Going to the nearest airship hangar took them back towards the west sector, given their present locale on the edge of the north sector. For the time being, he directed a question solely to eX-0704.

"Have you ever heard of rage mode before?"

"Is that what happened to the lycan shifter?" A visible shudder ran up eX-0704's spine, making his wings jitter and dash slightly crooked for a few wing beats. "That was pretty scary back there."

eX-0281 gulped back his agreement. To think, eX-0704 did not even see how easily Amaya had smashed through their fellow clones. A lycan shifter's berserker form was truly terrifying. Her unbridled, uncontrollable instincts surmounted the sub-dragon's training and military gear. Albeit, if a whole squad of sub-dragons had been firing at her—even just one or two more—they would have killed her before she had transformed.

We're supposed to fight in large teams, not only a handful of us like that. eX-0281 wondered if it would pose any problems for just the two of them, trying to strike out on their own. It won't be a problem if we can unlock our own rage mode!

"I meant for sub-dragons," eX-0281 clarified for eX-0704. "One of the eco-terrorists back there, some emo kid, mentioned something about a sub-dragon rage mode."

"Never heard of it. Doesn't sound like a reliable source to me."

"Right," he said, a little deflated. "I'll ask Charlotte later. She seems a lot more trustworthy."

"Sure, but why would she know anything about our species that we don't already know?"

eX-0281 shrugged while he kept up his run. "Maybe it was something the company didn't want us to know."

After he had willfully neglected to think deeply for so long, eX-0281 knew that he had a lot of prior misconceptions to correct. In a way, he did not feel like he had woken up until several hours ago. His incomplete knowledge about the world, the company, even his own self were starting to show in massive gaps.

Nevertheless, he could not feel more happy. When eX-0281 jumped off that train with eX-0704 and sailed on the longest glide of his life, he felt like he had truly come alive.

Presently, the tall buildings and bright city lights rushed past them in a blur. The label on the map soon changed to their updated location; eX-0281 manually tracked their progress to see what lay ahead of them.

Grandesia West Sector

The communication channel was still muted between the Disco Menace, so eX-0281 continued to speak freely to his friend. "Hey 704, you know what's near here?"

"What?"

"You."

"Me?" eX-0704 echoed dubiously. "No way. I'm not in the mood for jokes. My head hurts. I need to focus."

A snicker slipped from eX-0281 when he insisted, "No, I'm serious. When I added you to the party before, your location came up here." He read the name off the map.

Location: Oddz Matoz Emporium

"Sounds like an item shop." All at once, eX-0704 gasped. "You think my helmet ended up there?"

"It must've. You probably forgot to log yourself out."

"Guess I did," eX-0704 said with a tone of pride. Stammering, he asked hopefully, "Do you think we have time to stop there? I really miss the battle assistant."

When eX-0281 ran some analytics to get an ETA on both himself and the Disco Menace, his tail lifted with optimism. "Sure. We're faster than her so long as she isn't continuously using magic. It doesn't look like she's doing that, anyway."

They altered their course slightly and traveled down a different street. A stop at the item shop hardly required a detour, so they did not bother telling the Disco Menace. She would do nothing but rag at them for making a perfectly rational choice. It was necessary to correct her blunder; eX-0704 needed his helmet.

"Will the shop be open at this time?"

"It says it's open," eX-0281 relayed from auxiliary information on the map. "The shop is near enough to the north sector. The owner's probably there anyway to protect the place."

"Yeah," eX-0704 said. The memory of the looters that they had detained came to both their minds. In silence, the two of them traveled down the mostly empty sidewalk.

The city streets, normally bustling with automobiles, had fallen eerily quiet after the many crises across the city.

A rustle sounded from the alley towards their right, followed by a screech. It was a mixture between the call of a bird and the baying of a dog. The hoarse noise sent shivers up his shoulders.

Both eX-0281 and eX-0704 jumped back. "Uh, what was that?"

"No clue, but it sounded like trouble!"

A small shadow started to emerge as eX-0281 shook in his boots. We're in the city. There's not so many scary things here… aside from werewolves.

Another canid creature revealed itself, much smaller than Amaya thankfully. A furry, pointed face emerged through a hole in the fence. Its voluptuous collar of fur was framed by a large tail. The yellow fox was the height of a decently sized dog, but the fur radiated with sparkles like electricity.

Target: El'Vul

Vitality: 100%

Discrete Parts: Tail (100%), Fox Stone (100%)

Mana Reserves: 400

Element: Thunder

"Wow. It's pretty," eX-0704 said. "Do you think I can pet it?" As he approached the giant fox which stood prim and proper, his claws reached toward the studded collar at its neck. "Asterope. She's such a pretty el'vul. There's a number on the back. I'm sorry we don't have time to call your owner."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Target: Asterope [El'Vul]

"Yeah," eX-0281 agreed sadly. While eX-0704 stroked the furry neck of the el'vul, he started to browse the information out of habit.

This majestic vulpine is the adult version of the vul after the kit has mastered an element. Maturation causes mana to crystalize into a fox stone—a weightless orb embedded into the body of the el'vul, usually in the tail. Stronger and smarter than their younger counterpart, the el'vul is often a pack leader and coordinator of attacks.

"Do you have friends?" he tried asking Asterope. Since this el'vul seemed docile—not one to coordinate attacks against them—eX-0281 approached and crouched down to pet her too.

Together, eX-0281 and eX-0704 were thoroughly distracted from their mission. They shifted into their human forms to better enjoy the sensitivity of their human skin. The velvety fur of the el'vul was impressively soft. eX-0281 felt that he would be content to pet Asterope for hours.

While petting her peacefully like this, he became more cognizant of his body. A little bit of mana had been used to scare off Amaya, but he could already feel the one mana unit regenerating.

A little yip came from Asterope's mouth, much cuter than the terrifying yowl which had come from her just moments before.

"Aw!" eX-0281 and eX-0704 gushed in unison.

The vul and el'vul dwell in both their natural habitats (grasslands and woodlands) and city landscapes (old bookstores, schools, and libraries). Not necessarily hostile, the vul species is territorial and will defend itself against perceived intruders. The wild vul tend to act rowdy and bold, searching for direct, physical confrontations. The urban vul is a sly trickster which prefers to misdirect its foes, outsmarting them.

"The only trick here is how cute you are!" eX-0281 cooed.

"Are you reading the species description?" eX-0704 asked, his hand drawing back and shifting into a wary claw. "Is she dangerous?"

"Nah. Maybe if she were feral, but she looks like somebody's pet." The name tag, animal license, and rabies vaccine jingled under his finger with a flick.

The strongest el'vul seem to recognize a trespasser's intentions—whether they wish them ill, simply intend to pass through, or seek their treasure. If bested in a trial by combat, the el'vul will guide the traveler to what they seek… or what it thinks they seek!

"Hey, maybe this little fellow could help us out! We're looking for your helmet, after all. At the very least, we should take her to the store with us and ask the shopkeeper to call her owner."

"Yeah!" eX-0704 made a determined fist. "That would only be the right thing to do." When he reached out to pet Asterope again, the amber eyes narrowed in a devious way. "Huh?"

Before either of them could pull their hands back, a [Discharge] arched from the el'vul and coursed through their bodies. eX-0281 felt his body jitter with the electricity, grateful for his elemental resistance.

His vitality had officially dropped below half, and the night was only about half over.

Name: eX-0281 [Sub-Dragon Shifter (Dragon Form)]

Vitality: 47%

Discrete Parts: Right Wing (88%), Left Wing (90%), Tail (80%)

Mana Reserves: 10 Mu

"Why… you!" he shouted.

"What gives?"

eX-0281 and eX-0704 snatched at the el'vul in unison. Their claws clashed together in a rough high-five—no fox caught between them.

A string of yipping laughter came from her open mouth except she was nowhere to be seen. Asterope had caused a [Glitch] and appeared behind them.

"I thought you were nice!"

"How could you deceive us like that?"

Both eX-0281 and eX-0704 hollered in anger at the betrayal. She had completely tricked them by lulling them into a sense of security.

eX-0704 drew his gun as if to shoot the el'vul, but eX-0281 raised a calming hand. "Don't! She's somebody's pet. Let's end this amicably."

"Right."

It was the el'vul's challenge to determine if they were worthy of the treasure that their hearts desired. Hopefully, the kitsune understood that they only sought what rightfully belonged to them: eX-0704's helmet.

This could be a tricky fight, given the personality and A-class spells already displayed. Quick as lightning per her element, Asterope ran back with a [Charged Dash] when they rushed her. Static electricity made her fur puff up. It gave them a larger target, only for her to slip through their claws.

"Gah, I almost had her," eX-0281 shouted, his claws clad in ice. The sharp extensions of his [Ice Claw] swiped at her fur and sheared some yellow hairs into the air.

Mana Reserves: 0 Mu

Luckily, eX-0281 only needed to use the ability once. He could keep his [Ice Claw] up for a while—as long as the ice did not melt.

Lithe and quick, Asterope slinked between his legs and darted back down the alley from which she came.

At first, eX-0281 and eX-0704 charged headlong after her. Both their wings beat one after another, not quite enough room for them to run side-by-side in the cramped alley.

"Wait," eX-0281 said, skidding to a stop. "You keep going. I can see where this alley leads on the minimap. I'll meet you there!" He turned round and blasted off in the other direction. This was followed by a sharp turn down the street and another down the next.

With help of the minimap, he took the quickest way to cut off the el'vul. The other end of the alley came into sight, drawing closer with his headlong sprint.

Yellow flashed in his vision, and the el'vul used a dumpster lid as her springboard. eX-0281 lunged likewise, snatching her into his arms. When he tumbled from the momentum across the sidewalk, he kept his shoulders arched to protect Asterope.

In the end, he stood up with the el'vul in one claw, dangling from the scruff of her neck.

Her paws hung limply in a cute way. A look of innocence crossed Asterope's face. That was instantly followed by another discharge, but eX-0281's still-active [Ice Claw] insulated the attack so that he barely noticed.

Name: eX-0281 [Sub-Dragon Shifter (Dragon Form)]

Vitality: 46%

Discrete Parts: Right Wing (88%), Left Wing (90%), Tail (80%)

"No," he snapped. "Bad Asterope!" Whether an el'vul could be scolded like a dog, he had no idea. That was what eX-0281 did anyway.

Target: Asterope [El'Vul]

Vitality: 100%

Discrete Parts: Tail (100%), Fox Stone (100%)

Mana Reserves: 0

A loud clatter of a garbage can sounded from the alley. eX-0704 stumbled out and said, "Oh, good. You caught her!"

"Yep. I think she's a little less ornery now." eX-0281 pointed a bare claw in her face. "You thought you could outsmart us, but you just got played. We won, so no more fighting. I'm going to set you down now." He lowered Asterope to the ground and set her gently on her paws.

Prim and proper, she bounded away a few strides. Looking back to them, the el'vul flicked her sizable tail. The hues of yellow turned into darker streaks around the center of her tail, apparently the location of her fox stone.

Excited, eX-0281 said, "I think she wants us to follow her now."

"What a finicky fox," eX-0704 mumbled. "Asterope reminds me of someone else we know. She could've been named Victoria…."

They followed her down the street. eX-0281 found that he was in much higher spirits, so he tried telling eX-0704, "Cheer up. We're going to get your helmet back! Then, all this will be easier for you from now on."

Asterope brought them to the front of a pawn shop. Brightly colored letters formed an arc on the sign above the door: Oddz Matoz Emporium.

"This is the exact store we were going to," eX-0281 chimed pleasantly. "Asterope is so intelligent. She knew exactly where we wanted to go!"

The el'vul disappeared through a dog door, her tail the last thing visible past the swinging flap.

"This is stupid." eX-0704's voice grew whinier as he continued in his rant. "The fox was just a nuisance. We didn't need her. In fact, she just slowed us down. It hurt when she shocked us too! I just want my helmet back…."

The small dot that indicated the location for eX-0704's helmet blinked on the map, inside this very building.

"Well, let's go!" eX-0281 said, his tail held high in optimism. A bell tinkled as the door opened, and they stepped inside the shop.