Before Terra could fully understand what she saw, the Shandori Frigg shot out with her tendrils, grasping both Sara and Garin before they could react.

Frigg’s body was notably shorter than the others. Terra noticed as Frigg stood there with both Sara and Garin in her tendrils. Her body was stocky, as if someone scrunched her down from her original height. Her hair was green and long, reaching down to her ankles with its length. Her eyes were bright blue, with strange markings floating in the whites of them. Her physique however was even more extraordinary, Terra could not believe how strong she looked. It was as if she was modeled after a gymnast, who trained every day since birth to become toned like a goddess.

Frigg began to move towards her, which made Terra alert. She could feel the underlining rage from her Skiritix half begging to be released on this new adversary. She fought against it, knowing she might lose control if she let loose. Garin and Sara continued to struggle under Frigg’s grip as she stopped five feet in front of Terra. Terra remained poised waiting for an attack to come. It never did though and instead Frigg released both of her friends. She cocked her head at Terra, as if she was something to be observed.

“What?” Terra managed to say through her focus.

Frigg grinned, her teeth noticeably sharp and serrated making Terra feel uncomfortable.

“Oh nothing, just wondered if you were going to try anything. Seems a tad pointless but I figured why not? No point now though, seems you all are alright ‘ere” Frigg smiled a toothy grin at her.

Terra relaxed for a moment, noticing her friend’s glares at the new arrival.

“That mind trick of yours is a pain. Did you need to grab us to do it?” Sara coughed as she spoke.

Garin just stared at the newest member, a look of rage mixed with confusion.

“Well, I didn’t know if you were foes now did ‘eh? ‘Sides it was a good way to figure you guys out.” Frigg laughed, a thick accent carrying through with her words.

She turned to Terra, a menacing grin on her face.

“Well let’s see how you think eh? Should be pretty interesting me thinks.” Frigg reached out with a tendril slowly to grab Terra, who batted it away.

“Not happening,” Terra looked her dead in the eyes as she said it, no hint of mirth in her voice.

Frigg cocked an eyebrow at her as she prepared her other tendril, her smile widening.

“So, you don’t want to share? Didn’t your mum ever teach you to share things with others?”

“I’ve had too many things in my head already, I don’t want or need you in there either.”

“Well, I don’t like this one bit,” Frigg said, a smile in her voice, “Guess we gotta play rough then.”

Terra felt the ground cave under her, the force sucking her down to her shoulders. She pushed her tendrils on the ground, shooting herself out of the sinkhole just as Frigg dashed to her. Terra batted her advances away with ease, her speed was much faster than the new girls. It seemed Frigg was causing the sinkholes around her, which meant that she had a Cheruv working with her. This made Terra much more alert, forcing her to use the overhangs around the cryostasis facility to keep herself safe.

Sara and Garin tried to help, but were incapacitated by Frigg in moments, sinking up to their necks. Frigg started moving faster, striking Terra with feints and side swipes. Still too slow, but Terra began to notice a pattern, seeing her chances for escape getting smaller and smaller. It was clear Frigg was good at trapping people, and her power seemed to help reduce her preys options for counterattacks. Feor came alive during the pursuit, noticing the new Shandori.

“How delightful!” She squealed in Terra’s mind, “She seems to be in a sprightly mood doesn’t she?”

Terra was not amused, “She’s trying to get in my head, mind helping us out here?”

Feor smiled and laughed through the link, “Well that should be simple enough.”

In a split second too fast for her to see, Terra saw Feor take control of her right tendril causing her to fall from her perch in the rafters. She began to free fall to the floor where Garin and Sara both wait. Frigg seemed to be waiting for this moment and sprung at her with all her speed.

“And now,” Feor said with precision.

Feor launched her tendril at Frigg, who deflected the tendril with her own. However, the tendril did not get knocked away from Frigg’s blow, rather wrapping around her tendril instead. It snaked around Frigg, wrapping her whole body in a vice, Feor’s tendril stretching to accommodate the extra length. Frigg tried to fight it with her other tendril, but all it seemed to do was trap her further in the vice.

In twelve seconds, Feor had completely incapacitated Frigg with the one tendril, squeezing the bind to make sure it was snug.

“There, all better, yes?” Feor said to Terra.

“Much, thank you Feor.” Smiling through the bond they shared as Feor retracted back to Terra’s mind, leaving her to deal with Frigg.

“Well, if I didn’t have a fear o’ snakes before, I do now. Mind loosening up a bit their, viper lass?”

Terra looked her dead in the eyes with annoyance, “Just don’t try it again alright? Or this is the endgame.” She squeezed tightly to show her point, which made Frigg yelp from the vice. Terra turned to her friends, still submerged under the quicksand metal to their necks.

“And let my friends go, I think Sara might blow a fuse any second.” Sara was already purple with rage, her blackened eyes were beginning to show as her rage burned. Terra was reminded that Sara was stuck under the ground in a similar way before Garin found her, or so she was told. Sara did not look amused either.

“Let. Me. Go!” She screamed as her rage went full tilt, the ground beginning to boil around her.

Frigg sighed, which caused the ground to release Garin and Sara.

Garin turned to Frigg after he was released, his manner bordered on deadly.

Frigg seemed unnerved more by Garin than Sara, as Garin glared at her face for a good while before speaking.

“Never again, do I make myself clear?” He said with pure authority.

Frigg shook her head up and down, fear showing on her face as Garin turned to calm Sara down.

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“I will burn that bitch alive! You hear me?!” Sara shouted as Garin held onto her in her fits of rage.

Frigg shrugged off everything, even as the fear Terra saw earlier still lingered in her shifting eyes.

“Look, I am grateful for you three ya hear? I got shoved in that freezer for a rather unfair reason.” Frigg said with a twirl. “And now we all got out to explore a new home just for us, right? Just like that old woman said.”

Garin ignored her as he tended Sara, but Terra’s interest was piqued.

“What old woman?”

Frigg turned to her, a sly smile on her face, “Well I don’t remember the old broad’s name. But she put me in that icicle because we were supposed to ‘live through the worst’ or some crap like that. Something about life dying, no food or whatever, but she said when I woke up the world would be different. Better for us, and for the rest, so I agreed to it. Little did I know she wasn’t joining me in the frosty bathhouse. Last thing I remember before was her smile when the ice crawled up me arse.”

Terra began to wonder if she only spoke in vulgarity, Feor seemed to agree.

“She does seem to be limited in her vocabulary besides cursing. I wonder who her Cheruv is?”

Tehran spoke through Terra’s mind as he answered, “I know of only one who would get away with that, I only hope I am wrong about it…” Terra shivered, somehow knowing Tehran was unnerved by this girl made it worse for her.

Frigg continued as though she already had confirmation from everyone to proceed.

“Well, I think you all should introduce your other selves, seeing as I already know most of your names,” She glanced at Terra for a moment as Sara calmed down enough to speak to Frigg.

“My name’s Sara, and this,” She showed a purple light shining on her metallic face, “Is Kalra. She’s pissed right now, so you better explain yourself real frigging soon Frigg.”

Frigg only sighed, “guess that was inevitable, but not until after dearie, tall red and blue hasn’t answered yet.” She motioned to Garin with a purr in her voice, “Got a girlfriend do yeh?”

Garin’s face was teeming with annoyance, but he answered just the same, “Garin, just Garin.”

That put a confused look on Frigg’s face, “Wait, you can’t be… you are Shand-watsits right? The lady told me she had a son who was one.”

Garin turned to her, concern radiating off of him in waves, making Terra step back a bit as he approached Frigg, “My mother spoke to you then? What did she look like, tell me!”

His face was contorted in a grimace as Frigg lost some of her bravado, “She was the lady, but that’s all I knew about her, honest! Calm the hell down boyo.”

Frigg brushed herself off as Garin backed off, his face a mix between worry and pain.

“I had a Cheruv,” He continued, stopping before he got to her, “He doesn’t speak to me anymore. His name was Tehran.”

Frigg literally squealed like a girl when she heard the name, her mannerisms changed sporadically, and she actually smiled! Terra was more terrified by this than when she was trying to look at her thoughts.

“Tehran! I am so glad I finally found you! It’s been an age, hasn’t it? I cannot wait to hear about your adventures with this dashing handsome specimen you came with!” Frigg seemed to be replaced with a happier version of a housewife, and the more she watched, the more Terra knew she had to intervene before she set off Garin. She ran to them both and put a tendril on Garin’s shoulder, distracting him from Frigg the Mary Sue for a moment.

“Garin, look at me.”

He did, which made Terra flinch a little. His face was full of pain, from his memories of his mother or Tehran Terra didn’t know. She hugged him with her tendrils as he let her hold him.

“He’ll come back, and we will find out, kay?”

Garin grumbled, but Terra took it as acknowledgement and let him go. He seemed sad still, but a smile showed on his face. It was a start she thought.

Frigg the floweriest intervened, a little unnerved by Terra’s gesture to Garin.

“Hey now, this Shandori’s mine you little bug.”

Terra let it roll off of her as she turned to check on Sara, whose rage was starting to boil over. Sara was almost completely purple and black, and her eyes were burning coals.

“Tell me I can kill her and it’s done,” Sara said, calm and controlled.

Terra wanted to say yes, but she knew Sara wouldn’t stop if she did, so she said, “She knew Tehran, she could help Garin. Think on that before you act.”

Sara glared at her with fury, but little by little she started to calm and her appearance began to reflect her balancing emotional self once more.

“I hate it when you’re right, you know that don’t you?”

Terra just smiled back, “It’s only because I know what it’s like to lose control, you told me that remember?”

Recognition showed on Sara’s face, and she smiled, “Guess I know what I am talking about, maybe I should take my own advice, eh?”

Terra gave her a quick hug, “Yup you should.”

Sara smiled again, pushing past her to get to Frigg as she got bubbly with Garin. Terra moved towards them as Garin listened to Frigg as she talked about Tehran.

“Truly a great leader if I ever saw one, it was just us at first you know. He was so commanding! I only wish we had more time together when that happened, at least I had my own body then.” Frigg seemed to snap herself back to her old self as she spoke, her demeanor changing from light-headed to cold and calculating in a second.

“Damnit Ilia, I told you not to do that anymore!” Frigg’s demeanor switched again, the bubbly side coming out again.

“But honey, Tehran and I were old buddies! How can you lock me out like that? Answer, you can’t! I want my moment with Tehran.” Frigg seemed to be having an internal struggle, each part of her fighting against the other to gain control. Sara looked over at Terra, and placed a tendril on Frigg’s back, right where her spine was. They both seemed to calm down instantly, Frigg’s face a blank expressionless mask as Sara closed her eyes. Terra took note of what was happening, but she had a good idea of what she was looking at. Sara did something similar to Terra to release her from the Skiritx’s control over her body.

Sara was silent for a time, Garin and Terra looked at each other with worry as minutes began to pass.

“Maybe we should go check on Ella, I’m not sure leaving her with those two Telika was wise.” Garin seemed uncomfortable by the notion, his eyes shifting as he said it. Terra looked at the entrance to the chamber, seeing all three of their companions talking to each other rather quietly. Terra saw them turn to her, Ella giving her a thumbs up with a feathered wing as she made not moves to come over.

“I think they are fine Garin, besides we should stay until Sara’s done with whatever she’s doing.”

“Terra, I want to say I am sorry,” Garin looked at the ground as he said it, his eyes not leaving the smooth marble.

“For what?”

“Well, I know you are just trying to help me with Tehran. I feel like there’s something missing with him gone, but I shouldn’t take that out on you or Sara. So, I am sorry.”

“Sorry what?”

Garin put his eyes down in a furrow, “you heard me.”

Terra just smiled wide, “I know, I just like hearing it.”

Garin smiled weakly back, which made Terra realize that she was showing her teeth, her awkwardly different sets of teeth along with the slightly larger mandibles that her mouth hid when it was closed.

She closed it immediately, wondering if she would ever get used to the extra teeth and jaws. Though as the moment passed, the thought of her teeth made her hungry.

“Can you stay with them Garin? I’m going to get some food.” Terra began to move away as Garin nodded, the look of awkwardness still on his face.

“Bring us something back, would you?” He finally said as she walked past. She nodded back and turned to the two animentals and one birb as they took note of her presence. Pou’tin looked down at her, his swirling yellow eyes curious.

“So, there are more of you it would seem.”

Terra tilted her head to the side, nodding as she did. “Well, didn’t you get that from us when you were in my head?”

Pou’tin sighed as he spoke, “I could understand most of your companions, but you were harder to read Terra. I had seen the hope of finding more in your companions though, so it made me believe you weren’t the last of your kind. I can see now that is not the case.”

Tempest hissed in acknowledgement; her gaze directed at the other Shandori. Ella smiled wide at the whole thing.

“Hooray, you found a new friend! Soon you guys will find your other brothers and sisters too, Ella would like to meet the new metal one if I could?” She turned to the two Telika for some approval, but neither seemed to give it. She sighed; her face sullen.

“They won’t let Ella go meet the new one, they say it is too dangerous right now which is ridiculous!” She spat the last word at Tempest, who hit her over the head with her tail without breaking her gaze. Holding her head in pain, Ella squawked back at Tempest, who just seemed to hiss with laughter at her.

Terra turned to Pou’tin, his face showing his uncertainty, “She did attack you, and she seems very unstable. I encouraged her to stay.”

Terra nodded, “Ella they might be right about the new one you mentioned, Sara is trying to straighten her out at the moment, not to sure how well that will work but its better than having her be split as she was.”

Ella scoffed at her, a chirp escaping her beak as she huffed in rebuttal, “I am a hunter, even you metal ones aren’t that scary.”

Terra screeched at her with her tendrils up in the air, letting her extra jaw and mouth show as she screamed at Ella.

Ella surprisingly did nothing, looking down at her with smug indifference, “You are like Buchisa, all scream no bite. I could have you in ropes in seconds Terra.”

Terra was impressed, she half thought her to run down the hallway. She nodded to Ella in approval, “So great hunter, want to help me get some food?”