"Sly… about Yuki." He shrugged off her paw.

"Yuki," he hissed the name through his fangs. "She was always hitting me, teasing me, dragging me around… She was also there to ensure I was well-fed, had someone to talk to, stood up for me, and forced me to maintain basic hygiene. She saved my life several times, unquestioningly trusted in all my schemes, even when they backfired in our snouts…" A round bulge spasmed from his jaw down his throat as if he were choking. "You know, it's funny. I wanted to tell her how I really felt about her. But I was a joke of a male. Surely she deserved better and would've laughed at me." He looked at the floor, pausing before continuing:

"I deluded myself, making promises to grow up and become a real man so we could be a happy couple, as I dreamed. And now that I've finally moved on to my goal, she's no longer here." His paws shook, and he clenched them. "Blaguna was the one who snatched my dream from me. She took her from us. I know we are at war, and Yuki would've no doubt smacked me hard for taking revenge on her behalf… I could forgive almost everything, but she dared to torture her." Sly straightened up and met Aranea's look with embers dancing in his eyes. "I'll show her just how terrible technology really is." He stopped, glanced at the people assembling weapons and gear, and his expression softened. "No. We will show her. After all, the state's true strength is in unity. Alone I'm a weak, stupid, immature fool. Together, we are the storm. I just hope Yuki would be proud of the kind of person I'm now." He rubbed his eyes with his forearm and gestured. "Enough of my ramblings. We need to show you what you can do now."

He tried to walk away, but Aranea grabbed him by the arm, refusing to let him go.

"Sly," she whispered, sounding gentle. "Tell Yuki how you feel about her."

"She is…" He stopped, unable to finish the sentence, and took a deep breath. "Too late for it anyway."

"I know. I know there's no chance we'll meet her anymore. And yet, please, open your heart to her. You can wait until you're alone. Or go to the shamans. But say it out loud; don't bottle it up inside of you anymore. It'll eat you up, turning the positive memories into a poison that burrows into your mind. Trust me, I speak from experience. I needed help to overcome my problems, and I'm here for you."

He smiled and hugged her. Then, he raised his brows, knelt, adjusted the greave on her leg, and mumbled about being a dolt. Once he was done, he nodded and led her to a hatch in the floor with a control panel nearby. Sly flicked a switch, and the hatch opened to reveal a spacious area below full of interconnected sections divided by thin stone walls and steel panels. Sly motioned to Aranea, who jumped into the opening.

She landed with a loud clang, shaking the nearest panels with her weight as the opening above closed, throttling the sole light source in here. Night vision turned on, letting her examine several obstacle courses scattered around the area. Thick metal plates sticking out of the floor were likely meant to provide cover during fire training. Or she could leap over them. She kicked up the remains of a broken bot, noticing several more scattered around, and sniffed paint in the robot's wrist cannon. Bullet holes dotted a wall, and their edges were melted. No, it wasn't a place to test one's agility only.

"Aranea? Can you hear me?" inquired Sly's voice in her helmet. "Any distortions? Can you see your surroundings?"

"Loud and clear. Yes, the night vision works."

"Acknowledged. Let's run basic tests first. See the metal spire sort of resembling a tower ahead? Jump over it, then tear off the metal pole behind it with your left arm, if you can."

"Jump?" Aranea sized up the tall structure critically. It stood around five meters high. Without armor, she would've needed to take a short run-up to jump high enough to reach the top.

Let's test you, honey. She crouched low, tensing her legs and sensing the fibers enveloping them akin to a blanket, reducing the pressure. Cool. She jumped, denting the space where she stood, and was surprised by the added impulse that carried her almost to the ceiling. She pressed her right paw against the ceiling, bounced off it, and flew over the structure, landing on her straight legs behind it.

Despite not bending her legs on purpose, there was no strain, not even a little bit. The armor absorbed and dispersed the pressure, self-adjusting to keep her limbs safe. A metal pole as thick as Marco's waist was welded to the torn floor. Aranea grabbed it with her left paw. Her fingers dug deep into the pole and crumpled it with ease. She pulled, expecting resistance, but a crack passed through the pole's foundation, and the metal tore at the welded area. She lifted her trophy, boasting to any observers, joyful at her unexpected abilities.

"No internal damage in the artificial muscles, no unexpected energy spikes, no risk of explosion…" Sly mumbled to himself, and Aranea heard the intense typing.

"Wait, walk back! What was it about the explosion part?!"

"Um, yeah. You noticed that the pole was welded, yeah? To your right, there's a burnt spot. It's a silly thing, really…"

"Then share it right away."

"Okay, fine. I was the one who assembled the suit, under supervision. But I thought I could get more mileage out of it if I tinkered with an energy flow here, removed limits there… Then I took the result on a test drive," the student said shyly. "The suit blew up as I was wearing it because of my unusual additions. But Mister Till praised me! He reviewed my modifications and claimed that he hadn't seen such a skillful act of sabotage in years! We eliminated potential vulnerabilities…"

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"Ah, Sly. I really ought to smack you behind the ears, you know?"

"Well, let's help you vent out your anger."

A hiss accompanied white steam leaving an opening, and a platform at the base elevated a machine. From above shone a circle of light, illuminating an orange robot emerging before Aranea. The large machine stood on reverse-jointed legs and had a wide torso, no head, and shoulders that rose above its chest, giving it the appearance of a hunched brute. Its arms were spread wide, and each five-fingered fist was larger than Aranea. A black dot, marking the camera in the center of its torso, whirled about, focusing on the woman. A forked foot rose, taking a thundering step.

"Aranea, let's start with dodging. Don't attack it! Try evading the loader bot's fists. It's only slightly faster than a human, and the first strike will come from the left. If you end up being overwhelmed or if it's too hard…"

"Sly," the half-breed stopped him, itching with excitement. "Be silent."

The loader bot backhanded. Aranea waited, watching the approaching line of pain coming toward her. She tasted the air on her tongue and smelled the oil coming from her opponent. Then she leaned back, passing the blow overhead, and it mashed into the spire, denting it. Aranea rolled away, gaining the distance. Again and again, the bot cast its massive fists, punching round dents in the floor, spearing through the stone walls, and causing the panels to shake. Sly soon turned off the lights, forcing the fighters to spar in the dark and rely on their night vision. Later, he asked Aranea to switch to thermal vision mode to test it.

She obeyed, and the overheated machine appeared as a glowing, steaming spot in the dark. With some difficulty, the wolf hag discerned its limbs and dodged a straight punch threatening to splatter her upon a wall. She tried ducking, rolling, leaning, turning sideways, and slipping under the bot's legs, testing every conceivable range of movement of her new suit. After fifteen minutes, she grew bored and leapt onto the top of the machine. There she cursed, inhaling overheated steam, and sealed her helmet. The darn thing was too hot. No wonder these models were never used in war.

"All basic tests are done," Sly said, and the bot stopped. He then asked Aranea to breathe through the air filtration system of her armor, and she obeyed, standing in the rising steam unharmed. "Adequate! I'm even a little bit disappointed that nothing went against expectations."

"You should try following the manuals more," Aranea jabbed, unable to resist the temptation.

"If you walk the well-trodden path, how are you supposed to discover unseen sights?" Sly retorted. "Let's postpone our banter; I've got a hunch that Kate will soon side with me. Then she, I, and Kaleb will roast you together."

"Hey!"

"Right you are, Wolf Hag! No more delays, it is. The main event!"

Lights turned on throughout the testing area, and a metal box dropped from the ceiling, with rows of thick metal plates rising before it. Fourteen armored plates in total appeared from their recesses. Sly directed Aranea to stand ten meters from the first plate so that she could not see the others or the box. Near her, a hatch opened, and a strange rifle, secured in a harness, lifted up. Its barrel was unusual, almost nonexistent in a traditional sense of the term. Three metal spikes extended in place of a barrel extension, while the weapon itself was slender, with an inverted trigger located between two grips. The magazine was located under the carrying handle. Aranea obeyed the instructions to the letter. First, she loaded a single pinky-sized energy cell into the magazine. Then, she took the rifle and removed the safety mode.

"Now take aim at the partitions and listen. Do you remember how fast the shots of the silver rifles were?" Aranea nodded. "Those were simple physical projectiles traveling at Mach 17. What you have in your grip is a rail gun, and compared to it, they are cubs' toys. Inside it is a built-in shield generator that becomes active at the press of the trigger. Its purpose is to lessen the recoil. The rail gun accelerates small energy particles, creating tiny plasma balls. Their speed is not comparable to that of a laser, but they don't need to be. I designed it to penetrate anything. At a speed of Mach 30, whatever this projectile hits, it will tear through. Take care when using the rail gun; it is not meant for rapid fire, so no praying and spraying. Never, ever try using it without your armor. Even though the recoil is lessened by the force shield, it will—and I mean it—shatter your bones if you use it without support from your armor. Sonya and her broken fingers can attest to the truth of my statement."

So that's what that was all about! Aranea whistled, holding the aim steady. Sweat dampened the fur on her brow. What am I worried about? I'm in a suit. Everything is going to be okay. Since when can a gun scare me?

"Now, without further ado… unleash the thunder," Sly said with excitement and anticipation.

Aranea took aim at the center of the metal partition and pressed the trigger. She failed to see the projectile and never noticed anything leave through the triple spikes. However, she saw a yawning void where the obstacles had been. Only their bases remained connected to the floor. The solid metal box dented inwards and then erupted in the opposite direction because of a fist-sized entrance that had formed in its upper part. The edges of the new opening smoked and dripped molten metal, and cracks spread across the rest of the object. Despite being designed to withstand all experimental tools, the wall at the end now had a significant gash.

Then, the sound hit Aranea as hard as the ongoing artillery barrage, consuming every other noise in existence. The shockwave pushed her back, gouging lines in the floor with her feet. Last came the recoil; the rail gun rammed into her shoulder hard, pushing on her fingers, and she experienced a tingle of pain in her hands, despite the protection.

"By the Spirits." Aranea whistled, watching the weapon in her paws and hastily switched it to safety mode. If it were to accidentally discharge or if she were to misfire… No. She nodded, acknowledging her fears. Like every tool, she'll master the rail gun through diligence and attentiveness, and it'll be a boon for her pack and her warlord.

"The total ammo count is thirty rounds. After that, you'll need to replace the cell. If the shield is disabled or low on energy, the weapon won't let you fire it. The shield uses a separate energy source, one that can last up to a month. The firing rate depends on the user, but don't use it rashly! I recommend one shot every thirty seconds, no more."

"It'll overheat?" Aranea asked.

"You'll tear your muscles otherwise. I can see the health scan here. Lastly, it is an energy weapon." Sly growled with satisfaction, and his fangs snapped, biting a non-existing prey. "Not even Nokto's power can stop it. You can—you will—end this monster with a single shot. Bam! The nightmare will be over, and Yuki will be at ease."

"Enough of these childish games," Till said, his booming voice echoing through the basement. His silhouette appeared in a viewing window under the ceiling, standing next to Sly's. "Student, you're coddling the test subject too much. Based on her record, she can endure far more. Let us push you further, shall we, Miss Aranea? Of course, if you prefer, we can stop here. However, I would prefer to gather data on your melee performance if you are up to the challenge. The bots won't hold back, so broken bones and puncture wounds might occur."

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