eX-0281 stood up with two vuls balanced on his shoulders. One lounged in his arms, stretching out and trying to take up all the space. As cute as they were, he could not bring himself to care at the moment, and that was really saying something. The group needed to move out; he did not want to give the stalker behemoth a chance to show.

Before eX-0704 could get up and retreat, the Disco Menace grabbed onto one of his horns. "First, I need to ask you: what is this?" A flick of her fingers made a thunking sound against his helmet.

"My helmet..." eX-0704 began to say. "Crap. 281, we forgot about the GPS tracker in my helmet!"

"How could we forget about that?" he exclaimed. It was the whole reason why the Disco Menace made eX-0704 get rid of the helmet in the first place.

Out of surprise, the vuls jumped up and landed back on him gracefully. eX-0281 smiled up at the little comedians. They nearly made him forget about the latest crisis at hand.

Charlotte had possessed the expertise to disable the GPS unit and keep the helmet intact, but they could not risk bringing it back to town.

"Um," eX-0281 said, "I watched Charlotte take out the GPS." By that, he meant that he had simply allowed her to use his claws as a tool. "Let me take a look."

After some tinkering, he figured out how to take off a panel on the inside like she did. Many blinking electronics glared back at him. Confused and panicked, eX-0281 reacted by tearing his claws through the wires and pulling a chunk out.

"There we go. I did it!" He was able to say that with a tone of pride and confidence as he saw an error appear for eX-0704's location.

The helmet's owner was not so amused. Since he needed to shift form to take on and off his helmet, eX-0704's humanoid face had a slight pout to it. "Why did you just break my helmet?"

"Um, uh…. Try it!" eX-0281 shoved the helmet back into his hands. "Mine still worked after Charlotte took out the GPS."

eX-0704 glared before reluctantly putting the helmet back on. Two seconds passed while he tried to turn it on. "It doesn't work!" he howled. "281, I thought you were my friend. You just broke my helmet! Right after we got it back, too." In an angry outburst, he tried to tackle him but had to stop mid-lunge.

Wincing away, eX-0281 plucked the two vuls off his shoulders and held them out in his defense. The third vul scampered up to his head and made some jeering yips. "Don't worry!" he said. "Charlotte will be able to fix it. At least you have something to protect your head again."

Slowly, eX-0704 accepted two of the vuls as a peace offering. "She had better be able to fix it…."

"You two are literally the biggest dorks I've ever seen," the Disco Menace said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "And here I thought sub-dragons were hardened killers without any personality. Let's roll out. Josie, with me."

Just like they had arrived to Grandesia, they left the same way. The Disco Menace rode on the hoverbike with Josie wrapped around her back. eX-0281 and eX-0704 ran with their beating wings and arms cradling the vuls. The whirr of the hoverbike and the scratch of their claws against the pavement were the only sounds in the night.

The desolate, ancient city gave off an otherwise eerie vibe beneath the full moon. eX-0281 tipped back his head and admired the perfect globe of light.

Their journey passed smoothly; the wee hours of the morning seemed to turn in their favor. eX-0281 was just starting to feel optimistic when all hope was crushed.

A blurry, fleeting motion darted across his field of vision. It was barely perceptible even with the [Night Vision] enabled. Plus, a part of him almost wanted to remain willfully ignorant. The battle assistant allowed no such thing.

Target: Beheflea 1

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"No." The disheartened whisper fell from his lips. The ears of the vul flicked.

With similar acuity, the Disco Menace asked, "What is it?" On the hoverbike's standards, she drove slowly so that eX-0281 and eX-0704 could keep up. Consequently, she could join them in conversation.

"Beheflea."

"Change course," she said at once.

The group orientated themselves in a new direction. It did not matter where they went, given that a stalker behemoth had already set its sights on them.

The Disco Menace filled Josie in on the details.

"I see," she said calmly, followed by some incomprehensible stammers. "I-I-I see it right there! Behemoth!"

A substantial cloud of behefleas gathered on the edge of a building as if an invisible hive had been constructed there. The stalker behemoth itself did not appear, but the swarm of bugs lurched as it launched itself into the air.

"Scatter!" A thunderous rev came from the hoverbike's engine. The Disco Menace bolted off.

eX-0281 and eX-0704 gave a final flap of their wings and lunged in different directions.

In the gap between them, the behemoth descended. Its forelegs crashed down first and smote the street. The clawed feet stepped across the shambles of concrete, and the behemoth took up a strong stance. A roar belted from its maw.

Target: Stalker Behemoth

"You two," the Disco Menace hollered. She struggled to project her voice over the new cascade of noise. "Do you know your way back to town?"

"Affirmative!" eX-0281 hollered back.

The heavy, mouth-breathing behemoth took some leisurely, confident strides after them. Its sharpened teeth turned into a smile like a crescent.

"Get out of here! I'll distract it and lose it with the bike." Those unlikely words tumbled from the Disco Menace's mouth. Turning the hoverbike around, she drove straight towards the behemoth with her body hunkered over.

Despite her recent breakdown over not being a hero, she already tossed herself back into the path of danger.

eX-0281 and eX-0704 did not look back. Their wings moved in a flurry, and ragged gasps fell from their chests.

"I think we lost it," eX-0704 said, giving a quick take behind them.

The swarm of behefleas appeared with a clamoring buzz. In that same moment, a screaming pain ripped across eX-0281's back.

Three points punctured through his armor and scales to embed in his back. The force also toppled him to the ground. The chin guard of his helmet banged against the cement, causing a nasty kink in his neck. An immense weight bore down on him from above. The behemoth had successfully pounced him and pinned him.

The vul squeaked out of fear even though it was shielded under eX-0281's body.

The stalker behemoth shifted its weight entirely into that one claw on his back. The second claw swiped across his sprawled-out wing.

There was an ear-splitting crack. The topmost part of the bone was busted. The shape of his wing collapsed in on itself, followed by substantial rips in the leathery flaps.

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

Vitality: 55%

Discrete Parts: Left Wing (0%), Right Wing (100%), Tail (100%)

eX-0281 let out a piercing scream like a lizard's squeal. Though he tried to thrash with all his might, he could not make the stalker behemoth budge.

"281, hang on!" eX-0704 had his gun out, actively firing on the behemoth. He flew backwards while shooting when he really wanted to rush in and save his friend.

"Liz," the Disco Menace snapped, "I need you to carry Josie!" Her hoverbike made a sharp turn and came to a stop by the hesitant sub-dragon.

When Josie leaped off the bike, she grabbed the vuls so that eX-0704 could take her in his arms. "I-I can't leave him—"

This was not the time for an emotive argument when eX-0281 had the behemoth lowering its jaws beside his head. The heavy, panting breath was drowned out by the roar of behefleas circling around. His heart raced away as he tried to think of a creative way to use his 10 Mu to save himself.

"You two, get out of here," the Disco Menace ordered. "I promise if you take Josie back, I won't leave Liz 2 for nothing."

A lump slid down eX-0704's throat, unsure if he could trust her. Her biggest drive seemed to involve getting Josie back to heal her brother. With that hope, he trusted that the Disco Menace would make good on her promise—save his best friend just like she had saved the vuls.

With their pact made, eX-0704 ran one way while the Disco Menace turned back the other. The hum of the hoverbike spiked to a higher pitch as she overloaded its engine with a [Charged Dash]. She sped straight for eX-0281 and the stalker behemoth.

Similar to the [Electrostatic Net] she had used to catch herself off a building, the Disco Menace cast that spell in front of the hoverbike. When she drove over it, the vehicle launched into the air like a trampoline. She spun on the bike in midair and struck the behemoth across the shoulder with immense electrical power.

eX-0281 felt the jolt to his heart from its claws stuck into his back like a fork in an electrical outlet.

The force was enough to beat the stalker behemoth off him, much farther than expected thanks to the electricity.

"My wing…" eX-0281 hunkered over in pain, glaring at the stalker behemoth through the green [Night Vision]. His stature was crooked, and his ability would be reduced substantially now that he could only flounder around with one wing.

Banking a tight turn, the Disco Menace sped back towards him. "You okay, Liz 2? We got this."

It was the two of them left against the stalker behemoth.