It takes almost no time for the other arm of the huntress to align with ice. She was ready to bust out of this disgusting cavern, to eject herself and the princess away from that awful, decaying stench. Heavy as it made her limbs, she preps herself before latching her ice-aligned claws into what Winter considered the weak spot of the doors. They drive like a wedge between the silver cracks as she pulls her arms apart to break the four-tiered layered door.

Princess Aress watches in total awe. Loud screeching emanates from the alloy curling. It’s even a bit difficult for Winter, but she makes it work in her favor. She plunges even further into the crack she’s created, seeing light protrude onto her physique as the thick doors begin to slide open. There’s another side, a long hallway that leads to somewhere she couldn’t make out. Bent metal beams uphold the walls of the inside, white lights decorating the outside of them. It was pristine, as if no one had ever touched it.

Winter turns her head back to the princess after gazing upon the scenery. Her expression switches from awe back to one with her usual confidence, a look she flares off to give some type of reassurance that everything would be fine. The ice evicts itself from her dermis and falls to the ground. She walks over towards the princess, gently picking her up into a bridal style hold, assured the princess is as comfortable as can be within her arms. She doesn’t know how much time the princess has left, but since she is royalty, Winter will treat her with utmost respect and gentleness.

“Let’s go, princess! Let’s get you some help from that Demi-God! Or whatever he is. Don’t you worry!” Winter reassures Aress.

Winter clutches onto the Cloaks princess as she struts her way down the rather radiant hallway, observing every inch of technology she’s never seen in her life. It was odd architecture for a native of this planet, as their buildings were mostly made from stone and wood. Some places had metal, but typically it was the Cloaks who could afford such fortification to their housing. 

“I don’t feel so good…” Aress wheezes out, a hand of hers promptly reaching up to her chest. “The Prayers said the blood of something called a carrier would be the one to ascend. I heard them talking about it. I knew I was never that. But my chest hurts a lot! More than anything else!”

“Hang in there, princess!” Winter tries to console Aress. She wishes she knew what was wrong with her. The amount of blood this poor child must have coughed up… she couldn’t imagine how much pain she's in. That does peg the question to Winter: How long has Princess Aress been down here, and in this condition? There’s a lot of unanswered questions that she’ll have to ask later, once Princess Aress is in better condition. “I’ve heard legends of a place like this. They’re known as ‘Lairs of the Gods.’ I didn’t think they were true…but I wonder what kind of magic they’re using.” 

The icy huntress takes a few more steps down the halls, footsteps echoing to fill the void along with Aress’ coughing. It isn’t until a few drops of blood from Aress splattered over a blue line on the ground that Winter stumbled over. It was at that moment that the hall’s lights flashed to a vibrant red, followed by a loud siren firing off. Winter’s face instantly saturates with panic.

“That can’t be good…” The Winterlance stops in her tracks, taking a brief look behind her as she swore that she heard some type of mechanism move in the distance. 

“Did we walk into a trap…?” The princess inquires, coughing slightly.

The doors begin to close behind them, several of them in fact. It seemed each triangle-like beam of the room was designed to have doors to lock them in. If the doors close behind them, Winter has no idea what other types of activities would be in store for them. The huntress does the only thing she knows she can do. 

Run. 

“The doors are closing in on us! Okay! We’re running now!” Winter sprints hastily, warning Aress. The sound of each clunky door slams vehemently, ushering Winter to pick up the pace. Her teeth grit, digits clutching tightly into the fabric of the princess’s dress as she holds onto the teenager for dear life. 

LOCATION: Elator laboratory [5 minutes earlier]

It failed…Again.

Arch Extent looms over the microscope, disappointed at the usual results. He’s been trying for a few years now to see if he could create something that could help fend off Cosmos Plague. He watches as the cells are destroyed, Cosmos Plague replicating itself and bursting them apart violently at the microscopic level. He wants to rub his eyes and press his fingers into his temple, but he knows that it wouldn’t do anything beneficial for his well-being. Nor for the frustration that pulsated through every fiber that made up his existence.

He’s so close, yet so far. If only he had his original test subject… before Atlas decided to take it away. 

We’re running out of time. We were so close before. Arch Extent thinks to himself, crossing his arms. How many years has it been since he first worked with the one person that he discovered could become immune to Cosmos Plague? He’s at a limit, not that he never was at a limit, but this feeling of defeat isn’t going to cease anytime soon.

Sometimes I wish the answer to our problems would just appear already…

A few minutes of silence fill the cold room, aside from the small few beeps here and there from the local technology in the vicinity. His hands turn into brief fists, relieving themselves as he adjusts his slouched position. Then everything suddenly became loud, and the room turned red. 

A biohazard warning abruptly sirens off, the once light blue now turned into dark cardinal as it paints the floor tiles. T-6 stands behind Arch Extent, panic forming behind the black helmet. The Arch stares at the screen, seeing what protocol it summoned. Everything was on lockdown, which was a huge problem.

It only meant one thing: Cosmos Plague is present in the lab, contaminating one of the areas. 

Contamination…?! How?!

Arch Extent grits his teeth, trying to remain calm. If Cosmos Plague had gotten loose, it would have to be from something outside the lab. He thought the exterior was well fortified, as there was no one physically able to get through the metal door–including any of the Prayers out there.

Could a Blazerock tribe member melt it? No, it was fireproof. Any other tribe he could think of wouldn’t be able to dismantle it, either. Was it a creature? Potentially. He’d have to find out. 

“Arch Extent! There’s a breach in the Elator Cave entrance!” T-6 shouts out, his fingers pointing directly to the holopad. 

“Don’t just stand there! Find out what it is and take care of it!” Arch Extent turns towards the other scientist.

“Yes, sir!” T-6 hurries to the side, accessing cameras on a different console.

“--Or better yet, I’ll take care of it myself,” Arch Extent directs a determined look at a mask not too far from him on the work counter. He begins to mutter to himself. “What kind of monster can break a door down like that…?” 

Gloved latex digits grasp tightly at the mask, instantly bringing it up to his face and clipping in the band around his black hair. He presses one of the circular cylinders on the side, clicking in the metal to activate the mask. A brighter azure lights up along the glass part of the mask, glowing enough to where it would actually be difficult to see his eyes or any other distinguishable facial features. Arch Extent looks over at T-6, wondering if there was anything found on the cameras. 

There was an intruder.

The scientists both see it: a blonde woman in a black hood, holding a sickly-looking teenager with a giant hole behind her. With each step of hers, her long scarf behind her wavered. Who was she? How was she able to just open the door? From the footage, it didn’t seem like it was a bomb, or anything hot-wired. It appeared as if...the door was simply torn open.

 Arch Extent is undoubtedly intrigued by how this native accomplished such an arduous task. 

“Boss, what should we do?” T-6 looks at the Arch for guidance.

“Have security turn off the alarms and shut the doors behind them. We don’t want Cosmos Plague to contaminate any further. That girl is infected, and that native is bringing her directly to us,” Arch Extent instructs his employee.

The underling scientist simply nods and races off to fetch their few local security guards in the other part of the laboratory.  Whilst T-6 prances to snatch the small security team, Arch Extent brings it upon himself to grab a weapon from their limited armory. He’s learned well that with each expedition to Division 5, you need something to defend yourself. He doesn’t want to kill that blonde woman. 

He just wants to study her. 

A tranquilizer should do the trick.

LOCATION: Elator laboratory [CURRENT TIME]

“HEY! I think I see someone ahead!” Winter gleams out, some relief on her face. This meant the door was open now, an escape from whatever this elaborate trap was. As Winter draws closer, she notices a man step out. He’s dressed in a unique mask that shimmered in the same nuances as the walls, ebony pants, and what appears to be a distinct form of a brown jacket. The most notable feature about him was his hat. There’s a good chance this wasn’t a Tribesfolk. Instead, this could be the Demi-God the Cloaks princess mentioned between her coughing fits. If this was true, it would make Winter’s relief even more immaculate. 

It didn’t though. She didn’t know what the device that he pulled up was. Was it a weapon of sorts? It had to be because something was shot out of it. She instantly felt something hit her leg, sending her into a delirious state. Her body became frail, unable to hold the princess in her arms. Winter is quickly losing consciousness, and she doesn’t understand why. Was she drugged by this strange man? 

Fuck! I can’t keep awake! Everything is…fading…Winter's thoughts begin to fade.

Winter tries desperately to fight it, but she can’t. The huntress loses her grip on the princess, her eyes completely shutting as she wobbles over. 

Shit…! I can’t feel myself holding the princess anymore! Damnit! Winter collapses to the ground.

“My chest! It feels like it’s going to burst!” Princess Aress yells out as she is thrown to the side. She’s writhing in pain as she swears it feels like the end for her. Her head rolls over to Winter, questioning why this woman suddenly passed out. 

“Do not enter the Elator Cave entrance! There’s a native with a stage five about to happen!” The man in the hat warns his fellow scientist. Arch Extent reaches to slam his hand down on a scanner, identifying the employee level and name of the man: Arch Extent, Level 10 employee. A glass door slides in front of him and T-6, watching the inevitable result of what Cosmos Plague was. 

Ichor spews across the glass, and Arch Extent feels himself wince internally. He hated seeing the mess, the way that young girl’s chest exploded into a horrific sight. This was his reality; one he’s been living since he’s been born. Her ribs were prying out, the nasty tumors that oozed out from the growth and many attempts at trying to recombine with human flesh. He couldn’t save her.

I was too late…

Another innocent soul lost to Cosmos Plague. 

“Hurry up and clean up this mess,” Arch Extent commands T-6. “And take the other native as well.” 

Lights.

Voices. 

Footsteps. 

Winter slowly opens her eyes as reality comes back to her, groaning slightly from the grogginess of her slumber. She’s disoriented, trying to register where she is. It isn’t until she sees the silhouette of a figure residing over her, holding a square metal object, cyan peeking out of whatever kind of helmet the person was wearing. She hears his voice speak, modified in what she’d consider mystical. 

“Sir, she’s awake!” T-6 exclaims, peering over the Winterlance.

There’s excitement present in his voice as his boss walks over to Winter. Arch Extent looks down, a bit cautious as to who this native was and what she was really capable of.

She was the one who destroyed that door. The monster he had been wondering about.

“I have some questions for you,” Arch Extent informs as he walks around to the side of the examination table.

Winter turns her head to the other side, blonde locks falling past her face as she views the man in the peculiar hat speaking to her. 

His hands are in his pockets, skimming his gray eyes over her figure from head to toe. There’s two noticeable scars that lace over the left side of her face, the color combination of her hair and complexion were quite reminiscent of someone familiar from his previous project. There was a disconnect though, like something he knew, but it wasn’t there. There was the difference being that she was a Winterlance, and not someone from Earth. She’s something he’s never met or encountered before, and it makes him question her origin. Despite being mesmerized at the fact that a Winterlance exists, he notices the female trying to lift her arms and adjust her legs, watching as the cuffs rattle and shake. There’s no way she should be able to get up, not when the metal cuffs are magnetized to the highest degree possible.

“Maybe I’ll answer yer questions if you minimize the handcuff kink goin’ on here.” She tries to rattle again, but the cuffs are held to the table by powerful magnets. His reaction appears unpleasant briefly, but Arch Extent’s composure returns to normal. He follows up her remark with a question towards the confined Winterlance.

“First question: Who are you?” The Arch takes his hands out of his pockets. He doesn’t expect anything amiable from the female, only hopeful that he could get more information about this Winterlance. 

“A pretty pissy huntress who’s ready to kick your ass,” Winter snarls out.

“Charming…You’re a Winterlance,” Arch Extent slews out, reaching for a pair of sanitized black gloves. The scientist carefully pulls them over his digits, tugging at the elastic until it fully covers his hands. They make a snapping sound, something that makes Winter blink. “I’ve never met someone with your mutation before.”

“Where’s the princess, weirdo?”

For Winter, she believed Princess Aress to be captured just like her, tied down by metal cylinders around her ankles and wrists that glowed with an ominous color of coral. It’s her duty as a huntress to help protect the Tribesfolk of Divon, even if it was royalty, in regard to safety in travel. If she were to fail this mission, she knows the potential for repercussions from the Cloaks tribe. However, the scientist’s expression emits something more somber. 

“Dead.”

“You fucker! You killed her, didn’t you?!” Winter rushes up, teeth aggressively flaring and anger fully revealing itself. Winter wanted to be optimistic in that there was a chance to save the teenage princess, that she’d be returned to her family–not truly a pawn being traded. The huntress makes an educated deduction that the man she was talking to in the hat was none other than the Demi-God the princess referred to earlier.

“No. She died of a natural cause–if I can even call it that. But you…You aren’t affected.” It’s true; Winter wasn’t infected with the Cosmos Plague. Absolutely no sign of it. Even T-6 decides to step up into the conversation to point to a holopad. 

“It’s completely normal! We actually don’t have any data on Winterlance blood. So…this is quite exciting! While you were asleep the last half hour–” T-6 is cut off from finishing his sentence.

“You took my fuckin’ blood?!” Winter shouts, nearly panicked. What sort of magic would they perform with her blood? She didn’t understand what was going on, who these people were, or what this place was. “Lemme guess…You’re the Demi-God? The person King Uthar traded her to?” 

“You natives keep calling me that. I’m not a Demi-God.” Arch Extent loathes.

He’s a bit irritated since that name has unfortunately plagued him since his first contract with the natives. Truthfully, it’s due to their lack of understanding technology and how this planet has devolved that lead to it. For them, he’s presented himself as godly from his vast medical knowledge to his simple usage of electronics that an everyday Earth person would use. However, the natives of this planet were what Atlas had reminded him grimly: test subjects. Nothing more, nothing less. They’re all a means of acquiring the cure to Cosmos Plague and whatever else Seraphic wanted out of them. 

He couldn’t waste any more time with the Winterlance, already pulling out a syringe from the lab counter. It was filled with a sedative, something to knock her out before they continued analyzing the qualities of her blood and how her body functioned. Every second here was a second wasted to save humanity.

“We’re sedating her, T-6.” Arch Extent grabs Winter’s arm tightly, pulling it aside so he can get a clear view of where to inject. He uses the tip of his finger to indicate where a visible vein is to inject the syringe. 

“You got it, boss!” T-6 replies happily. 

Winter quickly becomes alarmed, and she reacts on raw instinct. Her digits grow cold, moisture reaching the top of her dermis as ice morphs out of her skin pores. She encases both hands and arms, shattering the metal shackles that bound her down to the examination table. Arch Extent and T-6 hear the cuffs crack and snap into pieces as Winter flings up her arms.

Arch Extent was able to see firsthand the abilities of what a Winterlance could do. It was destructive ice, able to tear through the alloy like a knife through butter. Her speed was undoubtedly unmatched by any other type of Tribesfolk he’s ever experimented on.

“Sir–” T-6 tries to finish his sentence. Unfortunately, it was at that very moment that T-6’s lifespan expires. Winter’s ice claw slices clean through his neck, decapitating the unsuspecting scientist in the helmet. His head rolls to the ground, crimson splattering across the floor as his body topples against the once pristine tiles. She’s fierce, ready to kill who she considers to be her captors. The man in the hat was next on her list to take care of while she planned her escape out of this bright prison. 

Winter simply smacks Arch Extent to the side with such violent force that his body lands on the ground, sliding into one of the wall screens. His back makes cracks instantly appear on the screens as he hits it. He’s already winded from the encounter, things fading in and out from blurriness. In the midst of it all, Winter leaps off the table and delicately takes her ice claws to pull the turquoise-lined hood over her face. She knows he’s still alive, and she’s going to at least finish the job of killing the man who was the reason for why she dropped Princess Aress.

If it wasn’t for Demi-God, Aress could have been alive…Right?

Arch Extent regains himself, waving his hand in front of him to push aside any dusty residue from the screen he had broken. The scientist was greeted by a ghastly sight of a woman with giant ice claws, one of them drenching in fresh blood: T-6’s blood. If he doesn’t do something, he’s going to die and everything he worked towards to find a cure for Cosmos Plague will surely be in vain. He needs backup, and his jittering fingertips successfully click a button on the square device in the pocket of his red vest. An emergency signal manages to send out to the nearby security in the facility, sending a message that Arch Extent was in trouble.