“Hurry up, Butter! Move those twiggy legs of yours or I won’t put in a requisition for Lux to make your precious Tank-Chocolate when we return to base!”

Nearly shouting over the incessant drone of an authoritative voice echoing over a loudspeaker, Slate turned over his shoulder to the rosy-cheeked girl struggling to carry an oversized rough-sack.

“Warum?” Lotte asked as she cocked her head in her native tongue. “Why are we not waiting for Prinzessin, Bitte?”

“Who?” Slate half-shrugged, furthering his pace across a wide expanse of a factory-like structure’s ground floor. “Oh, right. That’s your little pally-name for Bearcat… Look; it’s not that we’re not waiting… she isn’t here so it can’t be helped. Tesla gave us the order to help our providers in any way possible, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“Warum, Bitte?” Lotte repeated absentmindedly as she scanned the low-hanging ceiling’s bare features seemingly out of boredom.

“War-what? Don’t mince your words; I don’t like guessing what they mean. It’s a pain in the ass.”

“J'ai dit pourquoi, imbécile. Visage de merde. Chien souffle. Bitte.”

With his eyes in a squint, Slate planted a heavy hand on Lotte’s crown, wrenching her neck until her eyes were forced to meet.

“You can’t tack a ‘Please’ on the end of a slew of insults as you do with everything else. Luckily for you, we’re not alone; otherwise, your ass would have handprints from every color of the rainbow.”

Mumbling, “Das macht keinen Sinn.” Lotte’s forever blank expression never wavered, not even the slightest even when Slate bared down with a vice-like grip.

“It does make sense because I’ll paddle your ass so hard you’ll become radioactive. Ya mangy snot-nosed brat. Now pick up the pace! If we don’t make it to the rendezvous in time, we’re going to miss our window to ship out those vials of medicine you’ve been lugging.”

Further in, the industrial appearance of the structure came to an epicenter where a 6x6 freight truck had been idling in the midst of a dormant fleet of similar vehicles.

The maintenance bay, although cavernous, had begun to fill with the dark, pungent exhaust fumes rolling from the vehicle’s polished smoke-stacks, causing Lotte to scrunch her nose in displeasure.

“Alright, we’re almost there. Cover your mouth with the nape of your dress, you don't need to be breathing in these fumes.”

“If this is the rendezvous, where are the people, Bitte?”

“Now that I think of it; it doesn’t make much sense to load starting anywhere other than the left or right most vehicle. That, and the air is pretty foul. I’m no expert on calculating volume, but that Rig must have been running for quite some time to have polluted this much air. Surely that's against protocol, somethings off...”

Without warning, Slate pulled Lotte against himself as they receded into the shadows just in time for a patrol of suspicious Guards to dawdled into the main floor of the Loading Bay, rifles slung over their shoulders.

“My damn Zoom’s been busted since… well forever. I can still see that those men are wearing Providence Militia Uniforms, but there’s none of the cargo Tesla req’ed being loaded onto the truck - hell, it's plain empty. I dunno what gives, but I’m sure we’re about to find out.”

“Shall I investigate, bitte? Perhaps this is a misunderstanding?”

“Offering yourself as bait? As entertaining as that thought may be, I would never intentionally put you in harm's way. Now if Bearcat didn’t get herself stuck in the Hospital during lockdown, I’d have no problem sending her.”

“Alright men, to your positions!” One of the Soldier’s barked orders from the Loading Bay Floor, drawing Slate’s attention as he peeked through the narrow slits of the shelves of packed with assorted machinery. “On my signal, and only on my signal, we’ll take the Mark's head. I don’t want an all-out shooting gallery, so make the first bullet count! Now, I know there’s not much motivation to keep you scurvy bastards from accidentally shooting me, granted I’m wearing this body armor, but it just so happens our Bounty has a little friend that’s not on the manifest.”

Rubbing his neck with the thought of decapitation playing on his mind, Slate broke from cover, slipping behind a structural column before giving a hand-sign for Lotte to stay put.

“Us, shoot you?” One of the Soldiers laughed, spurring the excitement of his constituents. “Khan Merik, we're not the Greens you used to know! You still can't be on about what happened back in Basic Training.”

“Oi! Scram already so you lot can prove it!” Their Leader shooed with a half grin peaking from the whiskers of his grizzled face. “I’m feeling generous enough that if you dolts don’t hit me or the girl, I’ll give up my cut of the bounty. That being said; even if you do kill her, that girl is mine. What do you say, men? Perhaps when I'm done with her, I'll throw her in with the rest of the Livestock. That enough motivation for ya to aim before ya shoot?”

In response, a muffled roll of affirmation between the group of five who had sought vantage points throughout the industrial jungle.

After having mouthed the words ‘Stay put,’ to Lotte who blinked in response, Slate made himself known at a brisk pace as he walked into the open and down a flight of stairs to where the Khan had been standing.

“Yo! Is this the place? You guys bring the ‘shit’!?” Slate laughed coyly as he thumbed back the hammer on a revolver buried in his coat pocket. “Lockdown has everyone in a tiff, so it's just me and-…”

Now within just feet from the Man who had just plotted his assassination, Slate fumbled over his words as a fit of burning anger began to fester within his skin.

“Alright, fuck this. I didn’t really know where I was going with that, so I guess that makes me as much as an amateur as you flippin' idiots.”

In one swift maneuver, Slate disarmed the Khan while forcing the polished barrel of his .44 magnum into the Man’s mouth to a great deal of protest from the entire Squadron.

“You have two Morons up in the rafters, two hidden behind those bulky crates at my Four and Nine o'clock, all of which are a couple meters out of the range where I would consider the ‘ol base of the neck one-hit wonder’ to be a threat!”

*BANG!*

*BANG!!* BANG!!*

*BANG!!*

Four shots rang out in quick succession resulting in Slate’s lifeless body crumpling like that of a ragdoll.

Spitting the foul taste of gunpowder from his mouth, the Khan blasted his steel-toed boot into Slate’s side, muttering obscenities as he repeated the process until he and his men were assured that their target had been killed.

“Which one of you fucking idiots shot me?” The Khan sneered, unlatching his breastplate before tossing the armor aside. “You missed the neck, but we still got the bastard. Fan out and find the girl while I catch my breath -oh my aching ribs-. That shot damn near knocked me off my feet.”

Out of malice, the Kahn turned on Slate for a final heel to the throat.

“Smug bastard. See how playing Hero worked out for you? I’ve never met someone so deserving of having their eyes pried open while we run a train on your friend-* HURK*!”

“Du redest zu viel, Bitte. Silence suits you better.”

In a flash of red light, the upper half of the Admiral separated from his torso before plummeting to the earth in a splay of blood and viscera.

With little time to spare before the Soldiers would return from their search, Lotte rifled through her medical bag while attentively flipping Slate onto his backside. In doing so, she revealed four large puncture wounds seeping into Slate's flight jacket.

As Lotte examined the contents of two glass syrettes filled with an opaque yellow liquid, she flicked the tubes, reducing the potential for an air embolism to enter Slate’s bloodstream. Diligently, she then sought the rhythm of Slate’s mechanical heart rearing the pair of needles over her head before slamming them down with all her might.

Once both of the contents had emptied just above Slate’s heart, Lotte then bundled up the bag before taking cover in a stack of scrap metal and plastic refuse near a large incinerator unit crackling gently in the nearby wall.

“Oi-oi! Boss! We searched every inch of the ground floor! Damn place is a labyrinth, should we span our search to-to... ”

Choking on his words, one of the four Soldiers bolted to the disemboweled remains of their Commanding Officer, shuddering in disbelief with their rifles scanning the horizon.

“Hey- we’ve got a problem! The Khan’s fucking K.I.A! the girl’s still in here somewhere! Double over where we had already searched, find- *HURK*!”

Startled by the blood-curdling scream of their fellow Soldier, the remaining three positioned themselves against one another, covering each of their flanks as they moved in unison.

“I don’t have eyes on where that came from! Did either of you see that flash of light!?”

“The fucking Khan didn’t tell us we’d be dealing with Lost-Tech wielding psychopaths! Keep moving! We’re getting out of here!”

“I’ll hit the switch on the garage door! The moment it opens, we slip beneath it together. There’s no way she’ll be able to get us once were on the other side!”

At the throw of a lever, the large garage door began to lift, heavy chains rattling as the three Soldiers panned their rifles, unable to distinguish noise from the clamor.

With a pat on the shoulder, the smallest Soldier slipped beneath the gap as the remaining two huddled together covering the retreat.

"Clear - send one, we'll cover as soon as we get visual!" The Soldier from the outside shouted.

Knelt and at the ready, the remaining Soldier blinked fitfully against the sweat collecting in his eyes as he awaited enough clearance for his allies to provide adequate cover and for the second Soldier to clear the doorway with his large rucksack.

*BANG*

In the blink of an eye, the Soldier lying prone beneath the door disappeared, dragged back inside by his heels. Maddened by the harrowing screams of his dying comrades, the last Soldier unleashed the entire rifle magazine into the garage shutter, crying out in terror.

“Damn it all! Come on, Bitch! Show yourself! I have a grenade with your name on it!”

Using his teeth, the man pulled the pin on a small explosive device before throwing it through the hole shot open. The result; a mid-sized explosion that sheered the thin metal shutter from its hinges, sending it crumpling like an accordion into a flimsy mass.

As the dust began to recede, the Soldier's opponent stood ready, seeped in a malicious red light. Glistening, the perfectly aligned particles of Hardlight emitted from Lotte’s prosthetics flickered in distress having caught a bulk of explosion’s shrapnel.

Unable to processes his incredulous luck, the Soldier laughed as he tossed his rifle aside, drawing a large trench knife from the bands hidden inside his boot.

“Looks like your Lost-Tech’s just ran out of juice!”

Arms limp and effectively useless, Lotte stood her ground as the Soldier broke into a mad dash with his knife raised poised to slit her neck.

***MEANWHILE***

The stench of the sewers, inexpressible. Even with my atmospheric filters operating at a relatively normal capacity, my nose and throat burned with the filth of a thousand toxic chemicals.

As for Petra who had been merrily skipping along the central divider, she kept her boots clean and out of the concealed masses of the nameless horrors drifting down the current, seemingly without a care in the world.

“Let me guess; this is a typical day for you? Spelunking in the city’s culvert?” I scoffed bemusedly, dodging the tenth curtain of moss growing in from the low hanging ceiling.

“I can’t say that it is. I mean, I’ve been a Pipe-Rat before when I was spying on some of Providence’s less-than-desirable Politicians. I had a polaroid and everything… that is until they found the flash.”

“That doesn’t sound like it ended well.”

“Not for them anyways. The flash stunned the gluttonous windbags long enough for me to blast them with pepper spray. After they were all curled up on the floor, too fat to get back to their feet, I snagged what my Employer had sent me to fetch and was out the window in four seconds flat!”

Rolling my eyes, I took Petra's hand as she assisted me onto the top of a slick incline.

“I guess physical evidence is better than any picture.”

“That’s near enough the phrase I used when I was hired. You can imagine the look on my Employer’s face.” She smiled with a faint giggle, directing my attention overhead to a long ladder leading into a murky shaft of light.

“Oh, and how did it end?” I smirked as offered Petra to be the first to climb.

“About as well as your ploy to get a face full of my ass, but you’ll have to be the one to lift the manhole, I won’t be able to do it from below so go on now, Ladies first.

In a show of strength, I skipped over the initial set of hand-holds, clambering with the finesses of a primate until I came to face with the underside of the covering well before Petra had even started to climb.

“You really sap the fun out of everything, you know?”

With a powerful punch, I dislodged the grate and clambered into the fresh, clean air.

“So I’ve been told.”

“On many occasions I presume!”

“Don't temp me to step on your fingers... just take my hand already.”

In a teasing manner, Petra wafted her hand before helping herself to the edge.

“Alright, we should be close enough… although I thought we would hear some fighting… It’s awfully silent.”

“Where are we anyway?”

“We’re at the Southern Shield Project. It’s one of four Hubs that power the Mirage Shield protecting the city, and it’s also one of only four publicly known ways of entry since the shield is only light permeable from the outside.”

“And I’m guessing the waste Providence produces leaves the city from underground...? Which means those miles of tunnels are also entrances.”

“Bingo! Sound is amplified down in the sewers. Footsteps, gunshots, doesn't matter, we would have heard something - which means we're dealing with something much worse than a few Bandits.”

“You think someone on the inside sabotaged one of the Hubs?”

“This place calls itself a 'Paradise', but it has an underbelly of its own, so it's not impossible. Problem is, if you're right, not all the tunnels lead to each of the four Hubs, so we're shit out of luck if this isn't the Hub here before us.”

“You said each Hub is a way in and out of Providence, right? We could go around the outside of the city and see where there is a hole in the shield.”

“Pssh! That might be doable with your legs, but you're in no condition for a marathon, Sweetie, besides, I'm not going to let you wander off by yourself-!"

*BAUTHOOOOOMMMM!!!!* *TSSSS!* *TSSKT!* *TTSSST!!*

Without warning, the towering Hub structure burst and fractured sending spark and electrical transformers flying in all directions, along with a wave of heat, but at our distance, it merely rolled past my cheeks and kicked dirt into our eyes.

Jaw slack in disbelief, Petra then turned to me. “Well… props to you, it was indeed sabotage and I guess we lucked out, it was indeed this one.”

“When you said the Mirage Shield is ‘Light Permeable,’ does that mean nothing else can get through it?”

“As solid as a one-way mirror and a couple million volts. Providence even has its own sanitation crew to pick up whatever unfortunate soul-.”

“-Then if no one infiltrated Providence, then someone nearby just blew up the Hub!”

“Don’t bother yourself with ‘why’ or ‘how’ they did it. That’s going to be my job once this whole deal blows over. All that matters is that we report our findings to my Employer!”

Sighing in frustration, I caught a glimmer out of the corner of my eye, just before another succession of explosions tore through the street. Like fireworks, the sewer entrances blew their heavy metal covers skywards as the toxic fumes ignited in series.

“Get down!” I shouted, tackling Petra through the glass of a storefront into a hail of broken fragments just in time for a fiery inferno to engulf the very spot in which we stood.

Scratched, bruised and bloodied, I asked, “Are you alright?” only to be batted aside.

“Yeah, a little shaken is all. Thanks… I think… Just what the hell is going on?”

“I think we’re about to find out.”

Both my words and a finger hung in the air as a full platoon of soldiers just ‘appeared’ like phantoms from the smoke and embers. Then, as if that wasn’t enough; two APCs boasting 25mm autocannons and .50 caliber machineguns crushed the rubble beneath their treads.

“Shit…” We swore in unison.

And then finally, something else entirely appeared from the blanket of caustic smog, something that sent the Soldiers into a full-on assault against… a… Werewolf?

“EEHH~!? What the hell is that thing!” Petra cooed, clambering over my head for a better view. “I’ve never seen a Beastkin like that!”

Pulling myself along with Petra who had attached herself to my head below the store’s registry, a stream of bullets glanced off the walls as they failed to track the wolf-like abomination.

“I-I don't think that's a Beastkin -and it's not like any Lost I've ever seen. It's body is all.. inverted, flesh and bone, but it has cybernetics. A real-life nightmare...”

“The Lost? I've only read about them in the history books...” Petra raised a brow. “Oh, right, well if you’re still alive, I suppose that means there are probably other Lilims struggling to survive out there.”

In a second attempt to disseminate the creature's origin, I peeked above the bullet-riddled register only to get sent into the wall of cigarette cartons behind me.

“Fragile!? What the hell!? Are you okay!?” Petra quivered as a small wad of lead rolled along the floor from my side.

Blinking fitfully, the static cleared just as I had realized I had been hit upside the head by one of the APC’s main cannons.

“WAH!? Am I bleeding!? Is my faceplate intact!? I can’t get another one if this one breaks! Please tell me… it isn’t… dented?”

Calmly shushing between running her hands through my disheveled hair, Petra pulled my bangs in front of my face near where the large caliber shell had hit.

“You’re worried about a dent!? I can’t believe your still alive! It’s not really noticeable… I mean… I’m sure it will buff out.”

As I felt about my forehead, sure enough; a small, but definitely noticeable dent. But before I could make my protests known through a long winded moan, a soul-piercing howl burst the remaining panes of glass, forcing Petra to pin her palms to her ears.

That’s when I looked up, parting past my hair to an up-close and personal encounter with the Enigma whose dog-like jowls dripped in blood and gnarled fragments of bone..

“Petra…” I whispered sharply.

“Petra…!” I called again, testing the upper limits of what could be considered ‘beneath a breath,’ this time; with even more severity.

As I resorted to mouthing my three-word command, “Do… not… move…” Petra’s eyes locked on to me as the Beast wrapped its claws just above her head along the edge of the countertop.

From this distance, I could feel and smell the iron on its breath as it’s tubular tongue lulled dangerously near Petra who had froze under pressure. Its eyes; blacker than midnight were impossible to differentiate where they had focused and its horrible maw; like that of a canine’s jawbone worn on the outside of its fleshy blood-red skin.

It didn’t seem possible.

How this thing of nightmares could exist.

But its perplexing existence was just the tip of the iceberg.

Slowly, two human arms lifted from its backside slowly, as if they had been sewn in place. In its grasp, the collar of a dress, one I could hardly recognize due to how much blood had seeped its color.

Then, my heart sank as Lotte’s lifeless body rose into the air before settling aside Petra who refused to budge.

In fear that the slightest movements would trigger an attack, I did not so much as glance at Lotte or her injuries for I had lost myself inside the two black orbs staring back at me.

And then, with little warning; the Beast opened its maw slightly and launched its tongue at me like a chameleon hunting an insect.

I couldn’t dodge, let alone move and for a moment, there was a sensation of wet on my face before the creature bolted into the billowing smoke rising from the burning husks of the APCs.

Once I regained my footing, there I found a scene from the underworld. Dismembered bodies that had been partially consumed, left to rot along with all their weapons and armor.

They never stood a chance...

Teetering under the influence of fleeting sanity, I walked into the midst of the destruction for something had caught my eye.

It was white, long and needle-like in appearance, speckled throughout the street.

“A… quill? It’s made of bone…”

“F-Fragile! D-Don’t leave me!” Petra’s voice cracked as she exited the Store with Lotte slung over her shoulder. “This girl is one of your friends, right? She’s bleeding out, we need to get far-the-fuck away from here- before that fucking...fu...fu -WHATERVER- comes back!”

My heart sank further in a way I never thought possible.

“If Lotte is here… then that monster…”

No… I refused to believe it could have killed Slate.

So, in clenching my fist, I nodded as I offered to take Lotte into my arms.

“Maybe Slate came looking for me in the Hospital! Either way, we need to go back- we need medical supplies! Please, Petra, just take me back to the Hospital and I'll do whatever you want- any deal, name it!”

"A-Alright, I-I suppose it's far enough for now. You don't need to b-beg... The automated defenses are p-probably... offline... by now." She stated as she struggled to catch her breath.

Taking off towards the bulk of the Skyscrapers seated at the city’s epicenter, we didn’t make it far before Petra tripped over the pock-marked road, stumbling before ultimately collapsing to the ground face first.

“Hey, get up! Get up!” I barked, swinging Lotte about to find the cause of her blunder to be that of one of those bony quills sticking out of her backside.

“Petra, move your ass! It’s just a flesh wound!”

Groaning, Petra weakly motioned to hoist herself onto her feet only to fall flat in exhaustion.

“Damn it all!” I seethed as a low rumbling growl began to draw near.

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴀɴᴅ\ғᴏʀɢᴇ-ᴄᴏ̨ʙ-ᴘᴀʏʟᴏᴀᴅ]

Stunned, I found myself unable to summon my anything from my arsenal, leaving me longing for any of Logic’s witticisms to chime in and save the day.

But I knew that to be impossible…

Unarmed and with two additional bodies to protect, this fight was hopeless and the only logical course of action; to run away, only embittered my tears.

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴄᴏʀᴇ ɪɢɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ sᴇǫᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ!]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀʀᴅꜰᴏʀɢᴇ ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛᴇʀᴍᴇᴀsᴜʀᴇs!]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴄᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ ʀᴏᴜᴛɪɴᴇ: ᴅᴇꜰᴀᴜʟᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ sᴛᴀɴᴅᴀʀᴅ ᴄ.ǫ.ᴄ]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. sᴇɴsᴏʀʏ sᴜɪᴛᴇ: ɪɴᴏᴘᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ!]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴇʟᴇᴄᴛʀᴏɴɪᴄ ᴡᴀʀꜰᴀʀᴇ sᴜɪᴛᴇ: ɪɴᴏᴘᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ!]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ ᴏᴠᴇʀʀɪᴅᴇ: ᴜɴᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ.]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɪɴᴘᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇꜰɪɴᴇᴅ. ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴀʀsᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ ʟɪɴᴇ //: ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ… sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ… ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ…]

[ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ʜᴇʟᴘ...ᴍᴇ...]

Just as I set Lotte aside and approached the Beast prowling in a circle in the center of the roadway, I closed my eyes and enveloped myself in all my longings and regrets.

I don’t know where my heart is at…

I don’t know why now, of all times I’m thinking about these things.

My first kiss, how hopeless I am at trying to convey my emotions.

The place I’m trying to call my home, the people who are expecting me to return.

I may be an idiot Child, but can’t life see I’m trying my best?

That this is all I have to give?

I just need a sign, anything to restore my faith in whatever will have the likes of me.

Anything... anything... I will give anything in the place of my friends so that they may see another day.

*Lick*

“EH!?”

*Whine*

“EHHH!?!”

Upon opening my eyes, I found the Beast, swatting the thing I’m apprehensive to call a ‘tail’ at its side like a fly-swatter with its body curled in a submissive posture.

From the spur of a jolt racing through my wrist, the Beast lowered its head before taking off like that of a fox frolicking in a field before zipping back towards me in the same submissive posture.

*Whine*

“J-Just what the hell are you?” I murmured imperceptibly to myself as my heartbeat had been pounding inside my ears.

*Bark!*

“N-No… It didn’t just ‘bark’… I must be dreaming, still locked in the charging harness back at the Hospital. This... must be what humans call a 'Nightmare'. It... has to be...”

Like before with little warning, the Beast opened its mouth, shooting its tongue which stuck to my forehead.

“You fucking mangy mutt! You stuck one of your quills in my friend, and you hurt Lotte! I’ll kill you!”

Upon raising my fist. The Dog-Beast leaped to Lotte’s side in a single bound.

“You lay a single paw on her and I'll- I'll incinerate you and your ashes!”

As if to mock me it stuck its tongue to her forehead repeatedly, until her crown was covered in drool.

“S-Stop eating my friend!” I bellowed, breaking into a brisk stride only to have the Beast growl at me, protecting Lotte’s unconscious body as dog would guard it's food.

But I wouldn’t be deterred.

Stomping forward, I swatted away at its morbid mug until it became agitated and pounced me.

Now with its glistening fangs and putrid breath mere inches from my face, I struck the center of its noise.

*Whine~~~~*

In retreat, the fiend leapt back for only a moment, and before I could regain my footing it pinned me once more with it's mouth agape.

Having shielded my face with my arms, I deflected to the best of my abilities the onslaught of slobbery lashes from it's tongue.

“Gyaaak! G-Get off me!”

“Ugh… My aching head…”

That voice!?

“Petra!? Help! It's trying to fucking eat me!!!”

Just when I thought I might be saved; something penetrated the Auxiliary ports on the base of my neck. My limbs now limp and my vision tunneling to black, I was left with the solace of an alert prompts faded glow.

[ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ: ᴍᴀɪɴᴛᴇɴᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴏᴅᴇ ɪ̛ɴ͠ɪᴛ͢ɪᴀᴛ̨ᴇᴅ̷ ̷– sᴛᴀ͜ɴ̸ᴅ͢ʙʏ̶]

[ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: ᴘʀɪᴍᴀʟ ᴏs ᴄᴏ́ᴜʟᴅ ̨ɴ̧ᴏ́ᴛ҉ ᴘᴀ̸ʀ͠s̶ᴇ͝ s͠ᴛ̴ᴀꜰ̸ꜰ -ɪᴅ. ᴜsᴇʀ: s̸ͦ͒̓̆̎̅̅͌̓͟҉̟̰͙͖̠̀ʟ̵̹̪ͤ̔̏̑ͬ̄̏ͅᴀ̨͖̺͙͖͎ͧ́̌̓́ͫ̒̊ͧͫ͜͜ᴛ̸̶ͮͭ́ͦͬ͌̋̄̚҉̰͉̱̝̙̺̘̮͚̗͕̺̟̳̲ͅᴇ̢̹̳͙̙̲̙ͫ̽̃̑̀͢͢ – ᴇʀʀᴏʀ: ᴜ͢ɴᴋɴ̶ᴏ̸ᴡɴ ᴄ̴ʀ̵ɪᴛ̡ɪᴄ̷ᴀʟ ̵ᴇx̴ᴄ̕ᴇᴘ̸ᴛ̧ɪ̵ᴏ̀ɴ̶ ʜᴀ͞s ̕ ᴏᴄᴄᴜʀʀᴇᴅ!]

[ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: ꜰᴀ̷ɪ̛ʟ̡ᴇᴅ̕ ᴛᴏ͏ ̡ᴀ̀ᴄ́ǫᴜ҉ɪʀᴇ̵ ͢ᴏᴘ́ᴇ͡ʀ͠ᴀ͢ᴛᴏ̶ʀ͟ ᴘᴇʀᴍɪssɪᴏɴs! ᴇx̴ᴛ̀ᴇ̴ʀɴ́ᴀ͘ʟ ͝ᴀ̴ᴅ͡ᴍɪ̕ɴ̵ ̢ᴏ̀ᴠᴇʀ͡ʀ҉ɪᴅᴇ͠ ̛ - ᴇɴᴀʙʟᴇᴅ!]

[s͞ʏ͏s̀ᴛ̀ᴇ͘ᴍ: ᴇ͠x̷ᴇ͢ᴄ͏ᴜᴛɪɴ͢ɢ ᴇx̀ᴛ̡ᴇ́ʀɴ͝ᴀ͜ʟ ҉ᴄᴍᴅ ̶:͢/̧/s҉͢ʏ̶͝ɴ̶́̕ᴀ̛́ᴘ̨͏ᴛ̛͘ɪ͞ᴄ-s̡͞ʏ̷͢ɴ̷́ᴄ͟.͘ʙ͜ᴀ̸̨͘ᴛ̸͟2]