Zell managed to reach the top of the pedestal. Despite the mess, despite Nakago's smirk, Lina's limp figure, he picked her up, blood and all, and jumped down. Quickly, he ran through the woods, pushing through the scratching twigs and branches, grabbing at his every movement as if to constrict him. He didn't care how many scrapes he'd end up with--all he knew was to bring Lina back to familiarity, to safety, as soon as possible. Karen and the others followed behind them, the new bun keeping her hair out of the way.
He made it to the Infirmary in under five minutes, about to collapse from weakness in his knees. Lina's struggled shuffling in his arms were the only things that drove him forward, even though he thought he would break from the pain in his own chest. He set her down in a hospital bed, but Dr. Kadowaki wasn't there to tend the wounds.
"Step aside," Karen said. "I'm going to bandage her...so you need to step back. This is a job for girls only." Zell, shirt stained from blood, his own and Lina's stepped back and waited impatiently as Karen worked on dressing Lina's wounds. As she was done, Zell shuffled back forward and examined her work warily: the bandages had been well done, tightly wrapped around the wound with a well-tied knot. "I think it just missed her heart, but I'm not doctor." Karen looked up at Zell's horrified expression and could sense his anguish without words. "There's a lot of blood, so I don't really know what's going to happen..." Suddenly, the white bandages became dark red with blood.
"NOO!" Zell screamed, throwing his arms around Lina. "The blood is soaking through! FIGHT IT, LINA! PLEASE!" He held a hand over her wound and attempted to cast Curaga, a white light dipping onto the gash, but it wouldn't work. Lina remained unconscious to Zell's absolutely horror.
"This wound was made by someone from Animanga," Karen explained. "And therefore, can only be cared for by someone from Animanga. No one here has that ability."
Zell grabbed Lina's cold hand in his tightly and squeezed it as if to transfer the life into her, but her eyes did not flutter open as he would have liked. How he missed that smile at that moment just so dearly. "Lina! You can't do this to me, you have to hang on!" he cried as he threw his arms around her.
Karen shook her head lightly and exited the room for Zell to be alone. She knew there was no chance.