Colt didn’t know how much he had left in him. Saying he was walking was being generous. They’d been at it for hours, days, months for all he knew, and they were still trapped. Amneris was fairing little better. She was using her now-bloodied fists to punch through walls. It appeared to calm her while also making their ascent a little faster.

The stars dancing in Colt’s vision told him they had been trapped, at the very least, for a couple days. His entire body ached with every step. He didn’t know how much further he could walk without passing out.

The answer came sooner than expected.

Colt stumbled, hands grasping the stone wall. He had expected his recently gained immortality to help energy levels, though quickly realised he must have been unconscious long enough that even immortal stamina wasn’t enough. The possibility of death via thirst and starvation was quite real.

Amneris appeared in front of him, frowning slightly. “I am all right,” he told her.

“You’re anything but all right.” She let him lean on her, holding him upright with a grunt. “Y’know, this would be a lot easier if you were your old height.”

He managed to huff a laugh. “I am afraid I did not get to choose the body I now inhabit.”

“Ah. Of course.”

They stumbled forward; Colt able to feel the small amount of energy he had left seeping from his body. He could only hope they would not be ambushed again. He doubted he would be much help. His grip on the khopesh was failing.

“Right! This is ridiculous.” Amneris lowered him to the floor, snatching the khopesh from his hand. She ran a hand over the blade. “If we’re going to get out of here, you need to get better sooner.”

“How are you planning to do that?” he panted. The world spun around him.

“Oh.” A wicked smile crossed her features. “You’re just gonna have to trust me and not be mad when you wake up.”

“What do you mean by—”

He as the blade went through his heart. The world went black for a moment. His sight returned as he gasped for breath, jumping up and running to the other side of the corridor at the sudden surge of energy in his body.

“What the fuck was that about, Tali?”

She pointed at his chest. “You’ve got a little something there.”

Colt glanced down to see the khopesh still through his heart. Amneris placed her hands on the hilt, giving him an apologetic smile before pulling it from his body. The wound healed automatically. She held the blade out to him.

“Thank you.” It was all he could think of saying.

The red-head shrugged. “Feeling better?”

“Much.” He took the blade.

Amneris turned on her heel, sticking her head through the hole in the wall she created while he was unconscious. She groaned, rolling her eyes and her head before raising her hands and stepping forward. She did not look at Colt as she did, making it clear that whoever was on the other side thought she was alone.

Colt leaned against the wall, not revealing himself but listening to the ongoing conversation between his partner and whoever was with her.

“How did you escape your cell?” asked a frustrated and confused male voice.

“I got bored,” Amneris drawled.

Colt couldn’t help a small smile as she took on that voice.

“I am ordering you to return to your cell,” the male voice repeated with more force.

“And what makes you think I’m gonna listen?” she laughed. There was a sound of scraping metal before Amneris said, “Oh, right, that’s what makes you think I’ll listen.” She laughed again. “If only I had some backup to make things easier in case a few of these guys escaped.”

Colt cringed at her tone.

He used his power to cover his presence as he moved, following the voices behind the wall until he was right behind them. Colt channelled heka into his fist. It glowed with crimson energy, whisps of gold dancing among the red. He punched the wall. The stone shattered, stones whacking a few of the guards into unconsciousness.

Amneris made her move in that moment, tearing through the guards with ease. The few who escaped, he took down himself.