"Okay. So after you're done doing what you're doing we can - explain each other stuff. Should I follow you or wait here?"

"...Probably safer to follow me, at least until Sapphire's dealt with."

"Okay."

So Annie follows her.

There is a lot of sneaking. And periodically gesturing for Annie to stop and be as quiet as possible.

Annie can do that. And keep a - sense - out for anyone who might be approaching.

No one approaches.

But they're moving, and eventually they find a room that has someone in it. Someone with a sparkly rock on his wrist.

About whom Annie warns... the person she's with... as soon as she senses them, with pointing and wrist-tapping.

Does the languages thing extend to sign language, because at least one of her subcomponents knows ASL for thank you.

- aaaaaaah when she does that Annie can see her but she's both of them and it's weird and aaaaaah

("You're welcome," Annie signs back.)

She points to an unobtrusive corner of the room.

Where Annie goes and hides.

This exchange is much less quick. Sapphire doesn't hate what he's supposed to be fighting for like Opal did.

Annie hides and shivers and is very unhappy, but quietly in a nondistracting way.

Well.

Eventually, it's over.

"Can you put the healing thing on me?" she asks, limping out of the room. "My healing doesn't really work on myself when I'm like this."

"I, yeah, of course -" Annie goes over to her and touches her cheek.

"Thanks. At least I don't have to splint anything, this time."

"...yeah. It seems to be a pretty good healing power, I wish I knew what was wrong with it."

"That would be nice."

Nod.

(aaaaaaaa)

"Oh, hang on...Mercurial Metal Manipulation!" An iron thing seems to dissolve into quicksilver. She draws a map--after a moment, she wipes it out and draws a larger map, using words for lines--"if sign language works words should work too, right?" of the parts of the building they've been through, and some more that the twins went through before Annie showed up.

"...it works. I was worried about it but it does, I can read. Um, from here I can sense -" She can't see her hand but she can tell where it is and trace rooms that lie ahead.

She nods. "But what I was getting at is--if anything happens to me," she traces back to where she first entered the building. "This is how you get out."

no if anything happens to you Annie curls up in a ball and waits for death.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Trust me, you do not want to be stuck here. Or captured by these guys. The way I knew what happened to Opal--well. My healing spell gives feedback on what damage there is to heal. The, uh, scars were. Familiar."

"Do you think you're going to win?"