Day 12

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["The snow is steadily melting...Perhaps because spring is coming, or it might be the palace collapsing."]

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3rd POV

The sound of glass shattering against the floor echoed throughout the dark and cold room. The remains of syringes and bottles were scattered across the room as the occupant unleashed their anger out on anything they could get their hands on. Shelves, chairs, tables, any furniture that could be moved was thrown across and turned to pieces. What used to be a standard one-bed living quarters was now resembling that of a battlefield.

"Where is it?! Where is it?! Where is it?! Where is it?!"

The lone person in the room heaved and was out of breath in the middle of the room while observing the damage they had done. Their eyes frantically scanned the room with a look of insanity, trying to find something—anything—that resembled the precious nectar that they relished in for the entire night. But when they found that they had none left, a look of horror plastered itself onto their face.

"No...No...No! No! No! No!"

They began angrily shouting while clutching their head as tears spilled from their eyes. Dropping to their knees, they stared at the ground while further increasing the pressure of their hands. Their hair draped itself over her face and fingers, forming a curtain to hide the mess she had caused.

Unfortunately for them, the drug in their systems was starting to lose its effects. The anger they felt turned to dread as they began to remember things that she had grown to disregard. The nightmares came crashing into her mind while a shadow lingered in the corner of her eyes. She stumbled onto her rear-end while scrambling to back away from whatever was in the room with her. Noises—voices—lingered in and about from around the room, following her as she distanced herself in the direction of her dismantled bed.

"Did you miss me?~"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" They whispered into their ear, causing them to shriek and break down into more tears. Curling into a ball in the corner of the room, the whispers giggled and chuckled as they all but relished in their suffering. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone!

"Never, Darling~"

Through their blurry eyesight, they saw black tendrils slither from across the room in their direction. In a blink of an eye they reached them and suddenly yanked them by the foot. Painful as it was, they held in their instinct to yell as they mustered their strength to grab hold of the remaining wooden leg of the bed frame. The wooden splinters sunk into their flesh as blood dripped from their palms. And yet, despite their efforts, they could feel their grip loosening due to the force pulling them.

"Oh so stubborn~ Don't you wish to be with me?~"

The voice of multiple people speaking at once whispered once more into their ear causing them to tighten their grip once more. Even when they didn't respond, the voices merely chuckled in amusement before the room began to unnaturally darken. The person noticed this as they tried their best to pull away from the clutches of their nightmares.

"Oh silly me~ I forgot how much you enjoy these charades~"

The clutters of voices jested while pulling even harder on their legs, making them feel as if they would be torn off. The creaking of the broken bed frame caused the victim to gasp in fright while praying to whatever god or deity that was watching her to have mercy.

"Unfortunately for you, my Dear, I'm not in a playful mood today~"

The wood gave in as it snapped in two, one still in the victim's hands and the other dangling on the bed frame. Tossing away the piece in their hands away, they clawed on the metal floor with their fingers and nails as they tried to get away. Their nails bled, their knees became scraped, and their throat ached in pain from the wailing they continued to do.

Before they knew it, the monster, the beast, the embodiment of all their fears and demons had restrained them to the floor. Their limbs pinned to their sides while they laid on their back, facing the creature that had no form. Despite it having no distinct features, let alone a face, they could tell that it was smiling and enjoying every second of this.

"Let us feast once more~"

The surroundings were becoming indistinguishable from the entity. Morphing and blending with each other, they realized they were alone, disconnected, hopeless, it was only a matter of time before their corpse was consumed by maggots. Raising its claw high above towards the ceiling, they could only watch as their vision darkened with the voices continuously speaking into their ear.

"It won't hurt a bit~"

"Just a bit more~"

"It's either this or facing them again~"

"Forget and be free~"

"Know that they'll be waiting~"

"For as long as it takes, they'll wait~"

"Because you can never get rid of them~"

Smiling, it brought down its claw in a swift motion right at their torso and pierced thro—

—Tiffany's eyes snapped wide open as she jolted awake while desperately gasping for air. Her hand clenched the fabric of her suit as her heart continued its frantic beating that never seemed to end. She glanced around her room while searching to see if anything was hiding in the dark, waiting to consume her like the ones in her nightmares. Even when she found that there was nothing but her in the room she didn't calm down as she remained alert.

"...Nightmares again..." She whispered to herself as she realized that it was all a dream. Her back was sore due to the fact that she was passed out while sitting at her desk in her bedroom. Sitting up and finally losing the drowsiness left in her, Tiffany noticed the multiple glass vials on her desk. "Oh no.....no, no, no, no."

She stood up while a desperate look made its way on to her face as she grabbed each vial to check its contents. From the twelve vials that she had on her desk, only one had a slimmer of remains inside of them. A light-bluish green liquid swish and swayed inside of it as she brought it up to her face.

"Oh thank god!" She exclaimed while admiring the glowing nectar that she held dear. However, the smile she had quickly turned to a grimace as she realized this was her last supply left. "O-Oh fuck! W-What am I going to do? This is my last one! It was supposed to last me for ten days!"

"W-where can I find more?! I-I can't go back t-to that useless bitch! T-The only good thing about her counseling was this!" She clutched the vial in her hands with an intense grip, as if she would die if she were to lose it. Her breathing once more became sharper and shallow, before she knew it she was hyperventilating. "M-Maybe I can—No! It wouldn't work!..B-But maybe if—"

Her thoughts spilled out her mouth uncontrollably while she continued to be out of breath. It was only when she felt a sharp pain to her arm did she snap out of her insanity to become aware. Aware of the syringe that she had just stabbed herself with subconsciously in hopes of calming herself. Luckily, the liquid inside had yet to be injected into her bloodstream as she stared at it for a moment.

Her mind once again ran full throttle as questions piled into her mind. The most concerning ones were the few that tempted her to use it. After all, there was no point in saving this small amount for later when she most certainly wouldn't have the chance.

"J-Just a little bit.....w-wouldn't hurt...." With the temptation winning her over, Tiffany lifted her thumb before pushing the end of the syringe. The glowing liquid slowly disappeared into her vein as a sudden feeling of relief and calm came down on her. "O-Oh yeah~ T-That's the stuff....."

Her feeling of dread and terror began to dissipate as a calming foreign feeling took its place in her mind. Her body felt light and numb, the sound of glass falling on the floor indicated that her arm went limp. The now-empty vial rolled and joined the eleven others, making it the twelfth and final dose of Enkephalin that she had taken today.

Just like that, she forgot about whatever she was worrying about. Almost as if it were a bygone thought that one would have in the morning. With the effects of the Enkephalin becoming more apparent, she wobbled her way across the room towards her bed. Although the drug did clear her mind from her worries, it didn't change the facts and reality.

With a smile, Tiffany gathered her bed sheets before dragging them towards the center of the room. Taking a seat on her lonesome chair, she twisted the sheets.

Twist.

Twist.

Twist.

Twist.

Tighter she twisted it. When the shadows of the room flickered her way, she paid them no mind as she began speeding up her hands and fingers.

Tie.

Tie.

Tie.

Tie.

Knots she tied it into. When the hollow voices began coming back, she paid it no mind as she began humming to herself a sweet tune.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Small light steps were all she took when she was finished. The room around her began to distort as they clawed their way in her direction. She paid them no mind as she stepped higher.

"It won't hurt a bit~"

"Just a little more~"

"It's either this or facing them again~"

"Forget and be free~"

The voices told her as she adorned her necklace while perched on the highest cliff in the room. The blackened heavens with no light above her and the swallowing abyss below her feet were all that surrounded her. The hands clawed at her feet, beckoning her to be with them. It was in this moment, that the Enkephalin began to slowly lose its effects, soon Tiffany realized that the voices she was hearing in her head were her own and that the entities in the dark were her imagination.

"Down we go....."

A realization that was received too late as she had already kicked the chair that was beneath her feet. The chair fell with a crash while Tiffany did not. Unfortunately, being under the effects of Enkephalin can disorient one's perception and analytical prowess.

What was meant to be a quick and painless death turned to one of excruciating pain and suffering.

Tiffany flailed as she clutched the tightly twisted bed sheet rope wrapped around neck while gasping for breath. Her legs kicked and violently reached for the chair that was no longer there. As she dangled and fought to break free, her door suddenly opened as someone stepped in.

"I was wondering why you didn't answer the door."

A voice called out making her quickly shift her eyes in their direction while she tried to beg for help. Despite her croaking and attempts to reach out for them with one hand, the person didn't seem all that concerned or bothered by it as they poked their head back out of the room.

"Hey! We got another one over here!" They called out before pulling their head back into the room. Making their way through the room, they ignored the gasping woman as they bent on their knee and picked up one of the empty vials. "A junkie, why am I not surprised?"

Tossing it away, they stood back up and finally looked at Tiffany who continued trying to break free. Tears were visible on her face while blood stained her finger tips as she tried to claw off the thing strangling her. When the person picked up the fallen chair, a small hint of hope made its way to her eyes as she reached once more with her foot to gain some ground.

It was immediately squandered when the person took a seat on it while facing her. Their features were hard to make by due to the light-headedness that Tiffany was feeling due to the lack of oxygen and the light shining behind them, shadowing their appearance. They leaned on their knuckles as they stared at her, almost as if bored.

"Let me guess, you're from the Training Department?"

"...."

The only response he got was the gasping for breath and choking of a person desperately trying to live. Despite that, however, he didn't seem discouraged from continuing the conversation alone.

"Yeah, uhuh, it only makes sense if you are. That Sephirah is the only one gullible enough to pass out Enkephalin like it's candy. And for what? To end up with a bunch of suicidal crack addicts like you?"

He sighed while rubbing the temples of his forehead.

"Though, my question is, why the hell did you even sign up for this? I don't know who the hell is spreading the word that it's somehow magically sunshine and rainbows just because you switched armbands, but that's not how that shit works here."

Getting up, he started pacing around while spouting complaints and letting his frustrations out. This continued for nearly half a minute as Tiffany slowly lost the ability to hear and comprehend what was going on. All she could see and hear was static and white noise as she slowly began to feel numb.

"I'm just saying, if I was running this place I wou—"

"You would what, Epsilon-6241?"

A woman's voice rung out that quickly silenced the ranting man as he spun and immediately stood at attention. A woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail stood at the doorframe of the room with a glare. She wore a suit that was made of some form of transparent pink slime with a red armband on her arm that had the letter 'G' on it. Despite how it looked, the substance remained in its current state of that of a suit and pants.

"N-Nothing, Ma'am!"

"Is that so...then if you're done spouting delusional nonsense, you have five seconds to leave before I hang you on the ceiling by your intestines just like her."

Not a second later, the employee made a dash past her and left to do his next assignment before he met a similar fate as the hanging woman. The woman wearing the slime suit sighed in annoyance before making her way to the barely alive Tiffany. With a small yank on her leg, she caused the noose to snap and Tiffany's body fell to the ground.

After a few seconds, Tiffany suddenly gasped loudly as air filled her lungs. Coughing from the straining on her neck, Tiffany hadn't noticed the woman standing right behind her. It was only when she felt two hands being placed on her chin and the top of her head did she finally register the person behind her.

"Tch....You're still alive? If you're going to kill yourself, at least do it right next time."

Tiffany barely had the chance to take in those words as her vision was suddenly turned from pitch black to a blur, before a woman's face appeared in its place. A frown was on the woman's face as she coldly stared down at her. Tiffany could only mutter out one thing.

"....Eh?..."

The look of confusion was the last thing on Tiffany's face as the light began to leave her eyes. Seeing her work done, the woman patted her cheek a few times before dropping her corpse to the ground.

"There, I just did you a favor."

The woman in pink then casually brought out a cup made of the same pink slime before pouring a large amount of slime onto her corpse. Even though the amounts coming out of it were not appropriate for the size of the cup, it continued to pour out non-stop. Once Tiffany's entire corpse was covered in the substance, she turned and walked away as the slime began to dissolve the corpse at a rapid pace.

Leaving the room, the only thing left was a pile of pink slime with a skull and a few bones floating in it.

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Y/n's POV

Something was wrong.

Blatantly wrong.

Well....not exactly 'wrong' in the terms of the world ending, but it was bad enough to warrant my worry. The little girl who wouldn't let go of my sleeve since the moment I let her enter my room was quite concerning, at least for me. No amount of reassurance or treats could get her to release her iron-grip or leave my side for even a second. Which was problematic due to the situation I was in now.

"BongBong, I really need to use the restroom. So if you could please give me five minutes alone, I would really appreciate it, Sweety." Indeed, the situation was dire. And yet, despite me pleading to her, she merely turned away while pretending that she couldn't hear me. Sighing, I turned to the other person who tagged along and made themselves right at home in my room. "Shina, can you help me out here?"

Across the room, she stopped momentarily from searching through my drawers to turn and give me a smirk."Nah, you look like you've got things under control~" Going back to.....whatever she was doing, she cheerfully hummed to herself while leaving me to deal with whatever was bothering BongBong.

Sighing, I glanced at the child at my side who looked at me with a nearly pleading look. Not having the courage to forcibly deny her way of comforting herself, I reluctantly held it in while giving her a smile.

".....Alright, fine. But I want to know what's been bothering you so much." I didn't fail to notice the way Shina flinched ever so slightly from what I said. Finding it kind of an odd reaction, I felt all the more concerned on what was bothering BongBong. "You don't mind telling me, right?"

BongBong didn't hesitate for even a moment as she shook her head while looking down at her feet. The depressed feeling radiating off of her was nothing like the BongBong I knew. Clasping her small hand in mine, I kneeled on one knee before tilting her chin so she could look at me.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" I asked with care in my voice while gazing at her eyes. She stared back, only to glance away in fear and shame. "....I'm not going to get mad, I just simply want to know."

With a little more encouragement, she mumbled her answer making me lean closer so I could hear her. Seeing what I did, she spoke once more but with a little more volume.

".....bong....."

I backed away slightly while giving her a confused look, I shook it off when I saw her looking at me as if expecting me to get mad. Clearing my throat, I simply smiled reassuringly while standing back up.

"That's all? I accept your apology.....though, I would like to know what exactly you're apologizing for."

Seeing that I wasn't angry, she nodded her head. Though she seemed reluctant to tell me, after giving it some thought she gathered her courage and was about to speak. Only for someone's hand to land on her head and rustle her head playfully, stopping her from speaking.

"Oh come on, Y/n~ Do you need her to spell it out for you?~" I didn't know when Shina made it across the room to our vicinity, but I couldn't lie and say it wasn't impressive. Seeing the look I gave her, she simply smirked while nudging BongBong. "She wants to spend the whole day together with you. Now, I know it's not your fault, buuuut~ you have been kind of neglecting us the past few days."

Any form of rebuttal died in my throat when I realized that I had been focusing more on my tasks than the people around me. Could I have been the one to blame for that? Well, of course not, but that didn't mean that I couldn't have tried a little harder to spend time with them. Especially BongBong, who was easily impressionable when left unchecked with those around her.

But agreeing to this now meant that I most likely wouldn't have the chance to visit Xavier to see if there was any news from that person 'B'. Of course, I could always bring BongBong with me and I trusted her enough to keep secrets between us, but the possibility of bringing her into danger or getting a target set on her back didn't sit well with me.

".....Well, I guess it's fine. I'm sure Hod wouldn't mind either." I rolled my eyes when I saw Shina shooting me a teasing look. Bending down to pick BongBong up, she opened her arms wide and allowed me to slither my arms under hers. Not even a second in my arms, she climbed up and over my torso before perching herself on my shoulders. "Well, aren't you just taking the most comfiest seat?~"

"Bong!"

She cheered while wrapping her arms around my head. Shina and I both chuckled in amusement before I turned to her with an embarrassed smile.

"Uh, Shina, though I hate to ask this of—" I didn't get to finish when she suddenly closed the distance and clamped her hands onto mine. "W—Woah!"

"Say no more, Y/n!" She all but enthusiastically said while staring directly into my eyes with her lone visible one. "Just say what you need and I'll do it! As long as it's you, I'll do anything!~"

I was stunned by the sudden change and eagerness she was showing. Her anticipation for whatever I had to say was concerning and I was luckily saved before I could say anything. Shina clutched the top of her head from the sudden smack she received from BongBong who seemed annoyed at her antics.

"Guh! Alrighty, maybe I'll tone it down a bit. Sheesh!" I smirked at her which she responded by sticking her tongue out. A small 'Bong' from BongBong was enough to keep her continuing. "Moving on, I can guess what you want me to do for you. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork, it's all they make you do. So just go, I'll get it done for you by the end of the day."

Giving her a grateful nod, I waved a goodbye while making my way out the room. Placing my hands on BongBong's knees to keep her secured on my shoulders, I ducked to let us through the doorframe and continued my way down the hall. Though I wanted to go to the Training Department to get ready, BongBong's insistence on not to made me reluctantly change courses.

"Bong!"

Her insistence to walk faster was also growing as time went on, to the point where I had to start running in order to appease her. Though I was worried and concerned in doing so, I slowly began to enjoy it as the air brushed against my face.

A nostalgic feeling swelled up within me as my pace reached the maximum I could go, and yet the feeling of something coming to mind continued to grow. Just barely out of my grasps, it felt as if I was trailing behind something that I needed to catch.

So in order to do so, I went even faster.

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3rd POV

Hod was all smiles as she sat at her desk filling out documents. Her counseling regime was beginning to take the shape of something truly magnificent. At least, that's what she thought of it, the same couldn't be said for her employees. The atmosphere within the Training Department was lackluster and downtrodden. With bags under their eyes and aching backs, the clerks and agents rushed to finish the workload that they were being given.

Unlike the other Departments at the moment, Hod's Department was under huge stress from something other than Abnormalities. The counseling program that had been changed from optional to mandatory was now intruding on their working hours. Yet, they couldn't voice any complaints as they had no say to what a Sephirah could do in their own section of the facility. So they put up with what Hod gave them, hoping that it would end sooner than later.

Checking the time, Hod set aside the newly made schedule that she just finished finalizing before standing up. Making her way to the arranged meeting place for the Manager, she waved and gave friendly smiles to the employees she passed by. They ignored her in favor of moving as far as they could away from her, which caused her smile to lose its energetic energy.

Just as Hod arrived the door opened as the Manager walked in with Angela right behind him. They both held their usual stoic expressions, but Hod noticed that Angela was carrying a folder with her with a large red stamp on it. Drifting her eyes away from it, she waved a hello to the man as he arrived.

"Good morning, Manager! Thank you so much for doing that favor for me yesterday!"

"Good morning, Hod." He replied while looking around as he noticed the dreadful atmosphere. Seeing the contrast between the surroundings and the Sephirah in front of him, he was slightly worried about what was the cause of it. "How are you, Hod?"

"Oh, me? I've been feeling really confident lately! I really am grateful that yo—"

Before she could continue, Angela stepped forth. Her presence alone was enough to cause Hod to become silent.

"Hod, I wish to speak with you regarding your new...program."

"Oh, of course, Lady Angela! What would you like to discuss? If it's about the scheduling, then I just comple—"

"Shut it down."

"—ted, eh?" A confused look appeared on Hod's face as she took in those three words. When she finally did, a frown made its way to her face. "S-Shut it down? But, why? My program has been helping—"

"Unfortunately, Hod, the results contradict your intentions."

"W-What's that supposed to mean? The counseling that I've been giving the employees has shown that it works in helping them cope!"

"I agree, Angela, from the reports that I've received it does seem to hold true." Xavier commented, causing Hod to look at him with a grateful look while Angela merely sighed to the side. "I don't necessarily see what reason you would have to dismantle this program of hers."

Angela shifted her head to look at the both of them before she simply turned back to Hod. Almost as if ignoring Xavier's comment, she simply stretched out the folder in her hands in Hod's direction. Nervously grabbing hold of it, Hod took it from her hands before Angela turned back to face the both of them.

"Manager, that only holds true for short-term cases, for all long-term instances it does not. Tiffany...Tiffany Brown the one who recently transferred to the Reserves yesterday, surely you remember the employee do you not?"

Xavier nodded his head hesitantly as his brain fished for who exactly that was. Hod, on the other hand, was now looking through the folder handed to her with an almost blank expression.

"She was an employee who actively sought out Hod's counseling due to her suffering from a bipolar disorder and severe depression. An addiction to Enkephalin was later added to the mix after long time participation in these counseling programs....As of this morning, we have expunged her records from the system."

Hod suddenly looked up with a concern and worried look while stepping forward.

"What? Why?!"

Angela merely regarded her with a look of indifference.

"She terminated her contract with the company in a completely permanent method. Another thing to note was her mental corruption had peaked higher than 90% during her shift last-night but she had still not sought out for help."

"This led to her suicide just this morning after consuming twelve doses of Enkephalin. Which, might I add, was supplied by you, Hod, during your 'counseling'. You prescribed highly addictive substances as if you were handing out sweets to children."

"....."

Hod stood in silence all the while gritting her teeth as her hands clenched the folder in her hands. Xavier had no words to say as he was forced to take in the words Angela spoke as facts. Just what exactly did she experience in a single night that caused her to choose death? Was the question the Manager was thinking to himself. Unfortunately, for the both of them, it seemed as if she still had more to say.

"And what about Netzach? You provided him with the substance as well. Your access to Enkephalin was given to you because I determined you could use it for you 'counseling' to reduce the stress levels of the employees, and yet you've instead have been creating addicts and hindered the development of the company."

"N-Netzach.....H-He told me that he wanted to introduce my program to his Department...."

"And you believed him? When has he ever came to you regarding your other programs that didn't involve Enkephalin?"

"..."

"Hod, your naive compassion is only driving things to become worse around here. Your program is hereby termi—"

"I think that's enough, Angela...."

Xavier sternly spoke out after he found that he had enough of this one-sided verbal assault. He was becoming fed up with witnessing conversations in the side-lines. Wasn't he supposed to be the Manager of this place? So why was it that Angela was the one giving out orders while he simply stood here like a figure head.

Although it was terrible what was happening and what Hod had done regarding the Enkephalin, what right did Angela have to judge and condemn when she was only doing it because she wished to help? None at all, because weren't they worse than her as they simply watch from the safety of the office, away from all the danger.

"Hod, I grant you permission to keep your counseling program running. Though, I will have to restrict your use of Enkephalin to prevent such an event from occurring again."

Hod's expression immediately shifted from her depressed state to one of excitement. Xavier almost smiled at how much she looked like a child at the moment.

"O-Of course, Manager! Thank you! Thank you! I won't let you down!"

She exclaimed while gratefully shaking his hand. Xavier could only nervously shake hers back while keeping an eye on Angela to see how she reacted. To his surprise, or maybe it was to be expected, Angela had already made her way to the entrance and left. He had a feeling that he most likely crumpled whatever relationship they had, not that they had a strong one to begin with.

"Khmm! Hod, while I understand your excitement, I believe it is time for me to go."

Forcibly releasing his hand from hers, he took a step back while waiting for the Sephirah to calm down. When she did, she blinked owlishly before nervously straitening herself before waving her hand.

"Y-yes, my apologizes, Manager! I have already sent the next assignment for today to your desk, have a nice day!"

Waving goodbye, Xavier left while pondering how he would deal with the upcoming atmosphere with Angela in his office. Meanwhile, Hod happily walked her way to her desk before her smile slowly turned flat as she eyed the contents of the folder in her hands. The profile of Tiffany Brown spilled out as she placed it onto her desk with a large red stamped "Decommissioned" was on it.

Despite what had occurred, Xavier didn't know if his intervention was the right thing to do...but one thing was for sure....

"The path to Hell is paved with good intentions"

.....is a phrase that Xavier will learn to be true in the near future.

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Y/n's POV

I don't remember having this much fun since......well?....forever! The excitement, the adrenaline, and the rush from simply chasing whatever it was that caught my attention was simply exhilarating. The weight on my shoulders was nonexistent, while my legs felt as light as a feather. It was as if I was an unstoppable force tearing through anything that tried to impede my path. The feeling was still there, so close was it that I could nearly catch it with my palm.

That was until I suddenly ran into something that sent me tripping and falling to the floor. The pain to my hip and ribs quickly snapped me out of whatever was happening to me as I skidded across the floor. Rolling to a stop, I slowly got on all fours and tried to get my breathing in check. The soreness of my legs finally registered as I gasped for breathe while looking up at what just got in my way. Though my attention was immediately changed when I saw BongBong lying on her back just a few feet away.

"B-BongBong!"

I called out after remembering that the weight that was supposed to be on my shoulders was actually her. Rushing to my feet, I ignored the pain as I ran to her side in panic before sighing in relief noticing her raising her arms up. With a blank look, she pumped her fists out in a cheering motion while still lying on the floor.

"BongBong! BongBong! BongBong!"

Chuckling at her energetic mood, I could feel my concern and worry drift away seeing that she was somehow fine. Wincing from the pain to my side, I slowly knelt down before pulling her back up while making sure to not show her that I was in pain.

"Haha! I'm glad you're alright, but sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going." BongBong didn't seem to mind as she kept cheering and suggesting we go again. I rolled my eyes while rustling the top of her head. "Yeah, no. While that was fun, I got carried away—"

"Hey! Just who do you think you are, running in here like a mad monkey?!"

The sudden voice of a young child caused me to freeze as I slowly turned around. There was no doubt that it belonged to someone younger than the average person here, but my mind couldn't comprehend anyone else other than BongBong fitting that criteria. I was perplexed when I didn't notice anyone behind me, though that changed when I heard the voice again.

"Down here you imbecile!!"

Slowly tilting my head down, a child that was of the similar height to BongBong stood just in front of me. An irritated frown was on their face as they glared up at me. Their golden strings of hair draped across their back as a brown ribbon adorned their head. Wearing a white vest and brown knitted dress, the obvious child struck something inside of me as I continued to stare down at them.

Yet, no matter what, I couldn't figure out what was making me feel a familiarity with her. Her green eyes felt off, her ribbon struck me as off-putting, and her hair of gold wasn't what I had...expected. A tug on my hand caused me to snap out of it as I turned to see BongBong looking at me confusingly.

"What is it, BongBong?" Instead of answering me, she simply pointed to the girl who was now more furious then before. "Oh! Sorry for running into you just now! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Judging by the way her face hadn't changed, I could tell that trying to play it off wasn't working. For a moment, her eyes glanced to my hand that was holding BongBong's before she looked back at me with a more intense glare.

"I don't know who you are, but if you have time to be playing these!.....these!.....childish games then you ought to be working! I'll report you to Angela if you keep this up!"

She shouted at me while pointing a finger. I couldn't help but chuckle at how she looked as due to me being taller than her, it made her action seem cuter than what she intended. But her verbal threat was not something to laugh about, so I quickly cleared my throat and took into account what she said. Judging by the fact that she mentioned Angela, someone who already was hard to come into contact with by normal standards, it wasn't far fetched to say that this.....child.....was in a position similar to us or higher.

"Khm! Once again, I'm sorry. I'll be sure to get back to work as soon as the shift starts."

"....Fine, I'll refrain from notifying Angela about this, just this once."

She stated while dropping her hand while her frown stayed. Nodding my head appreciatively, I turned around while guiding BongBong to follow. I didn't even make it three steps when I felt another hand tug on my other free one. I curiously turned, only to find the young girl glaring at me with her hand holding mine.

"....May I help you?"

I asked while raising a brow. BongBong leaned back while giving her a curious look as well. For a moment, I saw her hesitate as she looked away and around the hallway we were in. Most likely due to seeing that no else was here, she nodded to herself satisfied before looking back at me. This time without the harsh glare but with a more calm look.

"What's your name?"

She asked as I noticed what seemed to be a small glint of anticipation and hope in her eyes. For what? I didn't know, but for some reason I didn't want to disappoint that small amount of expectation that she was having.

"My name? It's Y/n, just Y/n."

And just like that, the look in her eyes was gone as she stared blankly at me. For a moment, I thought I had done something wrong as she simply stared in silence. But before I could question her, she frowned as she turned and started walking away without saying another word. We both watched as she left at the other end of the hallway before the sound of the door shutting echoed around us.

".....Well that was just rude. She didn't even introduce herself to us."

"Bong!"

"And that was even ruder, young lady. What did I say about making fun of others?"

"...bongbong..."

——————————————————————————

3rd POV

With the day-shift long started, the routine of gathering energy for the company was going smoothly. A few Meltdowns had occurred but they were mostly on the easily maintained Abnormalities. Despite receiving a new Abnormality to watch over, the Training Department had yet to be assigned to actually interact with it. This only confused Y/n and the others who were sweating in their seats in fear that it would be a similar to the one from yesterday.

"What do you think about this one, Y/n?"

At the moment, Y/n was keeping Hod company while trying to keep BongBong entertained enough so she wouldn't cause trouble. Turning to look at the paper she was holding out to him, he hummed in thought before shaking his head.

"Sorry, I don't think they'll be of help in your Department. They're still lacking in understanding how to properly react in certain situations."

For the tenth time the shift had started, Hod frowned as she stared at the paper of an upcoming agent, and it was the tenth time Y/n had advised her not to approve of their initiation to a Department. There a few reasons as to why he didn't approve of them, but a majority came down to being inexperienced or simply incompetent. If given enough time they could become reliable clerks and agents, but at the moment they would only cause trouble.

"I see.....*sigh*....then I'll just have to wait until the end of the day before choosing." She stated while tiredly stacking the mess on her desk again. Though the smile she had on her face didn't match her tone. Turning to face Y/n, she smiled brightly at him. "Guess that means I'll be counting on you, Y/n!"

"Yeah....I guess it does, doesn't it?" He replied while smiling back at her with an unsure look. Although he was glad they she was depending on him, he wasn't too sure that she was prepared for when he moved to the Safety Team in a few days. "Let's just hope that it won't stay that way."

"Why not? Is there something wrong with that?"

She gave him a closed eye smile that seemed forced even to him. Feeling a slight sense of dread coming from the Sephirah, Y/n tried to act natural by turning his attention to BongBong.

"Well, not really, but you have to keep in mind that I can't stay here forever." Y/n quickly snatched BongBong by the back of her collar before she jumped onto the table and placed her on his lap. Turning back around, he saw that Hod was looking at him with a look of what seemed to be disbelief. "What's wrong?"

"W-Well it's j-just that I don't know how I'll be able to manage without your help." Solemnly looking at her lap, Y/n and BongBong stared at the now depressed Sephirah. "There just seems to be more and more things to do as the days go on, I just don't think I'm able to help everyone."

".....Well, that's to be expected. You can't monitor every single person here, let alone try to keep them safe. It would simply be a waste of resources, resources that we don't have mind you. Besides, you've been doing fine before I came into your Department, so as long as we get you some capable hands then it'll all work out."

"But they aren't you!" Was what Hod wanted to respond with, but instead she clenched her fists while fighting back the urge. It would be selfish of her to ask him to stay simply so she could enjoy his company more. She couldn't imagine what would happen when he leaves her Department and out of her watch. At least here, she could keep him occupied on helping her with training presentations while not having to worry about him being in danger.

'And he'll be at my side, away from anyone who could take him.'

The dark thought slipped its way into her mind, causing her to freeze up in her seat. Despite how wrong it felt to think such a thought, Hod couldn't help but desire such a thing to become true. Butterflies filled her stomach as she thought of Y/n becoming her assistant and how they would go to meetings together, stay up late at night while discussing scheduling, and providing training to the rest of the facility.

'N-No! D-Don't get ahead of yourself, Hod!' A small blush made its way on to her face as she shook her head from side to side. Fidgeting in her seat, she twirled her index fingers around each other while trying to keep her composure in check. 'T-That's just wrong! Y-You're only doing it to keep him safe! Y-Yeah to keep him safe from Malkuth and Angela who have no regards to the safety of others!'

With the blush still on her, Hod continued to let her thoughts go rampant. Finding to find any reason to keep Y/n in her Department, she stood up with a determined look. It would've been adorable to those glancing in her direction if it wasn't for the way her eyes looked in contrast it.

"Y/n! I would like to tal—" She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the vacant seat that was at her desk. Glancing around, her eyes scanned the area at an alarming quick pace, trying to find the one who occupied a majority of her thoughts. "Y-Y/n?...."

Unnoticed by her, Y/n and BongBong had already left to continue their assignments for the day.

——————————————————————————

Training Department: Northern Hallway

"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Y/n asked while strolling through the corridor with BongBong at his side. "I mean, you could've waited for me back there with Hod."

To that, BongBong vigorously shook her head while repeatedly making x's with her arms. The quick denial was enough to make him chuckle as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I could see why you wouldn't want to. She seemed off.....almost reminded me of Malkuth."

He muttered while rubbing his chin in thought. He took note of the oddities that they both showed, but couldn't really find a reason for why they occurred...at least not any favorable reasons.

"Anyways, don't cause any trouble while I'm gone. Wait for m—!"

A gaze filled with malicious intent set its sight on the both of them, causing Y/n to suddenly turn around while looking around with narrowed eyes. However, instead of finding the source of it, he instead found the hallway to be almost devoid of life aside from the occasional clerk wandering about.

Lurking out of sight, Y/n could still feel that particular gaze on him, watching and studying his every movement. However, before he could pinpoint who was watching him, the feeling suddenly disappeared as did the tenseness of his muscles. Only when his body fully relaxed and his instincts calmed down did he take a deep breath and turn back around.

BongBong stood by his side, not seeming to be worried or even bothered by how Y/n was acting. Something that he took notice while mentally questioning if he imagined it all.

"Sorry....I felt like someone was watching us.....I guess I'm simply being paranoid." Sighing, he looked at his surroundings once more before glancing at his wrist. He was very reluctant to leave her alone while he did his job, but there was nothing he could do. "As I was saying, I'll try to be quick so wait for me here, okay?"

Receiving a nod from her Y/n patted her head before walking into Warm-Hearted Woodsman's containment, leaving BongBong standing alone in the hallway. Some of the few clerks that passed by gave her curious glances when they saw her standing there completely still, but chose to ignore it in favor of completing their work.

She didn't care that much about them since she was too busy trying to control herself from getting into "trouble" with the person sneaking about. While minding her business and watching the light flicker every few seconds, a person suddenly stood next to her.

Turning her head slightly, her gaze fell upon an elderly man leaning on the wall while staring at the other. His short grey hair, beard, mustache, and wrinkles under his eyes showed his age and wisdom, but his posture showed that of a man who was far from brittle. The suit he wore was nothing special as it was the standard and didn't make him stick out more than he already did.

"...Bong? Bong?"

"..."

He didn't respond at first as he continued to stare at the wall, but when he saw her try to step closer he grunted in what seemed to be in caution.

"I may be old, but do not take me for a fool." His voice was deep and carried the tone of someone who had seen many things. "The young lad may not have noticed, but I know for certain that you knew where I was."

"...."

"In my 71 years of living, I have seen many things that one wouldn't in their lifetime. From the maniacal rituals by the fanatics of the Church of Gears to the simple minded midnight hunts of the Sweepers." He paused before swallowing the lump in his throat that made it hard for him to breath. "I have never been perplexed by such things for it is common nowadays...but yet, here I stand with a 'child' before me who seems to have lived longer than I."

"....."

"Even now, I cannot bring myself to gaze into your eyes. Despite your appearance, I can see the passage of time take its toll in this orbs on yours. Your demeanor may fool the gullible ones around you, but that facade cannot do the same to me. You are a beast.....patiently waiting to spring it's claws on their prey."

"....."

"Even now, if you wanted me dead you could easily have killed me. Seeing as you have not, I presume I am not your prey, though I am not certain if it will stay that way...But what I am certain is that much like all beasts who roam the world, hunters are never too far behind. And I will be there to witness it, I assure you."

"...."

"If you will excuse me, I'll take my leave while I can."

Not once sparing a glance to her, the elderly man walked away while maintaining a composed look. Despite the man's raging fear, he was able to successfully keep calm while making his Ah out. BongBong stared at him the entire journey, not once letting her eyes leave his silhouette until he disappeared behind the door.

"Whatcha staring at?" Y/n asked as he walked out of the Abnormality's room. A curious look on his face as he wondered what she was doing. BongBong simply turned and tugged his sleeve in her direction before dragging him with her. "W-Woah! Slow down, what's wrong?!"

Throughout the entire trip back to the Training Department, Y/n continued to ask her questions and showed his concern. But no matter what he did, she simply tugged him along without saying a single word.

——————————————————————————

Y/n's POV

Well if this wasn't a predicament, then I didn't know what was. I couldn't tell if it was due to me having old equipment or if there was a malfunction in the system, but the ever glitching watch on my wrist was very concerning. Smacking it a few times, it only glitched even more before completely shutting off.

"Well that's just great." I muttered to myself while tossing it on the table. "I'll just get it fixed later, I guess."

Glancing away, my attention was immediately taken by the sound of the intercom releasing a high pitch sound. Flinching while clutching my ears to block it out, for a few seconds it continued before glitching into the first alarm.

"Attention to all personnel!

Warm-Hearted Woodsman has breached containment!

Suppression is advised!"

"BongBong! Bong!"

She suddenly sprang up from her seat next to me before dashing out of the room. I blinked in surprise before also standing up and giving chase.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Making my way past the scrambling crowd of employees, I tried my best to keep her small silhouette within my line of sight. But it was at the staircase in which I lost her as I glanced up and down the stairwell.

"Damnit, please be safe!"

Quickly taking the flight of stairs up, I prayed that she didn't recklessly charge in. Making it up the stairs, I shivered at the noticeable drop in temperature as my own breath became visible in a mist of vapor. Not having a good feeling about this, I sped up before arriving at the appropriate floor.

To my surprise, however, I nearly slipped and fell onto the floor but I was able to catch myself at the doorway. I glanced down to find the floor covered in a shiny clear layer of ice that was almost invisible if it weren't for the light glaring off of it. I had to squint my eyes as the floor and walls glistened like crystals under the sun.

Howling gusts of wind rushed out of the open containment door to the new abnormality's room. My eyes widened upon seeing that the frost was originating from there and continued to crawl along the ceilings and walls. I could only guess that that was where BongBong had went as I couldn't see any other indication that she had gone anywhere else.

Carefully getting a running start, I slide across the icy floor at high speeds before latching onto the door before I could pass it. The wind was overwhelming and continued to gush out in an effort to keep me at bay, but with both hands on the ledge I was able to lunge myself in. The moment I crossed the entrance all sound ceased as I tripped and fell into the ground.

Expecting to fall onto hard ice or even the metallic floor of the room, I was perplexed when I instead fell on a soft layer of snow. The sudden brightness of white caused me to immediately close my eyes while the crunching of snow filled my ears as I tried to get up. When my eyes finally adjusted to the sudden intensity of light, I slowly took account of my surroundings.

Snow.

Snow and evergreen trees as tall as I could see were what surrounded me from all sides.

Glancing around while finally standing up, I noticed that it was nothing like what I had expected. No containment walls, no electrical lights, and, most concerning, no sign of where I entered from. It was as if I had been transported to another world that consisted of nothing but this seemingly never ending forest of frost and snow.

(Low effort I know, sorry!)

"W-W-Where a-am I?"

I stuttered as my whole body shook from the cold. Not wanting to freeze to death, I quickly started to move in a random direction in hopes that my body would generate more heat from the action. The crunching of snow beneath my feet kept me company as I walked through this maze of trees, though I couldn't help but feel as if something was watching me, but different from last time as this one felt less malicious.

*SNAP*

I turned to the sound of what I assumed to be a tree branch snapping but only saw the unnaturally still trees behind me. Looking at my environment once more, it was only when I glanced at the snow did I notice that my footprints were gone. The snow looked untouched as it was somehow leveled with the surface despite the fact that it was more than three inches deep.

"O-Oh g-god, this isn't good."

Not only was I in an unknown location, I didn't even have a sense of where exactly here was. The only logical conclusion that I could come up with to explain this would be that either this was the Abnormality itself, or I was basically hallucinating or dreaming because of an Abnormality.

"S-S-Shit! I-I'm g-good as dead at this p-point...."

I could feel the ends of my fingertips beginning to lose their sense of touch as I conversed through the forest in hopes of finding something that would help me have a sliver of chance in surviving. The constant pale ocean of snow filling my vision was starting to make it hard to differentiate what was ground and what wasn't. Though the distant sounds of tree branches snapping did help in pushing me forward, my legs began to feel heavy and numb with how much snow I had to walk through.

I didn't know how long I had spent walking.....

Once I ignored the sounds surrounding me, my journey became a blur...

Funnily enough, I felt my eyesight become strained from the constant brightness....

And before I knew it, all I could see was vague shapes and colors...

I should of died right then and there when the frost began crawling up my leg....

But I continued to venture forth despite it.....

The one thing keeping me going was the slight possibility of BongBong being stuck in here just like I was....

I was certain that death was following a few steps behind, patiently waiting for me to drop to the ground so it could send me to hell. The feeling of my legs had long been gone as well as my hands and ears. The beating of my heart continued but at a much more slower rate as my lungs burned with every breath of air I took.

As much as I love her, BongBong was definitely getting more than a scolding when this is over....

Damn it!

Damn this Abnormality!

Damn this corporation!

Damn this job!

Damn Angela!

Damn everyone and everything in this place!

I swear....If I find a single hair on her damaged, I'm taking this entire place down with me!

At this point, I was using my anger as fuel to strengthen this march of mine. Only when I saw a blurry blue figure in the distance did I pause to see if I was truly seeing something other than snow. With all the effort I could muster, I began running in its direction hoping that it was who I thought it was. That small dash of hope that I had was crushed when I was able to make out their appearance through my blurry vision, making me stop dead in my tracks.

It wasn't human, that's for sure.

What gave it away?

Well for one, it was the fact that their height easily towered mine even from this distance away. The second thing that hinted at it being inhuman was the fact that it's "face" was simply a shadowy mask with ice shards as it's eyes and mouth. Its antlers made of bark reminded me of the branches of the evergreen trees that I've grown sick of. The crystal crown that adorned their head matched the regal robes that it wore that seemed to blend with our surroundings. Pale blue hands stuck out front those robes as they clutched a mighty broadsword in their grasps.

(Don't own this, sadly.)

I didn't know when, but at some point of our staring contest it had began walking towards my direction.

"For us to meet once more, you do not know how much joy this brings me."

The Abnormality spoke, shocking me, but it wasn't what made me stay rooted in place. It was more of the fact that I couldn't move to begin with that I stood my ground while listening to its cold chilling voice that echoed from all sides of me.

"Waiting and waiting, I always knew you would return here once more...you always have."

I could only stare as it came closer and closer to me in a manner that one would associate with royalty. A single thought—no, a name—came to me as I gazed at the Abnormality that was now towering over me while lifting its sword high into the air.

'Queen of Snow.'

"And now that you have returned, I shall make it so that you can never leave again."

In a swift motion, it swung its blade down and through my chest. I didn't feel any physical pain, in fact, I didn't feel anything at all. I couldn't feel it, but somehow I knew that I was becoming encased in ice. Being forced to gaze at it, I could feel the edges of my vision darken as the mist in the distance began to fade.

"Let us return to the place we call home, where none shall bother us ever again."

A palace made of pure ice revealed itself in the distance as it twinkled under the light. The last thing I saw before it all suddenly went black was the Abnormality bending down until we were face to face as it then placed what I presumed to be its lips over mine.

——————————————————————————

3rd POV

"Attention to all personnel!

Agent Y/n has been incapacitated!"

The announcement was drowned out by the cries of terror from the surviving remnants of the Control Team. They didn't have time to worry about anything other than their own survival as their Department was up in flames caused by Scorched Girl. The distant echoes of Fragment of the Universe's screeches caused the remaining clerks to whimper in their corners.

Only twenty-five percent of the Department was currently alive as the rest were unfortunately lost in the suppressions of the Abnormalities and the Foreign Entities that kept appearing and reappearing throughout the day in multiple intervals.

The Information and Training Departments weren't fairing any better as they were the ones who had to manage the more dangerous issues, especially the Training Department whom didn't have any capable agents assigned to their workforce.

With the absence of BongBong and the now incapacitated Captain of the Reserves, the only thing that they could do was try to limit the carnage that the rampant Woodsman was unleashing. With the situation far from under control, the agents from each of the Departments were forced to suppress the Abnormalities one by one.

"Are you sure that leaving Scorched Girl alone is the right thing to do?"

Dana asked her fellow Captain with a worried expression. Dexter merely kept his face blank while nodding his head.

"Scorched Girl is the least of our worries. Although, yes it can cause tremendous collateral damage, at the moment none of us are its targets. Meaning we can assume that its after someone else and will likely take itself out by exploding with them."

Mike grimly shook his head at Dana who tried to refute the man's words. Reluctantly she stayed silent as they maneuvered their way through the facility after Fragment of the Universe.

"More importantly, what the hell are we going to do about that thing?" Vinera asked as she trailed behind the group a bit, her hammer dragging right behind her. "In case you all forgot, that giant hunk of metal nearly killed us all!"

Nobody answered her as they continued chasing the spider-like Abnormality. The Woodsman was indeed a problem that they would have to face sooner than later. But unfortunately, none of them knew exactly what do to against something that could crush them like a grape.

"Mr Dubee says to think about that later! We got an Abnormality to kill!"

They all glanced at Bella who had a childish grin on her face while happily playing with the thing on her hand. Dexter simply shook his head in disgust before turning the corner with Dana behind him.

"Attention to all personnel!

Warm-Hearted Woodsman has been suppressed!"

".....I guess that means it's been taken care of, right?" Mike asked with an uncertain tone while sending glances at the others. When they shrugged their shoulders in response, he sighed in relief. "Good enough for me. I'd rather not confront it again anytime soon....."

With the silence between them returning, they arrived at Fragment of the Universe's location and began its suppression.

——————————————————————————

Training Department: Northern Hallway

The massive body of the Warm-Hearted Woodsman fell down to the floor as if it were a puppet that just got its strings cut. It's executioner stared down at it with an indifferent look before hopping down. BongBong walked calmly on the thin ice while hefting the massive axe from the Woodsman with no issue at all. Both the cold from the temperature and the weight from the axe did nothing to her as she looked unfazed.

It seemed today just wasn't going to be a good day for her. From Shina lying to Y/n in front of her to the random old stranger who spoke illogical nonsense about her, BongBong's day was bringing her mood down with every passing hour. She can forgive Shina because it allowed her to spend the day with Y/n, but it was pointless when distractions kept popping up over and over again.

But that was about to come to a stop. Why? Because BongBong was going to take care of all of the problems so that Y/n can focus on spending time with her. She already took care of the first one, now she was heading to the second one. It being F-01-37.

Standing just outside the containment door, BongBong stared intently at the wall of ice that sealed the entrance. She analyzed every inch of it while looking for an angle in which it would be the weakest at. When she found none, she simply stepped to the side before raising the axe in her hands horizontally like a baseball bat. Taking aim, she swung at the ice leaving a giant gash in it as chunks of ice flew in all directions.

BongBong nodded to herself satisfyingly as she began walking to enter the containment before stopping when the ice began to grow back. The cracks quickly disappeared as the sound of crackling echoed as frost began to cover up whatever was missing. Realizing what was happening BongBong raised the axe once more and swung, but this time less ice got chunked off.

The constant sounds of ice breaking and freezing back again continued in a never ending cycle.

With each swing that she threw out, the less damage it did. Over and over, she swung nonstop with more force in the last. It was to the point that her palms and wrist were beginning to become strained by the constant vibrations from the impacts going through them.

But with each failed attempt to rescue Y/n, something unpleasant grew in BongBong. It was small at first, almost unnoticeable, though that quickly changed after the tenth swing. As time went on, it grew and grew, to the point that even BongBong, with the mind of child, could understand what it was.

Frustration and desperation.

Of course, this wasn't the first time she experienced this. This was simply the first reminder that she had those emotions in the first place. When you've experienced the joys and wonders that one brought to your life, it was easy to forget the sorrows and despair that naturally came with it. And so she continued to hack and slash at the immovable wall of ice as if her life depended on it.

——————————————————————————

Within F-01-37's Containment

The Snow Queen walked into her palace while the block of ice containing Y/n slide right next to her. By her will, the snow carried them both to her palace where only she lived in. The crystal doors shut behind them as the Queen continued forth in the direction of her throne room.

Arriving at another set of doors, the Snow Queen waved her hand as a winter breeze caused them to open. Opening, it revealed a massive throne room with icicles sticking out of the ground at the sides. A large throne sat at the end of the room with a window behind it allowing sunlight to peaked in causing the icy room to glitter.

(Don't own this either)

Reaching the top of the steps, the Snow Queen took a seat while glancing around her throne room before her gaze set itself on Y/n. Ice crept around his encased body as it raised him closer to her. For every Queen there is a King, and it was finally time for hers to claim his rightful place by her side. Reaching her hand out for him, he was just a few feet away from her touch before she pulled her hand back as a figure dived down from above and slashed right where her hand once was.

The figure revealed itself to be Shina who clicked her tongue in annoyance. Though she failed in harming the Abnormality, she was successful in getting what she came here for: Y/n. Kicking the encased man, she balanced herself on as much as she could as the block of ice tipped over and fell. Sliding across the stairs and floor, both Shina and Y/n made it a safe distance away from the Snow Queen who calmly watched them from her throne.

"It is to be expected, I suppose, that a King would have a knight to protect them."

Shina ignored the Snow Queen in favor of trying to drag the ice block, holding Y/n captive, to the exit. If the Abnormality had a face they would've been frowning at the way her intruder brushed her off. Before Shina could make it any further than she already had, icicles sprung from the ground and blocked the doors leading out.

"It is quite rude of you to try to leave without introducing yourself, let alone taking what's mine, don't you think?"

Shina still ignored her as she began kicking and punching the ice blocking her way in hopes of creating a path. Standing up, the Queen of Snow stretched her arms out as blades of ice formed in her grasps. Just as the Queen's foot touched the last step, frost spread out in all directions across the floor. Alarmed by the noise, Shina turned and stepped in front of Y/n's body in a protective manner.

"You just have to make this difficult don't you?!" She yelled in frustration while her eyes gave out a heated glare. "Let's just get this over with!"

Pulling out her trusty knife and a handgun, she dashed towards her while jumping over the frost that nearly crawled up her feet.

"A duel then?"

The Queen questioned while getting into a stance with her swords at her side. Despite their size difference and the fact anyone would feel insignificant in the presence of such a thing, Shina was unfazed as her only goal was to simply get Y/n safely out of here as fast as she could.

Bullets flew through the air as Shina fired her gun. The Snow Queen simply used the sleeve of her robe to shield herself as snow fell where the bullets passed through. With the same arm, the Abnormality swung while releasing a slash of ice that quickly traveled across the room. Having to stop and duck, Shina dodged the attack before it could decapitated her.

Standing back up, her eyes widened as the Queen's shadow loomed over her. Just how did she get that close in that short amount of time? Shina didn't know nor care as she was more focused on the twin blades coming down on her. Rolling out of the way, she stumbled to get back on her feet as the ground shook from the impact.

Not caring about the small dust cloud that surrounded her, Shina headed straight towards where the Queen was supposed to be before unloading the last few bullets in her gun. The sound of something like glass shattering echoed throughout the room, letting her know that she hit something. A gush of cold wind whipped from the center of the dust cloud to reveal the Queen standing while missing a portion of her left snowflake-like shoulder pad.

Despite how easily the Snow Queen could regenerate her missing armor with a snap of her finger, she didn't do so because it was a duel. Giving a nod to Shina in respect, that she didn't a damn about, the Snow Queen patiently waited for her to commit to her next move. Shina grit her teeth as she began circling around her slowly while the Queen watched.

Taking this chance to reload her firearm, Shina fetched another clip from her suit before stopping when the handgun wouldn't eject its empty clip. Taking a look, she realized that frost had began to form within the chamber of the gun, making it completely useless now.

"Gah! This is why I hate these things!"

Tossing both of them to the side, she opted to simply stick with what she was good at: stabbing things. The Queen took notice of the small knife in her hands before shaking her head in disappointment.

"I believed this to be a duel, not an execution. No matter, allow me to even the odds."

She then tossed one of her blades in the air as it shined and shattered. On the ground, right in front of Shina, ice began extruding before forming a sword similar to the Queen's but on a much smaller scale. Eyeing the Abnormality with clear suspicion, Shina slowly and reluctantly reached out and grabbed it. The sword easily snapped out of the ground as it glistened in her hands.

"Even the odds, my ass."

She muttered to herself while ignoring how cold the handle of the blade was. Taking deep breaths to try to calm herself, Shina swung the blade to feel it's weight before nodding satisfied. Turning to face her opponent once more, Shina could feel the cold and the slipperiness of the floor lose its effects on her. She guessed that it was likely to do with the blade in her hand, but at the moment she wasn't complaining.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two opponents stared at each other while waiting to make a move, before they dashed towards each other at the same time.

——————————————————————————

Xavier's POV

I confusingly hummed to myself while staring at the monitor in front of me. Although the day had gotten off at a bad start, the situation was now under control with the energy quota being nearly met, but that wasn't what had my attention at the moment. What did was the fact that I hadn't been able to get a visual of the new Abnormality for the past hour or so.

Despite speeding up time with the TT2-Protocol, there didn't seem to be any changes regarding the new Abnormality's containment room. The view that allowed me to see into the room was blocked out by this metallic sheet that randomly appeared when I wasn't looking.

I was alarmed at first since it wasn't like that earlier this morning, but after the first ten minutes of not being able to interact with it, I simply decided to watch what would happen next. Of course, that was after I had the dilemmas regarding the Abnormalities and Ordeals.

Ordeals are those random entities that keep popping up around the facility, something that Angela told me surprisingly as I had expected her to be in a foul mood from earlier today. Luckily, she didn't seem all that mad.....but then again, she doesn't express herself that much in general, so I wouldn't actually know.

Setting that matter to the side, I leaned closer to the monitor as the faint sound of metal clashing against each other can be heard. Since I couldn't exactly see what was going on inside, I had to rely on audio to understand what was happening. But even then, because of how quiet and nearly inaudible it was, I had to turn the volume of the monitor to hear it

And all I could say was that it sounded...intense?

Of course, I couldn't really know what was going inside, but since it was an Abnormality I could only assume it was not anything good. With my fingers crossed and my leg bouncing up and down, I nervously waited for the results that would end the day.

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3rd POV

The room shook as a shockwave emitted from the clash between the two opponents. Icicles hanging from the ceiling swung side to side as they were beginning to lose their stability. A few had already fell and imbedded themselves into the arena that they were in, effectively making it difficult for the both of them to keep up with each other.

Skidding across the floor like a rag doll, Shina used her knife as she stabbed it into the ground to catch herself. Her hair was undone and disheveled while blood leaked from a wound in her forehead. Her crimson eyes were in constant motion as she scanned the area for the one giving her trouble. Instead of finding them, all she could see were pillars of ice that surrounded her in different sizes and shapes.

Though reluctant to catch a breather, she was forced to as it was getting harder to breath the more she tried to push herself. The pain coursing throughout her body was having more of a toll on her than she thought it would. After a few seconds, she stood up while yanking her knife out of the ground. Glancing over herself, she grit her teeth when she noticed the state and wounds of her clothes and body.

"Not enough." Clenching her hands around the handles of her weapons, she muttered under breath. The disappointed tone in her voice only caused her to flare back up with determination once it reached her ears. "It never seems to be enough."

A row of pillars burst into shards as they were sliced to bits, the force causing Shina to cover her eyes as the whiplash resonated across the room. The perpetrator stood behind them as calm as they were at the beginning of the duel despite their appearance. The Snow Queen's robes were tattered, one of her antlers were missing from the hilt, and one of it's arms was shattered from the elbow down. And yet, the Abnormality stood as tall as it did before while carrying her large sword in regal manner, ready to end this at a moments notice.

Not a word came from the two as they readied themselves once more. With the blade in from of her like a rapier, the Queen quickly charged with a thrust that only ended up being deflected by Shina. Standing her ground, Shina arms shook as the Queen's blade all but sliced the air next to her head while her blades tried to keep it away from herself. Forcing herself to move, she dashed forward while swinging her blade in the hopes of cutting off the Queen's other arm.

The Queen immediately jumped back, dodging the attack, before spinning with a wide swing counter. Rolling under the swing and keeping her momentum going, Shina closed the distance between them. When the Queen stepped back as it expected her to attack, it was bewildered when instead she continued running towards her with no attack coming.

Taking another step back to create distance, it was difficult for the Abnormality to keep aware of its surroundings while its attention was on its opponent. Which led to the inevitable conclusion of the Queen's back hitting a wall, causing it to glance back to see that a pillar of ice was keeping it from backing up. With its attention turned, Shina took the opportunity to attack.

Dashing into the Queen's robes, Shina brandished her blades before slicing at one of the Abnormality's ankles and knees. The attack caused the Queen to suddenly drop to one knee while using their sword as a cane. Being left vulnerable, it knew what was about to come next and so it began emitting a cloud of freezing ice in hopes it would ward her off. Ignoring the sudden scalding cold, Shina circled around the Queen's back before climbing it with her knife and sword as leverage.

Feeling the stabs on their back, the Queen quickly stiffened before releasing hundreds of pine needles of ice from her back. Due to how close she was, Shina could only move her vital parts, like her head, out of the way. Unfortunately, the rest of her body was left to the onslaught that came and even the blade the Queen gave her couldn't protect her from it.

Blood dripped and stained her body as the needles stuck out of her like a porcupine. Though the needles didn't reach any of her organs, the fact that she couldn't feel portions of her body let her know that some of her nerves were likely hit as she remained unmoving. Despite what the situation would call for, instead of despairing at her current dilemma, she instead had a large grin on her face.

"Now that's enough."

She spoke out while tossing the ice blade away. As her blood continued to drip, her knife began to release an ominous black smoke cloud that quickly covered the entire throne room. Where the light once shined and the winter breeze once drifted about, there was an empty void in its place that left nothing for the eye to see. Something that the Abnormality would find to be true as it glanced around trying to figure out what had just occurred.

All it could figure out was that it wasn't in its domain anymore, and that was only because it couldn't feel its usual authority that it had of its surroundings. With how the tables had been turned, it had no choice but to focus on something other than the duel: its survival.

Quickly focusing on regenerating it's missing limbs, the Snow Queen was taken by surprise when a flash of white and red blitz passed it. The surprise that it felt was then turned to horror when multiple bright slashes appeared around it's arm and leg, causing it to once again shatter mid-regeneration as the pieces were consumed by the void.

It had no time to think when in the distance two bright red orbs came towards it in bursts of speed. Left, right, left, right, it kept moving in a blur that left bright red trails behind it. No sounds were made as the figure was silent as the night, yet it only served to unnerve the Abnormality even more. Closing the distance, the Queen realized the orbs were in reality eyes that locked onto it with a predatory gaze that saw it as its prey.

(It may not seem much, but I'm proud to say that I "animated" this!)

Instinctively, the Queen raised its only working arm while lifting the blade in its hand in a reverse grip. Firm and quick, it brought it down with the intent to skewer the attacker. A crash was heard as the blade pierced the ground right where the figure was as their barely visible silhouette disappeared. Only for them to appear as they quickly sidestepped towards the right before jumping up to the Abnormality's face.

If the Abnormality had eyes, it would have blinked owlishly at the events that were occurring. Unfortunately for it, no matter how much it seemed to be unbelievable, the glint of light radiating off of the executioner's blade was already imbedding itself into the middle of its crown. As the hilt of Shina's knife hit the crown of ice, a crack was heard before the Snow Queen's entire body cracked like a mirror and shattered.

"18 PE-Boxes acquired."

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"Announcement in Progress:

The day shift has ended,

thank you for your hard work."

The intercom rung out, but was unheard by the lone person in the hallway who continued to whack away with all she could muster. BongBong heaved and heaved as she once again swung the handle of what used to be an axe at the ice wall. Her arms aching, her lungs exhausted, she looked like she would collapse at any moment with how she wobbled about. Luckily for her, the ice wall melted almost immediately as the door to the containment opened causing her to drop the metal handle in expectation and surprise.

The sound of footsteps sounded out as a bloody and scathed Shina walked out while carrying an unconscious Y/n on her back. Her clothes were wet as they dripped both blood and water with each step she took. Despite her clear injuries, she still had the will to carry the man on her back with no sign of stopping. Her expression was stoic and steeled as she walked past BongBong and headed straight for the Training Department.

Confused and most importantly worried, BongBong followed trailed behind while keeping Y/n figure in her eyesight the entire way. Upon arriving at the barren Department, Shina gently laid him down on a chair while glancing around. Seeing the empty room only infuriated her as that only meant that the regenerators weren't being operated on.

Clicking her tongue, she limped over to a nearby console while shakily turning on the regenerators to the max. Although there would be consequences to doing so, she couldn't care at the moment as she felt as if she would pass out just by moving her hand.

While she was doing that, BongBong had gone unconscious while laying on top of Y/n. Her weight caused him to groan, but other than that he didn't react much. As the sound of the regenerators starting up resonated through the ventilation vents, Shina slowly made her way back to them before taking a seat next to them. Her eyes fluttered as she fought to stay conscious while she played with Y/n's hair with her fingers.

She could feel the effects of the regenerators already fixing up her wounds as the numbness of her limps slowly left to replace the coldness of her wet clothing. But even then, her mental fatigue from using that last resort during the duel was too much to recover at the moment. As her head started to droop downwards and her eyes slowly closed, the last thing she saw was Hod running in their direction with a worried and horrified expression on her face.

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