eX-0281 stood frozen in place like the ice dragon he was. With his broken wing, he was practically useless especially if he tried to run away.

"Hop on!" the Disco Menace hollered as the hoverbike drifted to a stop in front of him.

Not needing to be told twice, he jumped and held on with one arm. The vul was draped over an elbow which he kept between himself and the Disco Menace.

The hoverbike took off at full speed, just in time for the behemoth to miss its second lunge at him and go tumbling by.

The wind rushed past them and made his broken wing billow out and flap. Each involuntary movement put him in excruciating pain. eX-0281 could taste blood in his mouth from where his sharp teeth bit into his gums. Since the pain of his dragon form was unbearable, he shifted and allowed the broken wing to merge with his back.

His human shoulder blade was shattered in its place. Unable to move that arm from the shoulder, he luckily had already pinned it between their bodies. "What's the plan?"

"We lure it away from Liz and Josie, then we shake it and get back to town."

eX-0281 wrenched his attention around and tried to track the behefleas' movement. "It's after us!"

The invisible behemoth bounded across the buildings sideways. Each street they passed, the distance seemed to close on them. With the next jump, the behefleas lurched towards them.

"Turn!" he hollered at the Disco Menace.

She threw her weight to the side and tried to make the hoverbike take a sharp turn down an alley.

When the behemoth came down, it had one foreleg stretched out more than the other. The tips of its claws raked the back of the bike, sending giant rips through the metal.

Though a hoverbike could not lose balance as easily as a mechanical, the force sent its front end one way and the back end the other. They crashed around the corner of the alley in a catastrophic hit. The bike rolled.

eX-0281 released the Disco Menace's waist and let himself slip off separately. His body folded around the vul, and he braced himself the best he could. His already broken shoulder struck the ground. The bits of shattered bone sent him in excruciating pain, but luckily, the rest of him felt much better.

Once the world stopped spinning, eX-0281 found that he was able to stand up.

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

Vitality: 45%

Discrete Parts: None

Even his spongy human form managed to stay more or less safe in the armor. He looked down to the precious critter in his arms.

Member: Vul 2

Vitality: 60%

"Oh no," he cried, and the vul mewled with him.

Their voices were punctuated by a bang. The color of flames erupted in front of them farther down the alley along with the bluish, greenish mana vapor taking light.

Like him, the Disco Menace had stood up right away. Closer to the explosion, her body flew outward, and she landed at his feet.

"Ugh." She floundered an arm at him, and eX-0281 helped her up.

"What do we do now?"

"Run!" The Disco Menace gripped his forearm and tried heading back out the alley.

The stalker behemoth slid immediately in front of their path. Too large to fit between the buildings, its grin spread from one brick to another.

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"Crap," he breathed out of fright.

"Sike. This way!" Instead, the Disco Menace ran headlong for the blazing bike which blocked the alley.

A [Charged Dash] gave her enough momentum to run along the side of the wall for a few strides. Her trail of electricity arched over the flames, just like her.

"I can't do that."

"Use your element! Come on."

eX-0281 figured that he was an ice elemental, but that also meant fire would hurt him more. His dragon form endured heat better nevertheless, so he shifted.

At the same time, the behemoth reached for him. A reflexive flick of the tail was the only thing that saved it from the dragging claws that ripped up the concrete as it receded. A growl rumbled from the behemoth's throat, and it began to meld away to the shadows.

All his 10 Mu went into [Manifest Ice]. Rather than coating just his claw, eX-0281 let the mana energize across his body. Icy shards solidified over his armor. He made sure to attach the vul to his hand with a sturdy chunk of ice; it squirmed and emitted a strangled groan.

I can do this! But, ah, it's cold!

The freezing sensation normally made him sleepy, but the immediate warmth of the fire drew him to it. As he vaulted himself over the fiery bike, the ice melted into water which protected him from the worst of the burns.

eX-0281 felt quite positive this was an ability, something like [Ice Cloak]. Once again, he had performed it too poorly to register as the proper technique. When he tried to beat his wings out of muscle memory, the intact right wing sent his left shoulder into the wall.

He cried out in pain and winced through it.

"Keep moving," the Disco Menace said. eX-0281 was not a civilian who needed constant moral support, but he appreciated her jogging backwards and slowing down. She had no intention of leaving him behind this time.

They ran down the alley and stuck close to each other. So did the behemoth.

Its shadowy body reappeared above them. Slender enough to fit through the buildings sideways, the claws swiped for them again.

"Duck!" eX-0281 grabbed the Disco Menace and deliberately threw himself to the side. Glass shattered as they broke through a low-hanging window.

Clad in armor, the jagged shards could not leave a scratch on him. He made sure to shield the Disco Menace and the vul per usual.

They landed in a heap together on a crumbly tile floor. She carefully got off him, and some crunches of glass sounded beneath eX-0281 as he righted himself.

The blackened claws of the behemoth shot after them through the window frame. They scrambled to the other side of the room, and watched the nails recede.

eX-0281 and the Disco Menace both stood in strong, readied positions side by side. "Ha… I don't think it can reach us in here," he said.

"How do we get out though?"

The behemoth slinked down the side of the building and an angular, purple eye peered through the window.

A visible shudder ran up her spine. "It's called a stalker behemoth for a reason."

"Well, this is a building," eX-0281 stated. "We can get out a different way—perhaps even use a door this time."

The Disco Menace shifted her stern gaze from the stalker behemoth onto him.

"What?"

"The stalker behemoth…. If we go through here, it probably knows where we'll come out anyway."

eX-0281 bowed his head as he thought about how that worked. Some high-level shadow abilities could probably sense where they went, wherever the darkness touched. "Do we have any other choice?"

A heavy sigh left the Disco Menace. "I suppose not…."

While they lingered around, the behefleas flew through the broken window in droves. Without another word, eX-0281 and the Disco Menace ventured deeper into the building and shut the door.

"There's one thing you should know," she said in a harsh whisper. "People and animals take up residence in these ruins too. With any luck, we'll run into some vagabonds—not mutants."

A shudder ran up his back. The thought of mutants in close quarters gave him the creeps. He did not like the sound of his talons clinking against the hard floor, so he shifted into his human form once more.

They moved through the building as stealthily as possible. eX-0281 led the way with his [Night Vision] activated. Every corridor they passed, he peered down the empty shadows. Then, he carried on with his heart thumping in his throat.

I'm a bit out of my element…. My training didn't prepare me for this.

But they were almost out, so eX-0281 reassured himself with the little vul in his arms. I only wish I could've given you to 704.

The fur bristled along the scruff of its neck. The small, beady eyes focused on a door that they passed. The vul let out a squeakier version of the el'vul bark.

The wood of the door splintered and cracked, just like the drywall around them. Metallic spears blasted through the wall.

The Disco Menace used her amplified body to strike a pose and dodge the attack with precision.

eX-0281 flinched back and felt some of the spears breeze past him. His widened eyes flitted to the side. A pike had stabbed into the wall with plenty of force to skewer his armor. By dumb luck, he was not impaled. One of the spears did scrape along his sides.

He could not move or scarcely breathe. The metal beams had shot out everywhere he looked, and they took on an iridescent hue like a deconstructed disco ball.

"Shit! What is that?" the Disco Menace yelped.

A [Scan] yielded results before the spears could recede.

Target: Disco Menace

Vitality: 100%

Discrete Parts: None

Mana Reserves: 5,400 Mu

Type: Metal

Completely flabbergasted, eX-0281 stammered, "You mean there's a real disco menace?"

Before they could sprint down the hall, the door burst open. A creature shambled into the hallway much to his horror.