Maledictus woke violently as cold water splashed across his face. He jerked forward on instinct and immediately coughed, some of the water having gone down his throat as he inhaled mid gasp. His breathing turned rough for a moment while droplets ran down his skin and soaked into his hair.
"Whoa, whoa, don't go dying on me after a little splash of water," a voice said casually from nearby. "Especially after everything else you did."
Maledictus blinked repeatedly, his vision slowly clearing until he finally focused on the figure sitting across from him. Winter was seated on a fallen tree trunk a short distance away, one leg crossed over the other while resting his arms loosely on top of his spear. He looked almost relaxed despite everything that had happened.
"You—"
Maledictus immediately tried to lunge forward, but the motion failed almost instantly. The moment he pushed himself up he lost balance, his body still not adjusted to the missing limb. With only one leg beneath him he stumbled awkwardly, kicking up grass and dirt before his back slammed into something hard and metallic behind him.
He looked around sharply and realized he had been bound tightly with thick vines wrapped around his torso and arms, the restraints securing him directly against Winter's spear, which had been driven deep into the ground behind him.
"Calm down," Winter said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm not going to hurt you. I already did that when I cut your wings off."
His eyes drifted downward toward Maledictus' leg.
"Though looking at that," he continued, "I'm guessing those will heal too eventually."
Maledictus glanced down as well. Grace had severed the leg at the knee, but now part of the calf had already regrown. Raw flesh and bone were steadily reconstructing themselves with unnatural regeneration.
His attention shifted away from it as he finally looked around properly at where they were.
It was still near the portal site.
Or rather, where the portal site had been.
He could feel immediately that the portal itself was gone now.
Nearby stood Weeping Phantom with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, staring off into the distance rather than at either of them. The irritation radiating off her was obvious even without her speaking.
"What do you want with me?" Maledictus asked, turning his gaze back toward Winter.
Winter tilted his head slightly while studying him. "That's one hell of a glare you've got there," he remarked casually. "I can see why you kept it hidden under your helmet."
Maledictus blinked once in confusion before realization hit him. Water was still dripping down the sides of his face, and the cold wind brushing directly against his skin felt wrong.
His helmet was gone.
"Give it back," Maledictus said immediately, his tone low and hostile.
"I cracked it in half taking it off," Winter replied with a shrug. "Then tossed it aside. So there's no helmet for me to give back."
His gaze lingered on Maledictus' exposed face for another moment.
"Besides," he added, "other than that nasty glare of yours, I don't really see why you were hiding it."
Maledictus stared back at him silently, golden eyes narrowed. Without the helmet obscuring him, his near flawless skin and red hair were fully visible now, exposed in a way he very clearly disliked.
He slowly exhaled through clenched teeth.
"Answer my question," he said again. "What do you want from me?"
Winter leaned back slightly with a thoughtful hum. "Well, mostly answers," he said. "Stuff like where the portals are, whether you people made any other plans she doesn't know about," he added while jabbing a thumb toward Weeping Phantom, "and more importantly, how exactly you got those angelic wings."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Because that confused me significantly."
Weeping Phantom immediately clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I could have told you the last part," she snapped. "And I have been telling you about the portals. So why are we still here wasting time with him instead of moving?"
Winter looked over at her with visible amusement. "So you want to work with me now?"
Phantom immediately recoiled at the implication with open disgust. "No!" she shot back. "But at least I am doing something then rather than being stuck with you for no reason!"
Winter laughed lightly and waved her off in an almost playful manner, which only seemed to irritate her further before he turned his attention back toward Maledictus.
Maledictus meanwhile had been testing the restraints during the exchange, his eyes fixed on the vines binding him. They looked ordinary at first glance, but every subtle movement confirmed otherwise. They were far too strong for normal vines.
"Don't bother trying to get out," Winter said casually. "If you manage it, I'll just knock you out again, tie you back up, and splash more water on you."
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"So," he asked again, "are you going to tell me anything?"
Maledictus remained silent.
Winter stared at him for another second before shrugging. "Alright then. Don't worry, I've got a plan for that."
He stood up from the tree trunk and rested a hand against the spear.
"See, somebody once told me there's this thing where if someone stays around the person who captured them long enough, they eventually start trusting them or something like that." He nodded to himself confidently. "So eventually you'll probably just tell me everything on your own."
He bent down, grabbed hold of the spear, and lifted it from the ground in one motion, Maledictus still tied to it and forced upright alongside it.
Weeping Phantom turned toward him so fast it was almost aggressive. "Are you talking about Stockholm syndrome?" she asked incredulously. "That's not real! Is that what you've been trying to do with me!?"
Winter immediately gave her a thumbs up.
"Right on!" he said cheerfully. "Now let's move out."
Then his expression shifted.
The humor faded.
His face grew noticeably more serious as his grip tightened slightly on the spear.
"I need to see the damage that's been caused."