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As the Life buildings crumbled in on themselves, rescue operations had begun before the dust had even settled. Hunters from all divisions were called in to assist, finding survivors, bringing the wounded to safety. Salvaging most research could wait. Most research.

Minipets are surprisingly fragile when removed from their natural habitat. Within an hour, long before talk could turn from rescuing bodies to rescuing supplies, frightened escapees from their broken cages were dissolving as they fled from the collapsing structure. Secure cages where runic systems had been damaged were found full of nothing but air. In the ruined hallways of the Life building, a couple empty harnesses were lying motionless on the floor from when 'walkies' had been interrupted by catastrophe.

However, during the chaos there had been a small number of minipets released to safely escape the destruction, equipped with a way to survive the hours that followed. As their cages were opened each one had been fitted with a runic collar prototype to prevent them from dissolving. These were minipets involved in long-term experiments, many of which have been on the island for years, some even surpassing the average hunter's own life expectancy. By letting these few minipets loose to flee from the falling building, some of that research could continue.

Now these minipets are wandering about on the island, scared by the recent events, and experiencing the first real freedom they've had in years. Every one of them needs to be caught now that the immediate crisis is over, the runic charge in their collars will not last another 10 hours.

Rubbing the spot he'd been bitten, Dawson broke off pursuit as another trainee tried to dive for the scareon, wincing in sympathy as the girl face planted instead. For little animals, they sure were smart...Well, smart asses in some cases.

For instance, he honestly thought a rather innocently looking foxfire would let him catch it. It seemed to be quivering from all the panic and noise and commotion, frozen in place as its neighbors ran amok. But when Dawson started to bend down to pluck it up, the minipet seemed to abruptly realize its legs were functioning and zipped right between his legs as fast as he could blink.

"Gahdamnit!" Dawson muttered to himself as he fanned himself with his hat.

Snorting like a bull, he returned to the main camp of sorts and trailed after several more potential captures, managing a smile and a pat on the back to those in passing that he saw had been successful but growing more glum by the minute. Did he just suck? You'd think with all the training Chris had forced on him, he'd at least be fast enough to catch one of these God damn things...

And it was maybe that attitude that kept scaring them off. Dawson noticed as he turned his head and locked eyes with one of the nearby minipets that its ears pinned back in response. Before he could even change direction it was zipping away, tail tucked.

He ran a hand down his face and groaned.

Interrogation wasn't what she good at, she was glad to be freed from hours of questioning unfamiliar faces while having a stern face. Walking along the corridor, she kneaded the face muscles, worried if she would have face cramp if she did it for a longer time. Luckily there was no one seeing her making all sorts of squished weird faces on her way to take a rest, she gave out a tired sigh and her eyes drifted lazily. "I don't want to do this anymore, gimme other things to do!" Holding her arms up, she yelled.

There was a small noise of something bumped into a wall from her back, Shu remained her hand-up pose and turned around, where she spotted a bunny rubbing its forehead. The petite huntress stared at the minipet and blinked, mumbled if she was too exhausted that she fell asleep somewhere and now dreaming. The minipet looked at her for a few seconds and then fled.

Like Alice in the wonderland, she ran after it while saying "Where're you going, wait for me" sort of words. Imperfectly, it was not white in color and making weird crackles as it hopped away.

It must be a dream or else she won't mistake a mop as a net. <That's a minipet, silly.> The huntress panted while answering, "What's a minipet doing here?" <Must be escaped from the lab.> "Oh noooooooooo, it will melt." <Who cares.> "I care!" She steered to go and grab a cage before she went back to the building she last seen the minipet.

It was somehow fortunate she didn't spend much time to catch it in her sight again, there they started another round of "catch me if you can". Holding a cage on one hand, she sent a text to Max in her assistance.



"パーフェクト~!" She put her phone back into coat pocket and sped up to chase the bunny, the cage rattled with her movement. "It surely runs fast......I'm tired...." She leaned against one side of the wall to restore her stamina. "But I'm not giving it up!" She ran again, along the corridor somewhere.

No matter the reason, Max would always come when Shu called (or texted, in this instance), much like an exceptionally loyal dog whose ears were always trained on its owner. In truth, it wasn't important to have a reason at all, but the circumstances surrounding this one made it important in itself.

He hadn't been much help in the beginning - as new as he was here, his efforts to aid his division in the midst of the crisis had fallen short. He wasn't strong enough to help move rubble, and wasn't familiar enough with the building or the labs within it to be of much assistance in comparison to those who had come here long before him. But when he discovered the terrible state of the minipet containment areas, he knew he had to help, even if he wasn't entirely sure how. It was easy to gather up the lost creatures that didn't wander far from 'home', but by the time he gently tucked each of them back in the place they seemed happiest, occasionally switching some of them just to be sure they were super happy, it was obvious that many of them were missing.

And that was really sad.

Fortunately, it was around the time of this realization that he got Shu's message. His eyes lit up as brightly as the screen on the phone.



As he gathered all of the supplies he could carry, including a small stash of FEAR candies that he shoved into his pockets, he truly did take the time to tell each and every one of the minipets exactly what he said he would. Once that was finished, he hurried off down the hallway, stealing an empty wagon from one of the cleanup crews with a long 'sooooooorrrryyyyyyyyy' called back to them.

The rattle of the little wagon wheels slowed and came to a halt when he did, pausing to let a group of hunters pass through. He hopped anxiously from one foot to the other, as if his inability to stand still would somehow make them move faster. Though it didn't, he did think he saw a glimse of something else hopping just beyond the crowd, which made his antsy movements escalate into fidgeting and impatient whining.

If he had seen a minipet, it definitely wasn't there once the crowd thinned. Shu was, however, and that was just as good. No, better! He dropped the wagon's handle and leapt towards her to wrap her up in a hug.

"Ahaaaa, got yooou," he laughed. "Look! I brought some stuff that'll maybe be good to help! Treats're good bribes, right? And we can make a nice pile of happy all together instead of having to carry one at a time! So what's next for the MRS? Is there one in there?"

Before he even finished asking the question, he tried to peek into the room. Maybe he had seen something hopping around.

She'd shouted to remind Max beware of the water depth when the boil cheerfully paddled forwards like a bomb. "Max - no, no - in front of you - look aheadddd" The petite huntress who saw the figure emerged from the water kept jabbing her finger towards the direction of the sea. For a second, she wondered if Melvin who was a rune master dove like him for the runes but shortly she yelled out. "Ah~" It was almost one second after his flipper touched with the butt of the minipet and sent it flying.

Shu moved the fingers she used to cover her eyes and peeked between the gaps, the diver lost his balance and fell while Max was lying in water and the rabbit on his head took a glance at her before running away. She walked towards Max, offered him a hand. "Hmm, it might think we're playing hide-and-seek, we are the 'it' and it needs to run?" She wasn't too sure. The giggles after hearing what Max said faded and she cupped her hands around her mouth like the boil, "Not, -Mister Bunny, Max's the best, I'm just the second best, but we're both nice people - creeple! You don't need to be afraid." She shifted her brisk eyes to look at him, mouth in a pleasant curve as she spoke. There was a time of a few seconds she wondered how Max knew the gender of the minipet.

They took a stroll back to the sand, squeezed the excessive water from their clothes. The wet coats was bulky but they dried quickly under the fine Sun. She flung hers in the midair, the clothes inside were sheer and became slightly transparent. "Max, how's the fear candies?" She remembered he plopped the water. "Are you okay if we continue?"

Whether they'd taken a break or not wasn't important, pushing the wagon, they headed towards the towns. Unfortunately, with some delay, they lost it in the middle. Seldom visited the towns besides stopping at the Morris's house, Shu had no idea where they were or which way to go. "Max," called Shu. "I think - we're lost." The huntress said in an embarrassed voice.