The expunger groaned as it looked down at the hole in its chest. Tracy watched with bated breath, waiting for the expunger to self-regenerate. Nothing happened; instead, the flesh seared like steak on a grill. The expunger’s red mechanical eyes, once bursting with spite, stared at Tracy for a second—a second that felt like an eternity. Tracy could feel its pleading, a yearning in its fear. Before Tracy could react, the expunger succumbed to its mortality. Its eyes rolled back as it fell to the ground. Its metallic skeleton kicked up dust and crushed anything beneath it.
Tracy let go of her breath. The expunger was dead. She had won. As she relaxed, she heard a growling behind her. The fox looked down at her, its form towering over her as it stared. The firefox was at least two meters tall, and its fur looked like an inferno. It was a few meters away from her, but Tracy could still feel the heat radiating from its sides. As Tracy looked into its wispy white eyes, an unease dawned on her. This beast just killed the expunger with one shot. Tracy didn’t need to wonder how long it would take for it to end her life.
The fox took a step forward, interrupting her thoughts. The heat of its fur softened from an inferno to a gentle, warm glow as its fur flattened against its back. This action didn’t quell her unease. Tracy tried to scoot away from the beast, but the pain of her injuries stopped her from moving. Tracy could feel her heart beat harder against her chest as the beast stopped before her. She tilted her head upwards to see its flaming orange maw. As she did so, orange beads gathered around the firefox’s head. Similar to what Lula had done to cast a spell. Tracy still couldn’t tell its intention, especially as the last orange orb she had seen was a fireball. The gathered orbs burst with strands of fire coming out of them. Tracy panicked as she watched the fragments float down to her body. They rushed to her mangled hand and the hole in her leg. Tracy gritted her teeth as she felt a sting mix with the pain of her injuries. But even as she expected the worst, it only lasted for a second before the pain disappeared.
She looked over her hand, slowly moving it, surprised that the color had returned. It was as if the injury never existed. Tracy looked over at the fox. It was sitting now with its forelegs crossed, staring at her. It looked regal as if it belonged in a throne room.
“Thank you,” Tracy said as she rubbed her hand. As Tracy said that, it whimpered happily. Tracy looked at it, surprised that the fox had responded to her comment. Reacting to her surprise, it tilted its head to one side, revealing its ears to Tracy and inviting her to scratch them. Tracy felt an excitement burst from inside her. It looked cute and oh-so fluffy. She hesitated, though, reminded of dogs that play nice until a person gets close enough before biting them. Still, this fox had just healed her. It wouldn’t do that just to hurt her again, right?
Tentatively, Tracy walked closer to the fox. The heat from its fur cooled down even more as Tracy came closer. Tracy put out her hand and scratched it behind its ears. Its coat was silky and smooth, like a big fluffy blanket. Losing herself to the delight, she scratched behind its other ear with her other hand. The fox panted in satisfaction as Tracy kept petting it, making her smile even more.
She was in complete bliss; if she could, she’d stay next to this fox forever. Tracy began to ruffle its fur even more. As she did, a sweet smell filled her nostrils. It smelled like lavender. As she smelled the scent, all the exhaustion she had been holding down came to the surface. The firefox’s fur became even more inviting as her eyes drooped. She sat down and pressed her face against the fox’s fur, its regal form becoming a perfect silky pillow for her. Tracy hadn't seen the princess yet but didn’t worry about it; she had defeated the expunger, so why would she? In the meantime, she was going to take a break. She deserved at least a little one with how much she had done. With that final thought, Tracy felt her eyes gently wink away all of the light in the room.
“I need to tell you something, human,” a voice filled her head. The voice woke Tracy up with a shock. She felt much colder. As she opened her eyes, she was no longer against the soft fur of the firefox but inside a claustrophobic metal tube. She breathed deeply, trying to understand her bearings from the shock. The last words she had heard came from the firefox. So was this a dream, one that the firefox had put her in? Or did the firefox teleport her to a new area, like a new level? Either way. Tracy could move. In front of her was a window covered in fog. Tracy wiped the window with her hand, revealing a poorly lit steel hallway. She looked up, seeing a lever labeled as open.
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If this was a new level, she could expect another expunger, and she didn’t want to be caught as an easy target in a tube. She pulled the lever, opening her pod with a hiss, fog pouring out. Tracy stumbled out of the tube, clattering against the steel floor. The first thing that greeted her was the foul air. It felt stale and reeked of sulfur and smoke. The second thing that greeted her was the lifeless area around her. She saw dozens of tubes lined against the hallway's walls. It continued for an eerie distance before letting out a speck of natural light.
This day just continued to get weirder and weirder at a faster pace. Not dwelling on the thought, she heaved herself up, surprised to feel the exhaustion had left her body. She looked down at her hands and moved them slowly. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but this place felt more real. She looked behind herself, seeing the hallway only continue into the darkness. As she saw it, she heard thunder strike above her, making her shudder. That way was an absolute no, which only left one choice for her.
As Tracy walked, she tried to understand the situation as the voice she woke up. As strange as it sounded, it seemed the voice came from the firefox, which meant it wanted to talk with her. But why here? And also, what is here? As she passed an ever-growing number of pods, her curiosity got the best of her. She approached one of the pods and used her hand to wipe away the fog. She couldn’t get all of it, but as she squinted her eyes, she saw the outline of another human. Their ears looked normal and nothing like the princess’s. Tracy wiped away the fog of another pod, seeing another human-like silhouette. Unless these were NPCs, then there were several more humans here. Several more humans that haven’t woken up and are in the game.
Shunning the thought, Tracy continued down the hallway for a few minutes. The light she had seen before grew closer until she saw a torn steel structure before her. It looked like some massive creature had ripped the hallway from the building.
Straining her eyes, Tracy looked out into the world. There was nothing. Beyond her, she could see a continuation of the hallway, but aside from that, she only saw grey, with dust clouds, ash, and a sabled sky. She looked over at the building. In the distance, Tracy could see more of it stretch on for miles. Catching her by surprise, she could hear steel tapping against steel. Tracy pressed herself against the wall next to one of the pods, hoping nothing could see her. It worked. She could feel the entity moving forward. But not before Tracy caught a glimpse of several red eyes. Thankfully, they didn’t notice her and disappeared from her view.
Tracy looked down at the ground. This was nuts, officially nuts. Tracy waited until she couldn't hear whatever it was in front of her. Hesitantly, Tracy peeked outside the ruined hallway. There didn't seem to be much out there, let alone anything that would give her a clue of what was happening. Tracy humphed as she looked down the hallway beyond the gap. It was her best guess for an answer, even though it just kept going for who knows how long.
Discreetly, Tracy peeked through the gash in the hallway. She couldn't get the best angle, and there were too many blind spots for something nasty to be hiding. Still, she narrowed her options down to bolting through the gap. Thankfully, it was only about ten meters, just enough for her to sprint to in only a few seconds.
Bracing herself for the time, Tracy took a deep breath before sprinting. Her heart lept into her throat as she looked at the different blind spots. As her shoes touched the ash, she saw a few red eyes perched on Tracy's hallway, right where her blind spot was. Tracy froze. The eyes were small spider-like critters, with metal claws acting as legs, while the big red eye comprised most of its body. A metal string attached to their bodies went up as far as Tracy could see into the sky.
Before Tracy could dart back inside the hallway, the robots made an eerie shrill cry as their eyes locked on her. Before Tracy could react, the eyes came down and surrounded her. That wasn't a good sign. Tracy held perfectly still as one of the eyes approached her. Its eye let out a beam that bathed her in red light.
Tracy was about to panic before she saw the firefox hiding next to the hallway. Tracy smiled, pleading with her eyes for it to help. The fox put a paw next to its lips. Tracy gulped as she stopped, trusting the motion. “Stay still,” she heard the words come into her mind. “It's just scanning you. That shouldn’t create any trouble.” The beam from the robot stopped as it looked up at Tracy. Tracy looked down at the red eye.
"Tracy, Human subject number 2345346," The thing said in a low voice. "Crime... The murder of one of the mind’s children, the expungers. Judgment... Revenge." Its eye turned blood red as it said those words.