"I hate that this is our first mission," Paul groaned as they emerged from the broom closet.
"I wonder who's coming?" Tori added, keeping pace as they rushed toward the camp's outer edge.
Jason stood waiting at the gate, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
"Polaris — I'll be on standby. Keep your guard up. There's still an enemy somewhere inside."
Zora nodded and moved to pass him — but the air shifted.
Suddenly, everything felt heavy. It was like a boulder had been dropped on her chest. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Her heart pounded wildly.
"Oh… Zora! It's him!" Aegis shouted
*Who the hell is he talking about?*
Zora looked around — the others had fallen too, each one struggling to breathe. And just as suddenly as the pressure came, it vanished.
Zora pushed herself to her feet, lungs burning, and shouted, "Not much time left — let's go!"
As if on cue, something crashed from the sky like a meteor — slamming into the ground in front of the command center. A shockwave of dust kicked up into the air, masking everything.
Zora narrowed her eyes, already preparing.
"Ricochet, Nexus — standby."
Both zipped into her body in flashes of light.
Through the settling haze, she could just barely make out two figures.
One was massive — taller than any human she'd ever seen.
The other… the same height as her.
"H-Hello!" a woman's voice called out, laced with a crisp English accent.
Zora steadied herself. "Who are you?!"
As the dust began to clear, the two figures became visible.
The first was a blonde woman with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, her blue eyes scanning the camp with precision.
But Zora's eyes weren't on her.
They were on him.
Her stomach dropped.
"Scary man!" Sparks squealed, zipping around frantically.
The man beside the woman towered over everyone — easily seven feet tall. His hair was long and wild, a thick beard framing a face she knew too well.
Zora's breath hitched.
His eyes scanned the area… until they found her.
Orange. Slitted pupils. Reptilian.
"T-Tariq?" she whispered, taking a step forward.
"Tariq, it's me."
He blinked slowly… then smiled faintly.
"Hey, Z."
"Y-You know him?!" Tori gawked.
"He's cute!" Lena whispered, openly staring.
Paul stepped between them, his body armored with rising chunks of earth.
"Focus, ladies. We don't know if he's a friend yet."
Ivory joined him, expression calm but eyes sharp.
"Exactly… but if he is, I got first dibs."
The blonde woman beside Tariq stepped forward, voice urgent.
"Look, we don't have much time. We're hunting a—"
Suddenly, Tariq's head snapped left.
His gaze locked on one of the camp's outer walls.
"Found you," he growled.
Then he vanished.
Just — gone. Too fast for Zora's eyes to track.
He reappeared in an instant, crouched at the base of the wall, eyes focused.
And then it materialized.
The spider. Its eight blood-red eyes gleamed as it clung to the wall, unmoving.
Zora bolted forward, but a figure stepped into her path — Jason.
"Get out of my way, Jason!" she shouted.
"You can't help him," he said. "None of us can. That's a high-ranking scout."
Zora's eyes snapped to the spider, her heart hammering.
"You will die if you get involved."
Then, the blonde woman appeared beside them.
"Listen to him. He'll be okay, I assure you."
She turned her head and shouted at Tariq.
"Five minutes until the seal on the camp runs out — hurry!"
Tariq gave a small nod — his gaze never leaving the spider.
The world slowed.
Then the spider's leg twitched.
And both of them vanished.
"Wh-where did he—"
Zora's voice was cut off by an explosion.
BOOM.
A massive shockwave ripped through the area, slamming into her and Jason and sending them staggering backward.
Zora hit the ground, skidding on her side. She groaned, looking up.
The blonde woman hadn't moved an inch. She stood calmly, eyes fixed on a stopwatch in her hand.
The shockwaves kept coming.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Each one hit like a hammer, battering Zora and her team over and over again.
Teeth gritted, Zora activated Ricochet's ability. A sudden burst of energy wrapped around her as she materialized the staff, absorbing the shockwaves from the battle. With effort, she pulled herself upright and staggered to Mara's side.
"Four minutes!" Mara shouted, still focused on the stopwatch.
Noticing Zora beside her, she turned.
"Oh, look who it is. I'm Mara," she said, casually extending a hand.
Zora just stared.
This woman… wasn't even flinching. Where the rest of Polaris had been struggling to stay on their feet, Mara hadn't moved. Not once.
After a pause, Mara withdrew her hand with a shrug.
"Okay then…"
Suddenly, Tariq and the spider reappeared, slamming into the ground right in front of them.
The spider was missing two legs.
Tariq?
Untouched.
Then they vanished again — gone before the dust even settled — and the shockwaves resumed.
Mara sighed, checking her stopwatch again.
"He has such a sadistic streak sometimes, I swear."
Her eyes flicked side to side, following something Zora couldn't see.
Zora blinked.
"What do you mean by that?"
Mara glanced at her, about to speak—
But was interrupted as the spider reappeared, floating in the air.
Unmoving. Lifeless.
Its body jolted, twisting with a sickening crunch. Then it was flung violently to the side like trash.
Tariq stood where it had hovered, holding something in his hand — something still dripping.
Mara's head snapped down to her stopwatch.
"Shit. Two minutes. We have to go."
Tariq nodded and crouched slightly as Mara hopped effortlessly onto his back.
"W-wait!"
Zora's voice cracked as she ran toward them, arm outstretched.
If I can just reach him… I can stop him from leaving! If I can just—!
She pushed her legs harder, fingers reaching—
Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped in from behind her, flinging dirt into the air and launching her forward.
But in an instant…
They were gone.
Zora hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of her. She scrambled to her feet, eyes scanning the sky—desperate, searching—
Nothing.
Tariq was gone.
And from beyond the dome, the sky was darkening.
Spiders. Thousands. Millions. Swallowing the clear blue sky.