eX-0281 held onto the grate of the air return vent, waiting with Charlotte for assistance.

I wonder how 704's been doing?

Needing to keep his helmet turned off, eX-0281 was unable to check on him. At least, those were their initial thoughts. After the system had been powered down for a while, she reached forward to clamp a hand on either side of his helmet.

Her pallid face came close to his visor in the examination.

"What're you doing?" eX-0281 tried to loll his head back and get some distance between them.

"Your helmet's still warm."

"So?" It was insulated, a necessary feature to keep eX-0281 warm when his dragon form did not generate its own heat.

"The system is bugged," Charlotte determined.

Despite his shaking head, she tried to yank off his helmet. Given how his dragon form locked his gear into place, she would not be able to take it from him unless she ripped off his horns.

"Ugh. Come on. Let me take off your helmet."

"No!" eX-0281 feared that she would chuck it just like the magical ice he had created. "How is it still working if it's shut off?"

"Spyware is sneaky like that," she said. "Just give it to me so I can remove the GPS chip. I should be able to edit the software when we get to safety, so you can have the combat analytics without the GPC monitoring you."

Hesitant, eX-0281 directed his gaze downward. "I've got to shift to take it off."

His wings had been the only thing that had let them sail to the top of the ventilation shaft in the first place, and the loud fan constantly taunted them below. Weaker in human form, eX-0281 would struggle to continue holding himself up, especially with Charlotte as a hundred pound weight on his chest. Then, he would also have to worry about his tail when he shifted back.

"You'll need to remove it for me. Can you catch my tail again when I shift back?"

"Yeah, sure."

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let his horns, wings, and tail melt away just as his scales receded into his skin. The effort suddenly strained all his muscles. eX-0281 fought to keep them safely suspended above the fan with the occasional grunt..

Charlotte lifted his helmet off, and when she saw his human face, a few rapid blinks fell over her eyes. "Oh!"

eX-0281 had no idea why she was gawking at him. Maybe she never realized that there was a person beneath the black, military uniform with the Grandesia Power Company logo.

"Hurry?" he asked, the one word strangled.

"Right!" She swung around the best she could, sluggish due to the ice not yet numbing the pain of her gunshot wound completely. "Ready."

When eX-0281 shifted back, his tail unfurled like a coil. Though he tried to lift it up the best he could, his bodily control took a few seconds to realign with the new muscles in his body. The air current buffeted the underside of his wings, flapping them upwards like useless flags. It was the denser muscle in his arms and chest that let eX-0281 hang there more comfortably.

Charlotte grabbed his tail once more and let him entwine it through the grate. "There you go."

"Thanks." eX-0281 huffed out his appreciation, still recovering from the few seconds that his muscles had been bearing their max.

The long wait for eX-0704 and the Disco Menace continued. Charlotte fiddled away on his helmet. Occasionally, she asked for his claw to act like a basic screwdriver or a knife. eX-0281 simply relinquished his hand and let her do with it as she pleased.

One handed, he could hold himself up easier than he could with two hands in human form.

"Thank you. That's finished," Charlotte said with a huff. "I removed the GPS module. These aren't very expensive." Like his hunk of ice, she hurled it through the grate somewhere into the outside world.

"You said that you can repair it for me later?"

"Yeah, of course," she said with her best attempt at a smile—more like a grimace. "Here's your helmet back. Um…." Charlotte lifted it over his head, but quickly saw that she would not be able to slide it down over his horns.

"I'd need to shift again to put it back on." Considering how cold he felt, eX-0281 definitely wanted his helmet back on. Like humans, he lost most of his heat through his head. The spiny quills between his horns did not offer as much conservation as human hair.

The reliable stream of chilly air bit at the chinks in his armor suit, slowly ebbing away at the warmth trapped within. If this kept up, eX-0281 would end up falling asleep. To make matters worse, his own ice production made his body temperature drop lower. eX-0281 was not learned enough as a mage to nullify the effects of his element, quite the misfortune for an ice-aligned ectotherm.

"Alright," he confirmed. "Let's do the same thing again."

For the second time, he shifted into human form. Charlotte looked away from his face this time as she returned the helmet to his head.

"You can reboot the system. I'm assuming it's heated when powered on since you're a reptilian-based species and all."

"Yeah."

It was nice not having to explain his species to her. As nerdy as she seemed, Charlotte probably knew more about sub-dragon biology than he did.

Back as a dragon, eX-0281 settled in for the long wait with her.

On

His status screen calibrated to reflect the change in his mana reserves—his newly accessible skill as a mage.

Member: eX-0281 [Sub-Dragon Shifter (Dragon Form)]

Vitality: 95%

Discrete Parts: Right Wing (90%), Left Wing (90%), Tail (100%)

Mana Reserves: 8 Mu

Bored, he made ice when necessary to keep the makeshift bandage intact.

Mana Reserves: 7 Mu

Occasionally a point of mana was recovered, especially as he could taste some of the acrid air from the outside.

Mana Reserves: 8 Mu

It was comforting to watch the numbers fluctuate like that. The screen was the only thing available to keep him entertained, considering how Charlotte did not seem as talkative anymore.

Less blood flowed to her extremity, and the skin turned whitish with frostbite. She became still and quiet against his chest.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Fine."

The timer on his visor confirmed that. They had already whiled away two hours like this, and so long as his muscles held up, they could last through the night.

14 H

"Does it hurt?" eX-0281 did not know what he would do if she were in pain, but they had nothing else to talk about.

"No. It's numb."

"You're going to be just fine. Our friends are coming to save us, so we'll be out of here soon." Trying to put some pep in his voice, eX-0281 said, "Don't look so glum!"

"Thanks." Charlotte sighed. "I just want to go home." A weak cough wracked her body. Her fingers curled up limply along his shoulders. "The mana's bothering me."

"Oh, that's right." eX-0281 had discerned the taste on his flicking tongue, but it had not particularly bothered him—a B-class mage.

Charlotte had no elemental association at all. Though the air vent pushed most of the outside pollution away, the noxious levels of mana still affected her from here. Her vitality had stopped decreasing from her bleeding wound, but the mana poisoning now took its toll.

Target: Charlotte "Lottie" [Human]

Vitality: 8%

eX-0281 ran a new query for [Predictive Analytics]. How long can Charlotte last out here?

2 H

"Ah!" eX-0281 gasped audibly. The girl who he had tried so hard to save was going to die at this rate.

"What?" Charlotte's bleary eyes looked up to him, struggling to stay open.

"N-Nothing. I just, um, thought you'd like to hear a story!"

"Hm? What is it?"

eX-0281 started to ramble on about his days at work, trying to tell it in the most entertaining way possible. Alas, most of his jobs were boring. The ones that were eventful had been ruined by bloodshed, kind of like how the Disco Menace had killed dozens of their squad.

"Thanks, 281. I appreciate it, but you don't have to entertain me." When she closed her eyes, Charlotte did not make an effort to open them again.

He watched the gentle rise and fall of her ribs as intently as her vitality on the screen.

Vitality: 6%

1 H 30 m

"Come on, 704," he whispered. "Where are you?"

eX-0281 waited in all apprehension. Eventually, the monotonous drone of the fan was broken by some external noise outside.

A machine slowed to a stop. The hum of its mana powered engines quieted as it was left idle. Heavy boots dismounted and tramped over the thick mat of grass.

"Charlotte," he hissed. "Wake up. We've got company." Since she did not respond, eX-0281 swatted at her with one wing.

"Ugh. Huh?" Charlotte stirred enough to make herself useful; it would be more convenient for her to reach behind his back and grab his gun.

His heart pounded away in his ears while he craned his neck to better peer past the grate. eX-0281 wanted to catch a glimpse if the new arrivals were friend or foe.