"You okay?"

Helen felt the cloud of confusion disperse, feeling Abigail's arms wrapped around her. It was welcoming to have her closest friend back and not worrying about whether Abigail would ever recover from whatever happened. Having her made dealing with the lost time in her mind bearable.

Leaning into Abigail, "Just can't believe what they said happened. Not being able to remember..." Helen closed her eyes.

"At least you weren't unconscious and carried like a sack of vegetables," Abigail giggled, stroking Helen's hair.

Opening her eyes, Helen looked at the stone hallway they were still in. She saw the others making out plans, using their small tablets. Some of them were carrying the cold blades they found, dropped from the lizard monsters earlier.

One of them broke off from the group and made their way over to where Helen and Abigail were leaning against the wall. They were carrying several bladed weapons, a pensive smile on their face before it was replaced with a smile.

"What's up with the swords?" Helen left Abigail's arms, resting her back against the stone.

When Catharina reached them, she took one of the weapons and handed it to Helen.

Grabbing the sword, she grunted with effort, feeling the weight. "This thing is heavy." Helen grabbed the hilt while holding the scabbard. Putting in some effort, the blade slowly was revealed, glinting from the torches in the hallway.

"Careful, the edge is sharp," Catharina stepped forward, her hands jerking forward before going behind her back.

Sliding the blade back in, Helen turned her attention to Catharina. "Why did you give me this?"

Pressing her lips together, her eyes darted in the direction of their supply bags. Returning her eyes to Helen. "After you were hit, the battle continued longer than was expected." Sighing, "We've used up a lot of the ammunition brought over from the other side."

Helen felt goosebumps crawling up her arms. Resting the sword on her shoulder, "But none of us have training in using swords. How are we supposed to..."

"At some point... The ammo will run out." Pausing as if finding the idea distasteful, "Katya has offered to help us get used to handling these things."

A throaty chuckle was heard behind Catharina, "I'm in a difficult position just as all of you are, so there's a reason for me to help you all survive."

Katya emerged from behind Catharina, her suit looked the same though it felt dangerous compared to previously.

"It's likely from the monsters she's killed. It feels like death is following her." Helen thought.

Just like all the others, Katya had removed her helmet. Lifting a hand to brush back her raven hair behind her left ear, she grinned upon seeing Helen. "Girl, glad to see your awake, again. The two of you seem to have a propensity to lose consciousness." Katya grinned at Abigail.

Helen didn't answer, not enjoying the prospect of being unconscious for long periods, especially not remembering what happened. She looked down at the stone floor. A part of her wished everything was a bad dream. Even being back in the community amongst everyone would be preferable.

"Don't let it get to you. This likely won't be the last time." Katya placed a hand on Helen's head.

Helen looked up.

Pointing a finger to her chest, "The number of times I've had to deal with lost periods is numerous, to the degree where I wonder if I've taken in brain damage." She laughed in the uncaring way typical of her. As though a switch was flipped, her expression turned grave. "This is not the place to be chained to the past." Looking down the corridor, "I feel those lizards are the least of our worries. All of us are going to need to quickly adapt." Lifting her forearm, she made the blade appear.

"That bad?" Helen couldn't help herself.

Katya nodded. "Bella agrees with my assessment. It's fortunate those creatures leave behind items when they die, in addition to disappearing. Though we don't have enough weapons to give to everyone, it's a start." Jerking her chin to the sword, "Though we don't have just bladed weapons, I believe this will be a better choice. I get the feeling the others won't suit your style."

Leaning past Katya and Catharina, she could see her friends trying out differing weapons. Robert had a hammer in his hands, making her chuckle to herself. He was swinging the hammer. Considering his background, it fits him well. Nearby, Robert, Sheila was trying out a spear, stabbing it forward as if there was an enemy.

Helen noticed the others were near the team of women, Bella pointing at the ground and explaining something. She was likely forming some kind of plan for them to survive in this hellish environment.

"Bella is skilled with keeping the optimism up," Katya remarked, noticing Helen looking at them.

A snort made Helen looked to see Catharina sneering, "The Squad Leader is a true leader, unlike someone. If it wasn't for Bella being able to organize everyone, I'm sure you'd have been overwhelmed by the enemy, no matter how good you are." Her shoulders were squared as if challenging Katya to say anything more about her leader.

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Grinning at Catharina's attitude, Katya held up a hand. "Not putting down your dear leader. I do not have the same skills she does, able to keep morale up." Shrugging, "An occupational hazard in my line of work."

Not being able to argue with Katya's words, Catharina deflated a little. "It's true that our current position is a precarious one, not knowing whether more of those things would come."

Katya shook her head, making Catharina raise an eyebrow. Pointing at the torches, "Those things lit up the moment we defeated those things. It makes me think this place has some rules it has to follow, like a game." Redirecting her finger to the location where the portal was, "I'm guessing our travel method dumped us in an area we weren't meant to reach, hence why the lights were off. The defeat of the lizard creatures probably needed to occur further in."

Furrowing her brows, trying to understand what Katya was saying, she began to open her mouth.

"It means we need to be heading in the direction the lizards were coming from." Katya sighed when she didn't get the reaction she was hoping for. "If this area was an area not meant for us to activate, then if we go in reverse order then we'll be able to find the entrance."

Standing, still holding the sword, she stared at Katya, not believing how Katya was able to put things together so quickly, considering how new this place was to them.

Abigail also stood, holding a sword passed over from Catharina. Her face wasn't as shocked, considering the lack of time spent with Katya, still thinking of her as the woman that followed them to PentaSoft.

Listening to the two, Helen felt like something hadn't been revealed by Katya. Something inside of her sense there was a drastic change in the spy, not shared by everyone else.

"Noticed, huh?" Katya laughed, seeing Helen studying her so intensely.

Helen remained silent, not knowing what to say or do to the woman's teasing.

Katya tilted her head back towards Bella. "I've already told our dear leader, which is the reason why I was able to convince her to have people transition away from the guns."

Continuing to look at Katya, Helen braced herself.

"When I was fighting off the creatures, I started to feel myself change. Even though I continued to slice those things, I was able to keep going. It wasn't until I saw the items they were dropping that I started to form a theory. I confirmed it when I talked to Bella." Katya's eyes narrowed, suspicious about her experience. Turning to Catharina, she asked, "How do you feel now, compared to before entering the portal?"

Moving her head away, Catharina was startled by the unexpected question.

"Your body, the way it moves, do you feel different?" Katya pushed.

Eyes widening, Catharina lifted an arm and tried moving it. Clenching her fist and releasing it, she gaped at Katya. "How?"

Katya nodded. "Though the difference isn't much and the reason you're just noticing it, there is a transformation which happened."

Imitating what Catharina had done, Helen tried testing out her body.

"You wouldn't have gained a benefit if my theory is right," Katya said to Helen.

Stepping forward, Abigail demanded, "Why not? Why is there a change for the two of you but not for Helen?" Frowning at Katya, as though she found the answer unacceptable.

Shrugging, "I believe it's because of our encounter with the creatures. Those who were fighting had acquired a boost in abilities for each time we took those things down, explaining the reason everyone's strength has increased." Pointing back at Helen's friends, "Look at the way your friends can swing around those weapons. The reason they're not collapsing over is due to killing some of the monsters." Switching to indicate towards Helen and Abigail, "Both of you were unconscious and didn't join in on the fight."

"But why make us switch over to using these antiquated weapons?" Catharina asked, lifting the sword. "Wouldn't we be able to grow stronger faster, using our modern weaponry?"

Katya held up two fingers, "One, we only have a limited amount of ammunition, so we should allocate the resources to those who don't have a weapon yet." Lowering her middle finger, so only her index finger was up, "The important reason is based on my experiences. I believe using a cold weapon gaining more from each kill, compared to using a firearm."

It all clicked together, hearing Katya's words. Though no one, aside from her, had experienced such things, it strangely made sense. Catharina and Abigail were nodding their heads in comprehension, feeling as though Katya's words carried weight.

As she stood there, Helen tried to understand something bothering her. "If I shouldn't have gained any benefits, then why do I feel stronger?"