Chapter 16 - A Restrictive Rhythm

Naia grabbed Theia's offered hand and held on, her fingers wrapped tightly around the metallic gauntlet. Their surroundings outside the pod being replaced by the warp field, Naia couldn't help but think about Evander. He'd gone ahead alone, knowing how much she relied on him during transit.

Was it just the urgency of the mission? Or was it another sign of the growing distance between them? Theia's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

"Hey, focus on me, okay? We're almost there."

Naia met the woman's eyes, finding an unexpected steadiness there. As they emerged from the warp, hand still clasped over the woman's in a death grip, Naia realized that perhaps she'd underestimated her own capacity to adapt. Through her unease, she registered the faint warmth emanating from the device in hand - a stark contrast to the cool surface she was 'promised'.

"Theia, your gauntlets..."

Naia's shaky breath came in short gasps as reality reasserted itself. It was then that she noticed something else odd about the gloves. The intricate patterns etched into its surface, which normally pulsed with a subtle orange glow, had shifted to a steady, deep calming blue.

As Theia gently pulled her hand away, Naia further sensed something like circuits beneath the glowing patterns that were pulsing in a harmonic rhythm that seemed almost... restrictive. She thought she saw a flicker of unease across the blonde's face.

"Ah, that. It's nothing to worry about. Just a little... recalibration they do after the jump."

She flexed her fingers, as if testing their responsiveness.

"Anyway, thanks for the support. Not sure we would have made it in one piece without holding hands."

The words were cuttingly joking, but Naia noticed the overall shift in Theia's demeanor. The warmth and concern from earlier had been starkly replaced by a more professional distance. She wondered what it would be like if she could read her emotions like she could with others.

Was it just the impending mission, or something more?

Before Naia could ponder it further, the mission briefing began to stream through their comms. Theia's attention snapped to the incoming information. Whatever secrets those gauntlets held would have to wait. They had a job to do - and Naia couldn't shake the feeling that this mission would test her in more than one way.She just hoped she could measure up. Their squad leader's voice came through the channel.

"Theia, Naia, status report."

Theia responded first, a little too loud and eager for Naia's liking.

"We just touched down. Where do you need us?"

A pause. Then the squad leader's voice again, a touch lower than before.

"I'm forwarding you the location of our primary target. Move out and eliminate it. I'll rendezvous with you as soon as I can."

Hearing the target referred to as 'it' made Naia shudder. Was their mission really to fight another of those things?

"Copy that. We're on our way."

Theia gave a quick response as she turned to head out. Naia hesitated, suddenly feeling uneasy. She glanced at her squadmate who was marching away with a confident stride.

"Wait. What about the rest of our squad?"

"I'm sure they're fine. Now come on. We've got a mission to do."

Theia didn't break her stride or look back as she spoke. She had a task to perform... and was feeling rather uncomfortable that a secret of hers had been noticed. That was a problem for later.

Naia ran to catch up with the woman, her feet carrying her on autopilot. Her mind was racing distractedly with questions she wanted to ask about those gauntlets. It was better than thinking about the possibility of one of those *creatures* being on the other end of their march.

They reached the coordinates without incident. No monsters, no enemy traps... nothing. Just a barren, rocky expanse that stretched out before them. Jagged outcroppings of dark, glassy stone jutted from the ground at odd angles that cast long shadows in the dim light. The air was thin and carried an astringent tang that made Naia's throat feel dry.

As they'd walked, Naia couldn't shake a growing sense of unease. Her Harmony powers were usually a comforting presence at the edge of her consciousness. However they felt... muted somehow. As if the very fabric of reality around them was holding its breath.

She tried to reach out with her senses and feel the flows of energy around them as she normally would. But everything felt... dampened? Was it just her own nervousness? Or was there something about this place that was interfering with her powers?

A quake felt as though it ran through the ground beneath their feet. It had been so faint that Naia almost thought she had imagined it. She glanced at Theia, but the other woman gave no indication of having noticed anything amiss. The Navigator decided it must be nerves.

"It looks like we're in the right place. So where's this thing we're supposed to kill?"

The black haired woman opened her mouth to respond before another tremor shook the ground – unmistakable this time. Something was definitely not right here! The ground beneath erupted... but not in the way Naia expected based on the shaking.

Instead of debris and destruction launching into the air, reality itself seemed to crack and tear. A writhing mass of tentacular forms and jagged edges emerged. Constantly shifting. Blurring at the edges. The creature from their previous encounter paled in comparison to the size of this monstrosity.

The glassy outcroppings around them began to vibrate, emitting a piercing keen that set Naia's teeth on edge. It was as if the very landscape was resonating with the creature's discordant energy. As if this battlefield had been prepared by it.

Theia reacted instantly. Orange energy rippled the area around her gauntlets. She thrust her hands forward to send the flaring of chaos towards the entity. However, unlike before... the creature didn't even attempt to consume the energy. The ripples seemed to slide off its ever-changing form and... dissipate.

"What the-"

Theia's eyes widened in shock and the creature lashed out. A tendril made of its oily chaos whipped towards them. Naia barely had time to raise her staff and sound a note. A shimmering barrier of her cerulean energy was erected in its path. The impact of the energies sent shockwaves through her and it buckled her knees.

"My powers aren't working on it!"

Theia shouted with frustration and fear mingling in her voice. The woman liked having a puzzle to solve, but the stakes were a little higher this time. The air crackled with energy as Evander and the rest of the squad approached with their weapons blazing. Streams of concentrated energy of more mundane forms poured into the creature.

It seemed to absorb or shrug off the attacks with little effect.

Naia struggled to maintain and improve her barrier as the creature's assaults intensified. She could feel that it was angered by her attempt to resist. She could feel her harmony being overwhelmed by the sheer chaotic nature of the entity. Beside her, Theia's face was a mask of concentration and ever-growing desperation.

"This isn't going to work. I... I might have to..."

Theia muttered with her fingers hovering over the clasps of her left gauntlet. Naia could feel something on the precipice of suppressing her further - and it wasn't coming from the creature.

"Theia, wait-"

With a decisive motion the blonde unclasped her gauntlet and tore it off as it blared a warning siren. Immediately, the air around her hand began to shimmer and distort violently. Her orange tinted energy, far more intense and... *oily* than anything Naia had seen before, began to coalesce around Theia's bare hand.

"Everyone, get back!"

When she unleashed her unrestrained power, Naia felt the underpining fabric of reality around them begin to unravel in too many directions. The stable pocket they were in started to become far less so with edges of the Dead Zone not so much creeping as lunging in.

Naia realized with a sense of horror that they were all caught between two impossible forces – the chaos of the creature and the unleashed power of Theia.

And she wasn't sure which was more terrifying.