Stepping off of the stairs, Han observed the wide hallway that Abigail had described when explaining what had happened. From what he could see, the hallway continued as far as the eye could see. A deep unfathomable place with numerous untold dangers waiting for unsuspecting adventurers.

"Let's quickly go. I don't feel comfortable with Jennifer and the girls by themselves." Han engaged his helmet, protecting his face from the unknown and looked at the others.

Jackie nodded her head.

As everyone prepared for the possibility, they began rushing into the darkness.

Comparing the story Abigail had given to the hallway they were running through, Han though about the lack of lights. Abigail had described torches lighting up the path. From what the suit projected on the screen, there were no torches on the walls. It made him wonder if this was a natural feature of the level or if there was something about Abigail's story.

Seeing the scattering of blood, leading them to where Abigail's companions may be, Han told Julia, "Make sure to watch out for any monsters. I don't know what attacked Abigail's group, but it may have the ability to camouflage itself."

Instead of the fun-avatar, Julia had been using, recently, she went with the default image of her head. Her hair floating in the void of the digital world she existed. "I'm currently processing all external data being gathered by the suit. At the moment, the hallway appears clear of any threats."

The only sound heard on the level were their feet striking the stone floor as they sped along towards where Jennifer, Ivy, Ruby, and Abigail were ahead of them. A feeling of anxiety could be felt, the new variable of Abigail and her group disrupting what they knew about the simulation. A simulation that was no longer a simulation but instead a living breathing world.

Han sensed the anxiety of the others. Deliberating on their thoughts and feelings...

"I've detected movement up ahead. Based on the ringing of metal, I believe there is fighting up ahead." Julia interrupted Han's thoughts.

Hearing Julia inform him there was the potential of a battle occurring, his mind went straight to his sister and the two girls. "My suit detected fighting up ahead! We need to pick up the pace!" Han increased his pace, not waiting to hear a reply from the others.

Out of the darkness emerged a woman with blades on her arms, slashing giant lizards as they swarmed the person. There were several others in outfits similar looking to what Abigail was wearing, trying to support the woman, and keeping the numbers of lizards to a manageable size.

"Reinforcement is here!" Han yelled out, hoping to attract some agro towards him and help out the woman.

It didn't take long to see Jennifer and the girls fighting lizards pouring out of the hallway. They were standing in front of a woman propped up against the wall. Based on the pool of blood and how the woman clutched her belly, time wasn't on her side.

"Ji-Min! I want your group to support Jennifer! If one of you has the red substance, go with Ji-Min!" Han focused on the threat as he gave out orders.

"I have one! Venessa, Liz, and I will be fine!" Ji-Min informed the group.

Han didn't answer, just thinking how much of a Ji-Min's personality had become, compared to that meeting after the cave.

Pulling out his weapon, he kept it folded, knowing the unfolded form of his Jack Knife would be cumbersome in the enclosed space. A part of him missed the weapon he had used the first time he dived with Jade.

Swinging the dual blade, Han barely avoided the woman with the blades on her arm's head as he slashed a lizard's chest, leaving behind two deep gashes in the monster.

"Thought we could be of help to you, the name's Han," He introduced himself.

"I'm hoping it was skill and not luck with how you swung that blade. I rather prefer having a head. The name's Katya." She impaled a lizard through the head before kicking off of its chest.

Hearing her sultry voice, Han couldn't help but eyeball her figure in the skin-tight suit.

"Find something interesting?" Katya teased as she parried an attack.

Eyes widening from getting caught, "You could make that inference." He teased back as he turned to face another lizard. He shuddered internally about how women could sense guys checking them out. Flinching out of nowhere, Han scanned his surroundings, thinking it was an enemy.

"Focus on the monsters, little brother," Jennifer's cold voice was heard through his communication device.

Having impaled and thrown an enemy with her spear, Jennifer was staring at him. A chill could be felt in the air.

Making eye contact, Han grinned awkwardly, "I was just being friendly."

"I'm sure...," Was all Jennifer said as she returned her attention to the lizards, ducking under a swipe towards her head and tripping a different one with her weapon.

"Jennifer, Han wouldn't do anything like that. Right, son?" His mother's voice felt sub-artic compared to his sister.

A phantom pain to his side was felt as if his mother had pinched his side and twisted it. He tried to pretend he was too busy and exerted extra effort to decapitate a monster. Moving deeper into the mob of enemies, he hoped to get out of his family's line of sight.

As he pushed forward, he noticed more women trying to fight off the flood of enemies. "Which one of you is Helen?!" Han yelled out at the women.

One of the women looked around, as though searching for the source of the voice. "Who are you?!"

Stomping the floor and flashing towards the group, Han stabbed a monster about to a different woman. "Your friend, Abigail, told us you guys were in trouble!" He shouted over the hissing and fighting surrounding them.

"Abigail is here?!" Helen's eyes widened.

Moving quickly, Han raised his sword and stepped between Helen and a monster, who was about to capitalize on Helen's distracted condition. Tilting his head towards where Abigail was standing near Jennifer, Ivy, and Ruby, "Yeah! She's over where my sister and two of my friends discovered a wounded woman. I had some of my teammates assist them. One of them has something that'll make your friend better."

Helen's face scrunched up, tears welling up in her eyes. "Catharina protected me that night. I should have been snatched, but she fought that thing." She choked out. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Helen was able to squeeze out between sobs.

The girls around them looked at Han and heard his words. Taking a quick look towards where Han had directed, they grinned and gritted their teeth. It was as though they were renewed with energy to continue fighting through the nightmare they found themselves.

Holding up his sword and turning his back towards Helen, "Abigail told us how much of a fighter you are, so save those tears of joy later." Slashing at the leg of a lizard and diverting an attack from another one, Han grinned, knowing he was able to make a difference without having to rely on his powers.

"That's right, Helen!" A girl shouted. "Let's finish these things off before we celebrate!" She fired an arrow into the eye of a far away lizard. "The guys are starting to get overwhelmed."

One of them used the spear to block an attack aimed at the girl with the bow. "Michelle, how are Liam, Timothy, and Rodger doing?"

The girl with the bow fired several more arrows. "They're managing to handle their area pretty well." Shouting at a guy, "Liam! You can do it!"

"I thought there was reinforcement?! What the hell are they doing?!" The guy likely named Liam complained as he used an ax to split open a lizard's head that tried to bit into him. "Is Bella and the others going to be okay?!"

Han looked at the girl, named Helen, "There are others?"

Helen pointed further into the hallway, "They tried to scout ahead to find someplace safe for us and to help Catharina, while we hid from the thing from that night. These lizards somehow ambushed us while Bella and her teammates were away."

Looking around, Han couldn't see any place that would allow the lizards to have magically appeared. A part of him wondered if this meant there was another hallway splitting off from this one. Slashing through several more lizards, Han check on the others to check how his group was doing.

Seeing the lizards begin to dwindle and the corpses of the creatures fading away, Han eyed the woman who was injured getting up. The woman looked confused about what had happened.

"Hopefully, the others from their group are okay before we clean up here," Han looked further into the stone hallway.