The deep, violet-tinted canopy of the forest grew heavy and dense as the artificial twilight rapidly dissolved into total darkness.
High above the tangled, twisting branches, the synthetic sky didn't display the familiar stars of the Milky Way. Instead, two jagged, pale-silver moons hung suspended in the atmospheric matrix, casting an eerie, dual-layered shadow across the crystalline soil.
Elias sat on a fallen log, his heavy combat boots buried slightly in the glowing dust. He held his left wrist up to his face, tapping the digital screen of his wrist watch.
"I knew it," Elias muttered, a small, knowing smirk playing on his lips as he dropped his arm. "A day on this planet is technically only thirteen hours long. And they also have two moons . Well... that's nice. At least the view isn't completely boring."
Within minutes , Elias had managed to clear a small patch of the alien undergrowth.
He pulled a compact, high-density survival capsule from his utility belt, throwing it onto the ground where it instantly expanded into a reinforced, pressurized tactical tent. A few moments later, he gathered a pile of dry, crystalline twigs that burned with a strange, crackling blue flame, creating a localized campfire that kept the eerie night chill at bay. He unsealed a vacuum-packed emergency ration pack, heating up a tin over the blue fire.
A sharp, ragged gasp cut through the quiet crackle of the flames.
"Em... what... happened?"
Kiki of the 5th Division slowly pushed herself up from the sleeping mat Elias had laid out for her near the edge of the tent. Her fingers trembled slightly as she touched the side of her head, her brow furrowing in deep pain as her memory tried to piece together what happened to her.
"Looks like you're finally awake," Elias said casually, entirely unbothered as he twisted a plastic fork into his heated tin, pulling up a massive, steaming bite of spaghetti.
Kiki blinked against the firelight, her eyes adjusting to the dim environment before they suddenly widened in absolute shock.
She looked at Elias's face, then looked around the immediate perimeter of the camp. "You... you aren't wearing your elements? Your helmet is completely off!"
"Yeah, well, yours got a massive crack in it ,when those hulking axe-wielders knocked you out," Elias explained, talking around a mouthful of pasta. "So I took mine off and gave it to you while you were asleep. Plus, after running a few localized atmospheric scans with my wrist console, it turns out we can actually breathe the ambient air on this planet perfectly fine. The oxygen levels are stable. Though..." Elias paused, pointing his fork toward the dense, alien trees surrounding them. "... we might get a severe allergic reaction or trigger some weird diseases if we stay exposed for too long without the helmet. But for now, we're good."
He took another massive bite of his spaghetti, chewing thoughtfully as the blue firelight danced across his silver eyes.
"Oh... I see," Kiki murmured, her shoulders dropping in relief.
She looked at Elias with a deep, sincere expression. "Well.....thanks for saving my life."
"No problem," Elias replied smoothly, setting the empty tin down on the log beside him. His expression snapped back into a focused,. "But do you remember anything specific before you got jumped? Have you seen anyone else from the 5th or the 10th Division since we dropped in?"
Kiki shook her head slowly, her short hair brushing against the collar of her suit. "No, I haven't. All I remember is our transport landing together with the rest of the 5th Division frontline. We were setting up a baseline perimeter, and then, all of a sudden, We got completely separated within a fraction of a second. I was running through these woods trying to find a signal when those five armored things cornered me."
"I see," Elias said, his eyes narrowing as he stared into the crackling blue embers of the fire. "Well, I have to make sure absolutely no one else is stranded on this internal planet before we try to leave. But it turns out time runs significantly faster inside this planet. Two days here is equivalent to only a single day back on Earth."
Elias paused, reaching into his pack to grab a small protein bar, taking a quick bite before continuing. "I already sprinted through and searched most of the surrounding forest quadrants while you were unconscious, so No one is left in this sector... so we go early tomorrow. We search the outer perimeter of this forest and find a way out."
"Ok, I understand..." Kiki said softly. She reached down, unzipping her own tactical pack to pull out her designated survival rations, her mind settling now that she had a capable fighter at her side.
Meanwhile
Inside the dark, damp cell, Nyx slowly opened her eyes. The floor beneath her was freezing, and a sharp, throbbing ache was pulsing right behind her temples. As her vision cleared, she realized she was sitting on a cold stone bench, her wrists and ankles bound tightly by glowing, heavy electromagnetic shackles.
Even worse, her space suit had been completely stripped away, along with her emergency food supplies and utility gear. She was left in nothing but her under clothes.
"Shit... my head..." Nyx groaned, shaking her hair out of her eyes as she tried to ease the tension in her neck. Her mind immediately flashed back to the moment the everyone separated. "Elias... Vela... Renji... is anyone there?"
"Keep quiet," a sharp, icy voice snapped from the far corner of the cell.
Nyx snapped her head around to see Mira Ice of the 5th Division sitting cross-legged against the wall.
Mira Ice glared at Nyx through the darkness, . "I seriously can't believe that out of everyone you know the very first name you called out when you woke up was Elias. What exactly is going on between you two anyway?"
The effect was instantaneous. Nyx's entire face flushed a deep, vibrant pink, the blush radiating all the way to the tips of her ears. She twisted her chained hands aggressively, her teeth gritting.
"Shut up, you stupid ice cream!" Nyx yelled, her voice echoing loudly off the walls of the cell. "Shit... my hands are completely locked. I can't break these cuffs."
Lyra finally let out a soft groan, her eyes blinking open as she rubbed her forehead against her shoulder, trying to dull the ache. "Ouch... my head feels like a transport ship ran over it." She looked down, her gaze tracking the heavy glowing bands wrapped around her ankles and wrists. "Damn it... where the heck are we?"
"I don't know either," Nyx muttered, her blush fading back into a frustrated frown.
Mira Ice was still visibly pissed off by Nyx's insult, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward against her chains. "You seriously just called me an ice cream? I am from the ice family, you brat!"
"Ok, both of you need to calm down," Lyra said, her voice dropping into a level, authoritative tone as she tried to act as the mediator. She stretched her legs as much as the chains would allow. "Let's first figure out how we are even going to get out of here Nyx, can't you just use your abilities to teleport us straight out of this cell?"
Nyx let out a heavy, frustrated sigh,. "Unfortunately, no. I have absolutely no idea how it looks like outside these walls, so I can't blindly teleport us anywhere without risking trapping us inside solid rock. And also... this cell... there's something weird about it , like really wired ."
Lyra and Mira both took a deep, synchronized breath, the weight of their situation sinking in. "Well... that was completely unexpected," Lyra said.
Mira grunted, her jaw tightening. "Fine. If the teleporter is useless, I'll just break these chains and smash the door open myself."
Mira closed her eyes, she tried to freeze of her handcuffs. But nothing happened. Not a single flake of frost formed on the metal.
"Damn it... I can't use my powers at all!" Mira said in frustration.
Nyx rolled her eyes, letting out a loud, mocking sigh. "Great. Just great. Now I'm stuck in a cage with you. Out of everyone else, couldn't I be locked up alone with literally anyone else?"
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Mira Ice snapped, throwing her weight forward as she tried to physically reach across the cell toward Nyx, her chains rattling violently. "Say that to my face, you little—"
Lyra sat right in between them, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two bickering girls as she let out a long, exhausted sigh. She leaned her head against the bars, staring out into the dark hallway beyond the cell. "Looks like I'm gonna be stuck here for a while," Lyra said to herself.
Meanwhile, out on the vast, shifting expanse of the rainbow planet, .
Mikasa woke up with a sharp cough, pushing herself up from a dune of brilliant emerald and crimson grains. She shook the sand from her hair, her eyes immediately snapping to her surroundings. Standing nearby was Cryo, the Vice-Captain of the 2nd Division, and Dr. D, the Vice-Captain of the 9th Division.
"Damn it... damn those cowards!" Mikasa growled, her face contorting in pure rage as she slammed her clenched fist directly into the shifting rainbow sand.
"Well, this is certainly an unexpected development," Cryo said smoothly. "We must find a way out of this planet".
"Yeah, but our signals are completely dead," Dr. D chimed in.
Mikasa stood up, dusting off her uniform. "So what's the plan? We can't just trek across an entire planet on foot."
"Agreed," Dr. D said, a sharp glint flashing behind his visor. "Ok, let's first make a ride."
Dr. D closed his eyes, activating his abilities.
He extended his hands toward the vast dune of rainbow sand. The crystalline grains began to vibrate violently, humming with a bright violet energy as they melted and reassembled themselves at a molecular level. Within seconds, the sand formed a sleek, armored, heavy-duty vehicle, complete with reinforced tires
"Get in," Dr. D said, gesturing toward the open seats of the newly formed vehicle.
Mikasa and Cryo both stepped forward, climbing into the rugged cabin.. "Why a ground vehicle, Dr. D? Why not just construct a spaceship so we can fly straight off this planet?"
"Yeah, what she said," Cryo added, his arms remaining tightly folded.
"Well, we have to make absolutely sure no one else is stranded in this specific planetary quadrant before we leave," Dr. D explained, turning the ignition as the vehicle's engine roared to life with a deep, mechanical purr. "And also we don't know if we have enemies, flying might give us out."
"Yeah, but we should continue with the actual mission," Cryo noted, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Yeah, I agree," Mikasa said, her fingers lightly tapping the handles of her dual daggers. "But having more hands on deck will give us a massive advantage when we finally breach the control chamber. We need to gather as many survivors as possible."
"Yeah, you're right," Dr. D nodded, slamming his foot onto the accelerator. The heavy-duty rainbow cruiser shot forward, tearing across the multi-colored sand dunes at immense speed.