Ion phased through the Met's Bakery front door while holding a bag in his hand. He stared up at the night sky and sighed as he considered whether to fly back or walk. Ion quietly considered before he got a notification on his phone. Ion checked his super-thin flip phone-themed folding phone and read the text from Catherine.

"I just watched the news and it said there's been a no-fly zone set up on the entirety of the Zenkoto district," Ion read aloud before turning off his phone screen when folding his phone and placing it back in his trouser pocket.

"Guess I'm walking back then," Ion mumbled as she spun on the spot and walked the way he took to get to Met's Bakery.

Ion strolled down the street while holding the bag, with the cake slice in it, in front of his face and sighed. As he walked in front of an alleyway, Ion lowered his arm and was about to open the bag when the sound of a young girl screaming pierced through his ears.

Ion darted his head to his left and glared down the alleyway; he quickly looked around before activating his neon golden ring wings and rocketing down the alleyway.

Deeper within the alleyway, Codex frantically clung to one of the protruding neon pink scales of the mutated prisoner(that now looks like a salamander and had three pink neon rings on each of his arms) as he frantically flailed around and tried to grab Codex.

"I should have known a weak human wouldn't be able to handle such a huge influx of Ne-Ion energy," Codex complained to herself as her hands started to slip. Codex frantically pulled herself back onto the scale and sighed in relief as the mutant prisoner continued to thrash about.

Codex held on for dear life before the mutated prisoner abruptly stopped moving, as a bright golden light raced past the prisoner, and he slumped forwards. Code slowly and confusedly opened her eyes before climbing to the top of the prisoner. She was surprised and shocked to see the head of the prisoner was gone.

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground caught Codex's attention. Codex looked to her left and saw the head of the mutated prisoner next to Ion as he was staring at his pink blood-covered hand.

"Even by this city's standards pink blood would be considered strange," Ion commented as he created multiple golden energy rings and burned the blood off his hand. Codex glared at Ion and her eyes widened when she spotted the six neon marks on each of his arms.

"How does he-," Codex managed to mutter before the mutated prisoner's body started to become animate again. Ion glanced behind him as the prisoner's body hurled a barrage of pink scales at him. Ion spun around and swiped his arm horizontally through the air before a single golden neon ring sliced through all the scales.

Ion scoffed and dashed past the scales, as they crumbled away. The prisoner's body hurled a fist at Ion but it didn't make contact with him as he phased through it, and from Codex's point of view it simply looked like Ion dodged the punch.

Ion created three golden neon rings and sliced the arms of the prisoner's body into pieces. Five more rings formed around the prisoner's body's legs before shrinking and wrapping around the legs. Ion reformed his neon ring wings and dashed right behind Codex before grabbing her by the back of her tattered grey dress and pulling her away from the prisoner's body.

"He's fast and the control he has over his Ne-Ion rings is crazy..." Codex quietly muttered, before Ion kicked the prisoner's body and, in tandem with its legs being tied together, forced it to fall to the ground.

"Seems like a Ne-Ion energy overload, what an idiot," Ion commented before creating a large golden Ne-Ion energy ring and slashing the prisoner's body and the ground in half. Ion slowly descended to the ground and dispersed his Ne-Ion ring wings as the prisoner's body, head and arms crumbled away. Ion placed Codex on the ground and she nervously looked up at him.

"You alright kid?" Ion asked as the cake slice bag with a small Ne-Ion ring around it floated over to him. Codex fumbled over her words as her pink cluster cubes formed into a halo over her head.

"Y-yeah, thanz for saving me...," Codex said with a really girly kid voice.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"That's good to hear; so, mind telling me your address..." Ion said before looking Codex up and down and noticing she looked like a mess.

"You have a home, right...?" Ion asked, with Codex giving Ion an over-the-top head shake.

"No... my parents died and my previous guardians mistreated me so I ran away," Codex said with a very sombre tone. Ion awkwardly scratched his head as two sets of heavy metal footsteps echoed through the alleyway. Codex flinched and cowardly ducked behind Ion as two of the scientists' heavily armoured robot guards marched into the alleyway Codex and Ion were in.

"Oh no they found me," Codex sheepishly said as she clung to Ion's leg, which made Ion look down at her. Ion began to glare as he looked up and stared down the robot guards when he got a better look at them.

"Stand aside Outsider the girl is none of your concern!" one of the robot guards stated as they stood a few meters away from Ion and Codex. Codex stuck her tongue out at the robot guards.

"I would dispute that," Ion declared, as Codex smugly and slightly sinisterly grinned at Ion's words. The robot guards insisted that it was in Ion's best interest if he were to leave and not involve himself with Codex. Ion tsked at the robot guards before turning around and while he did Codex's expression reverted to its worried one.

"Tell your bosses that if they don't want any trouble because of their ex-lab rat then I suggest you should back off," Ion said calmly with a stern tone before he led Codex away from the robot guards.

The robot guards glanced at each other before one of them raised their energy rifle; Codex happened to glance behind herself and her eyes widened when she saw the energy rifle was aimed directly at Ion's head.

"Watch ou-," Codex managed to say before a Ne-Ion energy beam went straight through Ion's head and for Ion to come to a complete stop. Codex was left at a loss for words when Ion simply turned around without a single sign of being damaged.

"And here I was being courteous and trying to let you go free," Ion commented as his diamond-shaped pupil flickered. Codex slowly panned her head upwards as her jaw dropped. The robot guard readied his Ne-Ion energy rifle but before it could fire another attack the robot guard was crushed into a 2D image by an invisible force. The other robot darted its head around as it tried to figure out what attacked its companion.

Meanwhile from Codex's perspective, she couldn't take her eyes off of the towering void black feline with thick neon outlines and mistlike neon white eyes as its paw loomed over the unaware robot guard before it to was smashed into scraps. The feline disapprovingly huffed at the robot guards before fading away.

"What a hassle...," Ion commented as he turned back around and noticed Codex excitedly staring at him.

"What the helz was that?!" Codex enthusiastically asked as her halo cluster cube morphed into a question mark.

"The phasing thing? It was just one of my Ne-Ion abilities," Ion stated calmly. Codex narrowed her eyebrows as her cluster cubes turned into a 2D cat head.

"I could guess that. I was talking about the space cat," Codex stated, which made Ion perplexedly lift an eyebrow.

"You could see her?" Ion asked which made Codex awkwardly look from side to side.

"Was I... not supposed to?" Codex asked with an innocent-sounding voice. Ion dismissively shook his head.

"Th-that's not what I meant, normally people can't perceive them is all," Ion explained.

"Oh...," Codex nervously muttered and she became worried when Ion placed his hand on his chin as he appeared to be contemplating something.

"Although, that would explain why the kids are staring at me when I walk past the playground in the park whenever any of my limbo summonses are out," Ion muttered to himself, which calmed Codex's nerves.

"I should probably take you to the police station or an orphanage-," Ion mentioned to himself before he felt Codex wrap her arms around his legs and tightly hugged them.

"No, you can't! If you do those evil guardians will be able to get me and take me back to that place," Codex pleadingly plead as she rubbed her face into his trouser. Ion scratched his head as Codex continued to nestle her face into his trousers.

"And what do you suggest I do then, just take you home with me?" Ion rhetorically asked, before Codex slowly looked up at him.

"Yeah...?" Codex puzzledly asked as she tilted her head at Ion. Ion tried to refuse but Codex's puppy dog eyes, which reminded Ion of Catherine when she's upset, broke him. Ion sighed before picking Codex up and carrying her with a princess carry.

"Since it's so late and I don't want to leave you here, I'll let you stay with me for the time being," Ion stated. Codex happily clapped her hands and promised she wouldn't be a burden, right before her stomach growled. Codex embarrassedly blushed while averting her gaze from Ion and covering her face. Ion endearedly sighed and placed the bag with the cake slice in it between Codex's arms. Codex confusedly looked at the bag before looking at Ion.

"You can have it but just don't try to open it until we get back to my place," Ion requested as his Ne-Ion ring wings appeared. Ion looked down one of the alleyways and commented if he goes this way he can make it to the edge of the Zenkoto district without having to use almost any of the streets; Ion took off down that alleyway whilst Codex tightly grasped onto the cake slice bag.