“Come on, slowpoke~! You gotta be a bit faster than that.” Jenny chirped with a bright grin as she enjoyed a bright orange scoop of ice cream in a cone on his expenses. Guri flavour as the image of the gooey fruit on the ice cream shelf in question proved.

Vee was enjoying her own scoop banana ice cream as well, though she preferred a small cup over the cone. As did Jak himself with his blueberry scoop.

“Yeah, yeah…” Jak grumbled annoyed, paying for their cold delights. That was their fifth stop already! And he had had to pay for all of them!

Sighing heavily, the wolf cat nommed down on his first bite with a pouting, puffed up cheek. Vee and Jenny had really hit off great. And now Jak hadn’t actually interacted much with Vee throughout the whole chase around the Lebensfest. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit annoyed by that.

Saia felt bad for him, giving him a sympathetic smile, as she stood slightly to the side with her own cone. But she had to admit that it was fun to watch them. With a smile she looked towards the Dampfhaus as it was just around the corner.

“We should meet up with Grant and the others soon.” Saia idly commented and Jenny’s began to sparkle with mischief and excitement.

“The final race!” The small fennec mouse cheered and quickly devoured the rest of her cone.

She hopped onto Vee’s waiting shoulders as the chameleon had already finished with her own scoop and was grinning wide, ready to be Jenny’s faithful steed once more.

“Let’s go, Vee!”

“Aye, aye~!” Vee laughed as she flitted into the crowd.

“Agh, damnit! Let me finish my cup first…!” Jak squawked, scrambling to finish his own cup. Unfair! They had the advantage of first dips! But he wasn’t going to give up. Even as Vee easily dodged and weaved through the crowd around him, he would be right on their heels!

———

“So good~!” Myra beamed as she happily nibbled on a big slab of Lebkuchen. Mina was munching on her own piece with a small smile as she walked besides her. Rehn watched with a warm and amused smile from the side.

The cat girl hadn’t indulged in too much herself, still full from the breakfast, and was listening with half an ear to Grant’s continuous chatter about all the attractions they were passing by. Nothing was really new to the teenager since she had been to the Lebensfest quite often, always under the watchful eye of her bodyguards. And so she noticed Vee and Jenny first as they flitted through the crowd to join them.

“Hehe, victory…!” Jenny cheered with a bright grin and let out a startled but happy cry as Vee pulled her from her shoulders mid run to run on her own. Giggling and stumbling, the young fennec mouse bumped into Myra’s side where Mina waited.

“You’re all smeared with ice cream.” The parrot girl scolded her playfully and Jenny squeed, glomping the other girl who grumbled lightly but didn’t resist.

Amused Vee, Rehn and Myra watched from the side before all five found their attention pulled towards Grant who auspiciously cleared his throat.

“And here we are… the Dampfhaus!” With a theatric wave, Grant dipped to the side to present the towering expanse that was the massive construct.

“Woah…” Mina and Jenny breathed out with big, sparkling eyes as they gazed up at the towering expanse that was the Dampfhaus. They had seen it from the distance numerous times but now that they actually stood before it, it was even more awe-inspiring than they could have imagined.

Myra was practically drooling over the feats of Amber engineering on display.

Panting lightly, Jak managed to catch up with the group a moment later after pushing through the dense crowd filling the streets with Saia right behind him.

Smirking smugly, Vee stuck her tongue playfully out at him in victory.

“Heh, seems like girls rule, boys drool~” Vee teased him playfully as he stepped besides her, watching amused as his little sister vibrate in eager anticipation of the Dampfhaus.

“Huh, didn’t know that double teaming is counted as fair.” Jak shot back sour as he felt the emptiness of his wallet. Glumly he looked into his far too light little bag. “I’ve barely got a few Flickers left now.”

“Oh… sorry about that…?” The awkwardness was tangible as Vee cringed painfully, harshly reminded of the fact that Jak didn’t exactly have the financial stability that she was blessed with. A stifling silence fell over the two of them as she wracked her brain for a good response or apology. The others meanwhile hadn’t noticed their little interaction.

“This incredible! I’ve never seen so much Amber Tech in one spot~!” Myra squealed, looking somehow even more excited than the two kids a she flitted back and forth with sparkling eyes. “It’s not as complex as most of my stuff but there’s so much of it! I wonder what they use to power the rollercoaster…?”

Her gaze wandered attentively along the rails as another squealing train of cars rushed past them above their heads, vanishing once again within one of the many holes that led the ride back into the Dampfhaus.

“Okay! Who wants to go for a ride?!” Grant called out with a wide grin, throwing his arms out, and immediately got waving hands from both Mina and Jenny. Myra blinked as it took a few seconds for his words to startle her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, me too!” She then rapidly bopped her head up and down, eager curiosity gleaming within her eyes.

“Great! What about you three?” Grant turned towards Jak, Vee and Rehn who hadn’t immediately joined the hype, the latter freezing as she tried to sneak behind Jak and Vee to hide.

“Ah… I’m… not good with rollercoasters…” Rehn mumbled awkwardly, ducking her head as to avert her gaze as a shameful blush rushed to her cheeks. The last time she hadn’t been able to eat for the rest of the day, just the smell or sight of food alone had made her retch reflexively.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Sorry! But Grey Ears here’s coming with me!” Vee called out suddenly, hugging Jak against her side with a wide grin as an idea came to her. Said wolf cat looked somewhat startled but also amused and curious about what exactly she had planned. He had been about to just shrug and join Grant’s group without much thought, to be honest.

“Let’s get you some Lebensperlen, my treat.” Vee twinkled at him with mischievous eyes and dragged him through the crowd along with her. She didn’t have to drag him for long, though, as he took the lead moments later.

“Do you even know where to get the good ones…?” Jak smirked back.

“Probably know better than you do~” She chirped smugly back.

“Well, better hope you can afford my purchases then.” He grinned before they were quickly drowned out by the crowd, Saia flitting after the tentative couple.

“Bye, bye! Have fun you two!” Myra cheerfully called after them and with an impish laugh scooped up both Mina and Jenny in her arms. The two girls letting out a startled squeak before giggling and squealing cheerfully as the bunny cat carried them off to the rollercoaster. Myra wasn’t slowed at all by their weight as her Amber Tech worked brilliantly underneath her clothes in support.

Grant blinked, taking a few seconds to process what had just happened.

“Agh, damnit…! Wait for me!” Grant exclaimed wide eyed as he scrambled out of his relaxed pose into a stumbling run, trying his best to catch back up with them.

And then Rehn was left standing alone since Saia had vanished to keep an eye on Jak and Vee again. The cat girl sweatdropped.

“…that just leaves us, huh?” She mused out loud, knowing that Ruth was still watching her even as she didn’t know from where.

“Mh.” The dragon mare nodded, standing right besides her as if she hadn’t just appeared out of nowhere. An approving puff escaped her nose when the Rehn didn’t even flinch at her sudden appearance.

“Ice cream?” Ruth offered, tilting her head curiously to the side. Her tongue flicked cutely out to lick her own melon ice cone.

“…thanks.” Rehn sweatdropped as she accepted the second cone already in Ruth’ other hand, looking awkward but also a bit thankful as she enjoyed the bubblegum and chocolate scoops. Her favourites. A small smile came to her lips. Then she frowned. Great, now another group besides her bodyguards had her favourite flavours in a dossier.

—Somewhat earlier within the depths of the Steam Ways—

The drops of water echoed metallic through the system of tubes, a multitude of them connecting with the currently empty basin chamber that was normally flooded with the overflow of the steam that had prematurely condensed. Having reached this place, Babylon’s operators had put the most difficult part of their journey behind them. From here the emerging main pipe lead to the boilers which was the last stop before the true heart of the city.

“Ugh, I’m already drenched to the bones…” Kass grimaced lightly as she slipped out of their pipe, following Lyca, Crya and Max. With an audible splash she landed in the knee high lake of water that was still within the basin. The air was heavy with a metallic scent, it reminded her of blood.

“Tell me about it.” Max sighed in agreement, making sure to keep his upper body as far above the water as he could.

“Oh, it’s not that bad.” Lyca mused.

“Yeah, at least it’s not burning hot steam~” Crya grinned, a teasing twinkling within her eyes as they smirked. “And is some water really going to hurt you two?”

“I don’t want to hear that from the ones dressed for the beach.”

“Say the bikini models.”

Max and Kass snarked with deadpan stares and rolling eyes. With small smirks they fist bumped each other in passing.

The team leaders had already climbed their way up to their core pipe, unbothered and more amused than anything by the comments coming from the peanut gallery. Hands held out, they pulled the other three up to them before continuing onwards. Milim had made himself comfortable atop the canon strapped to Kass’ back, the young woman not even bothered by the extra weight. And with him out of sight he was also out of mind.

“How are we with the time…?” Crya called out to Max as they wandered through the much more spacious and comfortable pipe.

“We’re making good time. The Lebensfest should have already started but midday is still good four hours away. If everything goes as planned, we should reach the heart with time to spare.” Max replied with a nod, glancing between the map and his clock. All that said, the allocated time was highly relative to whatever situation awaited them. But even any extra second was regarded as gold.

But time quickly passed and soon enough they had reached the boilers. They could feel the heat radiating in the distance but before they could even come close to the glowing hot machines or boiling waters, the quintet slipped out of an ancient maintenance hatch. A vast cavern stretched out around them, more in width than height as Max and the twins had to duck slightly under the numerous pipes leading along the ceiling.

Dozens upon dozens of boilers stood in rows within just this cavern pocket alone, countless tubes flowing in from beneath and out of them above. They vanished within the ceilings and walls, weaving through the stone to supply Dampfstadt with its steams.

Some would consider this the heart of Dampfstadt. But they would be wrong. It was but one of many boiler caverns scattered beneath the city. In emergencies even if half of them were to fail, the others would be able to compensate for the most part.

Milim hopped out of the maintenance hatch and quickly flitted forwards, notes in hand as he searched for their prime boiler whose pipe would lead them directly to the true heat of the city. The sound of his buzzing wings echoed through the cavern as found it only a few minutes later.

“Here! Everything’s as planned. The boiler’s basically running on empty.” He called out to them.

The boiler in question was audibly quieter than the others, no water could be heard bubbling within and a metallic gurgling echoed from the pipes connected to it as they failed to draw water upwards. And most noticeably, it was glowing red hot in contrast to the other boilers running on full power working hard to compensate for the high steam demand that the Lebensfest necessitated. And because of a minor error in planning, the compounding water suction of this boiler clusters had lead to this single one having all its water fuel stolen by the remaining boilers.

“Just a moment…” Max mused as he stepped up at the control panel, it wasn’t complicated but there wasn’t much labelling done either. An old, rustic design left over from when they had been first installed all these decades ago. A few seconds later he gave a thumbs up as the boiler began to rapidly cool off without activating the substitution program. The other boilers couldn’t exactly work at much higher efficiency and it wasn’t like this one had been doing any work anyways.

“Heh, they should be paying us for helping out. Doubt having a boiler run this hot without water could do it any good.” He chuckled.

“We can send them the bill later.” Kass smirked as she went to work beneath the boiler now that its underside no longer felt like she entering a sauna… or an oven. This time there was no need to use the maintenance protocol for the machinery and instead she flicked a large metal cutter out of her toolset and cut open a large hole into the side of the pipe.

“Deep…” Lyca whistled as she gazed into the yawning darkness of the pipe the hole revealed.

“Definitely don’t want to free fall here, I’ll say.” Kass grinned as she reformed a new set of Flow Balls for her team. The others easily caught the glowing spheres as she threw them, fitting perfectly to their hands. “Geronimo!”

And with that cry the jerboa leaped ahead, Flow Balls allowing her to slide quickly but controlled down the pipe. Lyca and Crya followed right after her with Max being the last as Milim was once again freeloading on Kass’ canon.

Their lights illuminated the darkness of their path downwards but only revealed how deep this hole truly went. And then, even their light vanished within the depths and only the dark hole at the side of the pipe was left visible for anyone, that was none, who could have passed by.

Two hours till midday were still left. But their mission would already come to an end much earlier.