Bert saw it, and it cut through the cold fury of battle and the hot madness of his laughter. His eyes followed her, even as he emptied his guns, each shot striking home.

When he paused to holster his guns and draw his slingshot, he looked at Alain, his smile gone. "She's going to die out there," he said, almost casually, but not so casually that his ka-mate couldn't hear the tension in his voice. The moment he started towards the steps down from the wall, Alain caught his arm.

"From what she said, if you go near her in that state, you're like to die too."

Bert looked back at him with what might almost have been scorn, if it weren't so thinly layered over grief. "As opposed to what, Al?" He paused a moment to fire a steel ball directly through a slow mutant's eye. "Staying up here and dying five minutes later?"

Shaking Alain's hand off his shoulder, he unslung the horn from his belt and tossed it to his friend. "Sound it loud when the time comes, Al. Here's hoping it's for a victory call." His grin paper-thin and hard, he clapped Alain on the shoulder, and started down towards the fighting.