, but the only sound to come from her was a soft cough. A glance at her face caused a spike of alarm to go through him, her eyes were glazed and her jaw slack.

"Get her out of the city, now." He practically shoved the woman at his brother, who caught her easily. "I need to get Olivia, then I'll follow. I'll meet you outside-"

And then an awful scream cut through the air.

His feet were pounding against the cobblestones before he fully realized what he was doing, all he knew was that he knew that voice and he left her alone, again, and if she was hurt he would never forgive himself and-

Spinning around a corner, he caught the barest glimpse of a flash of blue and purple before it disappeared into the smoke - leaving behind a shuddering, crumpled body on the side of the road.

"Olivia!" Tuning out the sounds of humans and undead around him, he sprinted down the sidewalk towards her, he skidded to his knees at her side, only to find her white, sightless eyes staring blankly into the distance. Quiet, breathy gasps punctuated each shudder, and a patch of yellowish skin ran up her arm to her neck. Her blindfold was gone.

"Olivia! Hey!" He grabbed her by the shoulder - the uninjured one - and she jerked up with a yelp. Teeth chattering, a series of disjointed sounds escaped her lips.

"H-Hero, O-O-Ori-ion."

Slipping his arms underneath her, he scooped her up, walking as quickly as he could without jostling her too much. For once, she didn't complain.

His vision strayed to the strip of pale skin, the only physical evidence of the scream she had made. It resembled frostbite, almost. Did Orion have power over the cold-?

"Hero!" A voice called out, and he looked up to see Steven scanning the crowds for his form. Alex was huddled at his side, breathing through a damp cloth in lieu of fresh air. Turning his eyes back to his charge, he ignored his brother, focusing on getting Olivia out of danger as soon as possible.

The smoke billowed harmlessly around his head, but Olivia would undoubtedly be affected. He wished he could find some sort of covering for her mouth and nose, but there was no time to stop. To his surprise, though, the girl appeared to have the same train of thought, jerky hands pulling the neck of her shirt over her face despite the panic that held her body in its clutches..

He could hear the undead, wandering the city around them as they searched for their next victim, but not a single one considered picking him as a target. Except for the townspeople that fled the city around him, he was undisturbed, making his way through the chaos like a mourning-dove in a storm.

Before he knew it, they were out.

Hero quickly took Olivia and slipped away, fleeing to the edge of a nearby forest to escape prying eyes. He had seen Steven make it out, his wife in tow, which offered him a bit of relief among the madness.

Finally getting a chance to examine her safely, Hero laid his charge down in a patch of moss and began to investigate the site of the frostburn. The skin was beginning to turn an ugly black, and her whole body shook as though terrified. She was freezing.

So, Hero did the only reasonable thing to do. He nestled her shivering body into his arms and hugged her tight.

He was careful to keep his temperature regulated, afraid of burning her by mistake - which would hardly solve the problem. He knew that body heat was one of the most effective ways to quickly warm a freezing person, but he was… different. Physically, structurally different. At the very least, though, it seemed to be working.

After maybe fifteen minutes, Olivia's tremors dropped to a level at which he almost couldn't feel them anywhere. She had yet to try and speak again, but her blank eyes were closed, shallow breaths slowly becoming longer and deeper. She was falling asleep. And, as she didn't seem to be too badly injured, he let her.

Olivia awoke to the feeling of a high fever.

She let out a whine, pressing one hand to her forehead - or, trying, at least. Her hands seemed to be stuck.

"Good morning." She scowled at the voice beside her ear, trying to shift and get a better idea of her surroundings.

"H-he-ero?" Her voice shook, and she let out a muffled groan. She was freezing, but uncomfortably warm at the same time. "W-whatms-"

"Do you remember anything?" Her cheek was pressed against his shoulder, his arms locked around her body.

"O-Orion." She managed, thinking dimly back to the attack. "You're t-too h-hot." He let out a strained chuckle.

"I'm sorry, but you're half-frozen. I'm trying to keep you warm."

"Ah. C-cool." Olivia felt her cheeks heat up as she realized just what her situation was. She didn't… even remember the last time she was this close to someone. She squirmed a bit, but only to settle her head against his arm. She knew he was just trying to help.

"D-did people m-make it out? Steve okay?" She questioned.

"I don't know how many deaths there were, but the city was not lost. The armies rallied and managed to drive off the undead, they're currently working on putting out the fires." He paused, and she was about to ask after his brother again when he resumed. "Steven and his wife are fine."

"That's good." Olivia let out the words in a breath, rubbing at her left arm. The skin felt oddly stiff. "W-what happened to my arm?"

"Frostbite." Hero's voice dipped lower. "Orion's doing, I assume, along with your current state."

"O-oh." The raging temperatures in her body were starting to calm down, evening out at a more comfortable level. "H-how long's it been?"

"About an hour since Orion attacked you."

"Ah." Shifting again, she pressed her face into his sleeve, trying to relieve some of the pressure on her aching head. He smelled like smoke.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that Orion showed up here. Had he followed her? Her in particular? That was not only terrifying, that a creature of such immense power refused to leave her alone, but also saddened her. People had died, lost their homes, and it was her fault.

"It's okay." Hero gave her a small squeeze, and she jumped. That was not what she expected from her cranky, yell-y, drag-around-y bodyguard.

"Th-thanks." She huffed out a small breath. "W-what d-do we do…?"

"We'll think about that later." Hero's voice was low, he sounded tired. "For now, we should rest."

She dropped the subject. "Okay."