Miss Brooke couldn't help but smile. She had 'Cold Shot' precisely where she wanted the woman. Despite her advantage, the bounty hunter simply did not have the experience to take Miss Brooke down. Even with a helper, Miss Brooke had controlled the entire fight, thanks to her water clones.

They were an equalizer. They could be almost anywhere she wished, within a certain radiance, and each one had her own mind in control of them. It was like she could be in multiple places at once, controlling each of them individually. She knew better than to go into her water leviathan form against 'Cold Shot.' No, she would overwhelm the woman with numbers until she had no more cold to givee. That was her key to victory.

The cistern was the perfect place. While she was not all the water under the castle, she was more than enough of it to always have more clones. The top layers of the lake were her body, more than deep enough to draw on an army. She smirked as she raised her hand and summoned another ten to face off with 'Cold Shot.'

"What do you think, darling?" Miss Brooke asked as she pointed each of her clones' index fingers at the bounty hunter. "You no longer have that man to protect you. Why don't you surrender and take a nap while I go and collect the rest of your crew?"

However, to her surprise, 'Cold Shot' didn't reply. She held the ice knife in her hand at her side as an icy breeze blew out over the cistern's underground lake. Miss Brooke narrowed her eyes. There was a confidence in the bounty hunter's stance as her jacket blew against her legs. She wasn't running away. She wasn't cowering in fear. She stood ready to face Miss Brooke down.

"If you're not going to talk, I might as well start shooting." Miss Brooke's fingers welled up with water as she aimed at 'Cold Shot.'

She didn't want to kill her. That would go against orders. However, if it was necessary, well, Miss Malone wouldn't complain about the job getting done. They always had the king to fall back on if the prince's mind was too broken to operate the gate anymore.

"I'm tired." 'Cold Shot's' whisper carried across the water, and Miss Brooke cocked her head.

"Surely, I misheard you, darling," Miss Brooke said. "If you're tired, you might as well give up."

'Cold Shot' stood on the shore, and white lines stretched out from her and into the surrounding rocks. Her body emanated an aura of cold, and frost formed on the ground around her where the cistern's water, Miss Brooke's body, touched the rocks. Already, she had to struggle to control the water on the opposite side of the bounty hunter.

She was trying something.

"I'm tired of holding back." 'Cold Shot' looked up, and a flash of cold raced out from her and across the water. "Frozen Wasteland!"

"Steam Barrage!"

Hiss.

Miss Brooke could wait no longer. Whatever 'Cold Shot' was about to unleash would, the bounty hunter definitely thought it would change the game. From every clone, a barrage of water shot out from their fingers. Every direction except behind 'Cold Shot' was covered. No one could dodge them all, and Miss Brooke only needed one to hit.

Crack.

However, not a single one reached her.

"Impossible." Miss Brooke lowered her arm as she followed the trails of watery bullets, still suspended in air.

A mist billowed out from 'Cold Shot,' surrounding her in a wide circle and making the moist cistern water visible to the naked eye. Inside that mist, the water droplets had frozen, and hung suspended around the bounty hunter. They weren't frozen in time. A line of ice connected each of the bullets, suspending them together in an arc in front of the bounty hunter.

"I'm not going to take this anymore," she said as she stepped out onto the water.

Crack.

Instantly, the water she touched froze, cracking out across the lake and deep down into the bottom of the cistern. Miss Brooke flinched. It was only within the circle surrounding the bounty hunter, but she reached deep. Her curse was affecting the water almost all the way to the bottom.

It didn't make sense, but curses rarely did. They danced with the Real, but were truly one with the Surreal. However, at least she could see the limitations of the curse's range. So long as she kept the bounty hunter at a distance, she could keep herself from being frozen.

Miss Brook still had at least have of the small lake to turn on her.

"You can't think you've won." Miss Brooke raised her hand, and the water behind her rose. "Water Serpent."

Splash. Slosh.

From behind her, a waterspout rose, curving behind her back and dripping water over her. Each one was a pinprick against her skin, but that didn't matter. She would not enter the second level of her curse. She would just see if she could overwhelm 'Cold Shot's' curse. If multiple small shots didn't work, then maybe one giant crashing wave would.

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She raised her hand, and at the same time, the bounty hunter raised her knife. Miss Brooke smirked. She was outside of the effective range of the circle, and the knife might freeze her current body, but it would leave the rest of the surrounding water untouched. She had nothing to fear.

"Ice Lance!"

"Go!"

Boom. Crack.

Miss Brooke threw her arm forward as 'Cold Shot' brought the knife down. Two things happened at the same time. Her watery surge slammed into the mist around the bounty hunter, and simultaneously, the barrier shrunk, sending the water serpent crashing against the icy ground. A single point of cold shot out from the falling knife, slamming forward through the water in a line with a pointed tip right at Miss Brooke. She didn't have time to run. She didn't have time to dodge. She looked down at the long shaft that cut through her chest and out her back.

Then, the cold came. It racked through her, seizing her body and reaching deep into the water below. It expanded across the lake, swallowing her consciousness as white cracked over all the water. Even if she could have run, it wouldn't have been fast enough. It was like 'Cold Shot' had concentrated her curse into that single shot, and nothing it touched would be safe from the cold.

Thud. Thud. Crack.

Grayson slammed his fist through the ice ball that had wrapped around him. Shards of ice cracked off his arm, and icicles fell from his face. One moment, he was losing conciseness while trapped in the massive water orb. In the next, it had frozen solid around him with tiny cracks opening up to let air in. He had already guessed it was Wen's doing, though he had underestimated the strength of her curse. If she could freeze the water solid so easily, she wasn't a rookie.

Crinkle.

Ice fell around his fist, and his feet hit the cold ground. It was like walking out onto a frozen wasteland. The light from the stones on the wall was dimmed by a mist that filled the room. White stretched out all around him, and the cistern's lake had been turned completely to ice.

"Colder than the abyss." Grayson grimaced as he scanned the lake for any sign of the two.

His breath came out in a white haze, and he pulled his wet jacket closer to his body. He would need to get out of the cistern soon. No matter how strong he was, he wasn't immune to frostbite. Finally, he spotted two figures in the mist, unmoving shadows standing out on the lake. He shuffled forward, his hands in his pockets, but his senses sharp.

They weren't moving. They weren't talking. As near as he could tell, they were just two statues standing on the ice. But he couldn't be too careful. He had already gotten trapped by the water woman. If the outlaw had lost, the figures could just be another trick.

"Considering the atmosphere, I doubt that." He pushed the thought aside.

Crunch.

He stepped out onto the lake and saw the full scope of the fight's end. A massive torrent of water stood frozen, flying like a cannonball frozen in time. A woman, turned completely white and frozen, stood, pierced out in the center of the lake..

Wen stood on the shore, her hand holding the spike. Shards of ice clung to her body, but she wasn't a statue like the water woman. Grayson leaned forward to see her face through her long black hair. Her eyes were open, but completely empty. They had rolled up into her head when she lost consciousness.

"Frozen." Grayson whistled, running his eyes down the length of the spike one more time to confirm that the water woman was out of the fight.

She wasn't dead, or at least he doubted she was. It was hard to kill cursed people who could turn into elements. Someone more versed in the Path of Will than he was might be capable. As it was, he could nullify some of their immunity to do some damage to their real form. He couldn't force them to maintain a more corporeal existence. He could break the ice, but it might just end up freeing the water woman.

Better to leave her in the cistern, where the walls would hold her in ice for a good while.

"Trapped in a frozen moment," he said, reaching out and knocking off clumps of ice from Wen. "I have to say I'm impressed. You took her down."

Thump.

The clumps of ice fell off her, and when they were all knocked away, she had nothing holding her upright. Grayson was a lot of things, but he wasn't a monster. He caught Wen before she hit the ground and pulled her up on his shoulder. While her crew was responsible for the loss of his ship, the Robin, he couldn't just leave her there.

"You're lucky." He grunted as he walked toward the tunnel. "But I think you know that. Your entire crew seems to have the devil's luck."

It was a long walk up through the tunnels, but eventually, the bright light of the day shone through the exit. Grayson stepped out onto the hard cobblestone streets. They came out in an alley, surrounded by wooden and stone buildings, but still lit by the noonday sun. Warmth caressed Grayson's face, and he leaned Wen against the nearest wall.

"Getting old, might as well catch my breath." He sighed, stretching his arms and popping his back.

"Aah!"

He turned and saw Wen pushing her back against the wall and grasping her chest. Her eyes were wide open, racing back and forth in their sockets. Grayson reached up and adjusted his hat. He was surprised she had woken up so quickly, considering how much of a push she must have done to freeze the entire cistern. He knelt down to be on eye level with her.

"You're awake," he said, looking over her with a raised eyebrow. "You alright?"

"My—" Wen tensed, still grasping at her heart. "My heart's on fire!"

Grayson frowned. Maybe she had pushed herself so hard that her body was just now feeling it. However, that didn't make much sense. He'd imagine sore muscles, maybe a headache for pushing a curse too far.

"Argh!" Wen collapsed in on herself, clutching at her chest. "Why does it hurt so much?"

A wisp of white flowed out from her mouth, and the air suddenly felt cold again. For a moment, Grayson thought he was back in the cistern. Something wasn't right. He reached out for her shoulder.

Thud.

Before he could touch her, she dropped to the ground, completely unresponsive. Grayson grabbed her shoulder but recoiled. It was like touching an ice block with his bare hands. Whatever was happening, it had to do with her curse.

"Looks like things are getting complicated." Grayson grumbled, standing up and pulling off his jacket before tossing it over her.

He wrapped it around her before picking her up in his arms. She was still cold as a frozen lake, but the jacket at least made it bearable. He looked out over the street and took in a deep breath as he opened himself to the Path of Will.

"That 'Thorn Queen' is a medic of some kind, right?" he asked the unconscious Wen. "Best get you to her before this gets more complicated."

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