The young girl ran past my hiding spot. I didn't hesitate, I couldn't. I had to get it over with. With a thought, I stepped forward and simultaneously shifted to my humanoid form. I was much faster than her, and she never saw me coming. It was better that way. I extended my claws, reached for the back of her neck, and closed them viscously. The pain of the shift hit me like a wave of fire, and I nearly collapsed as I changed back to my spirit fox form. It was done. It was all I could do for her. She would never have to listen to their commands again, and now she wouldn't be stuck running around this room until she collapsed, trying in vain to get up and keep running until her heart finally gave out. No one deserved to die like that. Just like when Mezesh had used them to break her chains or when I tested them against the stone, my claws cut through just as easily as cutting through paper. One clean strike. I knew they would, but even doing that with them made me feel so much shame and guilt. Knowing it was necessary didn't help. The girl stopped running and stumbled to her hands and knees, one hand shakily coming back up to her neck. She let out one last sob. Then she pulled the broken collar away and stared at it, mouth agape. I stepped over closer to her, and she finally noticed me.

"This was… you? How did you do it?" she spoke so softly it was barely more than a whisper. I just looked at her. Foxes didn't speak. I wondered if she knew the way out. She looked nervous, so I sat down and swished my tail about a bit. That seemed to help.

"They're going to be really mad that their collar is broken," she confided to me in a daze. "I think they will beat me to death this time." There wasn’t any fear in her voice, only resignation. I had initially thought she was maybe thirteen, but she looked starved, so she was probably a little older.

I shook my head at her. She managed a small smile at that. "No? You think we should just hide here and wait for them to leave?"

I thought about that. Honestly, that seemed like a terrible idea. They'd just come looking for her eventually, even if only to get their collar back from her body, so I shook my head again.

"No? Okay. Maybe there is another way out."

I sniffed the air and listened to the wind. I had come from the only other way out, so once again, I shook my head at her.

"I can’t tell if you're a very smart fox or if you just like to shake your head," she told me. She still hadn't moved. I thought she was resigned to waiting for them to come in and kill her. I walked over and headbutted her in the back to push her toward the way out. She didn’t understand at first, but then I actually pushed and moved her. I don't think she realized I could do that, but tiny or not, I had thirty-five strength. Moving her was as difficult for me as moving a very small rock was for her. I just had to dig my claws into the stone a bit. She finally sat up and turned to look at me. I gently took the collar parts from her hands and hid them in some rubble. Then, while she watched me, I climbed up onto her chest. She cautiously hugged me, and I flopped over in her arms, belly up, tongue lulling, obviously playing dead.

"Okay. Wow. You are that smart. You have a plan?" she asked. I gave her a slight tail wag.

"Alright. I should go back?" One more wag.

"… okay, but if this doesn’t work and I die," she started before pausing and taking a breath. "Well, thank you for trying, ok?"

I looked up for that one and just booped her in the face with my cold, wet nose, then died again. Slowly, she stood up and took a steadying breath before haltingly making her way back to the other chamber. She was as reluctant as she could be, but she went.

As soon as she stepped into their cavern, the men spotted her, and one began to laugh uproariously, "About my ten Silver then, Nate." he said. It was hard to tell who was who from my deathbed, but the girl dutifully approached the men with her catch.

As she got close, one said, "Toss it on the table, slave. Then back to your spot."

She very carefully put me down and stepped back. Then, I was in the middle of them, one already having a knife in hand. He grabbed my fur to flip me over to start butchering me, I supposed, but instead, he started convulsing like an idiot who had grabbed a highly electrified fox. I wasn’t sure which spells I could cast like this, but I looked his friend in the eyes and thought really hard about [Sun Ray]. His head erupted into flames as the liquid remains of his eyes ran down his face, so I guess it worked. The one holding me hadn't let go yet, so I took my claws across his throat in one swipe and then across the ligaments in his wrist. He let go then. The other two were stumbling backward and tripping over their chairs. Nothing seemed so funny anymore. The girl, wisely, had turned away and was kneeling with her hands over her head. She was trying not to see, hear, or feel anything happening. It was as safe as she could be. In her "spot," as they called it, and I was glad because she didn't need to see this. I ran around to the first of the men who had fallen over and bit his throat. I was moving on instinct, but I locked my jaws on and whipped my whole body. I didn't lose my grip, but I did come loose. I spit the flesh out, then turned and leapt for the last man. He swung at me with his chair. He was too slow. I landed, electrified claws first, into his chest and just held on for a minute. It wasn't long before I felt his heart stop. It was done. I didn't need a mirror to know I was a bloody mess. The girl just sat there rocking and not saying a word.

I hadn't planned past this part. I quickly went over to the four men. They had pouches, which I assumed held some coins. I saw nothing else of real value. They were all very big men. At least six feet tall for the shortest. I checked again, and the girl's situation hadn't changed. I didn't think it would without someone telling her it was over, but I moved quickly to be safe. I shifted, and I gritted my teeth at the searing pain. I stole the last man's shirt. It was a knee-length dress on me. I put on his belt, a D-ring-styled thing, used my claws to cut off the excess length of its leather beyond what I needed, and then kept his knife on it. I looted all of their pouches, tying them to my new belt. Then I dragged their bodies away into a small alcove nearby, every step causing sharp pain in what felt like every bone and muscle in my body. The girl never moved, but she seemed to have stopped shaking. She was waiting to see if they'd hurt her after the fight. This was too much strain, and I needed to change back. I was hurting myself worse. I had just needed to get the blood off, and I wanted to cover myself with at least some sort of clothing finally. I looked at my hands again. No, it was time to go back. As a fox, I walked back to her and curled up at her feet. I was tired and thought she needed a few minutes to collect herself. I woke up when she picked me up sometime later. She was carrying me around like a cat, hugged tightly to her chest. I was okay with that. I just needed to lay still and not think about anything. I didn't want to do any of this, but I needed to. I needed to kill evil things, I needed to level up, and I needed to be the one protecting others. The only thing she said as she looked around the room before finally leaving was, "How?"

I was going to guide her, but she seemed to know where she was going. Holding me close, she moved through several shafts and caverns with the posture and confidence of someone who owned the place. We encountered no one to challenge this assertion, and within a few minutes, she entered a well-lit cavern. She approached what looked like a mining foreman's office perhaps, walked to the back side, and then looked around quickly before darting into a storage room. I thought she would hide, but instead, she moved right to the back and pulled a crate aside to reveal a very tight, small hole. Carefully, she knelt down and gently pushed me in ahead of her, worming her way behind me. It was a hidden tunnel. I wasn’t sure what was happening, so I just took a few steps in, giving her some space to join me, and then continued ahead at her crawling pace as she followed. It turned out this was quite the little long hidden tunnel. A little way in, she asked, "Are you glowing? Why can I see?" I guess she couldn't really look up to see the stars. It seemed that with the light stones in the mine, she hadn't noticed yet. That was kind of funny for some reason. She could only belly crawl so fast, so it took a few minutes to get through the tunnel. On the other end, we found ourselves in another small, dark room. I figured it was another storage room or maybe a closet at first, but there were no doors. While I looked about in confusion, she stepped on a small rock jutting out of the wall and pushed open a trapdoor above us just a crack. She peeked around for a few seconds before opening it the rest of the way. She was about to climb out and then looked back at me. I could tell she was about to climb back down to get me, so I just jumped, ran up the wall, and out the trapdoor. She gasped in surprise at that but only waited a moment before following.

We were near another building but at least twenty feet higher in elevation than when we started. This chamber was more well-lit, and it looked like it was primarily used because an underground stream ran through it. A waterwheel was attached to the building, so whatever was in there used the stream for power. The girl started along the wall, sticking to the shadows. I snuck over and drank some fresh, clean water first, then followed her. She made it halfway across the room before stepping into a shadow. The natural cavern shape hid another corridor that was in plain sight. I only stared after her for a moment before I followed, surprised by how crafty she was. At the end of the path, she found a spot, picked me up, and tucked me in her shirt, telling me, "Stay here. It’s a long climb." Then she started up the wall like a spider. I couldn't really see where we were going from inside the rough shirt she wore, but she was right. I could feel that we'd gone up nearly a hundred feet before she carried us off to the side and onto a small ledge. She sat me down, and I looked around. It looked like another tunnel, but she radiated exhaustion and obviously needed a break. She sat back against the wall and closed her eyes to rest. I settled down next to her, and automatically, she lifted a hand to scratch me between the ears. It was just like Zoila, and I was glad I couldn't cry. I went to sleep almost immediately. It only felt like minutes later when she moved and woke me up.

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"Sorry, we need to go. It’s not safe in the open here."

I nodded at her. A small nap was better than no nap. We were moving again, and though this tunnel was even longer than the last, it was big enough for her to crawl normally. An adult might even be able to, and it made the trip much faster. At first, it looked like a natural channel, but then it widened out and turned into a perfectly round tunnel with polished edges. I had no idea how that was done, but someone managed. As I inspected the smooth walls, the girl scooped me up and resumed her cat carry. I was almost offended, but she gave me a gentle squeeze and said, "It’s okay. You can rest now," and I really wanted to do just that. I was still very sore from the exertions of the day and very exhausted. This time, as she walked, she watched the tunnel ceiling with wide eyes and a half-opened mouth. "You're not a normal fox at all, are you?" she whispered as she stopped gawking and started walking at a more normal pace. Twenty minutes later, we were out again, and this time, we ended up in a cave with sunlight. Actual real sunlight. I perked up right away, excited. Glancing at the source, I saw that the cavern had an opening that was probably sixty meters wide and just as tall. Defying my expectations, I wasn't looking at a scene of a cave opening up to the surface, but a portal out onto the open sky. I just stared at it for a minute. I was looking down onto the clouds. It hit me then. I had been going up to reach the surface, but the entire time, I had been going up inside a mountain. I was an idiot. The girl held me snuggly and hopped into the chamber before she began to jog more carefree across it. She was running up to a huge wooden ship. It looked wrecked, but somehow, there was a ship inside the mountain. That surprised me so much I didn't notice the others running toward us from several different directions until they were almost on top of us.

"Shiori, you're back!" a man yelled as he closed in.

I had almost zapped him before he shouted and dropped the bow he was carrying. He wrapped his arms around her and nearly squished me in the process. Fortunately, it was only a second before he held her back out at arms length, hands on her shoulders as he looked her over.

"Are you okay? How did you escape? I saw them collar you!" he said as several other armed men and women closed in.

She smiled back at him and said, "I am okay!" As everyone began asking her other questions all at once.

"Are you hurt?", "Did anyone follow you?", "Are there any others?", "Who helped you get out?"

They went on like that for a little while, with her trying to answer, explaining she was just a little bruised, and she was fine, and no one followed her. Finally, the first man began to lead her toward the ship. "I'll take her in to get some food. Let’s get everyone back at their watch posts."

As we walked, Shiori had a bit of a skip in her step, and she began to talk to the man in earnest without so many other questions pouring in on her.

"I'm so glad to be home, Jason! I thought I was going to die down there. That thing gave me to four cultists. They were all classers. They kept making bets with each other and forcing me to do things and seeing if I'd live."

She spoke so matter-of-factly about it. I didn't understand. I looked up at her, though, and while she managed to keep a straight face, I could see the hurt in her eyes.

"It's alright, Shiori. You are back now. You will be safe at home."

"I can't just stay at home, Jason! I am a very good scout. You all need me, and you know it. Everyone needs to do their part."

I nodded at that. She was right. She made sure to let him know. "See? Even she agrees with me."

He looked at me for the first time and nearly stumbled. "What is that? Did you find a wild fox? How did you get it to let you carry it around like that?"

"No, I did not find her. She found me. And she's a magical fox. She helped me escape. And she is letting me carry her because she's tired and hurt. She can’t walk without limping," she told him while soothingly stroking my fur.

"A magical fox, huh?" he said, amused. "I don't think the elders will let you keep a pet, Shiori. There isn’t enough food to go around as it is."

I chirped a protest at that. I was not a pet.

"She will be allowed to stay. She is magical. And she is not a pet. She's my friend." Shiori told him in clipped, short sentences.

He just shook his head as we neared the ship. "Okay, Shiori. How is she magical? And why should she be allowed to stay?"

"Look up" was all she said.

He did, and then he stopped and gasped.

The side of the ship had several ladders and makeshift stairs beside it for anyone to climb up. Shiori took the stairs as her hands were already occupied.

"It's okay. I won't let them make you leave. You can rest here."

I snuggled down and made a contented, purring sound. That startled me. I didn't even know I could purr. I just wanted to close my eyes. I was so tired, and she was very warm. As we came on the deck, several people greeted her warmly after getting past the surprise of seeing her. She gave passing greetings and quick replies as she went right to a door in the back, just below the quarterdeck. It opened into a room that looked like an open office space, and waiting inside was an older cat beastkin woman and two human men. The instant the woman's eyes found Shiori, she was on her feet and moving toward us.

"Oh, my! Shiori, you're okay!" she said as she hugged her, and Shiori used one arm to hug her back.

"Yes, Mrs. Naomi. I am okay. I am happy to be home." Shiori said again.

"I thought they said you were collared. I never thought we'd see you alive again." Naomi said with a quiver in her voice but the same straight face that Shiori used.

Shiori just nodded.

"How did you escape?" Naomi asked after no more information came.

Shiori held me up a little higher, "We outfoxed them." she said.

“Ok, Shiori is a keeper.” I chirped quietly to myself.

Soon, everyone was sitting, and I was dozing quietly in Shiori's lap as she recounted her story to everyone. She didn't hold back anything, and it was brutal. They were skeptical when she told them how her collar had been destroyed without her seeing a thing before finding me, but no one outright called her a liar. There were a lot of questions about being followed and such, but I wasn't really paying attention anymore, just on the edge of sleep. Then I felt another hand touch me, so I opened my eyes and saw Naomi gently checking me over and carefully moving my joints like a doctor checking for breaks. I let out soft whines when she did something that hurt – because it hurt, but I didn't want to be mean.

"Can you heal her?" Shiori asked after this had gone on for a bit.

"No. I only know a few healing spells, and they will only work on animals. She's not an animal," she said thoughtfully. After a moment she continued, “I think she is healing on her own. Whatever happened to her was quite serious, but everything is working and moving as it should. She just needs time."

"What do you mean she's not an animal?" one of the older men in the room asked.

"She's a fox spirit. I can't see a class or level, but I imagine she's hiding them somehow. I've never seen a spirit like her before, though. I wouldn't know how they do things."

The other man stepped forward and looked at me suspiciously, "How do we know she's not with the demons then?"

"Her title is Demon Slayer. She would have needed to kill dozens of them to earn that, and not the weak ones," she said simply.

She can see my title but not my name? That’s weird but good to know.

"I knew she was a magic fox!" Shiori said.

"Yes, I suppose she is." Naomi nodded, "And she's not a pet, Shiori. Make sure you treat her like a person."

"I know that! She’s my friend," she said with some attitude.

"Well, take your friend over to the mess and get something to eat. She will need to eat and drink plenty to heal. Then perhaps you two should get some rest. It’s almost nightfall, and you've had a hard day."

Shiori nodded and started to walk out of the room. I think that was all she had really wanted to do anyway, and she only came to report because she felt she needed to. As she reached the door Naomi called out, "Shiori." Shiori stopped and turned.

"Can she truly release the collars?"

"I think so. I didn't see her do it." Shiori said, looking down at me. I glanced between Naomi and Shiori, both looking at me with so much hope it was painful. Reluctantly, I nodded. I didn't want to change back, but it wasn’t like they were asking me to do it right now.

Shiori carried me out the door, then around and down another hatch with very steep steps. It was more like a ladder, really, but she walked down them like stairs anyway. She took a quick set of turns and went down another set of stairs. We were in a space that looked a lot like a small cafeteria. Shiori quickly walked over and grabbed two plates before taking some dried foods that had been set out, and some bread and cheese. She split them between the plates and then sat down at a table. She put me on a bench next to her and a plate with some food down next to me. I yipped a “thanks!” And then carefully ate it all. I'd like to think I had perfect fox decorum. Shiori hummed happily while she ate and gave me several amused smiles as I carefully did the same.

"This is my home," she told me as if I hadn't picked up on that yet. I gave her a flat look. "It is your home now, too, if you want," she said without looking at me and waited. I chirped, and she smiled. "Okay, good. I was worried you'd want to leave right away. I know you have lots of magic fox adventures to go on. But you should stay a bit and heal up. You might like it here a lot." she chattered on while nibbling on her food.

"There's not a lot of people my age here. Mostly, it is just resistance fighters. Not many people escaped. No one wants to only sit and wait to be rescued so we all do our part." I nodded at this.

"One day, we will take our home back and free the people they enslaved," she told me with absolute confidence.

"I bet if we fight hard enough, the [Hero] will even come to help us. After those world messages, I know she has to be very strong. And her name is Evelyn Shakespeare! That is just like my grandfather! Well, the Shakespeare part. He was a famous airship captain, you know!" she continued, and I found out foxes can, in fact, laugh.

"No, really! This was his airship! It went down when the dragon attacked, but he managed to save it by crashing it into this cavern. He didn't survive, but some of his crew did, and they helped bring more people here to form the resistance."

She said as she continued to tell me everything in the entire world excitedly, but I was still stuck on DRAGON ATTACK. I wanted to ask more because that sounded like perhaps an issue a little too serious for me to deal with.

I refocused and she was saying, "There isn’t a lot of sleeping space. We can probably find you your own space, but the bunks are big enough for both of us. You can sleep with me if you want."

I thought about it for a moment and nodded. It was an offer, but I could tell it was also a request. She was still very shaken despite being very good at hiding it. She smiled at my reply and took our empty plates to a stack of similarly empty used plates before returning to collect me. I wasn’t helpless, but I hurt, and I was tired. Also, I really didn't want to get stepped on in these tight quarters. She carefully picked me up and carried me to a room full of stacked bunks. It reminded me a lot of the caravans in a way. She found an open bunk, climbed inside, covered up with a too-thin-for-this-cold blanket, and closed the privacy curtain. She put her back against the wall so she could face out. That she felt she had to do that made me sad, but it was practical. I refused to let her feel scared, though, so I curled up in front of her and lay between her and the world. I focused on being a warm wall of fur, and we both fell asleep in no time at all.