Ping

A sharp sound like the chime of a bell rang through Milanor's muddy mind. It was a familiar one, heard by him with regularity. Sometimes it was gladdening, sometimes it was irritating. A banal tone, yet it sent complex and varied emotions.

Simply put, it was his notification ringtone.

It must've come from the PAW device, and Milanor wanted to check on it. But right now, he was assailed by this heavy headache that made his body feel heavy. The lethargy kept him from opening his eyes, and the weakness prevented him from moving.

Hey.

Someone's voice. A girl. It wasn't one that he knew of, but he did hear it before. Very recently at that.

Hey!

Now it sounded urgent. What is it? he wanted to ask. Usually, Milanor was the one who forcefully dragged Fianna out when she overslept. Now it felt like he was at the receiving end of that treatment. And what did he know, it was awful.

"Hey!!"

Slap!

"Buwaah!?"

A stinging pain struck his left cheek and jolted him to full consciousness.

"What... Huh? Why am I...? You..." With wobbly eyes, he tried to focus on the person in front of him. The girl from before, the victim of his home invasion and his pursuers' violent incursion.

"Seems that you enjoyed that nap. Sleepy much?" She derisively looked down at him with crossed arms. No sense of remorse could be seen in her attitude, as the one who caused his brief excursion into the dreamland. Though that said, she did save him from a crisis, so Milanor chose to pay it no mind.

Save him from a crisis?

"Wait, huh? What happened to me?" Milanor's memory was hazy. What he saw as he was strangled was unclear. He recalled the girl throwing a strange... thing. A ball, perhaps? But then it grew... or transformed... or molded... whatever it did, it changed into even a stranger... thing.

And it struck him with a bolt of lightning. No, not Milanor exactly. Actually, the target was the shade-wearing dude attacking him. But since they were intimately connected by way of strong hand-to-neck contact, Milanor was caught in the blast anyway.

It was surreal. He wasn't sure it even happened. Probably a hallucination his mind drew as he gasped for breath.

He stood up with a grunt, "Hnngh!" and stretched his body to make sure nothing was wrong after this episode of fainting.

*swish* *swish* Milanor glanced around. No weird metal ball or animal robot in sight. Yep, he decided to accept that aforementioned theory. So what about the guy who strangled him, you ask? Well, the question wasn't even worth considering.

As they often said: out of sight, out of mind.

As he nodded to himself, Milanor noticed the state of the room he was in.

"Ah, right... Well, uh... you... Okay?"

A small talk... perhaps... what he was trying to do. He cringed looking at the absolute mess that was his surrounding.

"What do you think? Do I look simply dandy to you?" she replied with a voice as hostile as she was threatening.

Overwhelmed, Milanor parried the animosity by directing another question. "H-How long was I out? Hours?"

"Not even 5 minutes," the girl responded immediately. Seemed like she could still be reasoned with.

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Before Milanor could attempt another parry, however, she continued with a question of her own. "...Why're they chasing you?" she asked. "I know these guys. They're the underlings of the mafia lord here, I've seen them sometimes on the local news." She moved her gaze toward the fallen men, piled up near the room's entrance.

"I see..."

Being called the mafia 'lord' must have meant being the leader of Runanthor's underground. A world of shadow, its denizens scurried around under the cover of metaphorical darkness.

Though, since the girl said she knew them from a news broadcast, the coverage of this 'darkness' of theirs was apparently rather dismal.

"I got into uh, trouble with a casino."

"That so?" she sighed with a seeming exasperation like she immediately understood that explanation. The girl then narrowed her eyes sharply toward Milanor's face, "Hmm..." then she eyed him up and down curiously.

"I-Is there something wrong?"

Milanor tried to object, but the girl ignored him and turned around toward the holotab behind her. She checked the desk from various points, likely to inspect any damage from the blast earlier.

"Oh! I think everything behind my barrier is fine. They're not affected by the pulse," Milanor reassured.

"The room isn't though," the girl abruptly said, turning her head around and looking at him.

For one, the lighting was broken. The excitement of the fight must have kept him from realizing it, but the shock grenade had knocked out the lighting on the ceiling. That must also be the reason why his use of the flashing Burst Jammer was so effective.

Besides that, the furniture was frayed. The ones near the desk were salvageable, but the rest were lost cause. Even the bed was singed. The most damning thing, however...

"The ventilator and the temperature control are busted," the girl indicated behind Milanor, toward the corner of the room near the entrance. The machines were silent and the light indicators were off. Furthermore, smoke was coming from the vents.

Yes, the air conditioner. Or more suitably called: the climate control system.

"Oof..." Milanor grimaced. Considering the location, he doubted the room was habitable anymore. "Not good, eh...?"

Their presences weren't simply for comfort, no, they were essentials. Runanthor's interior was filled with an artificial atmosphere, and it was highly regulated. A non-functioning unit was a hazard. They were very much a life-support system.

He felt responsible for the situation, and he wanted to help. Unfortunately, Milanor already had dire problems of his own to deal with.

Problem...? Gah?!

Humans had this tendency to selectively forget unpleasant things, and Milanor was no exception. But lucky for him, the thing he wanted to forget was rather persistent in making itself lodged in his mind. Front and center. It was just that urgent.

"Hey, listen, we need to get out of here!" he shouted without any warning.

"Haaah...?" the girl responded incredulously. Her impression of Milanor was already at rock bottom at this point and the fact she still entertained him at all was... actually generous of her.

"These guys could have sent a signal before they barged in," Milanor gestured outside. "I won't be surprised if more of them come here."

He didn't want to leave on his own and abandoned her, as he doubted these ruffians would leave her alone if they showed up. In addition, like what was said before, he felt responsible.

"..." His entreaty was received with an icy glare.

It kind of hurt, Milanor thought. "Look, I know I'm at fault for all this, but please trust me on this," he continued with his plea.

"...Fine," she took a look around the room once more and, resigning herself, nodded.

"Alright," Milanor confirmed and walked into the entrance. He peeked his head outside and surveyed the corridor. "Just bring only what's important and leave the rest, we can come back once things calmed down."

He kept his eyes on the corridor and waited, expecting her to be finished soon enough. But after a while, around a minute and more, she still wasn't done.

"Hey, I told you, just bring the minimum, we can come back later."

Milanor checked back toward the girl to find her fiddling with the holotab and some other devices on the desk.

"What're you doing? Deleting your browsing history?" he wanted to shout. But then he remembered the contents of said holotab that he shamelessly snooped. If he was in her position, he too wouldn't want to leave such treasures behind.

"Ah well..."

"I won't come back here," the girl said without looking at him.

"Mm...?" he murmured in confusion. Certainly, unless the room had some major repairs, he wouldn't want to live here. But he had a feeling that wasn't what she meant.

Half a minute later, the girl seemed done. She picked up her holotab, walked toward her wrecked bed, and rummaged something underneath it.

"Hmm?"

"Hup."

She pulled a metallic box, around 30 cm in all dimensions. It looked a bit heavy as she cradled it in her arms.

"C'mon, then," she urged him.

"Uh, okay," Milanor wanted to ask questions but held them down. Now was not the time.

All in all, the only things she brought with her were that box, her sling bag, and the clothes on her back. It was a reasonable amount if this were a temporary evacuation, but considering what she said, her luggage was worryingly lacking.

They left the room and came into the corridor. Milanor made sure all the unconscious men were completely inside the room and then forcefully shut the door close. The lock was broken but... it was better than nothing.

"Alright, follow me," he declared and began to walk back on the path he came from. Milanor didn't think she would be able to keep up if he run, carrying a big box like that, and thus he decided to be considerate and match her pace.