A Distant Sea Of Frost

The lights at the top of the elevator exploded into a frenzy of broken glass and electric sparks as they froze over from the extreme cold of 1001’s winter storm.

“Vida!” Amora reached for her friend, who was now going in and out of consciousness. The snow was now up to their shoulders, pouring out into the hallway, but freezing just enough to keep piling up inside the elevator doors.

Amora kept her head high, taking in one last breath as the snow reached her forehead.

Soon enough, the snow had reached the elevator ceiling. 1001, or Tennie, stood in front of the elevator with an unamused look on her face.

Tennie clicked her teeth. “I came all the way from Kanagawa for this?” The Deputy turned around as she rolled her eyes.

Silence filled the hallway, the only sound being the last remnants of prisoners who were still yelling about the sirens.

Boom

A low warp sounded, echoing through the hallways. Tennie stopped in her tracks, staying motionless for a moment.

The Deputy fell to her knees as her head hung low. Her pale white hair flowed past her face, her cap falling to the tiling below her.

Crunch. Crunch

Amora’s boot broke through the edge of the snow, leading the rest of her body. The girl held her friend by the shirt, dragging her out of the pile of snow with her.

Both of the teens tumbled onto the icy tiling, landing a couple feet from the collapsed Deputy.

Amora gasped for air, coughing up some of the melted snow stuck in her windpipe. Her tears of fear were frozen to her face.

The elevator creaked under the weight of the snow filling it. After a few moments of silence, the elevator dropped into a freefall, crashing into the floor two stories below.

Amora suddenly remembered the situation she was in, her gaze shooting towards Tennie. Her eyes widened as she realized 1001 was unconscious.

“I… Did it?!” Amora celebrated in her head. She felt a boost of confidence change her demeanor.

The girl attempted to pick up her unconscious friend, dragging her through the snow.

Amora heard a gasp.

She looked to the Deputy, who had jolted upwards as she grabbed her chest.

“What the… That was only about ten seconds. Chase and Vida were out for about two minutes when they got caught in it.” Amora thought. “Does this have to do with that Spirit signature Jessica always used to talk about?”

She pulled Vida across the tiling as fast as she could. She was suddenly regretting not joining Akilah in her physical training.

Vida’s boots squeaked against the tiling.

Tennie looked around to try to gather herself. She noticed the black abyss where the elevator had once stood, her eyes leading her to the teen dragging her unconscious friend down the hallway.

“You… What was that?!” Tennie stood up. Her unamused expression had turned into one of extreme anger.

Amora’s face, on the other hand, showed fear. She turned a corner, dragging Vida into a narrow hallway as she rested for just a moment.

She immediately activated her healing light, grabbing her friend’s shoulders in an attempt to make the healing quicker.

The rainbow light covered the two teens, the pieces of broken glass floating inside the cloud of aura melding into one big tapestry above their heads.

Amora’s ability resuscitated her friend after just a few seconds.

Vida gasped, sitting up as she looked around in confusion.

The light disappeared, the shards of glass had yet to completely meld together. Instead, they faded away with the rainbow light they were bathed in as an incomplete piece

“What… What happened?” Vida caught her breath, looking to her friend for answers.

The sound of light footsteps echoed down the hallway, getting closer every time.

“No time to explain. Can you run?” Amora stood up, staring at the corner she had just turned.

“Yeah, but I still feel a little weak.” Vida got up as the two girls started their run down the hallway. “I don’t think I’ll be able to manifest for a while.” Vida could still feel the weakness in her muscles she had shrugged off earlier, even more so now.

“Okay.” Amora nodded as she ran. Her fear was visible as she wore her worry on her face.

“Vida’s the real fighter here. What can I do by myself?!” Amora thought.

“Stop resisting!” 1001 screamed as she turned the corner. She put her hands out towards the floor as a tiny blizzard manifested from them.

The tiling before her froze over, creating a smooth plain of ice between her and the girls.

Tennie pushed herself forward, sliding across the icy tiling, straight towards the girls.

She was catching up quickly. Amora began to panic.

“Wait…” Amora remembered her new trick. She looked back to see how far the Deputy was. In just a few moments, she would be in the range Amora had estimated.

“Keep running, I got this.” Amora whispered to Vida.

Vida hesitated, knowing exactly what Amora was planning.

“Alright.” Vida nodded.

“I have to put my trust in her.” Vida thought. She sped up, making her way down what seemed like an infinitely long hallway, filled to the brim with locked cells on both sides of her.

“Don’t run!” Tennie screamed, her icy white brows furrowed with anger.

Amora began to slow gradually, just gradual enough for the Deputy to overlook it.

1001 got closer and closer to the teen, skating on her plain of ice with smooth grace.

“Now!” Amora thought. She gritted her teeth as her hands balled into fists. She spun around, facing the angry Deputy.

She threw her fists at Tennie in an attempt to make the ability more intense.

Boom

That red light exploded from her core, floating shards of broken glass shooting into the air around her, reflecting the red light before they disappeared into nothingness.

The Deputy’s angry expression faded as her eyes closed.

“There-” Amora’s victory was short-lived.

Tennie woke right back up, catching herself before she even hit the floor.

“What…?” Amora stood frozen in shock for a moment, staring at the Deputy as she recovered her senses.

“I’ll kill you!” Tennie quickly began to skate on her ice again, manifesting more in front of her.

The ineffective attack seemed to have only worsened 1001’s rage.

“C’mon, Amora!” Vida yelled. She sprinted back down the hallway, grabbing her friend’s hand.

Vida dragged Amora, snapping her out of her fearful shock.

“Why didn’t… Why didn’t that work?” Amora mumbled to herself, just loud enough for Vida to hear.

Vida didn’t respond. More accurately, she didn’t have an answer.

Tennie was gaining on them, just like before.

“Over there!” Vida pointed towards the end of the hallway.

The door at the end of the hallway was unlocked, leading straight into the panopticon, but the door lock was coming up.

Vida estimated that they would make it if they kept up this pace.

The two girls sprinted with all their bodies left them.

The Deputy also sped up. The teens could now feel the cold breeze of 1001’s manifestation on their backs.

They were almost there.

The steady stream of cold air had paused. Vida looked back, only a few steps from the doorway. Tennie stopped skating, now raising her hands towards the girls. This couldn’t be good.

Everything seemed to slow down for a moment.

“Amora, jump-” Vida turned to her friend to get her out of the way. Her eyes widened as she felt a push towards the doorway.

Amora was already midair, pushing her way between Vida and Tennie. Her dirty blonde hair thrashed in the wind as she grabbed onto her friend, the both of them hurling through the doorway and into the panopticon.

The teens felt a sudden breeze of freezing air.

Tennie manifested another winter storm. This time, the cold was even more severe.

Small droplets of ice dropped out of the air between the girls and Tennie as the cold temperatures flash froze any moisture in the air.

Amora let out an agonizing scream as the cold hit her back.

The ends of her hair broke off as frozen versions of their former soft waves.

The back of her homemade cropped hoodie froze, along with the skin under it.

The two girls flew over the rising door lock. They crashed into the metal balcony overlooking the panopticon.

The door lock reached the ceiling, leaving Deputy 1001 behind it.

“I’ll get you! You’re not safe!” 1001 screamed before the door lock shut.

“Ah!” Amora let out another painful scream as she hit the floor.

Vida heard something shatter as they landed. She looked down at the metal floor below them to see what it was.

Pieces of Amora’s frozen skin had shattered in the impact. Blood began to flow from the open wound.

“Amora, turn over!” Vida pushed her friend onto her stomach to assess the damage.

The skin on the back of Amora’s right shoulder was gone, leaving an open wound showing hypodermis and muscle.

Vida screamed in horror.

“Oh, looks like your friends decided to join us.” The Warden looked at the two girls on the third floor before returning his gaze to the tired sword wielder in front of him.

“Vida? Amora?” Akilah muttered to herself as she tried to keep her focus on her opponent.

Both her and Hardy were breathing heavily, their posture collapsing into a tired stand.

“Well, it looks like I’ll have to wrap this up now. May God have mercy on your soul.” The Warden reeled his fist back.

Clank. Clank.

His arm transformed into a metal machine, ready to charge full force into the two rebels.