The two children wandered aimlessly, tracking through the snow defeated. Only managing to escape from their village by the skin of their own teeth failed to do anything about it. With nowhere to run to, they were left to fend for themselves with little hope left. The little girl stopped shaking. "Brother… I'm cold."

"I know you are Sakura. Please just keep moving. You have to; the village depends on us."

Sakura gave a faint nod shivering. "I know, Sun, but… what can we do. That nice lady told us herself. No one will help us."

Sun gave it a thought shaking his head putting on his bravest smile. "Then we just find someone who will. There's got to be at least one person out there who will… A hero is someone who saves others in need. There's got to be one hero out there willing to help us."

A twig snapped as the boy turned, finding his sister gone. His eyes widened as he scouted the area like a wild dog. "Sakura?! Sakura!"

Another twig snapped as Sun jumped, spinning on the spot seeing serval demons shrouded in the blizzard, eyeing him down. "Did you think you could escape us, boy?"

Sun tried to scream out but failed, being knocked to the ground, his vision going fuzzy. The last thing he saw was his sister being dragged away by the very men who took over his village.

****

Zinnia sat around a fire in silence, letting the harsh wind blow keep her occupied. Her mind was dancing back to the bar brawl. The desperate cries those children gave her had shaken her, to say the least. Give the situation, she would have jumped at the possibilities without a thought of doubt back with Team Rhapsody. Just thinking about it, she gave a small chuckle, already imagining Alton giving her a good scolding for jumping into action without thinking.

It had been three years since she had heard anything from them since Gale's death, and the broken trust with Alton Zinnia had set off to find her purpose. To escape from the clutches of V.I.R.A.L and live her own life. This journey had located her on Victoria's outskirts in a small country called Tenyua, a frozen wasteland with the last batch of survivors living life as best as they can. The badlands are ruled by bounty hunters trying to make a buck no matter what. Truth be told, Zinnia used to be such a hunter when she first arrived, hoping to give her purpose. But when that failed, and bounty hunters are needed less and less these days, Zinnia is left without much reason. The idea of returning to Rhinefield has crossed her mind on serval occasions. To be reunited with her friends at Team Rhapsody and beyond, but she believed this to be too late. Her chance was gone now.

The wind kept blowing as Zinnia did her best to keep the fire going. That was until it went out entirely, and the smoke trailed off, followed by a faint voice. "Zinnia."

Hearing this as clear as can be, Zinnia shot up, staring on, waiting to listen to the voice again. For the moment, it didn't come making Zinnia doubt herself once more. But the sense of warmth and love crawled into her mind. The voice was nostalgic to her, one she had to find the source of. Throwing her backpack, she stomped on the fire, putting the small spark out, tailing the wind towards her destination. The voice she was following was matched with serval others. Not wanting to be spotted, Zinnia leapt into the trees watching serval men walking through the forest with the two children she saved in their arms. Not wanting to make a scene, Zinnia stayed put until they vanished. "That was close."

The wind picked up, almost knocking her from the tree as the voice echoed off in the same direction. "Save them, Zinnia."

"No way… I didn't just hear that. This is ridiculous; I blocked you out. How are you back ordering me around again? The voice in the wind…"

"Save them, Zinnia."

She bit her lip, frustrated she was being demanded of again. To be a hero when she refused to, but she didn't have much else to go off on. She was clinging onto the last semblance of purpose one. If she kept going, she'd wander the wasteland till her death without many purposes at all. Even if it was just for a few moments, one day, in fact. Zinnia would follow her guide and do something worthwhile.

Keeping her distance, she tailed the men through the forest with little idea where they were going. She had explored this forest for months with no clear hideouts or so-called villages in the area to her knowledge. They'd most likely freeze by the time they reached any destination. But that's when the unexpected happened. The men just vanished. Stopping in her tracks, Zinnia glanced around, dazed. "What the hell? How did they?" There was no way they slipped out of sight. There was nowhere to go in her eyes. Jumping to get a closer view, even their footsteps had just stopped out of the blue. The three men paved through the snow, but it stopped right in front of Zinnia by a tree with a marked x. Jumping on the tree, Zinnia felt a strange reaction as her vision began to get blurry. The area started to morph and move like she was staring at one of those funny mirrors in a fairground. Moving her hand forward, it passed through the strange illusion vanishing.

Pulling it back instantly, Zinnia stared on in shock. She had no idea what this is, but it explained the men and two siblings' disappearance. With nowhere to go, Zinnia took a deep breath stepping into the bubble. The moment she did, everything changed as she almost fell from the tree. The temperature rose to incredible levels compared to outside, forcing her to rip her coat off. There was no snow anywhere, not even a sliver of slush. The weather was beautiful with the sun out on a bright day; of course, it didn't make any sense. Was she teleported somewhere else? How was this small area not touched by the ice age just inches away?

Moving between the trees, Zinnia spotted the reported village, months in these areas, and never once saw it. Hiding away, she watched as the children were taken to a small tent. As one of the men turned, Zinnia ducked down in shock at the mask being worn. It was a black demon mask, one she was far too familiar with. "Syndicate… What the hell are they doing here?!"

The Syndicate members began rounding up other members of the village for some unknown reason. "Attention! The survivor is arriving!"

Not waiting around to find out what happens next. Zinnia pulled two small electrical daggers from thin air leaping out of the trees, kicking one Syndicate member into a hut caving in the roof. The other members looked on horrified. "What the hell?! Who is that?!"

Zinnia stood up, seeing the two children smiling at her arrival. "Syndicate… How are you still here? You were destroyed three years ago. Team Rhapsody made sure of that."

"Syndicate can never die! We will live on forever! The survivor made sure of that. She saved us and kept us moving forward."

Holding her blades near her, Zinnia darted around, cutting down each member with ease. Throwing her knife at the next grunt, a Syndicate member clocked his gun, firing at her. Calling on her electrical katana, she cut each bullet in half as they exploded behind her. Raising her blade, she was ready to defeat the last few members until a voice from the head tent shouted. "Stand down!"

"Survivor? Are you sure?!"

"You have no chance against the likes of her. Stand down… I'll take care of this." Zinnia stared on, startled by sight. A fair-skinned girl stepped out from the tent with her hair cut short down to her ears, which was bleached white. Her red eyes glowed brightly as she stared at Zinnia, disjointed. "After all this time, halfway across the fucking country, and you still find me… Zinnia Trost."

"Scar… no, Riley Syndicate… That's not possible; you died. Alton killed you."

"Alton Brantley, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time… That's what he would like you to believe," Riley replied, limping using a wooden stick to help her walk right. "Team Rhapsody waiting in the wings, I assume? Is my evil, despicable sister here to kill me?"

Zinnia stood up, looking concerned. "We've got the place surrounded. You have nowhere to go."

"I see," Riley spoke, tutting looking disappointed. "I really thought I could start a new life here. But it seems no one is given a second chance… If that's the case, I surrender; no one else has to get hurt today. I know my limit, and not even I can defeat Team Rhapsody."

"You're seriously giving up? No, bluff?"

"No bluffs. No tricks, if what you said is true, what hope do I have of winning? Come, let me show you to my room. Before I give up this village, let me show you something important."

"What could you possibly have to show me?!" Zinnia snapped.

Riley turned, facing Zinnia, looking tired as she muttered. "The fate of Rhinefield."