The farewell came sooner than Alice preferred.
V approached Ludmilla first, her street instincts compelling honesty. "I misjudged you," she said, her brown and purple hair catching the laboratory's emergency lighting. "Thought you were like a corpo, playing the long game. But you're not, are you?"
Ludmilla's expression remained neutral, but Arthur detected the faint warmth in her eyes. "I know how to separate my priorities from my personal desires," she replied. "The sleeping princesses need me. That duty comes first, always."
"Respect," V said simply, extending her hand. Ludmilla shook it carefully, mindful of her technopathy.
Alice bounded over, her perpetual energy undimmed despite the emotional weight of parting. "Rabbity has to leave now, doesn't he?"
Arthur met her gaze, sad smile on his face. "We have to continue our quest, Alice. But I promise we'll see each other again."
"Okay!" Alice's smile didn't waver, though Arthur saw the understanding beneath her cheerful demeanor. "I'll wait for you! And when you come back, maybe the princesses will be awake and we can all have a proper tea party!"
"I'd like that," Arthur said, meaning it.
Ludmilla stepped forward, her tactical gear pristine despite days of combat operations. "Before you go, Commander, I want to share something."
The laboratory fell quiet. Even Alice stilled, sensing the importance of the moment.
"Encountering something unfamiliar can feel like two worlds colliding," Ludmilla began, her voice carrying the weight of hard-earned wisdom. "They seem utterly alien to you, and with that comes a fear of the unknown. But you must never destroy each other. No matter how insurmountable your differences may seem. No matter how much it seems your fear will consume you."
She paused, looking at each member of Team Bravo in turn. "You must learn to appreciate the world of others, even if you have to give up a piece of your own. What you must never do is destroy someone's world, for all of them are precious, as all of them are someone's home."
Arthur understood immediately. The Pilgrims represented an unknown variable, autonomous Nikkes who had rejected both the Ark's authority and human command entirely. His mission required contact, understanding, possibly alliance. Not conquest or conversion.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "I'll remember that."
Ludmilla nodded. "Good luck, Commander. I want to see how your story ends."
The journey from Research Base Seventeen to the intercept coordinates took six hours of careful navigation through treacherous ice fields. The frozen wasteland stretched endlessly in every direction, white and pristine under grey skies that promised more snow.
Rapi led the navigation, her tactical display synchronized with the data Ludmilla had provided. The checkpoint marked on their map represented the convergence of three patrol routes the Pilgrims frequently used. If their intelligence was accurate, Snow White would pass through this area within the next twelve hours.
Flower walked beside Ocean, both maintaining situational awareness while conserving energy. Miranda monitored environmental conditions, her Cerberus training proving invaluable in predicting weather patterns. V ranged ahead occasionally, her street instincts adapting remarkably well to wilderness reconnaissance.
Arthur brought up the rear, his M-99 Saber ready but not raised, goddesium limbs maintaining perfect balance across uneven terrain. His organic body still felt the cold despite the thermal gear, but his prosthetics functioned flawlessly regardless of temperature.
"Checkpoint in visual range," Rapi announced, her golden eyes scanning the horizon. "Terrain matches the topographical data. High confidence the Pilgrims will pass through this area today."
The checkpoint itself was unremarkable—a natural formation where three valleys converged, creating a bottleneck that any traveler would naturally funnel through. Snow had drifted against rock outcroppings, creating natural cover positions.
"I suggest we take cover and—" Rapi began, but Flower's sudden gesture cut her off.
"Contact," Flower said softly, her SMG rising slightly. "Humanoid figure, two hundred meters, bearing zero-four-five."
Every member of Team Bravo froze, optical systems engaging. In the distance, barely visible against the white landscape, a figure stood with its back turned toward them. The silhouette matched the intelligence descriptions of Pilgrim operatives—slender build, distinctive white clothing designed for arctic camouflage.
"That's got to be her," Ocean murmured, her rocket launcher still secured but ready for rapid deployment. "What are the odds we'd arrive at exactly the right moment?"
"Luck's on our side for once," Arthur said, though his instincts were already prickling with unease. In his experience, coincidences this convenient usually weren't.
"Should I call out?" Ocean asked, already shifting her weight forward.
"No," Rapi said sharply. Her rifle came up in one fluid motion, scope aligning with the distant figure. "We should open fire immediately."
V's eyebrows rose, genuine surprise crossing her features. "Damn, Rapi. Glad you're thinking more like me, but shooting a random Nikke seems a bit far even for my taste. What's the call?"
Rapi didn't lower her weapon. "Look at the snow around the figure. Carefully."
Miranda activated her tactical display, zooming in with enhanced optics. Arthur did the same with his Omni-Tool, the holographic interface projecting detailed imagery.
The snow around the distant figure was pristine. Completely undisturbed. No footprints led to or from the humanoid shape. No disturbance patterns from wind displacement. Nothing to indicate how the figure had arrived at that position or how long it had been standing there.
"No footprints," Flower breathed, her confidence from recent battles giving way to cautious concern. "How is that possible?"
"Several possibilities," Miranda said, her analytical mind cycling through options. "Technological cloaking of tracks, airborne insertion, or..."
"Or it's not what it appears to be," Arthur finished. His goddesium hand tightened on the Saber's grip. "Rapi, your assessment?"
"Insufficient data for definitive conclusion," Rapi replied, her professional demeanor masking what Arthur recognized as genuine concern. "Recommend surveillance before engagement. We need to determine what we're actually looking at."
"Agreed," Arthur said. "Everyone spread out. Establish observation positions. Nobody fires unless I give the—"
The crack of a distant rifle shot shattered the frozen silence.
The humanoid figure in the snow exploded. Not metaphorically—literally detonated in a burst of white powder and mechanical fragments that scattered across the ice. Arthur's enhanced vision caught the debris pattern, recognized military-grade explosive charges concealed within what had been a sophisticated decoy.
"Trap!" V shouted, her Outer Rim reflexes already driving her toward cover.
But the explosion's purpose became immediately, horrifically clear. The detonation's shockwave propagated through the ice, triggering sympathetic fractures in the unstable snow pack above them. The valley walls groaned with geological protest.
"Avalanche!" Miranda's warning was almost drowned by the roar of collapsing snow.
This wasn't the chaotic, opportunistic cascade Chatterbox had triggered during their transport crash. This was engineered, calculated, deliberate. The explosive decoy had been positioned precisely to maximize structural failure, and the sniper shot had been timed to catch them in the worst possible position—spread out, exposed, with nowhere to run.
Arthur's tactical mind processed options in microseconds. The valley behind them offered no shelter. The checkpoint ahead was directly in the avalanche's path. The only viable option was lateral movement, but the team was scattered.
"Rally on me!" Arthur commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos with practiced authority. "Flower, Ocean, northeast ridge! Miranda, V, due east! Rapi, with me!"
The team responded with disciplined precision despite the terror of millions of tons of snow thundering toward them. Flower and Ocean sprinted together, their synchronized movement from months of Tetra Line training proving invaluable. Miranda grabbed V's arm, her biotic shimmer already forming as she prepared to boost their movement speed.
Rapi was beside Arthur instantly, her rifle slung as she matched his stride. The avalanche's leading edge was seconds away, a wall of white death that would bury them completely if they didn't reach high ground.
Arthur's goddesium legs drove him forward with superhuman force, each step covering three meters of treacherous ice. Rapi kept pace effortlessly, her Nikke physiology superior to human limitations even without Arthur's prosthetics.
The roar became deafening. Arthur risked a glance back and saw the avalanche consuming the valley floor, obliterating their footprints, erasing any trace they'd ever existed.
Flower and Ocean reached the northeast ridge, scrambling up the rocky outcropping just as snow engulfed the ground below. Miranda's biotics flared blue as she practically threw V toward a sheltered crevice before diving after her.
Arthur and Rapi hit the eastern slope at full sprint, boots finding impossible purchase on ice-covered stone. The avalanche's leading edge caught Arthur's left leg, goddesium strength the only thing preventing him from being swept away.
Rapi's hand shot out, grabbing his arm with crushing force. For a heartbeat they hung suspended between safety and oblivion, the avalanche raging beneath them.
Then they were over the ridge, collapsing onto stable ground as the cascade roared past below, spending its fury on empty valley floor.
Arthur's breathing came hard, organic lungs working overtime. Rapi was already on her feet, scanning for threats, her rifle tracking across distant ridgelines.
"Everyone sound off," Arthur commanded through the comm system.
"Ocean and Flower, intact," Ocean's calm voice reported. "Minor equipment damage, nothing critical."
"V and I are operational," Miranda added. "That was expertly executed. Someone knew we were coming."
Arthur hauled himself upright, goddesium limbs undamaged despite the avalanche's forces. His tactical display showed all team members stable, separated into three groups by the terrain but alive.
"That decoy was positioned specifically to trigger an avalanche," Rapi said, her analytical mind already processing implications. "The sniper shot was timed to our arrival. This wasn't opportunistic."
"Someone's hunting us," V's voice carried grim certainty over the comm. "And they know how we move."
Arthur looked across the now-quiet valley, snow still settling from the engineered disaster.