It was with squinting eyes that Nicole took in the first rays of the morning light. At first she tried to roll away from whatever window was letting it in, but a rock dug into her side and quickly reminded her that she wasn’t in her bed, but a cave somewhere on the other side of the planet. She rose to a sitting position as the events of the night caught up with her, from her sad attempts at carving the cat to cook, to the makeshift smoke rack set over the fire.

  Then her eyes shot open and she looked beside her where Maraline laid. Her eyes were shut and while her hair was matted from sweat, she was now breathing normally, appearing to be little more than sleeping. Nicole sighed in relief and ever so carefully moved her bandages to check the wounds for signs of infection. The woman stirred, grunting at the motion.

  “Who…”

  “It’s just me,” Nicole whispered. “I need to check your injuries.”

  Maraline nodded, relaxing in a show of trust that should not have existed between them. Nicole could only smile at that as she gently lifted her friend and pulled the dried cloth away. Rather than the expected angry red of an infection, she was instead greeted by a nearly healed shoulder.

  “How?” Nicole asked, taking the cloth away completely. “You’re almost fully healed.”

  Maraline blinked, then smiled. “Oh good, the nanites weren’t affected.”

  Nanites? Weren’t those microscopic machines that every sci-fi show ever always used as a plot device, or for a gray goo doomsday scenario? Then again, the Sylan were known as a machine empire, so why wouldn’t they have tiny machines in their blood?

  “Is that how you normally heal?” Nicole asked. “Because that is pretty impressive.”

  “Not as impressive as whatever healed you,” Maraline countered. “These are only good for superficial wounds and are meant to maintain our biological youth. They combat natural aging and illness, little more. With how I was struggling, I feared they suffered the same fate as my other implants.”

  “Other implants?”

  A chuckle followed. “Come now, did you truly believe that any biological creation of the Sylan Empire would be without some form of enhancements to push us beyond our physical limits?”

  Nicole blushed, looking away as she muttered under her breath about convenient bullshit. Not that she had any room to talk, what with how her connection to the Source could sometimes come in with a clutch save. Maraline actually laughed out loud, likely having a similar line of thought about her grumblings.

  As tempting as it was to drop her to the ground, Nicole wasn’t that much of a bitch, especially to a friend that was still recovering. Instead she turned her attention to the meat that had been left out to smoke. It certainly looked like jerky, though a bit burnt at points, but she thought the attempt was at least passable.

  Hopefully none of the bits of wood were toxic or some shit. That would be just her luck, but there wasn’t much choice in the matter, she had no other way to preserve the meat. She’d cooked a bit of it directly on the rock, and eaten that herself before falling asleep while trying to keep watch over her friend. Nicole knew they were lucky that another predator hadn’t come for them during her nap.

  The biggest issue was now water. Sure, the spring was coming directly from the rocks below, which should make it safe to drink given it was being naturally filtered. As she considered risking it, Maraline washed off the dirt from her hands down the stream, then moved to the small pond and scooped some in her hands, drinking it without hesitation.

  “It is untainted,” she said, smiling back at Nicole. “Feel secure when you partake.”

  The vernacular was familiar, and it truly settled in that her friend would be okay, the last vestiges of the weight on her shoulders melting away. Yes, she remained worried about Grace back in Tennessee, but that was something she lacked the ability to influence at this time.

  Thin gloves came off and Nicole repeated her friend’s actions, washing her hands downstream before sipping from the pool of water. It was crisp and refreshing, exactly what Nicole needed. She gulped down a fair bit, having been rather parched following the long night tending to the fire and meat.

  Unfortunately she didn’t have much in the way of collecting the water. The only thing she could think of was the cat’s stomach and bladder—which she only figured out because it leaked piss all over when she was removing organs. They were currently submerged in the stream a bit further down. Nicole didn’t have a clue about preserving them, but she didn’t want to throw away potentially useful bits when they might be stuck for days or worse.

  Yes, both she and Maraline were able to do things beyond human norms, but the damaged implants clearly hindered Maraline. She struggled against jungle cats, even if they didn’t act like any of the cats she had seen in the nature documentaries seen over the years. Putting that thought aside, Nicole grabbed a chunk of the jerky from the makeshift smoker and handed it to Maraline. The Sylan bit into it without hesitation, grimacing slightly as she did, but she didn’t complain.

  The jerky was indeed tough, but Nicole chewed on it regardless. The thick canopy was a problem for keeping track of what time it was, which meant that finding a solid tree to climb should happen at some point to get the lay of the land. Hell, there might be civilization on the horizon for all she knew.

  First priority was still basic survival and recovery, figuring out where to go next could wait just a bit longer. Hell, there were probably fruits available in the jungle, but Nicole wasn’t sure they were worth the risk, especially since she had no idea what was good to eat or not. That wasn’t even getting into the whole ‘parasites’ thing that she just knew would be an ordeal once she returned to civilization.

  She couldn’t even fall back on Sinclair without eating some measure of crow for strong-arming the man into letting her walk away with her morpher. If Becca hadn’t been taken off the project, she would have happily left it, but for whatever reason her best friend was reassigned right after making a crucial breakthrough.

  Spite was a powerful motivator, and Nicole was absolutely wielding it in that moment, even if it might bite her in the ass soon. Shit, Sinclair was totally going to use her disappearance against Becca and the rest of the team. Would Grace or Becca go right to the man since they probably thought she was being held by the Sylan?

  Oh hell, the Sylan were probably looking for someone to blame as well, especially if Maraline was no longer able to interact with their systems. Nicole swallowed, her throat suddenly dry despite the water. She needed to know what might be coming, no matter how bad it might be.

  “I’ve got an idea of how my friends will react, but what about Guiana and Bartran?”

  Maraline sat in silence for a moment, chewing away at the meat. Only once she swallowed did she actually speak. “You fear reprisal for my disappearance.”

  Nicole nodded, the knot in her stomach only grew worse at the question.

  “Then you have little to fear beyond the animosity that already exists,” she continued. “I was acting on my own, and should they learn the ship only crashed due to my intervention, I fear the reprisal that would no doubt come once they learn of my treachery.”

  Nicole’s head turned slowly, eyes widening as she took in the visage of the Sylan General beside her. Had she just casually admitted to treason against her people? Nicole wasn’t sure she heard that correctly, yet Maraline hadn’t misspoke. Her words were always carefully chosen and deliberate.

  “You made that ship crash?”

  “Quite the coincidence that it crashed in the cornfield where you just happened to be that night, wouldn’t you say?”

  Nicole couldn’t help it, she laughed. It was just so ridiculous, and yet it made perfect sense. Maraline had always seemed to put humanity first, claiming she wanted to be the one that would lead them to greatness. She professed that she didn’t want the invasion, and now she was acting out. Nicole reached into her pouch and removed the device that Maraline had taunted her with. It lacked power, but something told her that it wouldn’t be too difficult to make it function once again.

  “What is it?” Nicole asked.

  Maraline’s eyes flicked to the device for a moment. “A memory core, one that I made sure contained a copy of every pertinent file related to our research and military plans for the coming years.”

  Nicole stared at the unassuming device with wide eyes. If that was true, then it could represent a turning point in their conflict, and despite her recent disagreement with Sinclair, it was worth setting everything aside to cooperate again. With trembling hands, Nicole stored the device back in her pouch, it was too important to risk losing.

  “Why take the risk? What scared you enough to risk your life like that?”

  Her friend smiled, turning to face her. “The things I have learned during their convalescence have made me… Hesitant to support the goals of the Sylan Empire. The Prime Administrator only cares about one thing, and that is unraveling the Source and all its mysteries.”

  Maraline’s smile had fallen away, replaced with a scowl. Nicole wasn’t sure what that was about, but she had an idea. Back when she had nearly died, Maraline was caught off guard that humanity had developed something that could store Source energy. The detonation of the device notwithstanding.

  Rebecca had arrived back at the dorm dead tired, promising to explain what the hell happened in the morning, but then Grace had her emergency. In the end Becca agreed to wait until they returned. Now Nicole was in the dark when she had someone she could actually talk to about this shit that might know something.

  “Pity my best friend isn’t here,” Nicole said with a sigh. “She would probably talk shop with you until the sun set.”

  “She must be brilliant indeed,” Maraline said. Coming from anyone else it might have come across as boastful, but Maraline had access to knowledge that far outstripped humanity’s own. “Humanity has done more in five years to understand the Source than our entire Empire has managed in the past seven centuries. When I brought this to The Prime Administrator’s attention, they ordered me to prepare for the next stage of the invasion while the Commander recovered.”

  Nicole sucked in a breath, memories of her vision flashing through her mind at all that likely entailed. The monster that had come before Bartran reminded Nicole too much of the beasts from her visions. They were refined, yet undeniably similar. How long until thousands of them walked the Earth?

  “The detonation is what I planned to blame for the crash,” Maraline said. “All of our systems were affected by the surge that rippled through the Source. It was the best cover I could hope for, even if it did take some time to arrange.”

  “How likely are they to learn of your involvement?” Nicole asked.

  Maraline stared ahead for a moment. “Without the wreckage or the machines that accompanied me, the odds are minimal. I acted as I should up until you grabbed the device mid-teleport. I just never expected you to be dragged along with me.”

  “And somehow crashed into the middle of a jungle,” Nicole said. “Speaking of, we should at least try to scope out our surroundings before abandoning camp.”

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  “Having a destination in mind would make any journey all the easier,” Maraline agreed as she looked off to the side. “Bring the food with us, I fear there may be scavengers that would rob us while we are away.”

  Sure enough, Nicole spotted two of the monkeys from earlier eyeing them from the brush line. Apparently three dead cats weren’t enough for them, which was all kinds of terrifying to consider. Nicole piled the fire high with wet logs, hoping that would be enough to keep it going for a few hours, then stored the shitty jerky in her pouch.

  “Pity we don’t have anything to store some water,” Nicole said.

  “Then we should not stray far,” Maraline agreed. “I shall remain on the lookout for things we may use.”

  Nicole nodded, looking over the fur that was strung up by the fire to dry. Nicole knew the basics of leather working from idle curiosity, but that was a far cry from making the skin into something of use. At best it would likely end up a smelly blanket until it rotted too much to tolerate.

  Still, it would help them in the short term and that was the most important thing at the moment. With a sigh, Nicole joined back up with Maraline and the pair moved back into the thick vegetation that coated the forest floor. There were bugs everywhere, and Nicole was thankful for how much her outfit covered. Maraline wasn’t as lucky, given her clothes were more dress than her combat gear.

  Further proof that she hadn’t come to fight them seriously.

  They proceeded through the dense underbrush together, their eyes peeled for anything that might be edible. While Nicole struggled to navigate through the vines and limbs, Maraline passed through the foliage with an ease that did manage to stir a smidgen of hatred for the woman after the third branch smacked Nicole in the face. Maraline chuckled, earning a glare from her in return.

  “Okay miss perfect, how are you not getting smacked in the face then?”

  Maraline paused, once again showing no offense at the disrespect being leveled upon her. “You have not spent much time training with your senses deprived, have you?”

  “And you have?” Nicole asked.

  Maraline smiled. “Indeed. It was something General Guiana insisted upon from the moment I emerged from the incubation pod. I was bred to be a peerless warrior, taught everything I would need to know to rule a world, and ensure it remained within our grasp should anyone try to dethrone me.”

  “You were created to be a tyrant,” Nicole whispered, her fists clenched. “Do you even know what it means to be human? To grow up and learn, to make mistakes and grow? Have you ever experienced heartbreak?”

  This time a frown creased Maraline’s fae like beauty. “I have made mistakes, and I hope I have learned from them. This heartbreak you speak of, I assumed that humans died if their heart was damaged enough to break.”

  If she hadn’t been someone hellbent on conquest, that statement might have been endearing with how naive it had been. As it was, it only served as a reminder of how far removed Maraline was from most people.

  “It’s not literal,” Nicole explained, taking a moment to ensure she wasn’t about to lean on a snake or something. “Heartbreak is what happens when we lose something we love, be it temporary or permanent. I’m sure Grace is feeling something similar right now because she doesn’t know what happened to me.”

  Maraline’s head dropped, but she didn’t say anything further, clearly lost in thought. Whatever, Nicole was okay with that as long as they focused on survival. The insects were already bad enough, and she just knew that she was going to have a few parasites by the time the sun went down.

  Feeling out the breeze, Nicole picked a direction and followed it upwind, hoping that would keep any predators from finding them too easily. Maraline followed, silent and lost in thought, but her eyes continued to track their surroundings.

  Neither of them were dressed for a potential jungle trek, but Nicole’s clothes were still practical for a northern climate, not the harsh heat and humidity of the jungle. She was tempted to pull the undershirt off and tie it to her waist, but that risked leaving her arms vulnerable to injuries. Nicole had enhanced strength from her own Ranger powers, as well as durability that was likely the only reason she wasn’t getting scratched to hell by all the twigs and vines that brushed her face, not to mention the ant nest she stepped in and was currently swarming her boot.

  “Shit fuck.” Nicole was quick to kick against a tree, knocking most off, only for a snake to fall down. Her hand snapped out and caught it by the neck just as it tried to bite at her face. Tossing it aside, she turned a withering glare upon the giggling Sylan behind her “I really fucking hate the jungle.”

  “It does seem to disagree with you.”

  Nicole glared back at Maraline, but pressed on in the face of her childlike joy. Really, the woman truly was the personification of a fae princess meeting a human for the first time. Knowing what little she did of her origin, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Hell, maybe she could learn more while they were stranded together.

  “You know,” Nicole said as stopped at a leafy plant that reminded her of lettuce. A quick swipe of her knife and she was assaulted with a vile odor. She tossed the leaf aside and let out a sigh. “This would be a good time for us to talk.”

  “I wasn’t aware you wished to speak to your conqueror.”

  Okay, Nicole deserved that one.

  “I don’t like that your goal is to rule us, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t noticed you aren’t evil, just that you were raised with certain expectations and beliefs.”

  “That much is true,” Maraline said, scanning the foliage as they walked.

  Nicole sighed. “Well, this is a chance for you to explain some of that, and to listen and discuss concerns that might be had about what your goals are.”

  “Humans value freedom, this is true, yet few of you are truly free,” Maraline started, staring into the dancing flames. “Nowhere is that more true than America. Your people have been fed a poisoned view of freedom for so long that you see true freedom as tyranny.”

  “You think your rule would be freedom for us?”

  Maraline chuckled, the sound like clinking glass. “Heavens no. You will chafe at my rule every step. That will be by design. I will be seen as a monster right up until the first rebellions. Humanity may well unite against me, and then my people return in force and meet them at the negotiation table set over my corpse. Only then will humanity be united, with myself as their common enemy. Then they will be able to join the Sylan Empire as a vassal rather than a conquered world.”

  Nicole’s jaw was nearly on the cave floor. “Bullshit. There’s no way Bartran wouldn’t raze the planet for attempting to overthrow you.”

  “They won’t, because it is part of the plan The Prime Administrator proposed,” Maraline said softly. “Bartran didn’t like it, but the Prime Administrator informed us of the revised plan just days ago. I’ll be the face of the evil that stole the world from them, and they will unite in hatred of me and once they’ve overthrown me, I’ll be withdrawn after faking my death and a new agreement will be reached.”

  “And you bought that?” Nicole snapped. She couldn’t believe how gullible Maraline was about the entire thing! Hell, that plan was stolen right from one of her favorite anime! It didn’t work so well for them either. “Maraline. If you go through with that plan, you’ll have to die for it to even begin, there won’t be any faking this. Do you really trust others to then play by your script? Someone will make sure you don’t get back up!”

  “Then I’ll die,” she said easily. “History shows that true change requires sacrifice. Many will die to see this to fruition, but there is only so much that I can do with the hand I was dealt. I detest the fact you are unlikely to survive the coming battles, but there is nothing I can do to stop them in my current position.”

  “That was why you chose to defect?”

  “A rather obvious trap set before me, wouldn’t you say?” Maraline asked with a soft smile. “No matter what I do, I will be damned. The new development with the Source is reason enough for a shift in plans and accelerating the invasion.”

  Nicole stood in stunned silence as she considered the repercussions of everything she had just been told. Were they really throwing Maraline away in an attempt to bring humanity under heel in a less forceful fashion? Digging deeper felt wrong at the moment, and arguing about it wouldn’t change their current situation. Instead, she grit her teeth and shut her mouth. She wouldn’t let Maraline sacrifice herself like that, nor would she let her be executed if she did end up defecting.

  Maraline was her friend, and as such, Nicole would protect her to the full extent of her abilities.

  “Is that an orange?”

  Nicole turned, following Maraline’s extended arm as she pointed towards a tall tree in the distance. Sure enough there were fruit growing on it that sure as shit looked like an orange. They reached it in moments and Maraline picked up one off the ground, ripping the skin off before smelling it.

  “It will likely taste vile,” Maraline warned, still staring at the fruit. “Citrus fruits require cuttings to preserve flavor.”

  Then she bit into the flesh, grimacing as she did.

  “That bad?”

  Maraline nodded, but continued to chew. Nicole picked up her own orange, wary, but decided she couldn’t complain about having found something edible. She bit into the skin, using that to rip it open the rest of the way. Already Nicole could tell it was going to be awful, but she took a bite anyway, and it was worse than any lemon she had tried.

  “Well,” Nicole said, chewing quickly so she could force the fruit down. “You weren’t wrong.”

  “Unfortunately,” Maraline agreed, continuing to eat. “We should take some with us before we return to our camp.”

  Nicole nodded, already moving to pick up a few others where the skin was unbroken. As much as she hoped to find something a bit easier on the palette, she knew to not get her hopes up. That they found a fruit tree at all was a minor miracle at that, not that Nicole believed in those. Unfortunately they lacked the space to carry many, which would mean frequent trips if they couldn’t find something else.

  “Strange that these are even here,” Maraline said. “This is hardly where oranges might have grown by chance.”

  Most food consumed by people was cultivated over centuries to grow and change into something more desirable. Oranges were no exception. Very few fruits that humans ate were naturally occurring, which meant someone had introduced them to this jungle.

  Not even five minutes later Nicole pointed out another tree, this one held green pears of some sort. They weren’t quite like the ones she knew from the supermarket, but they were still recognizable. Which meant that someone once lived in this jungle and seeded the fruit trees for some reason.

  “These pears are more akin to the ones pictured in books dating back hundreds of years,” Maraline said, picking one from a low branch. “Whoever claimed this land is likely long gone and the trees simply propagated without their presence.”

  Such an explanation certainly made sense, but Nicole couldn’t help the nagging worry that they were missing something important. They walked for about an hour, circling away from their chosen camp towards the river in a slow arc, and each discovery was stranger than the last. Strawberries and blackberries, mangos, corn, potatoes, and carrots. It seemed with every five minutes of walking they discovered yet more, all mixed in with the various plants of the jungle. It made little sense, and yet it was all there.

  When they finally reached their camp somewhere close to mid-day, they had their arms full of food to work with, but little in the way of cooking. Fire roasted would have to do for the moment, but Nicole was already thinking of things she could use to make that could boil water. The best discovery of all had been wild onions, which would make all the difference in the flavor of what they might be able to prepare.

  “Never thought playing survival games as a kid would come in handy,” Nicole said, wiping the sweat from her brow as she deposited the food beside the spring. The fire was still going so she tossed a few more logs atop it and sat down with a sigh. “How does your back feel?”

  Maraline stretched, flexing her arm as she did. “Still tender, but I believe that will pass before the sun has finished its descent.”

  That was good, the worst thing that could have happened was having her injured and needing continued care the entire time they were stuck. Still, they needed a longer term plan now that their immediate survival wasn’t in danger.

  “How strong are you without your implants working?”

  Maraline paused, a frown on her face. “As unwise as it might be to admit this, but I am little better than a peak performance human at the moment. I have no defenses to speak of and my reaction times are abysmal.”

  Which explained why those cats had gotten the better of her, and that she wouldn’t be much help when it comes to what was needed next. Looking up at the trees, Nicole sighed and stood once more.

  “I’m going to see what I can see from up top,” Nicole said, smiling at her friend to hide her own concern. “Will you be alright for a few minutes alone?”

  In answer, Maraline waved her off, moving to take a drink of water. Nicole took that as a dismissal and moved over to the widest of the nearby trees. She had no clue what type of tree it might be, but it had strong branches and that the trunk vanished into the canopy. Reaching for the warmth within, Nicole took a few deep breaths and jumped.

  She cleared two dozen feet and grabbed a thick branch, swinging up to perch on it. Unfortunately she still had a ways to go, given some of the trees had to be hundreds of feet high. Nicole climbed, jumping where she could, doing things the hard way when she couldn’t, and soon enough she reached the canopy.

  Breaking through to the sky she took it all in, eyes widening as she did. The jungle extended outwards for dozens of miles, in the distance clouds rained down on the towering canopy, yet that wasn’t what had stolen her breath away. All around them, stone rose from the ground, completely surrounding the jungle on all sides. It continued all the way to the ceiling of the cavern that held them where a colossal shining crystal radiated pure light upon the entire expanse.

  Nicole could only swallow as she realized the truth of their predicament. She had no fucking clue where the hell they actually were. Worse, there would be no hope of rescue given they were somewhere underground in a cave that defied nature.

  “Fuck all kinds of duck.”

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