The only source of light was what was filtering through the windows. Due to obvious reasons, namely the flood of slime, that light was a dim pink. The indoor lights of the house weren’t working. Chances were that the power lines were down at this point. Ri really was doing a number on the city. Well, at least there was some light.

Viola sighed as Elron handed lanterns to her and the others. The lighting situation improved quite a bit as the mobile light sources were switched on.

“Where are we?” the bunny girl inquired, looking around the place. It looked to be the living room of someone’s house.

“This is my home,” the blacksmith replied curtly.

Eks burst out in laughter, interjecting, “You sure you didn’t just want to get a bunch of cute girls in your house?”

“I do have a plan for escaping that thing, Ms. Fells.”

“Pray tell what that plan is.”

“We head to the basement.”

At that answer, the red-eyed cat girl quite literally collapsed in laughter. After a moment, she rose to her feet, steadying herself. She still had a goofy grin on her face. “Please say that your plan isn’t to hide in your basement. I mean, I’m pretty sure it will just get flooded too.”

“There is a door in my basement. We can use it to escape.”

“A door? A door to where?”

“Outset City’s tunnels.”

“They exist!” Her red eyes lit up with glee. “This should be interesting!”

Viola glanced from Eks to Elron and then back to Eks, blinking her emerald eyes in confusion. “Just what are you two talking about?”

Eks placed her lantern down and grabbed the bunny girl’s free hand. The cat girl leaned towards her, their faces close. “Tunnels, Vi! Tunnels! There are tunnels beneath Outset City! They are said to have been abandoned long ago. Turns out our blacksmith friend has a door leading to them in his basement.” Finishing her words, the cat girl twisted around and threw her arms around Viola from behind.

“This feels nice.” Even with their armor, the bunny girl could still feel the warmth of the embrace. It was somewhat intoxicating actually, almost as if she was melting into it. She placed her own lantern down and squirmed around. Lovingly, she returned the embrace, hugging the catgirl, the two girls looking each other in the eye.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“N-Not that I mean to ruin the moment or anything, but we have a problem!” Elise cried, the tan-skinned elf still visibly pale. Trails of tears shown on the shaken girl’s face. Her blue eyes were fixated on the windows, or more specifically, the multitude of cracks snaking across them.

“Everyone, follow me to the basement now!” Elron barked, realizing time was short. None of the girls saw fit to ague about that at this point. Time really was running out.

Viola and Eks shared a quick kiss before releasing one another. After retrieving their lanterns, the two of them plus Elise followed Elron’s lead, heading towards the house’s basement. Viola took a final glance back at the living room as she left it. Apart from the issue with the windows, pink goo had also started leaking from beneath the door through a growing gap.

***

Viola squinted her eyes, peering into the basement’s darkness. The group’s four lanterns were the only source of light down here. Though it was hard to tell with the current sad excuse for lighting, there did not appear to be much in the basement. It was mostly empty. However, there was that door that had been mentioned.

Elron stood in front of the door in question, its frame large and imposing. It wasn’t a double door, but it was somewhat big. The door lacked paint, instead looking to have been crafted from a reddish metal, the knob the same red color. The blacksmith nervously fiddled with a ring of keys, a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his face. His lantern rested on the cement floor beside him.

Viola jumped as a thunderous crash sounded, the house shaking. Her emerald eyes turned to the wooden stairs leading up to the rest of the house. Well, it was certainly a possibility that there wasn’t much left of the rest of the house at this point. The bunny girl’s breaths picked up with the thought.

“Relax, Vi. We’ll get through this,” Eks called to her, grabbing Viola’s free hand.

The cat girl’s motion comforted the worried girl, and Viola found herself set at ease. It is strange how that can work sometimes. “Thanks,” she sheepishly said.

As the two girl’s were having their moment, Elron tried key after key. “I-It has to be one of these,” he mumbled to nobody in particular. Methodically, he worked his way through the key ring, the number of remaining keys dwindling. In time, he was down to the last key, his expression stoic. The blacksmith inserted the metal key into the lock, twisted it, and nothing happened. “D-Did I miss one?”

The house lurched, there was yet another crash, and ooze began pouring down the stairs. Viola’s green eyes widened at the sight, her breaths picking up again. The goo was close. There wasn’t much time left.

Elise, for her part, had backed up against the wall, the locked door to her left. Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. She had a look of abject fear displayed on her face. “W-Why is this happening?!” she managed between sobs.

Eks clicked her tongue, looking from her freaking out girlfriend to the bawling elf. “Excuse me for a moment,” she said to Viola, releasing the bunny girl’s hand. The release didn’t help much in regard to the bunny girl’s state of mind. If anything, it caused her to pale.

“You lost the key?!” the cat girl growled, outright glaring at Elron as she did so.

“I-I’m sure it is here somewhere.”

Eks facepalmed before glancing back at the growing amount of goo down here. “No time for this! Get out of the way!” She commanded, shoving the blacksmith and his key ring aside. A quick bang on the door later, the lock popped open.

“H-How did you do that?” Elron stammered in confusion.

“I have mad skills.”

“Thank goodness!” Viola let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the opening door. She smiled happily at Eks. Eks smiled gleefully back. “Wait! Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?” Her emerald eyes turned back towards the goo. At this point, there wasn’t even much basement left, just a bit around the red door. “Oh right! That! Probably should get to heading through that door while there is still a door.”