She hadn't felt her metal in months, hadn't felt the fire that burnt as it did since her tears exhausted it. Jackie lost her ability to transform on that day, to shaken by grief and trauma, and she

And now she couldn't trust herself to phase from skin to steel and from muscle to flames.

It was ridiculous; transforming for the first time had been an accident, a scalding flame that'd burnt her toes and skimmed over the delicate flesh of her knee. She'd managed it when she was only twelve, still young and very much not in control.

Jackie was a seasoned veteran now. She was EAT class elite, weapon of an accomplished meister - she was flame, the embodiment of it in her very being and she couldn't even conjure up the fire to transform into her weapon form. It was like trying to walk with sleepy legs - fuzzy, numb limbs that were more in the way than anything else. Who was she without her lantern? Who was she to Kim if she couldn't do her part as her weapon, as her partner?

She thought of phantom fingers linked between hers, of slim wrists and pink hair frayed over pillowcases, and she burned.

It was muscle memory that finally triggered it.

She was an ice blue flash of brilliant light and then she was demon steel; cold, solid steel, a lantern with a chain and a fire brewing within. It was like putting one foot in front of the other, mindless and monotonous as she forced herself to think of nothing but transformation as her body cut through the chill of the air.

Flight was liberating after the drought. Muscles shifted into gear and instinct took over, and as she tore off through the starlight sky, she felt more like herself than she had in a long while. There was an eerie rightness in flight, even if her balance was off and she staggered and sputtered. Even if she felt like her stomach was in her metaphoric throat and she might spit up her very being.

But she carried on, because the thought of Kim and her eyes and life was louder than anything else.

Though it was unclear how long she'd been flying for, Jackie couldn't find it in herself to care.

The tugging she felt in her soul was more poignant than ever. It was a draw, a blatant pull that gathered all of her attention into one focal point. She knew where she was heading even before she landed, because there was a map in her heart that was written out in Kim's blood and the as the cliffside came into view, she rocketed forward.

Her legs wobbled as she transformed back into flesh and bone.

The crisp, tangy saltiness of the sea tainted the air and stung her eyes, but she refused to cry. Not now, not like this - not when she was so close that she could almost taste the ocean's spray and the swell of Kim's soul. Nothing was going to stop her - not Maka, not the burning in her throat, and not the quiver and shake of her legs. Nothing.

Jackie closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Calmness overtook her like a blanket of fresh snow and she exhaled, inhaled, exhaled. Dwelling on the past would lead her to a block, and no matter how badly she was tempted to sink back into her misery and relive the events that'd led to her meister's freefall, she couldn't. It was dark but it wasn't raining, and Jackie could still feel the burst of heat that resided within her this time. She wasn't going to fail again. She couldn't.

There was a fire in her soul and she wasn't about to lose it. Not this time.

It was supposed to be an easy fight. It was nothing the two of them couldn't handle, so of course Kim had gotten it into her head that she could take things lightly. They hadn't anticipated the rain. How had they overlooked the rain when Jackie was an elemental weapon? The horror that had run through her spine and chain when her fire sputtered out was still so caustic and she could still feel it in the ridges between her fingers, in her knuckles and in her wrists. How pathetic she was, for being unable to conjure a flame. How pathetic she was for being unable to protect her meister.

And so Kim had done what she had to do - she'd fought without her (useless, pitiful) weapon. She'd thrown her aside, drenched to the bone and battled forth, with her hands, feet and her magic while Jackie looked on.

The cliff had taken her. The sea had swallowed her whole, and Jackie's flame had sputtered.

But no more; the flames licked her soul, sweltering and alive. She was grace and fury, a woman on a mission, and nothing was going to stop her from latching onto the fragment of hope that was her partner and pulling her back. She was too close to give up now. The seductive hum and tug of her partner's wavelength was a scream in the back of her head, throbbing and demanding, and Jackie was a weapon. She was trained to obey.

It wasn't training that had her lining up her toes on the cliffside. Training had nothing to do with the way Kim's eyes lit up in the back of her mind when she closed her eyes.

Weapon obligations only went so far, after all. Training did not turn weaponkind into slaves that mindlessly obeyed their meister; it merely lead them to favor their meister's will and do whatever they could to help keep them safe. It was Jackie's heart, malnourished and starving, that drove her to swallow her breath and dive into the sea.

It was Jackie's heart that led her through the motions of burning up. It ignited her, surrounding her in a protective ball of passionate and blazing inferno. Her heart sprang to life, throbbing in her chest. Kim, Kim, Kim.

Fear had nothing on her. Not when she had Kim guiding her. As her partner, she'd follow her anywhere.

As her best friend and maybe something more, she'd light up the whole sea if she had to.

The waves parted for her, rising in impressive columns of water and resembling tiny waterfalls all around her. The rushing splashes and crossfire did nothing to quell the intensity of her burning. The screaming had become a blinding, searing constant noise and she rushed closer and closer to the source. She needed the silence, needed to feel whole and right again, and when she pushed forward she found herself barrelling into a cavern.

It was only after she could safely place her feet on the ground that she allowed herself to become tangible again. It was freezing without her fire, she quickly noticed, and circled her arms around her and shuddered out a shivering breath. There was no wind chill, for there was no breeze, but there was a distinct lack of sun and brightness to warm the air. It was frigid, and the water that licked her ankles as it drifted reminded her of her dream.

How could anyone had known about a cavern under a cliff? Did anyone know about it or was she the only one who had ever had the gall to pull off a stunt like that?

It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. It was reclusive, secretive, all murky colors and dampness. The real clincher was the purpled limb hooking over an array of dulled rocks and boulders - because she'd know that shoe anywhere and something in the center of her chest blistered. Soul screaming and eyes brimming, she forced her legs into action and scrambled to her meister's discarded body.

Kim Diehl was soaked, thoroughly drowned from the ocean's wrath. Her hair was mangled, wet and plastered to her forehead and neck, and Jackie was so overwhelmed with the sight that she couldn't stop herself from slamming herself down and tugging her meister onto her lap even if she wanted to. She fell onto the rocks with a splash, knees clattering and pinking as she tugged Kim closer to her.

She was beautiful even motionless, even with the chill of her grave draining her of her color. She was still Kim, still full cheeks and long lashes and delicately shaped brows. And Jackie wanted to drown in her colors, in her pinks and blues and greens and brush her fingers over the heat of her skin. Her limp body was gathered into Jackie's arms and she forced out a ragged breath through her nose, unable to keep herself calm in the face of her partner - the woman she'd lost, the woman who was heaven and hell all rolled into one snide little grin.

"Kim," she choked out. It came out in a rasp, high pitched and broken but tethered to her. Her soul shuddered. "Kim. Come on."

Her trip would not be in vain. She was not going home without her meister. Never again.

The skin of Kim's face was wintry, crisp with salt and chill of freshwater and mystery. It didn't make a difference; she buried herself against her, hunching over the fallen form of her partner and breathed her in. She was malnourished, and hungry for the validation only she could offer. The smell of her skin was like home, like everything she'd been dreaming of.

She was real, she was here, and Jackie's soul sung with heat.

A hand laced itself with Kim's frigid fingers and the feel of her meister's palm against her was enough encouragement to reignite her; she was fire and the flare of their combined souls, the part of Kim that'd been left behind with her jolting through her bones. She could do nothing but concentrate on the feeling, just as she'd been told. She held onto it and grasped Kim's hand tighter to her own, the tugging and throbbing in the base of her chest as dizzying as it was rewarding. There was blistering heat and fire that burned from her fingertips, as blue as the light of her transformation and Kim's skin was rapidly regaining color.

Life flushed through her, her soul spilling through and glowing from the center of her being. Color spread through her numb, cold limbs like a single drop of blood in a bowl of milk. She was pink and vibrant, all the colors of a sunset and fluttering, cyan eyes that caught Jackie's breath. And when she breathed her name it was like a song, a siren call that had her throwing her arms around her and hugging herself to her chest, where her soul was humming with renewed vibrancy.

She belatedly realized that somewhere along the way, soul protection must've broken; her soul was searing and obvious, a blatant burst of energy and mysticality. It was the warmest glow, the safest Jackie had felt in weeks.

Kim coughed and sputtered. "Wh-" she choked, spitting and gurgling on the water lodged in her throat.

"I knew you weren't gone," she sobbed, the tears blinding and overwhelming, burning trails down her cheeks and dripping off of her chin to dissipate into Kim's damp blouse. "I knew it wasn't true."

Her eyes were cloudy. "Where am I? Jackie?"

The laughter bubbled in her throat and she gagged on it. Her shoulder shook with inappropriate laughter as she heaved and sobbed, pressing herself into Kim's chest and howling with apologetic euphoria. She cradled her closer and rocked on her knees, ignoring the slimy rocks against her legs and the scuffing along her pale skin. Nothing else mattered but Kim in her arms, Kim breathing and speaking and tangling a curious hand into the length of her hair.

Her soul was so close and so right, and when she reached out for resonance she was met with Kim's confusion and glee. Her meister's face glowed with a curious pinkness, something that had Jackie's stomach bubbling and throat clenching with anxious delight.

Could it be?

"You're snotting everywhere," Kim teased faintly, her voice throaty and terse. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

She didn't know the half of it. There was practically a ghost in her arms, breathing and smiling widely and blushing, and how could she stop herself from smothering her mouth against a pink cheek and sobbing her relief? There was a feasible vibration between their souls, a connection that was as greedy as the lips that kept ghosting over Kim's nose and features.

Kim gasped and tugged on her hair, pulling her far enough away to get a good look at her. Jackie stared blatantly, selfishly taking in the sight of her meister blushing and the way her lips parted as she breathed. Would it be wrong to taste her breath? Would it be wrong to take it away just as quickly as she'd given it back, to swallow her sighs and breathe in the dawn of a new age?

Her chest heaved and Jackie couldn't look away even if she tried. "Jackie," she said clearly. "What's going on?"'

A hand steadied itself on Jackie's trembling shoulder as Kim pulled herself up to sit. Her arms wobbled, bones weak and muscles lax with sleep and Jackie couldn't stop crying but it was okay, everything was okay, because her heart was beating in time with the pulsation of their souls. Kim fixed her with an even stare, expression anything but serene and delicate, and she couldn't stop herself from pushing her fingers through her chopped locks and brushing her thumbs along the warmth of her cheeks.

Kim's eyes fluttered, lashes long and damp as the pattered against the apples of her cheeks. It was as seductive as it was heartwarming, drawing attention effortlessly. She was enthralled with the way her face hued, rosy to the tips of her ears as she stroked the skin gently, the pads of her thumbs gentle with the misty skin of her partner. Even in the cavern, the rising sun still peeked through the cracks between rocks, rays of light spraying golden hues upon Kim's hair.

She was ethereal, glowing, and she was real.

Cracked lips dusted over the curve of her nose and Kim gasped. "Concentrate," Jackie echoed, and when her mouth found hers, it was nothing short of magic.