"Right." Liliya nods. "So, it started right after the end of the world. Teri had asked us to go to the deck, to clear a landing spot for Durandal once she escaped, but we didn't make it in time and were trapped in a corridor. It was…" She hesitates. "I don't remember much after that."
"It was no fun," Rozaliya says. "We were trapped there by broken pieces of space. I got nauseous after a few minutes, and then Lili– Lili, she–" Rozaliya drops her head into her hands, then looks up. "We're alright now, you know? But I started throwing up, and Lili lost consciousness. I've never seen her that pale. After that, I'm not really sure what happened. I passed out as well, and woke up a little later, feeling like I was about to die. I'm not sure how long we spent like that."
"We weren't out for that long." Liliya tries to smile. "Just a few hours. We were trapped in that corridor for longer, but it got better eventually. After…"
You look at them in shock.
"It felt like forever," Rozaliya says. "I started hallucinating, thinking Zofia and Isabella were there. I think I even talked to them. I really miss them, you know, but I couldn't reach them. I could barely crawl."
Her voice gets quieter and quieter.
The picture your sister is painting isn't a pretty one. Not one bit. They're alive; they're in front of you, and seem unhurt, and that's the only reason why you aren't hugging the life out of them right now. The only reason.
"So, what happened? How did you get free?" you ask.
"We didn't," Rozaliya says. "Not in time. Liliya… she was getting colder, and her breath was really shallow. I could barely feel it. I got desperate."
She hesitates, looking down at her hands, before looking at Veliona.
"I've often had a thought. If things ever get really bad, if Liliya's sickness keeps getting worse, I'd do whatever it takes to save her. Even if that means giving her my organs, or risking my life. Well, they couldn't get much worse. Liliya was dying!" Rozaliya says, her voice breaking. "And I was dying too, but I didn't really care. So, I…"
She falls silent.
"Roza-idiotka," Liliya says, her voice gentle. "I'd never want you to give up your life for me."
"I wanted to. At least we'd have stayed together," Roza says, smiling with tears in her eyes. "But I'm not sure what happened next. Just that one minute I was on the floor next to Liliya, clinging to her for dear life—I couldn't stand, anyway—as if holding her tightly enough could stop her from dying—and the next, we'd… no, I'd better show you," she says.
She turns, and raises her hand. Liliya raises hers too, and the two clasp hands. Then…
You can't make out what happens next. It's like reality slips a gear, and everything goes to hell. They're still holding hands—then they're joined at the wrist. Their flesh bubbles, seemingly wanting to drag them together. They stand like that for a moment, expressions strained, before pulling apart.
And then they're two people again.
"Wow," you say. "Did… did you just do what I think you did?"
Your voice is trembling.
"We've gotten pretty fast," Liliya says, smiling. She looks, if anything, even healthier than before.
"So that's what happened," Roza says. "It was messier the first time. Seele, you know we got our augmentations from the Assaka, right? Like, of course we've speculated about this before! It's a honkai beast that splits in two, and if you kill just one then the other dies in a couple hours. It was obvious. We even tried it, once. Didn't work, but I was too scared to really want to. What would happen to us, the two of us, if we merged for real? Besides, Liliya says she'd just sleep all day and let me do everything."
Her tone is light at the end, joking even. But she looks shaken.
"Anyway, we honestly don't know what happens if we keep doing this," she says, after a pause. "Maybe nothing? Maybe we both die horribly? Maybe we'll… I don't know. Is one plus one one, or two, or three?"
