Note: Mentions of blood, slight gore and some cursing.

'Mina!' Was the first person that Sana yelled for. 

She knew something was strange considering how everyone should be shouting to find each other but she couldn't hear anyone else which meant something was definitely off. 

Sana didn't yell again but instead kept her senses sharp and ready to put up a resistance should she meet with any. 

Freezing the ground, she surfed around on the ice, zipping around and weaving her way through the randomly planted trees. She set her sights straight ahead but no matter how much ground she seemed to cover, the end never seemed to grow closer. 

'This must be a magical forest of some sort.' Sana looked around at the trees that towered above her. Then she realized that the mysterious fog was nowhere to be seen. 

Definitely something sketchy going on.

Nothing was coming to her yet which made her wonder what kind of fear was she supposed to face. 

There was a soft thud that came from her left, so soft that if she would have missed it if she was moving around.

Taking cautious steps towards the noise, she began to sprint towards a figure lying on the ground. 

', Mina! What happened?' She skid on her knees as she approached the girl who only groaned, cradling her head on her lap. Her eyes looked over the girl's body and she saw that the entire midsection of the girl's shirt seemed to be damp. Fearing for the worst, she reached a shaky hand out to touch and to her absolute horror, her fingers were coated with a crimson liquid. 

She hastily but gently pulled the shirt up to reveal several deep gashes across her stomach area and her flesh was exposed. Sana swore she saw a rib bone in one of the cuts that was on the girl's sides.

'What the ! Who did this to you?' Sana asked as she took off her jacket and pressed it against the girl's stomach. 

'Oh my god.. Oh my god..' Sana couldn't stop shaking. She didn't even know how to describe her feelings but it was like a scene from a nightmare. Blood was everywhere. On her clothes, on her hands, on the floor, even the leaves were dyed in the crimson liquid. She even felt nauseated from the sheer amount of blood that was lost. 

'Don't... Let them.. Get you.' Mina breathed out in a strangled tone. 

'Who's they? I swear I'll chop them to pieces!' Sana exclaimed, voice taut. 'Keep your eyes open, don't close them.' 

She cupped Mina's cheeks with her free hand as she continued to apply pressure on the wound. The jacket was now almost completely soaked in blood. This was nightmare fuel for sure. 

'Don't sleep!' Sana shook Mina's shoulders when she saw her eyes drooping. 'C'mon, just stay awake!' 

The cyrokinetic hovered her hand over the gushing wound and froze it to stop the bleeding and Mina let out a sharp gasp from the sudden cold.

'Please.. Mina please..' Sana begged as she gently shook Mina's shoulders in a desperate attempt to keep the girl from closing her eyes. The bleeding stopped but it might be too late. 

Mina's hand which was grasping on to Sana went slack and it fell to the ground which now had a puddle of blood pooled around the girl. 

'No no no! Wake up! Mina! MINA!' Sana vigorously shook the girl but it was no use. Her lips had turned pale and she her face was white washed along with her stone cold hands that were contrasted by the rusty red liquid. No. This can't be happening! This wasn't supposed to happen! 

Tears dripped onto Mina's cheek as Sana sobbed and continued to shake Mina's lifeless body, refusing to accept what was being processed in front of her eyes. She couldn't believe it. This can't be real. Was this the hallucination or was this actually happening? Mina will sit up and laugh in her face for her explosive reaction over a prank right? She wasn't really... Dead. Right? 

'You killed your friend.' A girl cackled from behind Sana. 

She turned around, eyes filled with hatred. 

'You killed her.' Sana rasped when she saw the sickening gold badge. 

'You could have saved her but you froze it too late. It's all on you. Her blood is on your hands.' She smirked. 

'You piece of .' Sana lunged at the girl with a frozen fist and smashed it into her temple, instantly knocking the girl out and blood began to trickle from her head. 

'Another dead body? My my, you're becoming a serial killer.' she turned around to see a group of rebels.

'All because of you bastards.' Sana clenched her outstretched hand into a fist and they froze. With a flick of her finger their frozen forms shattered into dust. 

She turned her attention back to Mina's body only to find that it had disappeared. 

'Wha?' She panicked and looked around the forest only to be greeted with trees, trees and more trees. Even the puddle of blood on the floor and her jacket were gone but she could still smell the distinctive scent of iron in the air. She looked down to her hands and shirt which were still covered in blood but they had dried up. 

'This is an illusion. Dead bodies and things can't just go missing.' Sana shook her head in disbelief, stepping backwards and away from the place she last seen the body. 

She turned to her right where the other body should be but even that was gone. 

'It's a trick. None of this is real.' Sana reasoned to herself firmly. 

'You're a smart one.' A lady's voice boomed and Sana jumped. 

A weight fell on her shoulders and she instantly grabbed it by the wrist and threw the body over her shoulder but almost toppled forward when the weight disappeared.

'It's rude to throw your predecessor you know.' She let out a amused laugh.

'Predecessor?' 

'Ursa.'

Sana gasped when she heard the name.

'Ursa like the pioneer cyrokinetic?' 

'That's me.'

'Is this part of the magical thing going on here?'

'In a way. You completed your test in a.. Unique way. You didn't really get over the fear but you're not exactly still harping on it. But what can I say, our bloodline is quite bizarre.'

'Wait.. Test?'

'That was your greatest fear that the fog could draw from the depths of your mind. Quite amazing. You and your soulmate have the exact same fears which is fascinating for some reason.'

'I'm like, super confused right now.' Sana deadpanned. 

'You do know what this forest does to your mind right?' 

'Yes.'

'You just faced your worst fear, which is losing a loved one.'

'Ah...'

'You probably don't feel any different because a part of you knew it was fake. This is why I said you are a smart one. You didn't let the panic and horrors overwhelm you as much as it should have.'

'I'm pretty sure I'll still be getting nightmares about that sight.'

'Sorry about that.' Ursa tilted her head. 'Back to the point of why I'm here in the first place. I won't be teaching you any life lessons but instead, I will be helping you to acknowledge and fully receive certain feelings.' 

'Like.. Love?'

'Yes, love. Particularly, towards your soulmate, Mina. Have you ever asked yourself what exactly are you feeling?'

'Occasionally, when my thoughts stray or my mind draws a blank. Or when I'm around her. It's.. Confusing. It's like a game of push and pull. Sometimes it seems like she reciprocates my feels and sometimes it just seems like we're friends. She told me before she doesn't think relationships are something she'll be playing with because she's such a worrywart..' Sana smiled at the image of a frowning Mina appearing in her head.

'But will you acknowledge them?'

'I don't know. She makes me feel special you know what I mean? Someone who will always be there for me. Someone who will protect me and keep me safe. I just feel so.. I don't even know what word should I use to describe it.'

Ursa looked at the young cyrokinetic with a patient smile. She had no intention to rush the girl or prompt her more because Sana had to do this at her own pace.

'I've been in love this whole time haven't I? But for the sake of her, I kept it deep inside and pushed it away.' Sana concluded and Ursa gave her a knowing nod. 

'Which is why she was the one that was brutally mangled instead of any other person you knew in your life. I'm not saying your family isn't important to you but it's because you have been spending more time with your friends and hence the emotional attachment is stronger and you would depend on them more. Especially the ones you are closer to.'

'W-what should I do? I don't want to make things awkward between us, neither do I want to ruin our friendship..'

'Don't worry, her guardian has talked her around. When you see her again, you'll be surprised.' Ursa ruffled Sana's hair. 'Moving on to affinity wise. Any questions for me?'

'Yes I do. Can our powers be combined to become stronger?'

'I don't see why not.'

'But won't they end up repelling each other? Fire and ice can never co-exist if they are together. Won't the heat just melt the ice?' Sana tilted her head to the right. 

'My dear, try thinking of it in a less scientific way. Forget about the facts. Think of it this way, can air and fire work together?'

'Momo and Mina did it. They created a fire tornado that could destroy and also repel things.'

'Then why didn't the wind extinguish the fire?'

Sana was stumped. Ursa was correct, theoretically speaking, the strong gusts of wind would have become a counter for the flames but instead, the strong gusts pushed the flames to become even stronger even if it could have existed on its own which would have caused an equal amount of destruction.

'Tell me, how would you describe your power?'

'Biting? Biting cold? Piercing cold?'

'Cold isn't it? And what about fire?' 

'Hot.'

'So when you combine that?'

'Cold hot? Uh.. so hot it's cold?' Sana arched an eyebrow. Suddenly, all the pieces fit together in her head and she had an epiphany. 

'A fire that is cold instead of hot and it's so cold that it feels like it’s burning!'

'Exactly! You really are a smart child. These freezing fires can cause injuries more severe than just a burn from a fire or frostbite from the cold. Since they combine their strengths, the damage done is also doubled, making it practically indestructible. The fire that you would create has properties of ice, so even if someone doused it with water, it would still continue to burn. There are so many variations of attacks that can be done.' Ursa clasped her hands. 

'Ultimate freezing, like flash freezing but because flames travel fast, the freezing effect travels with it and hence it is way more effective and the temperatures could potentially be absolute zero. Even a blizzard! A fire blizzard! That would take your enemy by surprise. But if you want to do something less fancy, any of your normal fighting style works too. I'll say that a cross of ice and fire is one of the most deadly combinations. Of course, others would disagree but it's okay, after all, there are so many different combinations of powers that the possibilities are endless.'

'Wow.. I have never seen it from this perspective before.. I mean, I know it was powerful but I didn't think it would be this powerful.' Sana's mouth curved into a little 'O' shape. 

'Mutants are powerful beings. Villains become villains because they realize the amount of power that they have in their hands and they just can't get enough of it. They want more and more and so they end up that way.' Ursa shook her head in disappointment.

'Did you have a enemy during your lifetime?'

'There's always a enemy to face in our lifetimes. Be it a minor or major one, bad guys will never go extinct. Which is why the good and bad are always at war. Just remember that it is important to never give in to defeat. No matter how hard it seems or how impossible things go, the one thing you can't lose is hope.'

'What if I was on the brink of death?'

'You still need hope. Hope to survive. Hope that you won't die in vain. Hope that in the end, you and your friends will become victorious.'

The younger girl was quiet for a while, letting the words of her guardian sink in and process. 

'I think I understand now. What I have to do.' 

'Then my job is complete. Run along now, your girlfriend-to-be is waiting for you.' Ursa mused.

Sana didn't need another word and she took off in the opposite direction, following her gut feeling that was telling her how to get out of the forest.