Consciousness returned in fragments—the howl of wind, the crushing weight of snow, the distant memory of Rapi's hand reaching toward him. Arthur's consciousness fought through the fog of hypothermia, forcing his goddesium limbs to move even as his chest trembled with cold.
Then, through the white haze of snow and failing vision, he saw them. Two silhouettes against the pale sky. One figure draped in white with long blonde hair streaming in the wind. Another in bright pink, white hair stark against the colored fabric.
"Is he sleeping?" The voice came from the pink one, young and curious. "Hey! Hey, mister! Wake up!"
"Alice, step back." The blonde woman's voice carried authority tempered with surprise. "He's still alive. After everything... he's actually still alive."
Arthur tried to speak, but his jaw wouldn't cooperate. He felt hands on him—one grabbing his arm, another reaching for his leg.
"We need to move him now," the blonde woman said. "Grab his other side."
"Got it!" Alice's enthusiasm was palpable. Her hand searched through the snow for purchase and found—
Arthur's eyes shot open as nerve endings screamed. His goddesium hand moved reflexively, catching Alice's wrist with gentle but firm pressure even as his organic body remained frozen.
"Oh!" Alice's face flushed crimson even in the cold. "Sorry, sorry! I was just trying to—I didn't mean to grab your—that is, I was looking for your leg and—"
"Alice." The blonde woman's tone suggested this wasn't the first time. "Please focus."
"Right! Focusing!" Alice adjusted her grip—properly this time—and between them, they began dragging Arthur across the snow. He tried to help, his prosthetic legs finding purchase when they could, but the cold had sapped too much from his organic systems. His vision swam.
Water dripping. The crackle of fire. Warmth seeping slowly back into frozen flesh. Arthur's eyes opened to rough stone walls and the dancing shadows of flames. He lay on a thermal blanket, his Commander's uniform crusted with ice and snow.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Alice knelt beside him, her face inches from his. "You really shouldn't fall asleep in the snow like that. It's super dangerous!"
Arthur's throat felt like gravel. "Where... where am I?"
"You've entered the frozen domain of the Queen of Hearts," Alice said dramatically, then grinned. "Well, that's what Ludmilla calls it. Personally, I think 'big scary ice wasteland' is more accurate, but I'm not the poetic one."
Arthur pushed himself upright, his prosthetic limbs responding now that his core temperature had stabilized. The space appeared to be a natural cave, expanded and reinforced with pre-war materials. Supplies lined one wall—ammunition, rations, medical equipment. A proper forward operating base.
The blonde woman—Ludmilla—stood near the cave entrance, her assault rifle held with professional ease. She turned, and Arthur saw the cold calculation in her eyes that marked veteran Nikkes.
"You're awake, Commander." Not a question. "I need your name and rank. And I need to know why you're in our territory."
Arthur's training overrode the lingering hypothermia fog. "Commander Arthur Cousland, Monarks Squad, Central Command. We were en route to Research Base Seventeen when—" He stopped. "My squad. Did you see them? Five Nikkes, they were with me when the avalanche—"
"We found only you," Ludmilla interrupted. "Half-buried in a snowbank, vital signs barely registering. Your prosthetics kept you alive—organic humans don't usually survive exposure like that."
"I need to find them." Arthur stood, testing his legs. The goddesium responded perfectly, micro-adjustments compensating for the uneven floor. "They're out there somewhere. Rapi, Flower, Ocean, Miranda, V—"
"The Queen's forces have found this location." Ludmilla's tone brooked no argument. "We need to move. Now. Whatever search and rescue you're planning happens after we relocate to safer ground."
Alice was already packing equipment with practiced efficiency. "Don't worry, Rabbity! Once the snowstorm dies down, we'll help you find your friends. Ludmilla's amazing at tracking, and I'm really good at spotting things in the snow!"
"Rabbity?" Arthur's confusion must have shown.
Alice giggled but didn't explain. Ludmilla shouldered her pack and moved toward the cave entrance. "Explanations later. Survival now. Can you run, Commander?"
Arthur checked his gear. The M-99 Saber was still mag-locked to his back, his sidearm secure. His Omni-Tool flickered—damaged but functional. "I can run."
"Good. Alice, standard dispersal pattern. Commander, stay between us. Move on my signal."
They emerged into twilight. The storm had passed, leaving the frozen wasteland crystalline and deadly beautiful. In the distance, Arthur saw them—mechanical shapes moving with purpose across the snow. Raptures, but different from the standard variants. These were heavily armored, their forms adapted for the brutal cold.
"Queen's forces," Alice whispered. "They patrol constantly. Looking for anything that doesn't belong."
"What Queen?" Arthur asked as they moved, keeping low. "You mentioned a Queen of Hearts."
"Later," Ludmilla said. "There. That ridge. We run in three, two—"
They ran. Arthur's prosthetic legs ate distance, keeping pace with the Nikkes despite the treacherous terrain. Behind them, something howled—not wind, but a mechanical approximation that set his teeth on edge. The patrol had spotted them.
"Don't engage!" Ludmilla commanded. "Just run!"
They reached the ridge and dropped into a crevasse, sliding down ice-covered rock into darkness. The howling faded above them. Ludmilla checked her tactical display, then nodded. "Lost them. This passage connects to the secondary cache. We'll be safe there."
The secondary cache proved similar to the first—another cave, more supplies, clear signs of long-term operation. Arthur's respect for Squad Unlimited grew. They'd been surviving out here, autonomous and effective, without Central Command support.
"Alright," Ludmilla said once they'd secured the entrance. "You're Commander Arthur Cousland. The one who killed multiple Tyrants. The one who treats Nikkes like people instead of equipment."
"You know about that?" Arthur asked.
"We get news, Commander. Even out here." Something softened in Ludmilla's expression. "It's why I didn't leave you in the snow. You're one of the few worth saving."
Alice bounced on her heels. "And you're on a mission to Research Base Seventeen! We've been monitoring it. The place went dark. Overrun by Raptures."
"Your report said you saw a Pilgrim," Arthur said. "During your patrols. Can you describe them?"
"White clothing," Ludmilla confirmed. "Advanced equipment, moves like a ghost. We've spotted her twice in the past week, always near the research base. She doesn't engage, just observes."
The same Pilgrim from before. Had to be. "My mission includes making contact with her. Getting intelligence on a Rapture called Chatterbox."
Alice's playful demeanor vanished. "That thing was here? The talking Rapture?"
"It ambushed us," Arthur said. "Triggered the avalanche deliberately. My squad is out there because of it."
Ludmilla and Alice exchanged glances. Some unspoken communication passed between them.
"We'll help you find them," Ludmilla decided. "The snowstorm's ended. We can begin searching at first light."
"Why?" Arthur asked. "You don't know me. Don't owe me anything."
Alice grinned. "Because you're Rabbity! Obviously!"
Arthur looked to Ludmilla for translation. She sighed. "Alice has... adopted certain local legends. Old stories from before the war, mixed with wishful thinking."
"They're not just stories!" Alice protested. "The Rabbity is real! A warrior who fights alongside Nikkes instead of commanding from safety. Someone who'll help us overthrow the Queen of Hearts and take us to the world of Elysium!"
"Elysium," Arthur repeated. "You mean the Ark."
"The place where humans and Nikkes live together," Alice said, her eyes bright with hope. "Where there's warmth and food and no Queen hunting us. Ludmilla says it's real, that she came from there before the war took her squad."
Ludmilla's jaw tightened. "What Alice means is that we're autonomous because we have no choice. Our original commander died years ago. Central Command never sent replacement or extraction. We survived because we had to."
The bitterness in her voice spoke of long abandonment. Arthur understood it—the institutional cruelty that treated Nikkes as disposable assets.
"I'm sorry," he said. "That shouldn't have happened."
"But you're here now!" Alice clasped her hands together. "And you use Nikke-grade weapons! I saw your rifle. The recoil from something like that would shatter a human's bones, but you handled it perfectly. That's because of your prosthetics, right?"
Arthur nodded slowly. "I replaced my limbs with goddesium voluntarily. So I could fight beside my squad, not hide behind them."
Alice's expression transformed into pure wonder. "You *chose* this? You gave up your human body to fight with Nikkes?"
"To fight alongside people I care about," Arthur corrected. "Nikkes aren't weapons or shields. They're soldiers. Comrades. Family."
Silence filled the cave. Ludmilla stared at him with an intensity that felt like dissection. Alice's eyes had gone wide and bright.
"See?" Alice whispered to Ludmilla. "I told you. He's the one."
"Alice—" Ludmilla began.
"No, listen! A human with Nikke limbs, who fights with them, who treats them like people? Who appears in our territory right when we need help most? That's not coincidence, that's destiny!"
Arthur raised his goddesium hand. "I appreciate the faith, but I'm just a commander trying to complete a mission and find his squad. This story—"
"Is exactly what we need," Alice said firmly. "The Queen of Hearts controls these wastelands. Her forces hunt us constantly. Research Base Seventeen? She took it over, Commander. Killed everyone there because they got too close to her territory. And the Pilgrim you're looking for? She's been watching the Queen too. If we're going to survive, if we're going to make it back to Elysium, we need someone like you."
Ludmilla moved to the cave entrance, her posture tense. "Alice exaggerates, but she's not wrong about the danger. There's a Tyrant-class Rapture that rules this region. We call her the Queen of Hearts because she collects the neural cores of fallen Nikkes. Wears them like trophies. She's why Squad Unlimited stays mobile, why we can't establish permanent positions."
A Tyrant. Another one. Arthur felt the familiar weight of responsibility settle across his shoulders. His mission had just become exponentially more complicated.
"First light," he said. "We find my squad. Then we complete the mission—investigate the base, contact the Pilgrim, gather intelligence on Chatterbox. If this Queen is part of that picture, we'll deal with her too."
Alice beamed. "I knew you'd say that! Didn't I say he'd say that, Ludmilla?"
"You did," Ludmilla admitted, and for the first time, Arthur saw her smile. "Rest, Commander. Tomorrow we hunt. And maybe... maybe Alice is right. Maybe you are exactly what this frozen hell needed."