In the cave by the roaring river, Bella lay wrapped in a cocoon of grass. Her friends gathered around her, but the silence was woven as tightly as Skein. After a few hours of fitful rest, Zoe woke and stared at Oriz at a loss for what to say. Not even Skidmark’s gentle snoring cut through the tension.

“I…” Zoe began. “I want to help.”

Oriz spread her hands protectively over Bella’s cocoon.

“Leave me to tend to her.”

“I’m sure your method will work.”

Oriz nodded.

After an awkward moment, Zoe spoke.

“I’m going to check out the town.”

“You said the mantis took it over.”

“I want to confirm that.”

“Good.”

Zoe gazed at the cocoon.

“She has Time essence, and —”

“No,” Oriz’s voice was as sharp and flat as her blade. “You shall not cut her, nor go near her with your techniques not even when she wakes. Do not ask her. She might say yes, but that does not give you the right.”

“I’m only doing what I must —”

“Other worlds than yours have fallen, Zoe Chambers.”

Zoe met the alien woman’s glare.

“Very well,” she said as she stood. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Oriz nodded.

“We’ll see you then.”

Without another word, Zoe limped from the cave and headed out toward the town. She followed the river upstream, and as she went she felt her leg recover enough to walk properly. She’d spent a couple of hours resting in the cave and though her Skein wasn’t high enough for her liking she felt capable enough to at least scout out the town. Sarah, the mantis, the human — her words plagued Zoe.

The town was lost. The mantis took over.

Zoe didn’t want to believe it, but more and more it looked like what had happened was true. Their time in hell had worked against them. She had hoped that time would be frozen and they would emerge back on earth with at least three days before the mantis attacked. Even if the mantis broke the word of the ambassador and attacked early, they would be in the town, they would have fulfilled the quests to gain more time and more defenses — it was a cruel joke that everything had gone wrong since they partook in the Gambler’s Game.

For someone supposed to be in charge, he seemed to make everything worse. Good reason she had her sights set on ending the system.

“Wait up!”

Zoe turned around, her eyebrow quirked, as Skidmark hurried to catch her. The river flowed beside them, sheets of ice floating on the cold water toward the edge of the island, and the Scottish woman panted as she finally caught up.

“Damn, you walked fast!”

“I’m in a hurry,” Zoe replied.

“Town’s not going anywhere, is it?”

“Honestly? With the way the world is these days, I don’t know if the town is going anywhere. Hell, I don’t even know if the island is going anywhere or if it’s just floating in place. Is the ocean still below us? Or is the ocean now sectioned out into islands of water? What happens to the water flowing over the edge? Does it get looped back into the island, or fall into the abyss forever, or is it filling up the ocean that is and always has been and always will be below us? Huh? So, I don’t know, Skidmark, but I’m hurrying because maybe the town and all the people I said I’d protect are dead and gone.”

She huffed for air, the winter flavor left her numb.

Skidmark stepped closer and placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. They were about the same height, maybe Skidmark was taller, and her hand was warm. Skidmark stepped closer and wrapped Zoe in a hug.

“What are you doing?” Zoe asked.

Skidmark rested her head on Zoe’s shoulder.

“Sounded like you’re feeling manic.”

“I feel normal.”

“It’s not normal to be manic.”

“Stop this.”

“Just hug me back.”

“I don’t know you. Not like this.”

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“Doesn’t matter.”

Zoe patted Skidmark’s back.

“Let go, now.”

“No.”

Zoe sighed and wrapped her arms around Skidmark. The warmth of her body pressed against her. The sweat in her hair filled Zoe’s nostrils. They held each other beside the thawing river as it rushed toward oblivion.

After a minute, Skidmark let go and wiped away a tear.

“That’s better,” she said.

“Was that for me or you?” Zoe said as she stepped away from the embrace.

“Shut up,” Skidamrk ripped away another tear. “Everybody needs a hug sometimes.”

“I didn’t expect to see this side of you.”

“You just said you don’t know me all that well.”

“No, I suppose I don’t. For example, I can’t even begin to guess why you chased after me.”

“Think I wanted to be holed up in that cave? The atmosphere is dank and sad.”

Zoe grimaced.

“Fair enough. Come on.”

They followed the river up around the bend and then made their way into the forested hills. Soon they saw the town. The sky was growing dimmer on the edges, that strange sunset without a sun. The two women crawled through some bushes on the edge of the vast clear plane encircling the town. There was a distance of a hundred yards or so before they saw some buildings — looked like some kind of red brick university with housing and lecture halls. No people were moving about.

“What do you think?” Skidamrk whispered.

“I wish Anton came along.”

“That’s harsh.”

“No, for his eyes.”

“Not his company then? That’s good.”

“I don’t see anybody, don’t sense anything. I think we should go ahead..”

“You sure it’s safe?”

“I’m almost positive it’s not safe.”

“Huh.”

Zoe nodded. Well, it wasn’t like she had no way of scouting without Anton.

[Hound Manifestation]

Zoe grimaced as her flesh rippled beneath her jumpsuit. She unzipped the side to explode the dark skin beneath her ribs.

“What are you doing?” Skidmark hissed, and then the Scottish woman’s eyes widened as she saw for herself.

A snout bulged beneath Zoe’s skin, claws pressed, the little pads of a hound’s paws outlined against Zoe’s stretched skin. There was a faint tear like wet paper, and the hound slid free. It shook itself, growing, and padding away into the snow to stretch itself out. It gazed at Zoe and lowered its head with a low whine in its throat.

Zoe rubbed it behind the ears as she zipped up her jumpsuit. her [Our Hearts Toll as One] wrapped around the hounds’ rapid beating heart.

“I wonder… are you the same hound?” she asked.

Though it had the same sharp ears and sleek build, its fur was speckled white and grey. It blended into its environment perfectly. Zoe looked into its eyes, trying to see some look of recognition. There was an answer there, but the hound didn’t speak. It couldn’t, but maybe she would uncover that ability. The Chroma Viscera Core glowed still in her jumpsuit pocket, tucked away in a small storage portal, and she had plans for combining it with her hounds, but now wasn’t the time.

“I need you to go and scout out the area up ahead,” she said to the hound. “Do you understand?”

It nodded. Silent. Eerie intelligence in its solemn brown gaze.

“Ok,” she said. “Go, and come back soon.”

The hound turned and bolted across the snow. It quickly crossed the distance and entered the university area. Zoe lay back down beneath the bush.

“And now we wait,” she said.

Skidmark settled in beside her.

“What’s your plan?” she said.

“Find out if the bugs took over, or if Sarah was lying.”

“Then what?”

“Then, regardless, we kill all the bugs and free the town.”

Skidmark nodded.

“After that?”

Zoe gazed up at the sky. A speck of black passed overhead.

“I need to get off this island,” she said. “There are other dungeons. There are Mountains. I need to get as many secrets and as much power as I can.”

“You want to kill the system, yeah?”

Zoe glanced over at her.

“Yeah. Why?”

Skidmark shrugged, an awkward motion as she propped her head up with her elbow.

“Just trying to put you in a box, that’s all. I think you would have made a great punk, back when that meant something.”

Zoe raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Hmmm?”

“You’re following us, and you followed me here. You never even saw this town before, so what’s your motivation?”

“Would you believe me if I said I wanted to kill the system as well?”

Zoe frowned.

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“That’s a shame,” Skidmark shrugged awkwardly. “Cos I do. You make it look so cool, so I figured I’d join you.”

Zoe stared at her for a moment, and Skidmark batted her eyelashes. Without the punk makeup, haircut, and tattoos, Skidmark had pretty features. If she had come into Zoe’s clinic, there wasn’t anything Zoe would have suggested. Not to say she wouldn’t have made money, but that would have been based on insecurity, not material fact.

She settled down to watch the buildings while she waited.

“You’re welcome to join me,” she said after a while. “Just don’t get in my way.”

Skidmark snorted.

“I sort of figured that was how you operated.”

“And don’t stab me in the back,” Zoe said as she kept her gaze ahead. “What you did to your last team?” She felt Skidmark flinch in the snow. “Try that with me and I’ll rip your head right off, do we understand each other?”

Skidmark nodded.

“Crystal, pal.”

“Good.”

They lapsed into silence and Zoe checked her Body Path. She still needed to pick her ability.

[The Bell At The Center Of The World]

[Rank 4 upgrades]

* [Resonant Tear: strike resonant frequencies to destabilize and collapse points in space and time]

* [The Heart Sings: spread your emotions through the vibrations you create]

* [Note of Clarity: enter the Bell at the Center of the World without effort or cooldown]

After a few moments, she chose [Resonant Tear].

For the first time since she started upgrading her body path, she felt one of the upgrades in a substantial way. Not just another step, this was a leap — but it felt like an extension, not a twist, or deviation, as though the chasm were a part of the canyon. This was natural. And she reached out with a hand delighted at the way the world swirled around her fingers — her chains — it all danced like fireflies. The light was everywhere, and she let a little giggle slide from her scarred lips.

Skidmark looked over at her.

“Are you alright?”

“I upgraded my body path.”

“Yeah?” she turned over excitedly. “What does it do?”

Zoe frowned, she could feel the swirling, but how to make it do what she wanted? She ran a hand through the air and felt the faintest vibration. No, she was thinking about it wrong. Remember the python bracelet. It wasn’t air, but essence. Everything was Skein, it just lacked patterns…. No, there was already a pattern, just not one she could use at the moment.

She reached out and felt the threads of air running over her fingers. So faint, so light, like the kiss of butterflies, but it was there. Excited moth wings fluttered across her heart as she played with the resonance.

She touched a thread and pressed her Willpower against it. The thread rang out, and then she pushed it harder, it oscillated, resonated, hit its frequency — and collapsed.

A pinprick hole appeared in the air. It sucked and collapsed in a fraction of a second.

Zoe’s eyes widened. Skidmark grabbed her.

“Did you see that?” she said. “Did you make that happen?”

“...I did.”

“You made a damned black hole!”