Pitter patter pitter……..The endless rain continued to fall.

Run.

That’s all I had to do to survive. Such a simple thing to do, yet my legs had long grown too sore for it, splashing face first into a puddle. I lifted my head up with a deep gasp and wiped the water off my face. Clenching my teeth, I crawled forwards, using my hands to drag myself over to the horizon. There was no time for resting. As long as that thing is still after me, I will never stop moving.

A stormy howl echoed from a distance. The sound of footsteps followed right after, only growing louder through each passing moment. It was getting closer. No matter how hard I wished for it to go away, it continued on its tracks, stalking its prey until it had lost all hope of escaping. That is why I must never give up.

I won’t look back. I don’t want to know how close it truly is. My heart grows faint at the mere thought of it. It’s been following me around for days, yet it did not bother trying to kill me. Is it simply toying with me? Whatever the case may be, I was completely at its mercy.

A big black shadow appeared on the floor, causing my heart to drop in an instant. I knew exactly what it meant. Its loud growl forced its way into my ears, quivering my body from the inside out.

It’s over. I’m finished.

I closed my eyes and squeezed my cheeks, accepting my inevitable demise. I can only hope that the pain would last for an instant. Then, maybe, I can reunite with my friends and family in the afterlife. If not, then at least take me to a world better than here. That is all I ask for.

…………….

Much to my surprise, I caught the sound of light footsteps running through the puddles.

That of a human’s.

No, it must be an illusion, to think that there are other survivors here? What are the chances of any of them being alive? And what are the chances of anyone coming to rescue me? It’s meaningless. We humans are too wea-

The monster suddenly let out a loud cry, as if it were screaming in pain. Along with it came the sound of something cutting through flesh. Heavier splashes followed shortly after and the monster footsteps seemed to be moving away. A mixed set of noises started to play out. Erratic stomps, flesh being ripped apart, a series of swishes, bursts of liquid blasting forth and objects dropping to the floor. It was hard to process what was going on, so I finally decided to open my eyes.

To my surprise, the huge shadow was no longer on the floor. The voice of the monster grew faint, and eventually, only the droplets of water splashing on the floor could be heard.

I slowly turned my head……..and saw a man in a ripped white cloak, stained in red.

And on his hand was a blade painted in black.

I watched the blade disintegrate into nothing and the man approached me.

“Are you ok?” he said.

I nodded my head in response.

For some strange reason, the man knelt down and hugged me tightly.

“That’s….good.”

I instinctively clutched my arms around his body.

“They all called me a Hero…..but I couldn’t even save anyone else. The underground is nothing compared to what’s on the surface……”

Huh? Surface?

“You’re so annoying! Can you please just leave me alone?!”

What…..

I opened my eyes and lifted myself upwards. It appeared that I was in an unfamiliar place, laying on an abnormally capacious bed. So capacious, that it was wide enough to fit around 10 people. It’s as if the bed was designed for a giant.

What was I dreaming about earlier? It felt important, but I couldn’t get myself to remember even a single detail. It’s like my brain had turned into a completely blank slate.

“Come on, please forgive me! I promise I’ll do my best not to lose it next time!”

“You’ve promised me many things, Scarlet! Ah, so irresponsible! What am I going to do with an idiot like you?”

There seemed to be some women arguing about something down below, one of which being Scarlet, my traveling companion. The other voice, I didn’t recognize. I got up from the bed and decided to take a look around. The moment I stood up, I felt that the floor seemed to be vibrating.

Was the house…..moving?

Upon scanning the surroundings, the place appeared to be an absolute, yet fascinating mess. The room was littered with all sorts of strange contraptions everywhere, filling the tables and the floor around me. They came in many different shapes and sizes, all with their own unique intricacies, such as an ordinary cooking pot modified with cogs, pipes and gauges, a helmet with tools popping out from the top of its head or a rifle with a trumpet for a barrel. One of which greatly resembles Scarlet’s smoke bombs, a silver sphere with a red button. If that wasn’t enough, there were even drawing boards covered in sketches of other ideas and concepts.

Looking out into the window, it became more evident that we were indeed in what seemed to be a moving house.

I wonder what kind of person lives here…..?

“Don’t give me that cute look! You’re making me feel bad, you sleazy fox! I’m not falling for it again!”

“O-Ouch, my cheeks! P-Please stop!”

What is going on down there…..?

I spotted a flight of stairs and decided to go down. Ambling my way through the steps, I peeked my head over to check the commotion. The voices came from the cabin on the other side, in the form of a familiar cinnamon-haired girl in a scarlet robe with her cheeks being squeezed by an unfamiliar redheaded petite figure.

“I’m not doing it on purpose, I’m just naturally cute, that’s why!” Scarlet said.

“Shut up, you narcissistic brat!”

“Um, excuse me?” I addressed the two figures.

Upon hearing my voice, they froze in place and slowly turned their heads towards me in an awkward silence. It was only after a few seconds that Scarlet decided to break the silence with a chuckle.

“Lars! You’re finally awake! I was beginning to think that you were gonna be asleep forever!”

“Um,” I scratched my head. “Where am I…..and how did we get here?”

Scarlet lifted a finger on her chin. “Well, you passed out on our journey to Sector 23, so I had to carry you all the way here!”

I must admit, I hardly had any rest ever since the aftermath of Hector’s downfall, but that wasn’t an excuse to be a burden for someone else.

“Sorry,” I hung my head down. “I made you carry me again.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Scarlet tapped my shoulder. “I told you! I’m a strong woman! Your weight is no big deal! I could even carry this whole wagon if I wanted to!”

“What nonsense,” the redheaded girl scoffed. “You always complain about having to push this thing forward whenever the engine breaks down!”

“Wait…..this is a wagon? Isn’t this place way too big to be just a wagon? It feels like a whole house here,” I said.

“That’s because this place is the Wagon House!” Scarlet lifted her finger.

“Wagon House…?”

That must explain why it feels like we’re moving….

“Created by none other than the Legendary Genius Dwarf Tinkerer of the Thousands, Hephy the Petite!”

Scarlet pointed her arms over to the redheaded lady with a proud smirk.

“I told you not to call me that!” She chopped Scarlet’s forehead. “Was the ‘Dwarf' and ‘Petite’ part really necessary?!”

“Ouch!”

“Anyways, I’m Hephy,” the girl looked up at me and gave me a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Like how Scarlet described her, Hephy was indeed quite short compared to the average girl, but that was not the only thing that made her appearance unique. At the top of her head, was a black trilby beret paired with steam goggles, which complimented her messy bob cut. A plain sleeveless white jacket covered her torso, yet they kept her shoulders exposed, showing off defined muscles with bulging lines running through her arms. It wasn’t something you’d expect from a small girl, yet they somehow appeared proportionate to the rest of her body. Underneath was a leather skirt covered with pockets, bags and belts with tools.

I knelt down to her level and shook her hand.

“I’m Lars. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Are you mocking me?” Hephy pucked her lips.

“No, I just thought it would be more respectful to match your eye level.”

“I’m starting to like you already,” Hephy smiled. “But you don’t have to do that. Please stand.”

I stood up and patted my clothes.

“So, uh….what’s the problem between you two?” I asked. “You seemed to be arguing about something earlier.”

“This idiot lost my communication device,” Hephy pinched Scarlet’s ear.

“Ay-ay-ay-stop! Please, I already said I was sorry!”

“Can’t you give the girl a break?” I suggested. “We’ve been through a lot lately, so it would be nice if you could cut her some slack.”

Hephy narrowed her eyes towards me with an annoyed expression. “I already stopped bothering her about it, but she wouldn’t stop bothering me about it!”

“That’s because you started ignoring me right after!”

“I just wanted to cool off and relieve some stress. Hearing that voice of yours makes my blood boil, so can you please just keep your mouth shut and let me be!”

“Aw, but I’m really sorry!”

“Jeez, I get it already, fine! I forgive you!”

“That doesn’t sound very convincing!”

“What, you want me to give you a kiss or something?!”

“Yes, please!”

“Hell no!”

I moved in between the girls and extended my hands.

“Please calm down. Let’s try to resolve this in a more civilized manner, I will be the medium. Let’s all just take some deep breaths.”

Haaaaah…..Phew……

The two girls huffed and puffed, and eventually, things seemed to die down a little.

“So let me get this straight,” I said. “Scarlet lost the communication device you made for her, so she’s the one at fault. Am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“Scarlet has admitted her mistake and has apologized to you multiple times, but you can’t get yourself to forgive her? Am I correct?”

“No. I do forgive her.”

“Really?” Scarlet raised an eyeball.

“I’m serious,” Hephy sighed. “It’s just that I can’t help but be stressed about it. That communication device was the only way for me and her to keep in touch. I can always make more, but everytime she loses that thing, I can’t help but be worried! Ever since my drones lost track of her, I had no way of knowing her whereabouts! For all I knew, she could have been killed! Thank the underground, she came back here alive….and with her boyfriend! If this keeps on happening….I don’t know if my heart can take it anymore!”

“Hey….wait a minute….what do you mean ‘boyfriend’?”

“Hephy….” Scarlet’s tone softened. “You’re so sweet! I love you so much!”

She then proceeded to hug the little girl, squishing her tightly with her arms.

“Agh! Get off me! Forget what I said! I take that back!”

“Too late, tsundere! You can’t lie to me anymore, hehe!”

“Damn it, Scarlet! Why are you always like this?!”

“O-Ouch! So tight!”

“That’s what you get for playing with my feelings!” Hephy said as she crushed the poor lady’s torso with her biceps. “Don’t you dare lose those comms ever again, you hear me?!”

“I-I won’t!”

Congratulations, Lars. I hereby deem you the title, Woman Tamer.

The black and white catgirl places her arm on my shoulder.

You always seem to start off with the most absurd lines, Gray.

That’s just how I roll.

There’s something that concerns me.

What is it, Lars?

I feel like I was dreaming of something important. Since you’re in my head 24/7, do you have any idea what it’s about?

The catgirl looks at me with a mischievous grin and places her finger on her lips.

Sorry, Lars. I promised your father that I wouldn’t say a word. You’re gonna have to figure it out for yourself.

So it has something to do with my father…?

It’s none of your concern anyway. It’s all in the past, There isn’t much of a use in knowing anything about it anyway.

If it’s my father’s decision, then I have no reason to question it.

“Lars,” Hephy called out to me. “We’re about to reach our destination, but I’d like to talk to you about some important matters before we proceed.”

“Because Sector 23 is a warzone.”