As if the very incarnation of cold had encompassed them, Silver Wolf and Kafka both froze where they stood. Meanwhile, the young man from before continued to stare them down, his cold, calculating gaze piercing through their souls as if the very concept of Death was present within the room, almost as if he was discerning their true intentions at lightning speeds. Another thing the two noticed, were the dual pistols in his hands. The pistols seem to emanate an insane level of heat, even from their current distance, glowing a fierce fiery orange.

"I'll ask you once more. Where do you think you two are going?"

Both Silver Wolf and Kafka regain their composures, as if they had just snapped out of a trance. Silver Wolf immediately began to tap on the holographic screen in front of her as Kafka took it upon herself to distract him long enough.

Kafka: "Well, seems as though Elio was right. We really would've had no chance at winning in a direct fight after all." She says, avoiding his question and confusing him further.

"I can tell you both don't harbor any ill intent directed towards anyone on the Space Station, but regardless, you still trespassed during an invasion from the Antimatter Legion. I'd even go as far as to say you both used it to your advantage, maybe even caused it."

As if shock had completely overcome Kafka, her eyes widened, just as Silver Wolf finished doing her magic.

Kafka: "You saw right through us. We've got somewhere to be, so do us a favor and keep it a secret. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a reward if you do~ I wouldn't mind for someone as handsome as you are~"

"...Not interested."

Kafka: "Such a shame. Oh well, you'll come around eventually. Oh, and do us another favor and keep the girl safe. Her name's Stelle, and she'll be with you all the time. Maybe you two will get even closer~"

"...Who are you, again?"

Kafka: "Nobody important. Farewell, Silver Warrior~ I'll be seeing you around~"

"Wait-"

Suddenly, both Silver Wolf and Kafka disappear into quantum particles, leaving no traces behind, except for the young woman that had been laying on the floor unconscious throughout the entire ordeal. Making sure the trespassers had fully disappeared, Y/n walks over to her and crouches down, inspecting her unconscious state just as two other people come running in. These two are March 7th and Dan Heng, companions of Y/n.

March 7th: "Y/n! Why did you have to leave us behind again?! We were just starting to catch up to you when you ran off even faster- Oh my god! Did you kill her?!" The pink haired girl interrupts herself, just now noticing the unconscious girl on the floor.

Dan Heng: "Relax, March 7th. I'm sure Y/n can explain what happened." The young man with black hair says, immediately making himself known as the calm and collected one.

Y/n turns to Dan Heng and nods in appreciation. Redirecting his attention to the unconscious girl, putting his index and middle fingers to her neck to check her pulse. Suddenly, March 7th intervenes by shouting yet again.

March 7th: "Come on, Y/n! At this rate she'll die! You've gotta do CPR-!" Is all she could get out before Dan Heng lightly smacked the back of her head, interrupting her.

Dan Heng: "Did you forget about Y/n's... predicament?" He says, prompting Y/n to shake his head.

"No, it's fine. March probably forgot, like usual. Regardless, the girl will be fine." Y/n says, remembering how the mysterious woman from before told him the girl would be in his care from then on.

March 7th: "Right... Sorry, Y/n." She says apologetically.

"I've already forgiven you. No need to drag it on." Y/n says as he looks down, noticing how the girl begins to open her eyes slowly, getting used to the light of the room. She turns her gaze upwards, looking up at Y/n and inspecting his hair and eyes. "Looks like she's waking up. Hey, you alright-?!" Y/n got ready to jump back and counter attack just as the girl pushed herself upward, completely surprising Y/n with a hug as she wraps her arms around his neck, surprising both Dan Heng and March 7th as well, though the latter for not nearly as long.

???: "My hero..." The young woman says, refusing to let go of the hold she has on Y/n.

"...Huh?!" Y/n exclaims out of surprise, being interrupted by the click sound of a camera taking a photo. Y/n looks towards March 7th, noticing the glee facial expression. "March! Where the hell did you even get a camera from?!"

March 7th: "Heh! I always have one on me at all times! You should know that by now, Y/n!"

-Timeskip-

Now that the three had managed to get Stelle to let go of her hold on Y/n, albeit not entirely as she still has her arm interlocked with Y/n's, all four of them are facing each other.

March 7th: "Are you alright now? Can you hear clearly? Do you remember your name?" She asks the mysterious girl, barraging her with a flurry of questions.

???: "I... can't remember a thing... Except..." She trails off, looking up at Y/n as she keeps her arm interlocked with his.

March 7th: "Aw, this isn't good at all... Can you try harder? I'm sure you can at least remember your name." She asks, prompting the mysterious young woman to think harder, until she seemed to have reached a conclusion.

Stelle: "My name is... Stelle." The girl now known as Stelle answers.

Dan Heng: "Stelle? Nice to meet you. My name's Dan Heng, and this is March 7th." He responds, looking over to March 7th as she directs a closed-eyed smile towards Stelle.

March 7th: "The Space Station we're currently on was just attacked by the Antimatter Legion. We came to help with the rescue at the request of Lead Researcher Asta."

Dan Heng: "We came across Y/n when we were helping evacuate the researchers. Luckily we followed him here, although we couldn't keep up with him entirely." He adds, looking at Y/n.

"Not my problem you both couldn't keep up. My instincts told me something was here, and it looks like I was right. Although, there is something I'm curious about..." Y/n trails off, prompting March 7th to speak.

March 7th: "Huh? What is it, Y/n?" She asks, causing Y/n to look at Stelle holding onto his arm, unaffected by his below-zero body temperature.

"How is she able to hold onto me without getting hurt?" Y/n asks, striking both Dan Heng and March 7th with a case of confusion.

Dan Heng: "Now that you mention it... You do have a point. Usually people who make physical contact with you start showing symptoms of hypothermia, in some of the worst cases they end up dead."

Stelle: "So... Am I the only one who's able to hold you?" Stelle asks, looking up at Y/n while she holds his arm.

"...No. There's only one other person who can safely make physical contact with me."

-Small Timeskip-

Our crew has made their way throughout the Space Station, Stelle now wielding a baseball bat and walking beside Y/n. Along with March 7th and Dan Heng comes a new arrival to the team; Arlan, a short young man with ash-gray hair.

(Sorry I couldn't find any proper artwork other than the Wiki's full body picture. Game's still relatively new so not every character has full body fanart.)

"It should be relatively smooth sailing from here on. I killed every monster that was on my path towards where I found Stelle." Y/n says, getting everyone's hopes up.

Arlan: "I'm still kinda confused. You say you just... found her laying on the ground unconscious, and she's somehow one of the only two people able to make physical contact with you?" He asks Y/n.

March 7th: "You know, he has a point. Almost seems like a sign, riiiiiight?" March 7th interjects, smugly nudging Y/n's arm, earning an annoyed grunt from the latter.

"Don't make me smash your camera." Y/n says, prompting a shocked gasp from March 7th.

March 7th: "You wouldn't!"

"Try me-" Y/n cuts himself off, his piercing blue eyes darting around the room, noticing they're now on a bridge connecting to an elevator in the center.

Y/n's head snaps towards Dan Heng's direction, sending him a nod, and earning a nod back. The two get in front of the other three, confusing them greatly.

Arlan: "Huh? Y/n? Dan Heng? What's happening-"

"Keep quiet. We're being watched." Y/n cuts Arlan off, earning a fear filled gasp from March 7th.

March 7th: "W-What?! This is like a horror movie-!" She exclaims, only to be cut off by a quantum arrow flying towards her head at breakneck speeds, aiming to decapitate her in one fell swoop. Dan Heng sees the quantum arrow moments before it makes contact with March 7th, attempting to get to her before it effectively ends the pink haired girl's life.

Dan Heng: 'I won't make it in time! The only one who could make that is Y/n!' He thinks to himself, only to realize that the white haired teen had already taken action, as if he had heard Dan Heng's thoughts.

As if time had slowed down in that very moment, March 7th slowly took notice of what had happened in front of her. Looking up, she saw Y/n, the quantum arrow... caught in his left hand and held inches from piercing his chest. What did you think was gonna happen? A noble sacrifice this early on? Hah!

March 7th: "Y-Y/n..." She says, still only realizing Y/n had potentially saved her life.

"Yeah, yeah. Save the thanks for when this is over." The Kaslana responds, tossing the quantum arrow off the side of the bridge and into the seemingly endless void below it. Y/n summons his dual pistols, standing in front of March 7th to further protect her from any remaining attacks.

Suddenly, a horse-like Voidranger makes itself known, galloping to the front of the elevator and blocking the group's path. This is a Voidranger: Trampler. Standing up on its hindlegs, the Trampler roars, letting out a glass-shattering shriek that forces all but Y/n to cover their ears. With the four still recovering from the ear-blasting roar, the Trampler charges them and goes to slam its front legs onto them.

"Looks like the big boss has arrived." Y/n says, catching the Trampler's front legs and forcing it back, Y/n's strength clashing with the Trampler's overwhelming might.

The Trampler stays eerily silent, noticing both its legs starting to freeze from the point of contact with Y/n's hands, the now-forming ice raggedly spreading up all across its body. Attempting to counter, the Trampler using the two arms of it's Voidranger upper half creates a bow and brings back the string, forming another quantum arrow. Keeping Y/n occupied with holding its legs back, the Trampler fires the quantum arrow at pointblank range, aiming to kill Y/n, only for one of March 7th's arrows to collide with the quantum arrow, destroying both arrows simultaneously.

March 7th: "Don't try to fight this thing by yourself!" She says, just as Dan Heng rejoins the fight and attacks the Trampler with his spear.

Dan Heng: "March 7th is right. You won't be able to take it down on your own." Dan Heng adds, Stelle being the next one to join back in the fight as she swings her baseball bat at the Trampler's hind legs, causing it to crumble under the attack and giving Y/n enough room to force it back even more. Using his inhumane strength, Y/n pushes the Trampler back.

The Trampler lets out another ear-piercing roar, this time sounding more like a signal. As if on que, several Voidranger Distorters appear out of thin air, surrounding and closing in on the group as Y/n and Dan Heng protect the other three.

March 7th: "Hey, sore losers! You can't just gang up on us!" March 7th remarks, trying to aim her bow and arrow.

Suddenly, a drone comes flying in, dicing the Distorters to bits and slicing the head of the Trampler clean off, leaving the body to collapse to the ground. The drone comes to a stop in front of the group, protecting them as Y/n and Dan Heng force the rest to make a run for the elevator.

Y/n & Dan Heng: ""Go!"" They both say in sync, just as several more Distorters appear out of thin air. The group run for the elevator, making it and taking the elevator up, watching out the window of it as the elevator ascends at rapid speeds, leaving the rest of the Distorters in the dust.

-Small Timeskip-

The group are now standing in front of a young lady with long, red hair and quite a curvy figure. This is Himeko.

Himeko: "March, Dan Heng, you've been through a lot." She tells the two.

Himeko: "And I see you've grown taller since our last visit, Y/n. How have you been?" Himeko adds, turning to look at Y/n.

"I'm fine, but it hasn't been that long, Miss Himeko..." Y/n responds, thanking his below-zero body temperature for making his what would be blush nonexistent.

March 7th: "Whew, Himeko, what took you so long! That last wave of Antimatter Legion came at us like a swarm of locusts, have you ever tried shooting locusts with a bow?"

Himeko: "I wouldn't have made a difference. My orbital cannon can deal with a whole bunch of enemies at once, but I couldn't just blow up the Space Station along with it. Herta would NOT like that..." Himeko responds.

"Right... I forgot you had that..." Y/n remarks, prompting Himeko to smile at him and turn to Arlan.

Himeko: "Are you alright, Arlan? Asta's been worried about you." She asks, a caring smile present on her face.

Arlan: "I'm fine, a quick patching up will do. Thanks for asking though. I'll go report the situation to Lead Researcher Asta immediately. Bye." Arlan says, bidding his farewells before walking off and leaving the group. Himeko turns to Stelle, now noticing her standing beside Y/n in a protective manner.

Himeko: "Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Himeko, navigator of the Astral Express."

__________________________________________________________

Chapter 2: Finished.

Apologies for the long wait, but I had homework to catch up on and a sleep schedule to keep. As I said in the previous chapter, I tend to write at night when I won't be disturbed, thus cutting down my writing time on school nights. Nevertheless, chapter 2 has finally arrived. Thank you to those still reading despite the release of chapter 2 taking a while. Any friendly criticism is greatly appreciated, as I reply to as many comments as I can for the most part. Additionally, I now have the rest of the week off, so expect a chapter dropping sometime this weekend. With allat outta the way, thank you, and I bid you adieu.

Final word count: 2561