“D. DD. DDD,” S called to their partner.

  “Yes, S?” D answered with their usual tired tone.

  “How do you feel about that girl? Am I about to have you snatched from me again?” S asked almost earnestly.

  D made an annoyed face under their mask. “Again?”

  D and S had gathered in a hidden section of Aramaya’s inner workings. It was a route that only those who already knew the way could follow, as it would often twist and turn as according to the underground people who ran the place. It was an area for discussions, deals, and crimes. D and S were but one of a few Phantoms in the area. The two were specifically sitting on a rooftop, their legs dangling off the edge. With a silence barrier set up around them of course.

  “You said you were taking a break and then I dug into it a bit, and suddenly you have a family!” S pointed out.

  “Didn’t we agree not to dig into each other? I don’t even know your name,” D responded.

  “You know where I study and it would be easy for you to figure it out.”

  “Because you say it out loud!”

  “Anyway,” S waved their hand. “Are you taking another break to have a honeymoon?”

  “… No.” The pause wasn’t because D was unsure of what to say. No, it was because the question was so ridiculous he was stunned.

  “No, we’re not in that type of relationship.”

  “Would you like help?”

  “S, could we please get to the heart of the matter?” D pleaded.

  “Alright, alright. We can talk romance later. But you have to promise me.”

  D suddenly grew serious, “You owe me for eating my pudding a while back.”

  “You knew!? But I bought a replacement and everything…” S sulked. Despite being the offender.

  “I made that pudding myself, a store-bought replacement’s not gonna cut it,” D explained.

  “Wait, that means… every time you gave me pudding as a reward it was homemade?” S’ mood instantly switched. “Aw, you’re so sweet~ You do love me~“

  D spoke, “I’ll get you some more to thank you for all your help. And also as an apology for the trouble.”

  “Don’t worry about it, we’re partners. That’s what we do for each other.”

  D grinned. “Yeah. Partners.”

  D and S stood up and got ready to go gather information separately. But before that, D had one last question to ask their partner.

  “Where did you put that gavel anyway?”

  “I stashed it away in the abandoned park. I buried it under a tree,” S explained.

  “That poor gavel,” D muttered.

  “Poor Kalina!”

  D flinched at the mention of her name.

  “You’re so mean to her,” S continued.

  “I… She’ll understand when everything comes to light.”

  “That’s optimistic of you when she said that she’d hunt you down if you broke that promise. She’ll see it as a betrayal, you know,” S reminded.

  D clenched their fists tight. “… She’ll understand. Even if she doesn’t want to.”

  “… I don’t think I can support this toxic relationship anymore.”

  “S, I think I’m going to have to turn you into pudding.”

  “Noooo~”

  S did their typical act and D rolled their eyes as usual.

  “But, seriously, ask me if you need relationship help. I know we can figure something out together,” S said.

  “Maybe one day, S.”

  With those words, D leapt off of the rooftop and began searching for info. S watched them go into the crowd, all the way until they couldn’t see them anymore.

  “Oh, D. You need to be more sincere with others,” S muttered before entering the crowd too.

  ———————————————————————

  Carmine was bored out of her mind. She had to admit, being the guard dog wasn’t the greatest of decision. But she was the one who healed Toolbox first, so she would feel bad if she didn’t see the recovery all the way through. The biggest issue was that she couldn’t be in that ‘operating room’ with the healer, so she didn’t have anything to occupy the time with.

  ‘Maybe start dabbling in healing magic for once?’

  The idea was stupid, so she discarded it. It wouldn’t be bad to optimise her own regeneration, but the idea of having to sit down and learn biology was enough to make her irritated. And besides, her body was different from everyone else’s, so it wouldn’t help much.

  ‘… I suppose that date still has to be planned.’

  Finally, a good idea. Carmine opened a calendar planner app and got to work. First, she noted down a list of activities she wanted to do.

  The first one listed down was fight. She put that down as the last activity for the day, since one of them might have to bring the other to the hospital. She listed it down for 30 minutes, to be conservative.

  Galas did mention the movies, so she put that down as an idea. It would eat up a bit of time, so dinner right after that would be good. Probably at that restaurant she first met Rasa at, the one with the nice spaghetti and meatballs. They could use Galas’ credit card for that too.

  They shouldn’t fight right after dinner though, so maybe it would be better to do it after the movie? Dinner would be a nice pick-me-up afterward if they didn’t go too hard on each other.

  ‘Eh, no way. That fight better leave one of us unable to walk.’

  The fight had to be last. But working up a sweat right after eating wasn’t a good idea either. So, maybe they could go for a walk between then?

  Carmine’s thoughts were disturbed when she heard the sound of something crashing onto the ground, followed by a large thump. She turned to look at the staircase only to find a paw seal staring her in the face.

  “Thank god you’re here Carmine! Save me! I woke up and there was this really creepy guy standing above me!” Toolbox screamed as she wrapped herself around Carmine’s head.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Carmine’s blank expression didn’t change at all as Toolbox kept screaming for her life. Her arms and legs wrapped tightly around Carmine’s head and she didn’t even wobble as Carmine stood up. Seconds after, Ven descended the stairs.

  “Oh, thank goodness, she’s still here.”

  “That’s the guy! The creepy freak! Carmine, help me!”

  In an instant, Toolbox unwrapped herself and ducked behind Carmine. She squeezed as much as she could behind her, kneeling down to the floor. Her head poked out from the side, her ears raised in full alert.

  “I already tried to explain to her I was healing her, but she wouldn’t listen,” Ven said.

  “Probably because you sound like a monster with a spooky filter,” Carmine responded.

  “I can’t turn it off, the mask does this on its own.”

  “Then take it off.”

  After much consideration, Ven refused. “No thank you.”

  “Carmine… Didn’t you guys promise me you wouldn’t reveal me to anyone? Why did you guys break it…” Toolbox moped.

  “You rushed into a fight with an Egotist, and then you got punished for it,” Carmine jabbed Toolbox’s ribs.

  Toolbox winced at her freshly healed ribs. Carmine did not care for her pain and continued.

  “So, we had to get you a healer. Do it again, and you’ll get hurt again, and this spooky man’s going to have to heal you again. Understand?” Carmine’s tone made her question sound like threat.

  Toolbox nodded her head furiously. “I-I won’t do it again. Promise.”

  “That’s a good girl,” Carmine patted Toolbox’s head roughly.

  Toolbox allowed herself to finally relax as Carmine’s hand patted her. It had been a long, long time since anyone had, and though Carmine was easily the worst at it, it was still very nice.

  “Ah, don’t pull back the hood.”

  At those words, Carmine pulled her hand back. “It’s time for us to get back. The other guys must have finished interrogating the prisoner.”

  Carmine then turned to Ven. “What’re you planning to do?”

  “I’ll wait for S and Echidna. We need to trade information with each other. I hope to see you again one day.”

  “Maybe.” Carmine shrugged. “But that voice’s annoying, so next time don’t wear a mask or I might rip it off.”

  “Alright then. Next time we meet, I won’t be wearing a mask,” promised Ven with a light tone.

  “Good. See ya round.”

  Carmine and Toolbox left the house and headed back to Sterling Snowdrop. Carmine got a bit lost at first, but Toolbox managed to correct their course. With her pathing eyes, it was a very quick travel time.

  When the two returned to Sterling Snowdrop, it had already become night. The market around Sterling Snowdrop had become bustling again, with vendors and stalls calling out for customers. Carmine treated Toolbox to a few snacks, and when they returned, they were both licking ice cream cones.

  “Welcome! Oh, it’s you two.” Machua opened the door for them and led them in.

  “Where’s Machi? I called him earlier but he didn’t answer.”

  “Gathering info. He’s with a Phantom called S,” Carmine answered. “The healer was another Phantom actually. Ven.”

  “Phantoms? You’ll have to tell me what happened later. But for now, go eat some dinner.”

  “Yes!”

  Toolbox pumped her hand in the air. She rushed into the crowd to find Plue. It was easy, so she dashed into a seat at her table. She nabbed a nearby menu that was being used and looked through it, wondering what to get all the while.

  “Hey…” an unfamiliar voice spoke.

  “Eh?” Toolbox turned to see Tam sitting next to her. “Eh!?”

  Toolbox leapt out of her seat and brought her hands up in a defensive stance. Instinctively, she formed her mana into claws.

  “He’s handcuffed. We captured him after you fainted,” Rasa stated.

  “Oh, you’re right. Haha. Dummy.”

  At that point, Carmine and Machua had come over and the group settled on their orders. Tam had refused to order, so they forced him to at least eat a side dish. It was a bit awkward for him since he was still handcuffed.

  “Um, if I may ask…” Tam began. The rest of the table looked at him with intrigue.

  Seeing that nobody rebuked him, he continued. “Your name is Toolbox, yeah?”

  “Yep. You’re not gonna know me though, I don’t recognise you. You’re probably too new to know,” she answered.

  “Well, even then. I wanted to ask. Who were you talking about when you charged in? You were yelling for the Egotist to let someone go.”

  “Oh, it’s dada Scias of course.”

  “Dada… Scias,” Tam repeated, “I didn’t know he had a daughter.”

  “Like I said, you’re probably too new so no one told you,” Toolbox said in between bites.

  Tam shrugged at the information. It wasn’t like she was wrong. He just found it… strange. Would the boss he knew, even for only a short while, have a kid like this? How old was he anyway? He didn’t seem to be too much older than him, though she could be adopted.

  “Ahem.” Plue cleared her throat. “Toolbox, I want to ask you to help me piece something together.”

  Toolbox nodded while slurping up her beef bowl. Plue almost clicked her tongue, but she held herself back. Instead, she explained to Toolbox, and the table, of their theory of how Chimaera had been transporting some of their more dangerous monsters by hijacking a Plane. And then, she posed the question of who they were hijacking it from.

  “We could use it to track them. We can find your dada,” Plue impressed onto her.

  Toolbox’s ears raised when she heard that last bit, but quickly fell when she realised she wouldn’t have anything to say.

  “Really? Nothing?” Carmine asked with a bit of disappointment.

  “They don’t ever bring up work when they’re at home. It’s the one place where they’re free from their stressful workplace,” Toolbox explained.

  “Workplace?” Machua questioned. “Is there an area Chimaera works in? Would you even call capturing and smuggling monsters a workplace?”

  “I heard from the others that Chimaera moved around a lot,” Tam added. “I was… hoping to leave Aramaya with them.”

  “No, no, I meant before all that. When we were all together, they used to work lots of hours at this one place-“

  “That’s it!” Plue yelled. “Tell us everything you can about that place!”

  “H-huh? I-I don’t know anything, they won’t like bringing work stuff up!”

  “Anything is fine!”

  “Um, uh,” Toolbox stammered, “mama always kept a few files in her office. She’d yell at me whenever I snuck in, and I could never figure out how to find them.”

  “More.”

  “Umm… she had this little lion head sculpture thingy. It glowed a bit so I grabbed it to play with it but when she found out, all of them got angry with me. Since then, I’ve never found it again.”

  “That’s the Planar Key! It has to be!” Plue shouted a bit too loudly. The other customers were starting to stare.

  “Tam, can you confirm?” Machua asked.

  “I told you before I don’t know anything about it, or even what it looks like. But it would have to be something small the boss could carry without anyone noticing,” Tam answered.

  “Even the appearance might be enough for Auntie El to figure it out. I’ll go tell her right now. She’ll be so proud of us.”

  Plue tip-tapped on her phone so fast her fingers couldn’t be seen.

  ‘Did she just continuously Mana Burst to tap faster?’ Machua wondered.

  As usual, Elize’s response was immediate.

  I’m busy as of the moment, but this is something to look into.

  But if it is what I think it is, then you should go ask your Uncle Sen.

  “Uncle Sen…” Plue murmured.

  “Oh! I see! Everyone, we need to go up and video call him now!”

  Plue ran off without an answer. The group looked to each other before following her. Once they reached the second floor of Sterling Snowdrop, they saw Plue had already set up her laptop. The group sat around her as she watched the video call go through.

  The group watched as a middle-aged man answered the call. His hair was tied into a small ponytail, and his curved horns that had multiple points were dirty.

  “Aaarghh… Right on my late lunch break?” Sen yawned.

  “You’re always digging for herbs on your breaks anyway, uncle. It’s only cause you don’t have any customers you can take so many breaks,” Plue said without remorse.

  “Urgh!” Sen almost bent over backwards.

  ‘Wow, she’s cruel,’ Machua observed.

  “A-anyway. What can your ol’ Uncle Sen do for you? I see you’ve got your squad with you too.”

  When she realised he could see her, Toolbox jumped out of the way of the camera. Tam decided to follow her too. Sen had a few questions but decided against asking.

  “Uncle Sen, we have a lead that you might know something about.”

  “Is that so?” Sen asked as he lit up a cigarette.

  But as he was about to put it to his mouth, a black shadow dashed across the screen and stole it away from him. Sen’s face grew harried and he jumped off-screen to chase after the shadow.

  “Xiaofang! Drop it! Do not smoke that! I know you love the smell but stop! It’s bad for your health!”

  “Mreow,” a cat’s purr answered back.

  “I-It’s different. I need it. You know what I’ve been through. But you don’t need to go down the same path as me. Just drop it…” Sen coaxed.

  The squad watched incredulously as Sen chased around a black cat, trying to get it to drop the cigarette it was smoking. Sen was eventually saved when it noticed that Sen was in a video call.

  Xiaofang was a cat with a full coat of black fur and did not wear a collar. He was extremely cute, but clearly mischievous. He crawled towards the camera with curiosity, still smoking the cigarette in his mouth. The smoke that came off of the cig was not grey, but a hazy black, different from when Sen had lit it up.

  “Hi, Xiaofang!” Plue waved.

  Xiaofang raised a paw to wave back. The underside of his paw was orange and his claws, albeit retracted, looked to be very sharp. It was at that moment Sen snatched the cigarette from his mouth and crushed it. Xiaofang meowed in protest, but after a fierce stand-off, Xiaofang gave up and crawled up Sen’s body to rest on his shoulder.

  “Sorry for that. Xiaofang’s a rascal. Don’t know why I keep him around.”

  “It’s okay, uncle. Now, can you answer my question?”

  “Sure, sure, I probably won’t be of much help though.” Sen reached into his pocket to grab another cigarette but was interrupted by a paw swipe. He clicked his tongue and stopped.

  “We’re following a lead based on a Plane. We think they’re hijacking one. The Planar Key Chimaera has looks like a small lion’s head sculpture. Do you recognise it, Uncle?”

  Sen raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Well, what do you know.”

  “So you do recognise it?” Plue asked again.

  “You’re dealing with the Zoo here,” Sen stated in no uncertain words.

  “The Zoo?” Machua questioned. “You mean, a place where they hold monsters so you can look at it?”

  “Well, yeah, they do that too. But the Zoological… I forget the full name. Zoo Foundation something or other.” Sen waved his hand in the air like it didn’t matter.

  “Anywho, the Zoo runs a big Plane that has a lot of monster containment areas. You pay a subscription service to rent a few of them out and put your monsters in there, and they give you a Planar Key so you can bring ‘em out anytime you want.”

  “So it lets you act like a summoner with actual monsters,” Machua said with understanding.

  “Pretty damn important out in the field. If you pay extra you can also get ‘em to clean and feed your monster, even get them to exercise, but you have to tell them the specifics and if you mess it up, they’ll fine you for monster abuse.”

  “Um…” Tam moved back into view. Sen raised an eyebrow upon seeing the man in handcuffs but didn’t pay it any further mind.

  “Does the Zoo care about control crystals?”

  “Oh, that? No way. Nuh-uh. That’s a total no-go in the MTF, uh that’s Monster Taming Foundation. They decide the rules on what’s ethical or not in the monster taking world. Also the same guys that own the Zoo. The company, the Zoo, not the, I mean also the Plane. Ah, you get it.”

  “So we know it has to be hijacking otherwise they’d report it,” Plue observed. “Uncle, if I remember correctly, you also use the Zoo’s services.”

  “Uh-huh. I got the visitor’s pass subscription though. So, my rent’s lower but visitors can look at my monsters. The Planar Key’s different for each subscription, mine is a tag.”

  Sen fished out a tag he wore as a necklace that was hidden underneath his clothing. He held it up close to the camera, so they could read the inscription on it. It told them that this was property of the Zoological Monster Taming and Caretaking Foundation. And that this tag was specifically loaned out to Xu Sen. Alongside that was a small numerical code.

  “Each one’s keyed to a specific mana signature. Anyone that tries to use mine can’t open the portal. And if someone tries to do it 3 times it gets locked and I have to call them back.”

  “Which means Chimaera must have been an official subscriber at one point in time,” Rasa stated.

  “Actually. A lion head isn’t a subscriber’s Planar Key. It’s staff.”

  The entire room looked to Toolbox with a variety of expressions. Plue was suspicious, Carmine was stern, Machua and Tam were curious, and Rasa, he decided to be curious too.

  Machua began, “Stressful workplace meaning…”

  “The Zoo,” Plue finished. “Your parents worked in the Zoo, Toolbox. And they’re using their old employee Planar Key to smuggle monsters!”

  “Mm, yeah I can see that. The Zoo’s huge, if you’re careful you could hide a few guys in there. And if they were former staff then they can prolly keep it hidden for a long time,” Sen confirmed.

  “And… and,” Toolbox finally spoke with a shaken tone, “you can track them, right?”

  “Mm-hmm. Auntie El can tell the Zoo what’s happening and then they can track them whenever they use it next and tell us.”

  “Okay!” Toolbox gripped her fists with excitement and anxiety.

  “That’s it, yeah? Gotta get back to digging.”

  Xiaofang suddenly pawed Sen’s face. Sen was about to throw that cat into the wilderness when he spotted the time.

  “Oh damn! My break’s over already!? Xiaofang, let’s go!” With that abrupt line, Sen turned off the videocall, leaving everyone else in silence.

  “That’s good news, Toolbox. We’ll definitely be able to find your family again,” Machua said.

  “Y-yeah…” Toolbox responded, her entire body shaking. “I’m just a little nervous about it.”

  Machua nodded. It was a perfectly normal thing. There were other elements of his as well, which weren’t something she wanted to bring up. Namely that her parents would all have to be arrested, so she wouldn’t really get to be with them. But visitations were a thing, so it wouldn’t be so bad. She’d have to impress that on her later. But for now, it was a waiting game.

  Hopefully Machi would appear sometime or later. But even if he didn’t, if they got the call, they’d have to move out immediately. She’d call him and text him the location, but if he couldn’t make it then he couldn’t make it. Move out, use Toolbox to persuade them to give up, and then… work some sort of deal with them? And then arrest them? Machua wasn’t sure, she’d have to have a meeting with the rest of her squad to discuss how to proceed later, when Toolbox and Tam weren’t around. But for now, it was time to do some prepping and relaxing. And hope the call wasn’t immediate.