[Lilly belongs to the race of Dungeon Fairies. The race consists of both males and females in a near equal ration and are born around the same time as a Dungeon. The Dungeon Fairy race differs from other Fairy types by the size and magic they are able to use. Other Fairies vary in size, between 10 and 20 centimetres. Dungeon Fairies can grow as large as 30 centimetres. While other Fairy types are mostly restricted to nature magic similar to what a Druid would use, including but not limited to growing plants, aiding in plant growth and communicating with plants and animals, Dungeon Fairies can use magic usually associated with the more violent sentient races like demons since they are capable of using destructive magic like Fireball, Lightning Bolt and other potentially lethal Spells depending on their bonded Dungeon. The types, variety and power of the Fairy’s Spells depends on the Dungeon as the Fairy lacks the necessary Mana to cast any of the Spells. The Mana for the spells being supplied by the Dungeon Core as the Core itself is unable to use conventional magic.

Dungeon Fairies typically live between 100 to 1000 years depending on the parents and environment of their bonded Dungeon. Dungeon Fairies are usually born in the vicinity of the new Dungeon and are alerted by the System when the Dungeon is self-aware and mature enough to undergo the binding. At this time the System binds both parties and allows the two to talk through the System messages in case the Dungeon is not ready to open yet. Once a Dungeon creates an entrance, no matter how small, it must open it large enough for a human to get in and out. As the Dungeon is usually not yet ready to open right after the binding, the System messages are used very extensively by nearly all Dungeon and Fairy duos.]

Daniel had read through the last of the system messages as he told himself it would not take him anywhere near that long to get to where he needs to get.

(Don’t worry Lilly, I’ll be there soon.) Daniel whispered to himself as the planet zipped along the subspace corridor.

Meanwhile, on the surface of a planet, similar in size to Earth, Lilly lay on a bed of flowers, looking at a System screen showing the approximate location of the rapidly moving Dungeon Core.

[Dungeon Core ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival): 195 Hours]

“I wonder if the thing looks as impressive in reality as it sounds from the System description.” Sighed Lilly.

[An ancient planet made of the remains of 3 suns. Made up of exclusively heavy metals, the entire planet is a solid ball of matter. The planet was created as a result of a black hole traveling through the universe. The black hole snatched 3 super massive stars from their place, destroying 3 entire solar systems in the process. The 3 suns collided near the centre of the black hole, causing all 3 to go supernova at the same time. The resulting explosion destabilised the black hole. While destabilised, the black hole did not immediately disappear. Instead it slowly collected the nebulas created by the suns explosions into a single point near the centre. The 3 nebula clouds, made of nearly all known elements in the universe, collected in a single point and were compressed by the still powerful, yet weakening gravitational field of the destabilised black hole. This created the solid ball of matter that the ‘planet’ currently is.]

[Over time, the black hole vanished, leaving the lone planet out in the vast reaches of space, with nothing but the distant stars as company. As the planet floated aimlessly across the vastness of space for nearly 100 billion years, it cooled and solidified from the core out, leaving it a solid, seamless, perfect sphere. Eventually, the lighter elements that would usually form liquids and gasses left the planet as it did not spin on any axis, causing it to generate significantly less gravitational force that a spinning planet a third of its mass would. This eventually lead to the planet being left with nothing but the heavy, metallic elements. These had already cooled and solidified, forming progressively softer layers. In the beginning, the planet was a floating mass of liquid metals arranged in layers from the heaviest at the centre to the lightest at the outermost layer, surrounded by a cloud of various other elements created by the supernovas.]

[As the metals began to cool and solidify, due to the density of the materials making up the massive ball, the centremost point of the planet, made of the densest and heaviest metals, experienced some of the greatest pleasures and temperatures ever. This lead to the forming of a crystal-like substance. This crystal-like substance, made of the same atoms as the densest metal available, became the Dungeon Core. The Crystal, although theoretically possible, should never have been formed. The material and circumstances needed to create the Crystal are so precise and exact, that under any other circumstances all that would have formed would be a supper dense, superheated plasma which would have eventually melted the metal around it again creating more of itself, eventually leading to the creation of a new supper enormous star.]

[With the Crystal being made of a combination of Neutralite and Neutronium atoms, a combination never seen before in the Multiverse, it is a completely new and unique existence in the entire multiverse. Never before has there been any circumstances that would allow these two metals to fuse, let alone undergo such pressure that the atomic makeup would shift to that of a crystal lattice creating the unique Crystal. Combining the strengths of both metals and making up for some of the weaknesses by changing the atomic structure to a lattice creates an almost indestructible Crystal. The only possibility of breaking the Crystal would be a collision with an exact duplicate of the Crystal traveling at light speed.]

Looking at the System screen, Lilly sighed. The description and history of the planet and Core sounded amazing. However the small 2D image of a shiny, slick, perfect circle left a lot to be desired.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the galaxy.

In a small, concrete room.

A pair of men sat. One young, one old. The younger in front of a pair of monitors, and the older behind the younger one in a large chair smoking a cigar.

“Sir! Detecting a massive, and I mean absolutely enormous, object in FTL travel near a pair of probes in sector A!” shouted the young-looking man, in a neat military style outfit, over his shoulder while looking closely at a screen in front of him.

“Which probes?” asked the greying, bearded old man wearing a military style suit decorated with numerous medals.

“Probe 2and 7, Sir!” shouted the young man.

“Hmm. I see. Can you get me a reading on the estimated size?” asked the older man while stroking his beard.

“I can try, Sir. But I don’t think there’s anything I can compare it to accept a planet, Sir. The thing is around 3 times the size of our planet, Sir.” Answered the young man absentmindedly while staring at the screen.

“What!?” the older man ran up to the screen, looking over the young man’s shoulder at the displayed information.

On the screen, an indistinct, round, grey outline surrounded by blue specs was shown, next to a projection of a small planet, only about a third of the size of the object.

“How in the hell is something that big moving that fast?” the older man asked while scratching his chin through his beard.

The younger man tapped away at the keyboard next to him for a few seconds, prompting the second screen to show a table of information gathered through the probe.

“The object is moving at nearly 9.5 times the speed of light, which means that whatever it was, it was in one hell of a hurry and is long gone. It passed through the detection range of 2 probes in sector A1, probes 2 and 7, right on the edge of the detection network. Probe readings show an unknown energy signature covering the entire object as well as what I can only assume are engines on the rear of the object, propelling the entire thing forward.” Explained the younger man in amazement.

“9.5 times, light, speed. Amazing. To think that something so huge could move so fast. Any ideas on the energy shell? Some kind of shield?” asked the older man, intrigued by the display.

“Not using any form of FTL travel I ever heard of, Sir. Could be some kind of protection or maybe it acts like a sort of isolation shield to cut the craft away from the surrounding space to allow it to move faster, Sir? I honestly couldn’t tell you, Sir. Never seen anything like it, Sir.” The younger man replied.

“Send the data to the techies and the system defence sector, see if they can’t figure something out. Also, inform system defence that it is in fact long gone. Don’t want to have to explain any false alarms and search parties for something that’s no longer in system.” The older man grunted before heading back to sit in his large chair. Pulling another cigar out of the inside pocket, the older man rolled it between his fingers in deep thought.

Lilly side – 7-day time skip –

Looking at the system screen for the 4 time today, Lilly sighed.

[Dungeon Core ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival): 26 Hours]

“I wish he was here already.” Sighed Lilly.

“You have to be patient. The system tells you how long you have to wait. You waited a week, what’s one more day?” came a voice from the doorway to Lilly’s bedroom.

“I know, Mum. But still. I just wish that I didn’t have to wait the extra day.” Answered Lilly, rolling off her bed and walking towards the voice.

Lilly herself was only 11 centimetres tall due to not having absorbed sufficient (any at all) amounts of Mana from her Bonded Dungeon Core. Her mother, being already Bonded to a Dungeon, albeit a very small one, had grown slightly larger, standing at 12.5 centimetres.

Unbound Dungeon Fairies, and those waiting for their bonded Dungeon to open, live in small burrows they create with their, still limited, Earth Magic.

The burrow Lilly made for herself was incredibly small, even for a temporary shelter. A single bedroom, a small storage room and a ‘meeting room’ of sorts where she could let visitors sit at the small table made of intertwined roots.

There, in the meeting room, at the table on a chair made of roots, sat a Fairy who looked like a slightly older version of Lilly.

Having spent a few days together the pair knew they would most likely not see each other again. Bonded Dungeon Fairies rarely left their Dungeons, and when they did, it would be for occasions like this. Farewells and birthdays being the most common reason to leave. In Lilly’s mother’s case, both. Lillie’s 61st Birthday had just passed 2 days ago and now she was about to leave to her Bonded Dungeon. As the waiting time on the System clock had turned to less than a day, Lilly’s mother decided it time to leave, to let Lilly pack her belongings and get ready to leave.

“I’ll be fine, Mum. Just be careful on your way back. I heard there have been hunters in this section of the planes recently.” Lilly hugged her mother who was on her way out.

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. The likes of them will never find or catch me.” Lilly’s mother hugged her back and patted her on the head.

Right as the pair left the small burrow through the tunnel at the end of the meeting room, a loud shouting could be heard from the left.

“I Fucking Told You. I Told You? I Told You!” Male 1

“For Fuck Sake! Shut The Fuck Up! I Get It! You Were Right!” Female

“Shut Your Trap And Get Going! They Aren’t Going To Catch Themselves, Are They?!” Male 2

“Sure Thing Boss!” Male 1

A trio of humans, dressed in leather armour and carrying nets, small cages and lengths of rope ran towards the Fairy pair.

“Shit! Hunters! Run!” Lilly’s mother shouted pushing Lilly back into the tunnel just before the net thrown by one of the humans fell over her.

“Mum! No!” Lilly tumbled down the sloped tunnel, unable to stop herself until she reached the end.

“Got One! The Other One Went Under! We’ll Never Find Her!” Muffled Male 1

“Shit! Fine! One Is Enough Anyway!” Muffled Male 2

“Mother!” Lilly Shouted, running back up the tunnel in a panic.

Running to the entrance of the tunnel, time seemed to slow to a crawl as a large pair of hands filled up Lilly’s vision.

The only thing she could think of, on the spot, in the sudden, dangerous situation was a System message to Daniel.

[HELP]

As time resumed normal pace, the large pair of hands clamped around Lilly.

“You thought you were safe cos you hid for a minute? Thought we would just leave? Stupid. But that’s good for us.” Male 1

“Good job spotting the hole in the ground.” Female

“And good idea with those gloves covered in tranquilising venom.” Male 2

“I told you it wasn’t my first time doing this Hunter business.” Male 1

“Alright you two. We got what we came here for. Let’s get back to camp, then we can head to the city in the morning to sell them.” Male 2

“Sure thing, Boss.” Male1

“Got it.” Female

Moments later, the sky started becoming dimmer and dimmer. A purple, shimmering sheet covered the sky as far as the eye could see. Every city, town, village and their inhabitants on the light side of the planet witnessed the sky being blanketed by a shimmering purple haze.

Like a furious God, a deep, mechanized voice shook the planet.

“YOU HAVE TAKEN AND HARMED WHAT IS MINE!”

[Acquiring Targets]

From above the purple haze, 3 powerful targeting lasers shined onto the tops of the trio’s heads.

[Targets Locked]

[Charging Weapons]

[Weapons charged]

[Weapons ready to fire]

“AND FOR THAT, YOU WILL PAY!”

[Firing 3, secondary, Anti-Fighter Craft laser cannons at 1% output]

Moments after the voice, 3 crackling beams of scorching, bright white energy fell from the sky. The beams, a little less than 12 centimetres thick, fell exactly, dead centre of the Hunters bodies. Burning a hole, clean through the entire body, without so much as a scratch to the outside equipment.

In the dimed light caused by the newly arrived obstruction to the sun, the 3 laser cannon blasts looked like thunderbolts striking down from above the clouds. The flashes could be seen from almost half way around the planet due to the lack of sunlight.

[Aligning Space Elevator equipment to planet]

[4]

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Space Elevator equipment ready]

[Firing Space Elevator Anchors]

Boom, Boom, Boom. 3 impact sounds rang out.

3 huge arrow head shamed objects attached to metal cables fell from the sky in a triangular pattern, digging into the ground. Soon after, a long column of separate metal rings slid down, attached to the metal cables for guidance.

[Space Elevator deployed successfully]

“Finally. Sending down 3 Type 3’s to pick up Lilly. Should have them dispose of the bodies while they’re there.” Daniel spoke in frustration.

One of the metal rings near the ground opened to reveal 3 strange beings. Legless, metal torso. Short, metal arms. A jet of flames from the bottom of the torso suspended them in the air as the dome shaped heads turned from side to side, letting the single, glowing red eye scan the surroundings. After a few seconds, the eyes turned green and the floating robots moved towards the corpses.

Unwrapping the net with a pair of 3 clawed grippers, the first robot discovered Lilly’s mother. The second, spreading the 3 claws apart and using the small laser in the centre, carefully cut off the hands of the male gripping Lilly at the wrists. Once done cutting, it used the claws to pry the fingers apart to free Lilly. The third robot dragged the corpses onto a pile before hovering above them, letting the jet engine incinerate the corpses to duct.

Once done, the 3 robots, carrying the 2 Fairies, entered the open ring. The ring closed, and a light travelled up the metal rings indicating that the Space Elevator had left.

Back in the Dungeon, Daniel waited for the elevator to arrive. Traveling 120 kilometres with only robots which did not feel inertia took vastly shorter than traveling 120 kilometres with a pair of live beings which would be crushed flat by the inertia of moving 12 kilometres every second. And while the robots were locked in place by electromagnets inside the Space Elevator, the Fairies were only held by the robots.

A full hour later, the Space Elevator finally arrived with both Fairies safe and sound. Within the Mana rich environment of a Dungeon, the Fairies both woke up from the tranquilizer venom affecting them.

In a small, flawless, white room, Lilly woke up screaming.

“Mother!”

Breathing heavy while looking around, Lilly failed to recognise the place.

“Hello? Is anyone here, wherever This is?” Lilly called out, vigilantly looking around.

“Ah, you’re finally awake. Don’t worry, both you and your mother are safe now.” A robotic, male voice came from a Type 4 robot that silently floated into the room through a door to the right of the medical bed Lilly was laying on.

The Type 4, identical in structure to the Type 3, only differed by the female shaped torso it had, instead of a male shaped one of the Type 3.

“What do you want with us? To sell us like the other Hunters?” Lilly aske wearily, slowly moving away from the floating, metal torso.

“Why would I want to sell something that belongs to me?” the robotic voice asked.

“So you’re the one who bought us from the Hunters then?” Lilly asked from the other side of the bed.

“What? No, Lilly, its me. Daniel. I got your message and rushed here to save you.” Daniel replied through the robot.

“But, what? So what is that?” asked Lilly in confusion while pointing at the Type 4.

“What, this?” Daniel asked as the Type 4 lifted an arm and patted itself on the shoulder producing a dinging sound.

“Yes, that.” Lilly asked more forcefully.

“This is one of the robots I made to serve as the Dungeon Mobs for now since I don’t have any animals. It’s a Type 4 robot. One of the last to be made after I realised I could make conventional weapons for them to use that they would drop after being defeated to sere as loot drops.” Daniel described in detail.

“It’s really you.” Lilly remarked dryly after the needlessly long explanation.

“What you’re only convinced now?” Daniel asked as the robot folded its arms over its needlessly large chest.

“Yeah, after listening to you in person I’m convinced.” Lilly laughed and flew up off the bed towards the robot.

“So where is mum?” asked Lilly looking around the room, spotting nothing but the single bed.

“She’s in another room. She should be waking up soon. The net she was wrapped in had the same tranquilising venom soaked into the fibres, and with the amount to net she came in contact with while wrapped up, she had a lot more of the venom in her than you did. Even after I removed it all the effects still persisted for nearly an hour on you. But with the Mana around here, and with her passive pull in it being higher than yours, she should be waking any time now.” Daniel explained as the Type 4 under his control backed out of the room, floated sideways for a few seconds and stopped in front of another door, all the while Lilly sprawled herself lazily on the domed head like a cat would.

Opening the door by pressing a button on the wall, Daniel and Lilly floated into an identical room to the one Lilly was in. in the centre of the small room sat a single medical bed with Lilly’s mother, still sleeping, on top of it.