No Further Questions

  “The aerial battle over the coast of Iceland is nearly over, lord Ziz,” the serpent stated reverently with a short bow of its head, “The humans were forced to land their troop transports near the coast of Iceland, unable to penetrate any deeper inland. The combat escort has also begun their retreat, having fulfilled their directive to keep the transports safe. It’s a total victory for our side.” The apostle conjuring the hurricane nodded grimly with a flap of her wings, the raging storm above continuing to howl, yet suspiciously without any rain in sight, “I see. Casualties?” she asked huskily, her tone all too serious, her eyes refusing to meet those of the reptile. The snake blinked slowly, drooping a little, “...Regrettably, there have been five that I am aware of. I am currently on my way to inform the Savio-” “NO!!” Ziz suddenly and desperately exclaimed with a swish of one of her wings, her eyes glaring down at the perfectly normal-looking snake wrapped around the rock she was using as a pedestal.

  “Tell her there were no casualties, Quetzalcoatl!! Not even one!! We can’t- we WON’T let her become any more distressed than she currently is!!” she finished, the bird-like apostle slowly lowering her wings, processing her own words and quickly looking away from the reptile’s piercing eyes, “Please.” The serpent remained silent for a few moments, considering the panicked words of her fellow Apostle, “I… wasn’t going to tell her anyway. I lied,” it answered casually, admitting to its deceit with a flicker of its tongue. Ziz hesitated after that, but then a nervous smile slowly began to etch itself on her beak while she stared off into the horizon, “Is that so? I guess that makes us fellow traitors.” She stared up at the eye of the storm above, the harsh winds only getting stronger and stronger the more time passed, the snake doing one last small bow before slithering away. Would any of us refuse to betray you, were they in mine or Quetzalcoatl’s position? This is how we repay the free will you have given us, Savior… We are scum.

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  “The hurricane’s got the sea lookin’ extra angry~ How fun,” Eiken called out playfully, squinting his eyes while staring off into the ocean, the roaring and wild waves crashing against the rocky beaches relentlessly as if threatening to swallow the land whole, a small portal placed directly in front of his face so as to redirect the wind that would be blinding him, “I feel sorry for the poor bastards who managed to deploy parachutes. I’m telling you, they’ll be getting EATEN ALIVE by the water as soon as their feet so much as graze the waves. Trust me, I’d know!” One of Horde’s bodies walked up behind the hero, shaking his head, “Thankfully, the winds from the hurricane have violently tossed all the people who ejected all the way to the high seas, where the water’s a lot calmer. The local navy contingent is actually already on the way to pick them up.”

  Warpbreaker turned his head to look at Number Two, his eyes widening in mild surprise, “Really? Well, isn’t that awfully convenient,” he whistled, yawning and looking off into the sea again, “Speaking of which, how come the military retreated? I’ve counted about fifty monster carcasses, so - if your numbers on downed friendlies is accurate - the ratio implies a tie.” Horde tilted his head, raising an eyebrow in half-amusement and half-astoundment, “You took the time to count the dead monsters? When did you even-” he interrupted himself with a shake of his head and smiled, “Well, whatever the case, the decisive factor came down to shock and awe anyway. The attack force had to rely on maintaining a cohesive strategy to have an upper hand, so it was better to organize a fighting retreat while they could than to let the battlefield devolve into complete chaos where that ‘tie’ wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”

  “Oi, Eiken,” Immortalis suddenly piped up before Warpbreaker could say anything else, interrupting the conversation while walking towards the large boulder where the space manipulator was sitting, one of his hands extended outwards as if to block the winds blasting into his face, “Stop acting like some edgy loner and get your ass back here, Empress is briefing us on what to do next. You too, Horde,” he grumbled, pointing with his thumb to behind himself and towards a cave-like formation where the rest of the Celestials were gathered. Warpbreaker rolled his eyes in mild amusement and instantly teleported right next to Empress, sticking out his tongue at her playfully, teleporting to her opposite side as soon as she began delivering a backhanded slap, making the hero giggle childishly. I watched on as the rest of the ten began to shuffle around to form a circle from where to begin their meeting, my eyes semi-closing while my thoughts wandered away aimlessly.

  What’s their game here? They’re literally excluding me. I considered, stretching a bit with a grunt yet refusing to get up from where I was sitting. It's as if I was just a spectator. It’s not like they won’t acknowledge my existence, but rather they won’t acknowledge my position. “Kevin…” Jessica called out to me, tugging on my sleeve, causing me to snap back to reality with a blink, turning to look at her innocently worried expression, “But what about-” She didn’t get to finish her sentence, however, since John thunderously entered the space with a thump of his foot, “Eiken, you little shit!!” he exclaimed, making the rest of the ten turn to look at him, “I was gracious enough to go get you, and you just left me behind like that?! What the hell, dude??” Behind him walked in one of Horde’s bodies, specifically the one that had been accompanying the rest of us on the plane, “It’s alright, Seven,” he answered in the stead of Warpbreaker, placing a hand on the immortal’s shoulder, “I’ll help you get payback later,” he casually mentioned with a sly smirk yet in an all too monotone manner.

  Empress sighed at their banter and crossed her arms, clearing her throat as a subtle way to demand silence, “We’re all here, which means we can finally discuss what we’ll do now that plan A fell apart because of the storm,” she began, ignoring the bickering, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket and unfurling it across the floor to reveal a map of Iceland. I leaned forward in interest, raising an eyebrow curiously while eyeing the map. Oh? This is also new. Love Love pursed her lips, twiddling her fingers while her eyes hovered over each of the heroes one by one nervously, something clearly bothering her… but I didn’t pay her much mind. She’s probably quite stressed. Must be nerve wracking as hell to go on a Celestial-exclusive mission when she isn’t even a pro hero herself. I smirked and placed a hand on the top of her head, ruffling up her hair, making her pout. “We’ll split into three groups, where we’ll approach the mountain from different directions,” Eight continued, raising her gaze to inspect everyone gathered. Seraph raised a hand near-immediately following that statement, her face the quintessential showcase of someone desperately trying to hide the fact that they were scared out of their damn mind, smiling anxiously, “S-Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask real quick… Why are we splitting up?? Wouldn’t it be safer- I mean, better, if we stick together??”

  “If we were part of a wider operation composing a lot more people, then yes, staying in larger groups would be better,” Stalwart was the one to answer, his eyes drifting towards the entrance to their makeshift cave and at the shadowed outside, “But the enemy both knows we’re coming for them and that there’s just a few of us. All it takes is for one of them to have the ability to spot us and I’d bet it wouldn’t take five minutes for us to get surrounded by every single Apostle and hundreds of monsters.” Seraph’s brow furrowed while hearing out the senior hero, his words sinking in and causing her to hang her head in defeat and sigh, “Right. We’d become one big bullseye. Got it, carry on,” she mumbled in an almost pathetic-like manner, her voice almost inaudible. “Umm… Kevin…? Where-” Jessica once more grumbled softly, her voice as tiny as could be while she tugged on my sleeve even while I continued to pat her head. I didn’t bother to turn to look at her, “Not right now, Love Love. I’ll explain whatever’s on your mind as soon as we’re done here, ok?” My sidekick sighed and looked away, nodding politely. Plus, if it’s anything urgent I can just go back and fix it once it's brought to my attention. I’ve got no reason to rush. I thought placidly.

  “So, we’ll split into three groups,” Empress continued after giving Stalwart an appreciative nod, “Group A will approach the mountain directly from where we are, taking the shortest path possible. It’ll be composed of Seraph, Stalwart, and Immortalis. The main priority of this group is to get Number One in such a position that will allow us to carry on with the original strategy. This means keeping Angellica out of danger is of utmost importance, which is why the two hardiest Celestials will be accompanying her,” she explained succinctly, eliciting nods from the gathered heroes. Hmm… Stalwart thought to himself while rubbing his moustache, his eyes narrowed in on the map. Is it really a good idea to bring someone as hotheaded as John on an escort mission? Well, it’s not my place to judge… In truth, Nine wasn’t actually all that worried about Immortalis. He was, in fact, much more worried about himself than he was about absolutely anyone else. He doubted if he’d be able to follow through on the mission, he doubted if he’d be useful, he doubted if he even wanted to succeed. He didn’t dare voice any of this, though, not even in his own thoughts.

  I guess it makes sense. Immortalis, meanwhile, thought to himself smugly. I AM invincible, after all!! If there’s anyone who can keep a dainty girl out of harm’s way, it is me dammit!! Oh, I hope we encounter an Apostle along the way and I’ll be forced to heroically stay behind to slay the foul beast, only to later show up to save the day~ The young hero chuckled to himself, immersed in his own delusional fantasies. I am going to die. I am going to get ripped to pieces. Angellica thought to herself in utter grim pessimism, holding her face in her hands. Why am I here?! I blame Kronos for this!! Agh, at least my only job is to stay safe… I swear, the second I’m seeing a monster I am going to hide behind those two idiots and let THEM get mauled to death.

  “Meanwhile, groups B and C will primarily be distraction forces. Starting with group B…” Empress continued, pressing her index finger against the dot on the map marking where the group had been forced to land, near the eastern side of the island nation, and trailed a path through the north in a parabola, “They will approach the mountain from the north, taking the longest path. This one will be composed of Warpbreaker, Breadman, and myself - Empress. This is because us three are the best suited for traversing the long distance quickly and without tiring ourselves out, as well as being able to cause some noise on the way,” she explained with a shrug. Cause some noise… Breadman considered the words carefully, his expression unreadable behind his sunglasses and stoic demeanor. In other words, Eight’s saying we’ll be the ones in most danger. I can at least respect that she’s willing to put herself to the task too. His gaze rested on his leader’s face for a few moments, deep in thought. It was no secret that Number Four had many grievances with the president of the Hero Association, but what wasn’t as well known was that for every criticism, he had just as much praise to give. I don’t know many leaders who would bother explaining to their subordinates the plan in detail beyond just their individual jobs. I know even less who would so openly tell them they are bait. Warpbreaker, meanwhile, was entertaining himself by playing around with a ball that he had acquired from some unknown place using Event Horizon, juggling it absent-mindedly. I wonder what my Apostle’s gonna be capable of. He wondered, barely paying any attention to the meeting. I mean, I KNOW I’m gonna fight at least one, so… I hope it’s fun at least. I don’t care if I have to be bait in the least~

  “And finally, group C will approach from below, taking the second shortest path while still being a distraction force. Their secondary objective is to lead the charge as soon as they have rendezvoused with group A and Seraph has completed her main mission. This group will be composed of Maquineer, Horde, and Crusader. This is because they’ll be the ones with the least stamina to spare, so they can’t afford to take the longer route,” she finished, trailing with her finger the southward path for the three heroes to observe. It’s the logical conclusion. Maquineer thought with a hum to herself, looking outside while picturing herself going trekking. I have limited energy from my core, while the other two have obvious setbacks as well. Hmm, part of me is sort of excited, being honest!! I know I shouldn’t really be since there’s a chance I’ll die and all, but I have so many cool ideas floating in my head… Working under pressure gets me creative, maybe? I should run some tests on that.

  Crusader looked down at his hands, flexing his armored fingers and feeling the energetic weight of his power, causing one of the transport planes resting on the beach to creak and dent slightly. Inconvenient. He thought in annoyance. I can’t conjure up metal from nowhere, and since we’ll be fighting away from civilization we don’t know if there will be any of it nearby for me to pull from… So I have no choice but to tire myself out carrying it with me the whole way. The lowest ranking Celestial tsk’d, flexing his hand a second time while anticipating the fight ahead. Finally, Horde nodded silently once Eight had finished her speech, his arms crossed. In the end, no matter how many of me I bring, each one still only has the stamina of someone without any powers. Very fit ones, bordering on pro athletes, but still. He closed his eyes for a few moments; the other 4,999 of himself still sitting inside the transport planes remaining dead silent, although a few of them looked up with middling interest as the dent Crusader had formed in one of the planes. He would reunite with the rest of them as soon as the order was given to head out, but they remained seated for the time being in order to conserve energy and stamina.

  Empress took a deep breath and pushed herself off the wall, staring down at the rest of gathered heroes with narrowed eyes, “And of course, should any of you encounter an Apostle, you know what to do. Any questions?” Recognising those words as my cue to act, I stretched and let out a grunt a second time, getting up on my two feet while placing my hands behind my head and smirking, “I got something to say. Not a question, though,” I began, pointing at the still sitting Love Love with my thumb, my eyes fixated on Eight, “She’ll be going with group A. That’s fine, right?” My sidekick turned to look at me with wide eyes before quickly turning her gaze towards the three Celestials she was supposedly going to be working with. Immortalis smirked and winked at her suggestively as soon as her gaze landed on him, making her blush in embarrassment and look away just as quickly, placing one of her hands on her forehead as if to block him from her sights. Empress looked down at Jessica for a few moments and then returned my stare, crossing her arms, “That’s fine. I don’t see how more help would be unwelcome. And you?” she asked, flipping the questioning unto me while raising one of her eyebrows interrogatively. I shrugged and leaned my back on the wall of the cave, my odious smirk refusing to die down while I closed one of my eyes, “If you’re worried about having to put up with me, I have good news. I’ll be going alone~ Tragic, I know.”

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  Eight stared at me incredulously for a couple of seconds before finally looking away with a short shake of her head. Why do I even bother trying to understand him? He’ll probably show his face once everything’s said and done just to say ‘well done everyone’ and never elaborate on where he even fucked off to. “So be it. Anyway, if that’s all, I believe we can start moving,” she finished with a swish of her arm, the rest of the heroes beginning to get up on cue, gathering into their little teams. “I have a question,” suddenly called out a shrill voice, making every single person turn to look at my pet in surprise, especially considering how meek and quiet she had been ever since she had stepped foot on the plane. Jessica slowly lowered her hand once she realised she had the undivided attention of everyone gathered, drawing her hands closer to her chest in embarrassment before taking a deep breath and continuing, “S-Sorry, it’s just, I was wondering… Where’s Dreamstress? What will she be doing?”

  Her question was answered by a deafening silence that not even the violent storm outside could penetrate, each and every single hero gathered processing her words at a snail’s pace, as if savoring every vowel. “Dreamstress…?! I- I don’t…” the first to say anything was Empress, most likely because the question had been directed at her, her voice a mixture of utter confusion and asinine frustration, her voice slowly dying down while her eyes glazed over and became glued to the floor in concentration. My pet blinked once, twice, and then slowly turned to look at the rest of the Celestials as if to demand an answer, only to have her heart sink in dismay when she noticed every last one of them had that same glazed and foggy look over their eyes. Love Love quickly took a step back fearfully, her eyes darting between everyone gathered a second time as if to confirm her suspicion, suddenly feeling as if she had been unceremoniously thrust into some sort of horror movie. What the fuck?? What is this?! “Uhh… M-Must’ve been a dumb question, hehe, sorry…” she meekly tried to walk back on her words, her eyes as wide and her pupils as dilated as could be, her gaze finally resting on me pleadingly, silently begging me to snap out of whatever haze I was caught in. Dreamstress… Michaela… I tried to recall to no avail, my brow furrowing in increasing frustration while I wracked my brains, completely stunlocked, my mind fighting some sort of inner battle I wasn’t even aware of. There’s something messing with me. This- I recognise this feeling. I know it all too well. My eyes suddenly flicked towards Jessica, the poor girl slowly backing away towards the far end of the cave, her fight or flight response kicking in and making a pink mist-like aura start to rise around her.

  “Love Love,” I cried out suddenly while weakly pointing at her with my index finger, my eyes partially clearing of fog and narrowing in on her, startling her and making her whimper, “Your power. NOW!!!” I hissed at her violently, as if I had just voiced a threat. I don’t know why, but I just know she can do SOMETHING. I couldn’t guide myself via thought process, instead being forced to rely on nothing but pure gut-instinct. My sidekick eyed with an agape mouth, her brow furrowing in utter bafflement for a few moments before she finally came to a realization with a high pitched gasp, “OH!!! Yes, of course!!” They’re under the effects of Psychogenesis, duh!!! I should have figured that out so much faster, eh… I wonder- Agh, that’s not important right now!! I have to snap them out of it!! She looked down at her hands and grit her teeth in worried self-doubt. B-But will I even be able to?? All of them all at once?! Jessica blinked a couple more times while biting down on her index finger and then slowly closed her eyes in concentration, her hesitation vanishing as pink energy began to surround her and rise up around her like a barely perceptible mist, slowly filling out the room with it. I have to try. Kevin told me to do it, so I must!! Is this not why I’m here?! Come on, Jessica, focus, you can’t fail!! She began to smile weakly while the blood quickly drained from her face, the nausea hitting her like a truck while tendrils of pink mist began to wrap around each of the Celestials one by one. Literally!! Kevin won’t let me fail. She joked to herself, only half-believing it, blood running down from her nose profusely.

  The fog began to clear from my head soon thereafter, my brow unfurrowing as my metabolism was enhanced to quickly tear apart the specific hormonal cocktail that Michaela had planted within me. Ugh- I let out a sudden gasp, as if finally taking in a breath for the first time in ages, stumbling from side to side like a drunkard while holding onto my forehead. It’s been a hot minute since I experienced this. I shook my head various times as if to dispel some sort of invisible headwear, feeling as if my brain was being blindingly torn apart for a few seconds until I was finally able to picture Michaela clearly in my memories. It’s as if someone detonated a damn flashbang inside my head. I should be getting my bearings back soon enough, though. I then lifted up my gaze just in time to witness my dear pet’s eyes roll to the top of her head, her body suddenly collapsing face-first into the stone floor like a piece of timber and creating a very unpleasant splat noise. Oh. She just broke her nose. I noticed, identifying the sound immediately while letting out an annoyed groan. That’s gonna hurt when she wakes up. If she wakes up at all, of course. I let out a sigh and turned my head to look at the rest of the awakening Celestials, each of them stumbling about where they stood like lost puppies while their heads cleared. I must have snapped out of it faster because I’m more used to the feeling. I reasoned with a shrug as I approached Love Love, crouching down to inspect her, using my hands to roll her over before placing two fingers against her carotid. Okay, her body’s alive at least. Just gotta hope there’s no brain damage. I confirmed and got up again, turning my head towards the stormy outside, my brow furrowing. Why the hell did Michaela even do that in the first place??

  “THAT BITCH!!!” Immortalis suddenly yowled out with a shake of his head, breaking out of his stupor by slamming his fist into the rocky edges of the wall, chipping away at the stone and disfiguring his hand pretty badly, “BULLSHIT!! You’re telling me that Everliving doesn’t think that Psychogenesis is poison, but getting drunk is?!” he growled, doubling over and wincing in pain while holding his bloodied hand tightly, closing his eyes for a few moments while his clothes got stained in blood that would soon disappear. Empress was the next one to snap to her senses, her eyes lingering on John for a few moments before quickly deciding to use her regained clarity in a different way. I can’t let chaos get a grip, not now. I have to act fast. Number Eight inhaled deeply and raised a leg, subsequently stamping down her foot against the ground hard enough to make the entire area rumble and shake, creating a crack all along the floor with a thunderous boom, drawing all attention towards her instantly. “We don’t have the time to be distracted!!” she yowled out authoritatively before anyone else could act, “Everyone, what is the most recent instance you remember having seen Dreamstress?!” Empress asked urgently before anyone else could even get a word out. A short and thoughtful silence gripped the Celestials once more, the commanding voice of their leader helping them regain their senses by directing their mental efforts towards a goal. MICHAELAAA!!! Empress thought in pure rage, even while her outward appearance seemed as stoic as ever, never allowing herself to falter. Did you learn NOTHING from last time?! Were you anyone else, I would have you EXECUTED!!!

  “Not ten minutes ago, when I was looking for monster bodies using portals,” Eiken spoke up with a furrowed brow right as the silence had begun to get uncomfortable, “I spotted her through one of them not too far from here, although she seemed to be heading vaguely towards the northwest. I- my mind registered her the same way it would a blade of grass. Why didn’t I realise…?” he finished as his voice trailed off, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought. “Because she used Psychogenesis to force herself into the very deepest recesses of our subconscious,” Maquineer mumbled out nervously as both an answer and a continuation to what Six was saying, her mechanical eyes whirring slightly while she stared down at her hands, “She basically made herself invisible to our conscious thoughts. And not just that; she also had to do it over and over, constantly re-applying the effect,” she looked up and into the eyes of Empress, the cyborg’s gaze cold and calculating, “She can’t control me beyond one time commands due to my biology… or, well, lack thereof, so that’s the only way she could have kept me in check too. She’s probably quite tired because of that.” So she probably hasn’t gotten very far. Was the unspoken ending to what Alice was trying to imply, the heroine childishly kicking her feet nervously despite her facial expression.

  “I see. Thank you, Eiken. Thank you, Alice,” Eight responded to each of them with a nod, letting out a sigh and shaking her head, looking back at the map, “The question then becomes if we should pursue her. If what Maquineer says is true, she’s definitely weakened enough for us to get her. Although…” she raised her gaze thoughtfully, pursing her lips. One of Breadman’s arms abruptly turned into a beige dough during Empress’ pause, shooting out and grabbing onto the map before retracting back to normal, the hero then holding the piece of paper between two fingers while waving it around, “I agree. We shouldn’t chase after her,” he decisively stated, suddenly crumpling the map in his hand while the yellow light from behind his sunglasses intensified, “If she went to such lengths to keep us in the dark, I say we let her. We don’t have the time or energy to waste chasing after her. Finally, if it’s someone with a personality and power like hers… she just volunteered to be bait as far as I’m concerned. That is, unless…” his head turned towards me slowly, watching me intently while I pushed Love Love a bit with my foot, half-heartedly trying to wake her up.

  I noticed his glare, one of my eyebrows raising and my eyes flicking towards him even while I made no move to remove my hands from my pockets nor changed my posture, as if daring him to do something to me. “Unless nothing,” Crusader interjected with a snarl, one of his swords dragging itself across the floor and cutting a superficial line into it parallel to the fissure caused by Empress’ stomp, “Michaela will pay the price for her betrayal no matter what. Either the monsters will rip her apart… or she will face trial once this expedition is over. Rushing to drag her into the courtroom won’t change anything.” ‘We can’t rely on Kronos anymore.’ That’s what you told us, isn’t it, Eight? Crusader thought to himself while giving Breadman a disapproving glare, making the higher ranked Celestial harrumph and look away. ‘We will plan and strategize like he doesn’t exist, and the same goes for the girl he keeps with him. If either decides to help us out of their own volition, however, then it’s fine. What matters is that we won’t beg, not when he has made things all too clear already.’ None of us objected.

  “You’re wasting away your youths arguing, you know,” Stalwart opined with a yawn, seemingly the most unbothered out of the Celestials, “You all agree, so what’re you still sitting around talking for? We’ve got the three groups set up, and a plan of action. What more could there be to it?” he rhetorically questioned with a shrug, closed eyes, and a friendly smile directed at no one in particular. “Hear hear!!” Warpbreaker chimed with a grin and a snap of his fingers, the ball he had been juggling vanishing mid-air, “The old man’s right!! There’s apostles to slay and a savior to kill!! I swear, if this dumbass meeting isn’t over in five minutes, I’ll go out there by myself!” he finished by sticking out his tongue in a childish way, yet sounding completely confident in his statement. I let out a sigh, signalling the first time a sound escaped from my lips since Jessica snapped us out of Psychogenesis, wrapping my arms around my collapsed pet and lifting her up on one of my shoulders, “Michaela being gone changes nothing,” I announced unceremoniously, approaching Immortalis nonchalantly before suddenly dumping Love Love into his arms and making him nearly fall over, “You can choose to believe that or you can choose to assume I knew this would happen and I’m just manipulating you. Either way, I’ll be heading out since my mission’s a solo one anyway.” I then waved behind myself as I stepped out of the cave while the rest of the heroes remained silently observant, stopping right outside of the makeshift FOB to turn my head to the side and leave some final parting words, “Keep my sidekick safe, will ya? It’d be a damn shame if she died.”

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  I’m already running late. I thought with a tsk, placing my hands in my pockets while continuing on my path, struggling against the harsh winds of the hurricane as I made my way through the rocky environment, my soulless eyes as narrowed as could be in order to maintain some ability to see. Getting out of that meeting in such a rush is a bummer, but I really am fighting against the clock right about now. Or I could just wind said clock and leave at a more appropriate time, meaning I would no longer be in a rush. But why would I do that? I had been on time over and over, was it really that bad if I was just a tiny bit late for once? In truth, it was half-curiosity and half-sloth that kept me from using my powers in that instance. I grunted, my hands gripping onto the icy walls that marked the beginning of the vatnaj?kull glacier, pulling myself up and beginning my hike. I am curious about Michaela, though. I continued to think to myself, not paying even an ounce of attention to what I was doing, guiding myself by pure muscle memory up the ice wall.

  I’d like to go back and confront her, but if what Maquineer said about her continuously re-applying the effect is true… Well, there’d be no point since I’d be right back under her spell as soon as I got back there. I gripped the top of the wall, finally hoisting myself up and sitting down on the glacier for a few moments to catch my breath, placing my hands back into my pockets so they wouldn’t get frostbite. Really, what’s gotten into her?? She’s been acting SO strange this whole timeline… I’m not really connecting the dots here. I turned my head towards the icy horizon, getting back on my feet and beginning my trek. Michaela pulled herself up the wall as well, walking up behind me in tandem, her own arms wrapped around herself to conserve body heat, her glowing eyes fixated on the back of my head as she silently accompanied me on my journey, no sound to be heard but that of the roaring of the wind and our heavy footsteps.