“Mistress…” Ariel groaned out as Guila helped her sit up. With the way that her legs were trembling, the Vulpina probably had pins and needles, so she just let her dangle them from the bedside. Guila was about to sit beside her too but then Ariel stared up at her with an excited look on her face.

“What is it?” She asked with a smile, but even that was hard since she barely had the strength to stand, much less to potentially carry Ariel, who seemed twice as heavy as she looked. But the bright smile on her face was enough to make Guila smile brighter too. “Is it good news?”

She had not known by then, but Ariel had been listening to a PA system blaring in the distance. However, because of the distance to whatever area was still powered as well as the chittering and other noises, she had to listen to it many times over. But the gist was simple. Their dear husband was alive and they had a way to get off of this ship. Though it pained her that she had not been contacted yet, Guila accepted that it was only natural given the situation. So she quickly accessed the IID Channel, and couldn't help but marvel at the ingenuity and complexity of their planning. They'd even prepared alternate routes and security codes, in case they were needed. Things just got a whole lot easier.

“Umm, G-Guila, it might still be…”

"It's okay, take your time to acclimate. You don't have to force yourself to call me that, or to move right away. Just stand up, for now."

Ariel nodded with a confident grunt, but Guila knew that she was struggling with quivering knees and still gasping for breath. However, the antidote said it would only take 20 minutes for the body to recover. Did it affect her body differently? Vulpinae builds were certainly smaller than normal people and had denser muscle structures. It sort of made sense. "Just don't push yourself." She reminded Ariel, once more. Before stepping back and letting her stand on her own, inadvertently leaving Ariel with nothing but the sensation of the cold floor under her feet, her bandages and her sweaty clothes. The stale, dry air now felt harsher and the distant chittering did nothing to soothe her either. When coupled with the sensory deprivation and recent paralysis, she was wracked by a bout of nausea and dizziness. But she managed to keep herself from falling over, and it soon passed.

“Okay, good job. I'll get started on the door." That was when new sounds mingled with their breaths. There was a click, then rustling, and finally the sound of something wide but light landing on the floor, all of which Ariel was keenly aware of.

"Mistress, what was that?" The answer came with another click and a dull golden glow. It shone from within Guila’s hand and illuminated her dirtied, but still perfected figure. Her already quite revealing dress from before this whole disaster, was now on the floor around her feet. Though, to Guila, it honestly felt even more uncomfortable to be naked.

But, as the seemingly solid light steadily formed a larger and more concrete shape, the more exposed and pronounced she was in the otherwise lightless room; standing on her toes, with almost indiscernible lines around her neck, hands and feet. She obviously knew full well how she looked, because she gave Ariel a cheeky grin and flicked her forehead. "Staring so intensely isn't proper, Ariel. Even if we're both women."

"I'm sorry, Mistress!" She quickly turned away.

"I did not say you weren't allowed to. Just that you lack subtlety." She told Ariel with a grin, amused by her exaggerated attempts to look away. Ten years ago, She would've done the same thing. Yet such modesty seemed so alien now after living in Imperial space and Guila found no real reason to hide herself. Since, it was a society that valued physical beauty highly. 'Why wasn't Ariel given that information, as well...?'

"But it's not like I wanted to get naked. I was using the inert form of this multi-tool as my dress strap because carrying it any other way would ruin the outfit and since the see-through fabric was never meant to hold the dress together, I decided to strip d-"

"I understand, Mistress!" Ariel yelped, then nodded several times with her eyes tightly shut. "I know that you'd normally never wish to expose yourself like that, to me. You don't have to explain." There was a pause between them, but Ariel didn't dare open her eyes yet. So instead, after a few seconds, Guila sighed. "Well, as long as you understand." She then walked away with light and yet dense steps. And, by the time Ariel finally opened her eyes again, Guila was already busy prying open the door's control panel. But while her Mistress' back was turned towards her, Ariel noticed more symmetrical shapes along Guila's spine.

She was curious, yes. But there was a sense that she shouldn't interrupt her Mistress. The Learning Pod did teach her about Guila. However, Ariel holding back from her curiosity this time, didn't necessarily arise from that implanted knowledge. Instead, it was because of the way she moved. It gave Arie the profound feeling that Guila was fully focused on what she was doing and was ignoring everything else around her. Plus, she already had some sort of idea.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

So, Ariel did as told and focused on limbering up. Luckily, she'd learned more than enough of such exercises. Before long her outfit got stickier with sweat, and then she heard a sharp hiss come from inside the wall. Followed by a quick cheer from Guila, as she limped towards the tiny crevice between the two sliding doors.

"I hope you're done, because I won't be able to get this open by myself."

"Yes, Mist-s Guila!" One. Two. Three steps. Four. She followed the sound of Guila's voice. Though her movements were somewhat stiff at first, she was quick to recover her natural gait and it didn't take long until Ariel was standing beside her, just as Guila pushed the straight tapered end of the crowbar against the seam.

"We grab it with both hands and push it in. Then we pull it towards us." Ariel nodded, however her eyes were constantly wandering.

"Ready? Go!"

"Nngh!!!"

She tried to turn away from Guila’s exposed body, but the door was either heavier than they expected, or the door jambs had warped slightly, so she actually needed to focus. Yet doing so meant her face was right next to Guila’s chest because of the height difference. As a result, Ariel's senses were slowly overwhelmed by her scent, sounds, and the brief glimpses that she was afforded. That was, until the door creaked and finally gave way. The glowing crowbar pushed right through and they slammed against the door, falling on top of one another.

The both of them yelped from the pain and there was obvious anger in Guila's tone. But a disgusting, putrid smell had burst into the room. In the air was iron, feces, piss and some sort of concoction that invaded her nostrils, among many other things. The stench was so mind-numbing, that everything else just faded away. 'Wait! if it's this bad for me, then-' She swung back to face Ariel and saw the poor Vulpina already on her knees, with both hands over her mouth. A mix of bile and spit was already squeezing through the spaces of her fingers and dripping onto the floor.

'Shit!' She raced back to the beds, grabbed a sheet and took off all their pillow casings. However, she could still hear Ariel gagging behind her. "Just retch it all out, idiot!"

As if she'd been waiting until she was allowed to, Ariel promptly emptied her stomach onto the floor. Her agonized hurling lasted for several long seconds, before Guila could wipe the gunk off her with the sheet. Only then, did she tie a pillow casing around her nose and mouth. "Why didn't you just…?" She could only sigh at the sight of a heaving Ariel. "Oh, Emperor… guide us… if this is how we're starting out..."

After yet another burst of activity, Guila just slumped back against the door and watched as Ariel slowly recovered. Then, she glanced outside the door. Just where was this stench coming from? A corpse? A sewage leak? Chemical warfare? However, the wide hallway outside was clear of any signs, offering her no clues. Save for some shattered glass on the floor, broken lights from above, and… blood. 'Of course, there is blood on the floor.' Judging from the streaks, a corpse or part of it had been dragged across and she had no idea. Though, Ariel most likely heard it happen.

"You're sure that the nearby chittering stopped, right?"

Ariel nodded, while desperately catching her breath. Seeing her in that state, made Guilla feel a bit luckier that she wasn't born with such a strong sense of smell. But she still needed her own mask, which she now wore. Several more seconds passed until the initial shock from the stench subsided, then Ariel giggled for some reason.

"It… smells like Mistress…"

"One more comment about my sweat and I'm taking that back. You don't smell much better, either."

They still had no idea what this new threat was, and the door still wasn't wide enough to get through. But at the very least, it was progress. That was what Guila kept telling herself, before they eventually managed to make enough space for them to squeeze through. It took them four tries, since they kept dropping the crowbar but at least it didn't bounce around or make a sound. "Mistress, what do you see?" Ariel whispered, while noticeably fidgeting. The sound of her bushy tail swinging left to right was also quite distracting. Yet not nearly enough to pull Guila away from the scene beyond the shattered glass window.

"We're on the fifth floor of a building, overlooking a large park. Make sure that you don't slip, because the wall at the lower end of the tilt is missing. But there are some stairs at the opposite end." She whispered back. Then with a soft click, the crowbar faded away and with it, their only source of light. "Hey, do you hear anything that sounds wet? Like squelching or the sound of chewing?"

"Um, yes…" Ariel closed her eyes for a moment and then her ears twitched a bunch. "It's louder than inside. Is it the enemy?"

"... definitely." Once again, Guila was in awe at Ariel's senses. She couldn't even imagine how she'd be able to function with the constant sensory overload. "There's at least a hundred winged things feasting on corpses below. They look… like the pests in old documentaries. I can't remember what they were called, though. But I don't think any of them were ever that big."

"Then, Mis…s Guila…" Ariel was about to clam up again, but she shook her head and gave Guila what seemed to be a resolute look. "May I please borrow your multi-tool, so that I can use it as a weapon to protect us?"

A pleasantly surprised "... oh?" escaped Guila's lips as she turned to face Ariel properly. Perhaps that was the value that her beloved put into Ariel. Unfortunately in this case, she knew better. "It wouldn't work. The multi-tool weighs less than a hundred grams. It's not heavy enough to be combat effective. And even though it can cut very well, I'd rather not give you a knife to fight these things with. No. We need guns."

Although visibly disheartened by Guila's dismissive response, Ariel wasn't dissuaded. "Then, how about the tall stand with the water bags hanging from them? What if Miss Guila placed the knife on one end, like with your dress."

"IV stands aren’t made to be strong…" Guila dismissed her once more. But then again, Ariel might be onto something. "The IV stands won't work... but the bed frames can. Alright, quick. Let's get back inside before those things notice us. Be careful where you step."

The only question would be if Ariel could wield it properly.