Reconciled hearts: a season9(Lloyrumi story)

Chapter 165: Echo

Harumi opened her eyes and ears to the scene of Jade, Lilla, and Kaitlynn all shouting at her at once. Unable to stand hearing another lecture, Harumi closed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise. She tried to act like she couldn't hear them, tried to pass it off.
"How could you do that--"
"You could've been hurt or found or--"
"Are you INSANE?"
Harumi walked away from them, stopping short at the corner where she had previously been, and freaked out slightly when she peeped around the wall and saw Zephyr strolling briskly towards their spot.
"He's coming!" she whispered, racking her brains frantically for a way out of the situation. Her eyes caught on the rips by the bottom of her sleeve.
Harumi grabbed onto it, ready to pull a large piece out.
"No, wait! Use this," Jade offered, holding out a blue covering.
"Is that. . .a surgical face mask??" Harumi questioned. "Why do you even--"
"Stuff happened where we come from," Lilla cut her off urgently. "Now put it on, no questions asked!"
Zephyr rounded the corner just as Harumi adjusted her mask and put up her hood to cover her silvery-blond hair.
"You," Kaitlynn spat.
"And. . .I don't know you," Zephyr lightly chuckled. "Or do I?"
"That's not important. Can we talk about how you're so bent on razing this city to the ground?" Jade said forcefully.
"You puny people wouldn't know what it's like to want, want, and want," Zephyr said conversationally, as if he was explaining a child the ABC's. "And right now, I want you out of my way."
Zephyr deftly opened his hovering book and began a series of spells, the first of which sent Lilla flying off her feet, landing harshly several yards away. He was drawing his dagger, but before he could move another muscle, Jade interrupted.
"Oh no, you don't--"
Jade swung her baseball bat Greta at Zephyr, running forward, and before he could react, she landed a solid hit to the side of his skull. The spellcaster toppled sideways, out cold, as Jade packed it away, stuffing it back into her satchel with the handle sticking out.
As Kaitlynn and Harumi stared cautiously down at Zephyr, Jade went over to Lilla, holding out her hand to the other girl, who gratefully took it.
Lilla breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks for that."
"You got it, it was nothing," she brushed it off.
"Great, now he's gonna know we're his enemies," Kaitlynn groaned, coming over to them.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you have a better plan of what to do when some magical dude is attacking your friend and ready to kill you?" Jade shouted, spinning around swiftly.
"I definitely wouldn't have knocked him out with a baseball bat!" she fired back.
"Ughhh, why are you always so pessimistic?!" Jade growled. "It wouldn't kill you to think about the bright side for once!"
"It's called being realistic, genius," Kaitlynn snapped. "Someone has to be, considering the others in this little squad."
"The Resistance is NOT a 'LITTLE SQUAD'," Jade yelled. "Harumi, back me up here."
Silence.
Jade looked over Kaitlynn's shoulder.
"Harumi?!"
"Ohh, not again. . ."
"We need to find her," Lilla cut in decisively. "We can't risk losing any more members. Harumi HAS to outlast the spellcasters!"
"Let's split up, it'll be faster that way," Kaitlynn said, as though it was already decided.
"Are you crazy? We need to stay together!" Jade squawked, glowering at her.
"Hey now, we can't fight like this so much," Lilla smoothly intervened, pushing them apart. "Why do you each think we should or shouldn't split up?"
"We can each cover more ground that way!" Kaitlynn rolled her eyes, stating the obvious. "We need to find her before someone unfavorable does!"
"Yeah, but what if one of us gets attacked??" Jade fired. "You saw how Zephyr knocked out Lilla a few minutes ago! Strength in numbers! It'll help to have the others as backup."
"Alright alright, how about this!" Lilla interrupted again, trying her best to keep them quiet. "Jade and I will go together, and Kaitlynn can go alone. Just. . .take this. . .so you can talk to us. . ."
She fumbled around in Jade's satchel for a few spare walkie-talkies they'd borrowed from the old base, finally handing one to Kaitlynn.
She took the walkie-talkie wordlessly and turned away from them, heading her own way, chin up. Jade and Lilla looked quietly after her, until finally they shrugged, going for Borg Tower.