Chad, Annie, and Squawkers stared at the newly-cleared piece of floor. It had remained remarkably intact compared to the holes surrounding it.

"I think that's it," Chad noted.

"Yeah," Squawkers snorted. "You think? It's pretty much screaming 'hidden trapdoor.'"

Annie shrugged. "Only 'cause the rest of the floor's busted to hell. Any idea about gettin' in?"

"Right here," Chad pulled a key from his pocket. "Gram Gram kept it on her, apparently."

He passed the key to Annie. Stepping forward, she knelt on the floor and stuck the key in the lock. It turned with a surprisingly smooth snick. The section of wood swung open like the lid of a treasure chest, revealing a ladder descending into a darkened hole.

Chad leaned forward and looked into the pit below. "Well. That looks kinda ominous."

"Tell me about it," Squawkers muttered. "This part's still intact, though. So maybe there's hope for the rest of it..."

"One way to find out." Chad rolled forward, then stopped. "Er. You guys didn't happen to see a wheelchair access anywhere, did you?"

***

After a little bit of finagling, Chad managed to get down the ladder using just his arms. It took an additional trip for Annie to toss the wheelchair down after him. The ladder was far longer than any of them had expected, reaching deep into the earth below.

Luckily, the tunnel hadn't remained in complete darkness. A light switch at the top of the ladder bathed the tunnel in a bright white glow as they descended to the small landing below. Annie and Chad stood there, facing the single door that likely led to the bunker proper.

"You coming, Squawk?" Chad called up, his voice echoing within the concrete structure.

"Yeah, yeah!" A high-pitched caw called back. "Just... gimme a sec!"

They waited. It took a minute but soon enough, Squawkers dove down into the enclosed space. The parrot came to rest on Chad's shoulder with a shudder.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"Nothing." The parrot said a little too quickly. He seemed to blush before amending his statement. "I just... I don't like being underground. I'm a bird, dangit."

Oh, right. Chad nodded in understanding. "You don't have to come, you know. We can leave you out for this one."

"No, it's fine. Let's just... get outta here soon, right?"

With another nod, Chad turned toward the door before them. "Alright. We won't stay long. Who knows, maybe the whole thing's caved in!"

"Wouldn't that be nice..." Squawkers muttered.

"One way to find out." Stepping forward, Annie opened the door.

As Chad rolled into the bunker, the glow from the entryway illuminated an arc of wood floor before him. Fumbling at the wall, he found another light switch. A series of white lights flickered on one after the other, illuminating the space.

Chad stopped just inside the threshold, his jaw hanging open.

Seriously. What the FUCK, Paw Paw.

It wasn't a bunker. It was an underground mansion.

He found himself in the middle of a large, circular room. The top two thirds of its walls were painted white, while blue paisley wallpaper occupied the lower section where they met the hardwood floors. A wide-open lounge area, complete with scattered leather couches and a long dining table, spread before them. In the center of the room, a spiral staircase led further down into the bunker, while doors set around the perimeter indicated other rooms yet to be explored.

"Chad?" Annie breathed.

"Yeah?"

"I think your gramps was hiding some stuff."

He gazed around the space in awe. "I'm starting to think that, too."

"What the hell is this place?!" Squawkers soared around the room, taking it in. "This was here the whole time?!"

Annie and Chad followed him inside in a daze. This was no doomsday bunker. Chad had seen the one that their local neighborhood prepper had put together – a tiny, practical cave of a place meant for function, not comfort. This was something else entirely.

A thin layer of dust coated the entire thing. Looking around, Chad couldn't see any obvious evidence of damage or holes from the battle. A few pieces of furniture were slightly askew, but that was all. Nothing had broken, fallen, or caved in. Even the art and pictures hanging on the walls were undisturbed.

Though… He poked one of the frames. Yeah, those are bolted down. Makes sense.

He rolled over to the nearest door and pulled it open. Inside was a full kitchen and bar area, complete with a chandelier hanging above the table. The next door revealed something more like he'd expected – a storage room lined with row after row of shelves. Each was filled to the brim with shelf-stable food and water.

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"There's a damn library!" Annie exclaimed. "Why?!"

"What?!" Chad left behind his search to go check it out. Sure enough, one of the rooms was chock-full of books. An array of comfortable-looking chairs sat interspersed between the shelves, while the blue-painted ceiling with puffy white clouds gave the impression of actually being outside.

"What in the..." He couldn't help but stare.

Squawkers peered inside, similarly shocked. "Who the hell builds a bunker like this?"

"I don't know!" Annie threw her hands up in surrender. "Chad's gramps, apparently!"

"I... guess..." Damn, Paw Paw. Seriously? When the hell did you even build all this?

Questions whirled through his mind as they continued exploring. They found a master bedroom that shockingly resembled Gram Gram's own, a collection of more densely packed guest rooms, more storage areas, and even what appeared to be a few greenhouse-like structures with artificial lighting. They also located a few maintenance rooms housing the water pumps and electrical systems.

And that was just the first floor.

The other two floors contained more living space, a theater, a gun range, and a hot tub. It was empty for the moment, but still. It was there.

The entire time, they couldn't help but marvel at the sheer scale of the place. Chad was halfway tempted to write this off as some completely unrelated thing that his Paw Paw had simply happened to build the house on top of. But that was a hard sell. It was just too personalized for them.

There was a locked door on the third floor. But before trying to get through it, they finished looking around the rest of the place. They eventually found a second entrance to the bunker- an elevator leading to the surface. Unfortunately, it was one of the few things that hadn't stood the test of time and seismic activity well enough. It was out of commission for the moment. But Chad was sure it could be fixed.

"Well... ok." After finishing their initial search, Annie slumped onto one of the couches on the first floor. A small cloud of dust poofed up around her. "So this is a thing. Question is, what're we gonna do with it?"

"Move in, I guess?" Chad shrugged.

"Yeah," Squawkers agreed. "It's pretty awesome. It's gotta be strong too, if it survived all that. It's a perfect home base!"

Chad nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it was built for Gram Gram. Hell, it's better than her actual house was. Not to mention safer!"

"I guess..." Annie sighed. "Do we bring other people in, too? To protect them?"

"If we need to." Chad nodded. "We've got the room and food for it. But hopefully we can keep the town safe enough that we don't have to."

"Right..." The masseuse shook her head. "I can't believe it. Seriously. Why did your gramps even have this?"

"No idea," Chad answered honestly. "But he definitely put it together. Maybe Gram Gram knows more?"

"We'll have to ask." Annie agreed. "But for now, let's get the others in here. I wanna see their faces."

***

Major Geoffries and his men were flabbergasted, to say the least.

Chad had at least seen the absurdity of the shed and its resident tank. But for a guy with no idea of what was coming? It only made sense for them to be completely caught off guard by the bunker.

He wasn't entirely sure how they'd get Gram Gram down. That ladder was fairly long, and her improved constitution would do nothing for her abysmal strength. Luckily, the soldiers were more than willing to help. They carried her down themselves.

She looked around the space with fondness. "Oh, yes. It's just as I remember it."

"You've been down here before?!" Chad exclaimed.

"Why, of course, Chadwick." The old woman smiled. "Your grandfather and I would spend plenty of evenings here. It was our vacation home, in a way. But after he passed, well..." Sadness tinged her expression. "It didn't feel right to come down here again."

"Right..." He simply stared at the woman as she began meandering around the room, cats in tow. She shuffled over to the maintenance closet and retrieved a duster, then began cleaning idly.

I don't even know anymore. He shook his head. How did she never say anything? Does that mean it's been here for ages? Was it here when I was a kid, too?

He glanced back to the entryway. Jerry still stood inside it, frozen in place and slack-jawed like the rest of them. At least Chad didn't feel alone in his confusion.

"Well..." Major Geoffries eventually shook himself out of his own stupor and approached Chad. "I guess you found a defensible location. We can base our operations out of here as needed, if you're alright with that."

"Sounds good to me."

"Excellent." The Major nodded. "I'll get my men settled in. The others from the base should be arriving sometime tomorrow. In the meantime, we should talk about how to level you up."

Squawkers raised a wing. "You said there's more stuff coming out of the portal, right? Why not just go there and start fighting?"

Geoffries shook his head. "Too risky. While it may be the fastest way, it's also the most dangerous. Especially given Chad's current state."

"Fair," the bird admitted. "Then maybe we can take down another one of those ships? Or go hunting?"

"I'm gonna need to fight some higher-level stuff," Chad reminded them. "I don't seem to level much otherwise."

"Right," the Major nodded. "There seem to be diminishing returns based on the level gap between your and your opponent. As such, we need to find enemies that are high level, but still easy for you to dispatch."

"No worries about that." Chad grinned. "I haven't met anything that can stand up to the ol' tournament winner yet!"

"...Fair point," Geoffries admitted. "Although there are still poor matchups for you, I'm sure. Regardless, I've got intel about the monsters and creatures in the surrounding area and their levels. They're outside of town, but considering this bunker... I hope you feel more comfortable making a trip away from home. Especially if we leave some guards behind."

Chad nodded. He'd have to leave them alone eventually

"What about the others?" Squawker asked pointedly. "Annie, and his gramma, and Jerry? Are they gonna get leveling help too?"

Geoffries sighed. "Yes, they will. They'll also be receiving specialized training as necessary with whatever we can provide. If they agree, of course. But I don't think it's advisable to bring them along as is."

"Good." Squawkers straightened proudly. "Then you won't have to worry about them being safe. Soon enough, we'll be a force to be reckoned with!"

Chad nodded. "Thanks for that. It'll really be a weight off. You sure they'll be safe though?"

"As safe as we can manage." The Major crossed his arms. "I can't guarantee anything in times like these. But anything that tries to hurt your family and friends will have to go through us first."

Chad let out a sigh. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best he could hope for. All he had to do was focus on getting stronger, faster.

That's the best way I can protect everyone. I just gotta get buff enough to smash that portal to smithereens.

He straightened. "Alright. So. When do we head out?"