The gentle sounds of crunching snow and the soft shakes from the cart’s movements behind them followed their path onto the frost-covered dirt roads as Elinor gazed out of the open flap of her makeshift carriage.

  Mika and Carlos kept an eye on their surroundings, yet the likelihood that they’d be attacked was minimal in the dazzling veil, and she had over a dozen unintelligent undead protecting her passage through the blizzard. It was odd; she truly felt like an empress with the escort, a far cry from the high schooler she’d been a week ago.

  Her gaze drifted to her two skeletal maids, who sat across from her. Adoncia was fidgeting with the flowery dress Audrey had found for her since the teen’s previous garment had been stained by blood.

  Showing the newest and most nervous addition to her empire a warm smile, Elinor engaged her through the Nexus. What is on your mind after being raised from the dead and having a little time to settle?

  The girl cleared her throat in their private conference, and her flaming, skeletal head turned to Audrey for a moment before returning to Elinor. “I’m… a little uncomfortable having no skin, umm, and being on fire,” she chuckled. “Honestly, I am grateful to be alive, and I have this weird… understanding, I think is the right word?”

  Oh? Go on, Elinor said, focus darting to Butter as she touched down on the window to eavesdrop with her high station in the Nexus. You don’t have to hold back your thoughts; I want your unfiltered opinion.

  “Right…” She breathed in and out, anxiety melting away to be replaced by indignation. “I can’t believe they shot me!”

  Butter giggled at the heat in the girl’s voice as she continued her rant.

  “I have worked so hard—and I know what I did wasn’t legal, and these guys sucked, but I only wanted to go out to see if my brother was okay. Oh, sorry, Empress… Haaa. You don’t want to hear me complain… You want to know how it is, heh, being dead for me.”

  The golden butterfly’s wings fluttered a bit, drawing their attention. “No need to calm that fire in your soul. We need people with strong personalities that are willing to work hard. You should feel annoyed that your dedication and service were so poorly rewarded. Right, Priss?”

  Elinor crossed her legs and studied the scenery, spotting running cars on the side of the road. It seemed some people had tried to escape since they last traveled the area, yet they’d spun off in the powdery blanket that covered the zone.

  She passively sent a portion of her unintelligent army to push them back onto the road, ordering them to use leverage and work together to accomplish the task; Carlos swiftly took command of the effort, leaving Elinor to watch on their slow return to town.

  I do want to reward those that serve me well, and, as I understand from your outburst, you care greatly for your younger brother. What of your parents? Audrey tells me they aren’t the best examples, and that you handle most of his needs.

  Adoncia’s head lowered to the padded floor of their bony ride, fingers finding her left arm. “It’s… complicated. They used to be great, but then the drugs came into the community, and I hated working for the people that introduced and spread it…”

  No one else paid enough, though, Elinor finished, able to see the plight of the small jungle town. Is there anything you want to inform me about or that you want?

  She swiftly shook her head. “Only that my brother is okay, eh… I’m sure he’d want his girlfriend protected. She’s a nice girl, but I think she’s a little intimidated by me. I don’t know.”

  Sensing her floundering, Elinor nodded and returned her gaze to the road; more stuck vehicles were seen along the edges of the dirt path. A whole caravan of people must have gotten together to get away from the town.

  Hmm. I don’t know what the future holds for us, Adoncia. What I do know is that I’ll rescue my parents, and I can understand how it feels to not know if someone important to you is safe or not. That being said, why don’t you go out and check the cars on the side of the road? One might have your brother in it or someone who would know where they are.

  The girl’s posture straightened. “I can’t communicate with them, though… Oh! I can write on the frost outside the window. Umm. It looks like there are mostly teens and kids with their mothers,” she said, leaning over to study the blinded humans, afraid to get out of the warmth of their vehicles in the biting chill.

  I doubt they’ll be going anywhere, Elinor mused, watching the tires spin as one tried to reverse and make a jump to get back onto the path. Also, we brought markers and a whiteboard for the purpose of communicating; they should be in the wagon.

  “That does make a lot more sense,” Adoncia chuckled, not aware of the objects since Carlos had been the one to bring it up to Elinor. “I’ll get them.”

  Also, we’ve already had confirmation that the dome is sealing us in. All they’re doing is making themselves an easy target for when the ri’bot form their next wave. You can pass that information along, if you like, as you search.

  She sent a private prompt to her Staff Sergeant. I’ll have Carlos direct efforts to help those that need it, and if you see anyone trying to brave the blizzard, have a soldier carry them back to town with us to the shelter. We need to gain as good a reputation as we can, and rescuing people seems like a win in that regard.

  Adoncia would have worn a smile if able as she happily moved to exit the slow-moving carriage, yet Elinor stopped her just before entering the veil.

  Be careful, she warned. A bullet isn’t going to kill you unless it does significant damage to your bones, and some might shoot you with a shotgun on sight. Your weakness is blunt objects, so watch out.

  “Understood, Empress… Heh. I know I would probably do that if I were in their position. I’ll be cautious.”

  Letting her go, Butter hummed as the girl ran to the back to collect the board and marker, speaking privately to Elinor through the Nexus. “You are mainly going for this to bolster your reputation to gain EXP in your Empress route, aren’t you, Priss?”

  Can’t I do good for the sake of good? she countered, leaning against one of the thick ribs to stare out at the efforts of her unintelligent undead and Adoncia’s attempts at communicating with some of the people in the cars. Our path is very slow in this snow, anyway, and we don’t want to break the trailer or set off the explosives inside it.

  “I’m sure. In any case, this will help our cause. Your decision is making your recent subjects nervous, though,” Butter commented, directing her attention to Carlos and Audrey.

  I’m not afraid to be in the thick of a fight, Elinor scoffed. I don’t know why, but… I’m really not all that afraid of anything anymore. It’s not like I was all that frightened of things before I died, yet now it’s on a whole new level… I’m immortal. I can’t worry about anything other than what will help me get my parents back.

  She could practically see a sly smirk on her golden-haired twin’s lips as she took to the air again to scout the nearby forest for life with her two fluttering lackeys. “I thought as much… All is in the name of your parents.”

  Elinor scowled after the annoying butterfly. Of course, it is… That doesn’t mean I’m incapable of doing good along the way.

  The path back to town was a long one, and they picked up seven teens who were trying to brave the blizzard to get help; Adoncia communicated with a few, becoming adept at using the whiteboard with her bony fingers, which would come in handy when they returned to the warehouse.

  She felt Gloria’s escort returning to the survivors, as well; they’d beat her to the location, and Elinor gave the toads orders from a distance to return to her when they reached the facility. Simple commands, such as return or go to a place, were good enough if the person giving them had an understanding of the exact area they were directing them.

  It was an interesting duality: the unintelligent undead utilized or benefited from the person commanding them. If the person didn’t know what a person looked like, neither would the unintelligent undead nor if they didn’t know how to get to an area. In that way, they were extensions or extra limbs of those that directed them.

  Upon reaching the facility, the shivering teens and women were in tears once entering the warm building; the dark-skinned man swiftly opened the door to let them in, hearing their stories as they sought help for those still stuck.

  Elinor moved past them, and Carlos oversaw the cart being brought through the warehouse doors as the bulk of her twenty soldiers guarded the perimeter with Mika.

  Virgil was swift to meet her, focus shifting to Audrey and Adoncia, wielding a whiteboard. “I guess your operation was a success?”

  “It was,” Elinor stated, progressing to the door that went further into the warehouse to see the supplies unloaded with a small crowd of men that seemed determined to join the rag-tag army Virgil was putting together.

  “Some things have changed, though; I had a chat with Armando’s ghost and learned quite a few disturbing details. I’d like to talk to you in private as everyone gets ready for the assault.”

  “Uh, -y-yeah—yeah, sure. You heard her, boys,” he said, clearing his throat and rubbing his shoulders as they entered the cold warehouse area. The chilly wind was blowing through the still open doors as they brought the trailer inside, filled with supplies from the banana plantation, causing Virgil to shiver. “Umm. Gloria brought back a bunch of supplies, and left a note for a scared group to join us—woah… you bulked up on your army!”

  A few nervous chuckles came from the men around them upon seeing the many undead outside, now scattering to form a defensive triangle around the building. Elinor’s attention was entirely on the individuals as she spoke to Carlos through the Nexus.

  Watch them carefully. One of the cult members might be among them and try to sabotage our operation to force us to lose.

  “I’ve got my eyes peeled… Eh, well, heh, isn’t that a funny expression when you don’t have any? I’ll stop anyone from taking anything until you give the order. Adoncia, the board?”

  “Coming!”

  The girl ran over to the man, causing several to swiftly scatter away at the sudden action, and Carlos began to scribble on the board, communicating to those in the warehouse.

  Entering the makeshift morgue, Elinor went to the back as Virgil dismissed most of the gang to listen to the scribbling skeleton, and she saw Gloria come into the chilly space, likely looking for Virgil as news spread of her return.

  She caught sight of a lot of boxes and a new, much smaller trailer in the corner that the woman had likely used to transport the goods. Amusingly, Gloria had probably worked her guards as donkeys on the return, which showed she wasn’t easily frightened of the undead like most of the others.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Once it was only Audrey, Virgil, and her, Elinor stopped to sit in the chair she’d used previously, sitting back as the man swiftly brought over two more foldable seats, offering the first to Audrey, who shook a hand in refusal, taking a standing position beside Elinor.

  “Heh. Suit yourself… Umm. So, I’m guessing you ran into some problem that you don’t want to cause a panic about? How bad was the news from Armando?”

  Elinor’s illuminated, jade irises drifted to the small cluster of people that waited further down the long hallway, covering their noses from the smell and explaining to Gloria that she’d wanted a private talk with their leader.

  However, when she spoke, her attention was entirely on the slightly chubby, tall man, looking for any hint of recognition.

  “Armando was hired to get me and a few others to go to this town on this exact day… I won’t get into all the unbelievable details, but he has an alarming amount of information on me. It may sound insane to you, but there is a group called the Scarlet Cult that has infiltrated your town… perhaps for decades, and their goal is to force three individuals out of this world, one of which, includes me.”

  To her surprise, Virgil didn’t immediately laugh at the statement or ask if she was joking. The man sat back, stroked his brown beard for a second, and puffed out a long breath, focus darting to those outside.

  “Hmm… As insane as a teen that can bring back the dead, toad people, and a massive barrier of our town that pumps rainbow snow onto us? Uh, yeah… a cult sounds on brand. Haaa. Brrr, it’s damn cold, though… I guess I should be counting our blessings on that, though. Umm. Wow. Decades undercover?”

  He muttered to himself for several more seconds, piecing together all the avenues the revelation took them.

  “Does that mean they always knew we’d be invaded by these creatures… and they did nothing to help us? No, they actively tried to make this place as worse as possible to take you down when your powers awakened. Hmm…”

  Elinor’s eyes narrowed. “How are you coming up with all those answers so quickly?”

  “Oh, heh, well… I’m kind of putting all of this in the view of a video game, anime, and isekai fanatic; I’m kind of an addict loser that hogs all the bandwidth at the local library. I’m shocked everyone listened to me when I started telling them what we should do… Oof. I do look kind of suspicious, don’t I?”

  She let the chilling atmosphere become uncomfortable while staring the man down, looking for something further to latch onto. Despite his admission, he was her connection to the humans, who trusted him since he’d gotten them this far. He was a good subject for suspicion—perhaps too good—and it would be better to guide him from the shadows.

  He breathed a sigh of relief when her focus left him to the small throng waiting down the hallway. “Who are you closest to or that offers you advice?”

  Elinor could see the gears in Virgil’s mind turning. It seemed he was a man of forethought and consciously looked for why people asked questions, which marked him as a good leader. By the lump that went down his throat, she figured he’d guessed the reason for her inquiry.

  “Gloria’s been my friend since we were kids… I couldn’t imagine… I mean,she’s been doing everything in her power to help the women and children, making sure they have what they need.”

  Legs crossing and head tilting to the side a tad, Elinor huffed. “Is she the only opinion? What kind of advice has she given? Think critically about what direction those close to you have tried to influence your decisions.

  “Who has spoken for or against me? In fact, perhaps it is someone else in Gloria’s ear, feeding her ideas to pass on to you. We are not dealing with the average mind when it comes to this cult.”

  “Wow… That’s pretty intense stuff,” Virgil hissed, fingers sliding through his greasy hair as he puffed out a long stream of carbon dioxide. “Wait… You’re afraid if you give us these weapons—do you think they’ll use them against you—or use them against us to help the toads?”

  “I don’t know, Virgil,” Elinor crisply responded. “Everything is possible at this point. All I know is that there are moles among us in an organization that is very intelligent, connected, and, most of all, very, very patient in their execution.”

  Rising to her feet, Elinor moved to study the nearby corpses that were laid out; they’d found more tarps and blankets to hide most of those that had previously been uncovered. Audrey and Virgil followed her, with the man rubbing his covered shoulders. His face and nose were red, and he was sniffing back snot, obviously struggling with the cold, unlike her—then again, that was thanks to some mystical powers.

  “Above all, I believe they will not want to risk dying in a way that I can resurrect them… at least, not until their plans have succeeded. I suspect they had a hand in having my parents abducted to force me to go through the gateway. Hmm. For some reason, the Scarlet Cult want me off this planet, and, oddly, killing me or the others they’ve manipulated into this position isn’t an option.”

  “The toads, eh… ri’bot, aren’t connected to this cult? Ugh. This opens up so much paranoia,” he grumbled. “Gwen was with your mother… Do you think she’s a part of it?”

  Elinor shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s possible. Right now, I am telling you this to warn you that there may be an attempt to sabotage our operation and, as such… I will be going to meet the ri’bot leaders as bait. Only you will know that as we split into three groups.”

  Virgil tucked in his bottom lip, coughing from the chill in his throat. “Okay… We’re going after the Crystal Hubs. So, I need to make someone the leader of the second; I guess we can narrow down the possibilities by sending specific people in each attack team… Wait, if you’re bait, doesn’t that give them exactly what they want?”

  A slight smirk lifted Elinor’s mouth as she turned to him. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, Virgil… I’ve already lost. While I was kidnapped and figuring things out, they had enough time to pull strings in a way to get my parents taken. I have no choice but to go to the other side, but I will do it on my own terms.”

  He shivered. “Woah. Okay, that’s hard—I got chills—umm, okay… Your goal is to act as bait to draw in their big names, pulling them away from the other two that we can destroy… and then negotiate since they have only one link left? That’s awesome—ack, my bad!” He winced, trying to quiet down.

  “Sorry, I just—this is movie shit—damn…”

  Elinor felt a tad bad for the man since she was using the humans. She had to make it clear it would be better not to fight if her plan was to succeed.

  “Heh. Only if we pull it off,” Elinor chuckled, finding her hands behind her back while sweeping the corpses of the fallen; their blood was on the hands of the mole. “Allow me to make this clear, though…

  “Even if you destroy the hub, that is not the end—it is only a means to draw their attention—and if I tell you to surrender, it is for a reason. Convince them to go willingly into captivity and not to resist. It means there is no hope for victory, perhaps due to the cult or some other problem, but I can find a solution on the other side. Trust me, having two lives is better than one.”

  Virgil forced a laugh at the partial joke, knowing she was talking about their actual life and then unlife. “I’ll spread the news. It may be a little hard, but… What do you want to do about the teams, though?” he asked, glancing at Gloria far across the room, mumbling to another woman while watching them from afar.

  Elinor continued her passive study of the various corpses they passed in their path through the rows; most were of lower Poor-Grade as military subjects, but in the Serving or High Court, they could shine.

  “No need to do anything different than you would do otherwise. All you should do is watch carefully who is speaking into your ear and where they get their words from.”

  A low growl rumbled in the man’s throat as he scratched the scruff on his neck. “Mmgm. High enough to make suggestions, low enough to evade suspicion, eh? Tricky.”

  Her glowing eyes creased with a smirk. “True… but also incapable of making drastic changes without sticking out. Play the plan close to your chest, Virgil, and divide the jobs into smaller groups. Now, grab a map and find us a room that the two of us can plan in… alone,” she added.

  “Naturally, I’ll make up some excuse…” He paused, showing a thankful smile before saluting her. “Thank you, Empress. I can really see the royalty in you, bizarre as that may be in a teenager… It’s actually pretty awesome that you’re here, and I can totally see why this cult wants to get rid of you. I’ll do everything in my power to help—I’m Team Empress all the way.”

  “Hehe. I’m glad to hear that. Take inventory with Carlos and set things up for our strategy meeting; we have a lot to plan.”

  He left with a skip in his step that showed he was a man on a mission; perhaps that was all it took for him since he’d felt like a failure all his life, judging by his response about gaming. Virgil had discovered a purpose, which was also a dangerous thing if not properly cultivated.

  Audrey turned away to readjust something up her long sleeve, and Elinor internally smiled upon seeing a hidden knife sheath that was strapped to the woman’s forearm; Audrey hadn’t told her about arming herself. There were things her undead could keep from her, it would seem; the woman did well to hide it until now.

  “I almost don’t want to trust any of them,” Audrey passively commented, flaming skull eyes following Virgil’s exit as he laughed and talked with Gloria and the others. “Perhaps it is just my callus side speaking from my work as a terrorist, but I quickly grew to understand the bonds between people are not all that expensive to break.”

  Most people have their price, I suppose, Elinor whispered, feeling Butter returning, plump with Death Orbs. It’s those that don’t that are the dangerous ones… such as this fanatical cult… Whatever they believe, it must be practically woven into their marrow.

  [Tiffany's PoV]

  A quake ran through Tiffany’s frantic mind, and she wasn’t the only one to flinch as the rumble of thunder shook the area; she cast her gaze around the covered thicket they were held prisoner at—it was almost entirely untamed—the size was breathtaking.

  Colossal, tar-black trees that possibly dwarfed even the redwoods rose high into the fathomless heavens, with the large orange and purple leaves that covered them leaving violet and auburn rays to illuminate the thick yellow grass around them. She’d been taken to an alien world, bound with vines that somehow fused into cuffs without a seam.

  A storm appeared to be brewing in the distance—a nasty one—which was the last thing they needed after being captured. Over a thousand people had been forcefully taken through the gateway, and there had to be multiple ones that linked to this large crystal in the center of the field because too many were coming through. However, she noticed a sharp decline when snow began to appear on the other side.

  Tiffany had no clue what was happening. All she wanted was to find her daughter—at least then she’d know she was safe.

  Where is Elinor?! she internally screamed, berating herself for leaving her daughter even for a second.

  Why isn’t she here? If these toad aliens didn’t take her, then who did? There’s not a chance she left on her own, so… who has my little girl?

  The loud noises of unknown animals and the fear of foreign bacteria or defensive mechanisms the alien fauna might have made Tiffany flinch; she knew a lot about ecology—it was the field she taught—and everything about this drew red flag after red flag. What were they going to do about water, food, or any other activity they did? Humans were so fragile in a foreign environment, and she knew it well.

  Did they take Elinor further into the jungle? Why do they want us? Slaves? She cursed at not being able to find any answers since being captured.

  The aliens couldn’t speak their language, and those that tried to communicate had been gutted before her eyes, sparking everyone to quiet down. What appeared to be a trading post was set up between the four skin colors of toads, and they were bartering or discussing various things they’d taken from their world.

  Obviously, these creatures were intelligent, and it looked like a simple conquest for goods—even monkeys performed savage raids on other settlements to obtain resources—if that was the case, were they going to be used as food or perhaps bait? Many animals used others as a form of entertainment, such as orca or cats.

  A million questions went through Tiffany’s mind, yet her heart fractured upon seeing one of the pure green toad groups return with more prisoners. “Edmon… no,” she whimpered, seeing his shirt soaking crimson, yet the grim expression on his face told her it was probably not his blood, making her sigh.

  Her husband’s eyes widened as he scanned the many faces around the clearing, settling on her, yet she was in the orange toad camp. She slumped in defeat; they would be separated.

  Why… Why is this happening to us? We tried to do what was right… We just wanted to help people… Elinor… Where are you? Please… please be safe.

  What was abundantly clear was that some of these aliens had supernatural powers. The blue toads were the ones that fused their vine bonds, making it practically impossible to slip or escape.

  One very old blue alien—at least, it appeared to be well into its years—took its time sitting and studying each person that went through. He wasn’t alone; another orange elderly alien stood nearby, almost looking curious as he communicated to the other by gestures and deep croaks.

  There was a degree of intelligence and mystery that made her bones quake when he eventually got to her; it was like he was staring into her soul or mind, searching for something, yet he moved on after a short time.

  Ten minutes after his departure, she heard a hiss behind her, revealing a cute teenage blonde girl she’d seen on the bus. Tiffany had hoped maybe Elinor and she could get acquainted at some point, but her daughter had been stubborn and broody the entire trip thus far, which was understandable.

  Trying to force a smile, she whispered, “Hello… Esmeralda, right?”

  There was an unusual gleam in the fifteen-year-old girl’s big eyes, and she didn’t seem frightened in the least to be in the alien world; she’d even offered to help her find Elinor before getting captured. Her clothes and shiny golden locks were caked with dirt and grime like she’d been foraging around in the mud.

  “Mhm. Want to try one of these? They’re delicious!” she asked, holding up a strange, plate-shelled fruit that she appeared to have pried open with a flat stone. “It’s like eating a parfait.”

  “Eh-heh. Maybe we shouldn’t eat alien food, Esmeralda… Our anatomy isn’t adjusted to it… you could get some kind of worms.”

  “Ooh. Space worms?” she hummed with interest, inspecting the interior. “Do you think there are eggs inside that will hatch in my stomach—wouldn’t that be cool?”

  “E-yeah… Hehe. Maybe get rid of the rock before they think you’re trying to make a weapon?”

  “Mmh. I don’t think they’re intimidated by me,” she whispered, focus returning to the fruit. “Isn’t this exciting? It’s like we’re in a book.”

  Maybe it was better that Elinor didn’t talk with her…