Boooooooommm!
Ash flinched so hard his soul nearly jumped out of his body. The walls of the slum shack rattled. Dust fell from the ceiling.
"Aghhhhh!" he yelled at himself like he was the one who exploded.
Squeak!!! (Ash, idiot!) The rat squealed, fur puffed like a tiny exploding mushroom.
Ash rubbed his ear, wincing. "Damn… If I become a city lord someday, Imma fix that loud noise. Why the hell is that steam pipe so loud?!"
Squeak. (We can… help you… destroy it.)The rat said this in the most casual, villain-plotting tone ever.
Ash snapped his head to the rat. "Don't! If we blow that pipe, every monster or anomaly out there will find this place. Then we're dead meat. Crispy fried."
Squeak. (Hmph.) The rat flicked its whiskers.
Ash looked around. "By the way… where are the mice we rescued last night?"
Squeak. (I'm ordering them… to dig a base.)
Ash blinked. "Where though?"
Squeak. (Here. Under.)
The rat tapped the floor proudly.
Ash nearly choked on his own spit. "Wait...under my house? You're building a base down there?!"
Squeak. (Our base. Underground. Safe. No humans. No white coats.)
Ash crouched low and pressed his ear to the floor. He heard scratching. A lot of scratching. Tiny paws moving earth like a whole construction team working overtime.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead.
The rat ignored him, busy dragging a small pan that Ash didn't even know he owned it.
Ash stared. "What… what are you doing?"
Squeak. (Cooking.)
"Cooking? You can cook?!" Ash sounded betrayed. "I can't even fry an egg without burning it to charcoal!"
The rat didn't even look up. It stood on its back legs, stirring some soup with a stick like a tiny chef. Other mice brought little bits of dried leaves, crumbs, and roots. The rat inspected each ingredient, nodded, and threw them in the pot.
Ash watched the whole team move like a military kitchen unit.
One mouse chopped leaves with its teeth.Another mouse blew softly at the fire, keeping it steady.The rat tasted the soup by dipping a paw, licking it, then nodding with approval.
Ash muttered, "I'm getting mocked right now, aren't I…"
Squeak. (Simple thing.)The rat smirked without even having lips to smirk.
Ash slumped on his chair, defeated by a creature that barely reached his ankle.
After a few minutes, the rat raised its stick-spoon like a flag of victory.
Squeak. (Finished!)
Ash looked at the food. It was a simple soup that looked thin but warm, black bread steamed slightly on a flat stone, and some crushed leaves sprinkled on top.
The scent hit him first.
He froze.
His throat tightened.
The moment he tasted it, his eyes stung.
"This… this is the first real food I've eaten since I arrived here," he whispered. His voice cracked like he hadn't spoken in hours.
He took another spoonful. It warmed his insides more than the steam-cloud ever could.
He looked at the rat.
The rat watched him with a smug little expression.
Squeak. (Good?)
"Good," Ash said, swallowing hard. "Really good."
The rat seemed pleased, almost proud, like an old master feeding their dumb apprentice.
Ash finished the soup fast. He wiped his mouth and leaned back. A real meal made his whole body feel lighter. Stronger.
For a moment, it felt like the world wasn't completely cruel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night...
The slums cooled down as the last lamps flickered. Ash stood beside the rat and a line of mice, all staring at him like tiny soldiers waiting for orders.
Ash rolled his shoulders. The night air seeped into his skin, giving him a chill.
"You guys ready?"
Squeak. (We're ready, kid.)
Ash nodded. "Let's go."
They left the shack quietly. Mice crawled in shadows. The rat marched ahead like a commander. Ash followed behind, keeping low, moving through narrow paths the usual slum people avoided.
Tonight was the real operation.
Last night was only testing the waters.Tonight, they aimed to rescue all the mice.
More cages deeper inside the lab.More dangers.More guards.
And if someone caught him inside?
He didn't even want to imagine it.
But he remembered the cages.The trembling mice.The cold metal.The lights.
He clenched his fist.
"We finish this tonight," he whispered to himself.
The rat squeaked approvingly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Route....
The rat led them through a drainage path first, a wide rusty pipe that carried lukewarm water. Ash rolled up his pants, cursed, and waded through it.
"We could've taken a dry path, right?" Ash asked, nearly slipping.
Squeak. (Dry path has dog.)The rat shuddered. (Big dog. Very big dog.)
"Okay… fair enough."
They entered the old maintenance corridors. Metal walls. Dim orange light. The rat darted ahead, stopping at intersections, checking the corners.
The mice followed, step by step.
Ash kept quiet. The tension made his heart beat faster than last night.
Finally, they reached the forgotten service hatch again.
Squeak. (Tonight, we go deeper. More guards. More cages. But also… weak spot.)
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Weak spot?"
Squeak. (Old storage door. Rust. Easy break. But sound travels.)
Ash sighed. "So we have one chance."
Squeak. (Yes. Don't mess up.)
Ash glared. "Do I look like someone who messes?"
He tripped on a pipe.
CLANG.
He froze. The rat slapped its own head.
Squeak. (Kid…)
Ash whispered, "I don't mean to do that."
They approached the service hatch. Ash listened. The hum of machines echoed behind it.
He slipped inside.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lab...
The room tonight was bigger. More shelves. More containers. More cages.
He swallowed.
About ten cages lined the far wall, each filled with mice curled together, their bodies weak and thin. Those big metal tubes were attached to some cages, glowing faintly.
"What are they doing to them…" Ash whispered.
Squeak. (No time. Move.)
The rat pointed its tail at the first cage.
Ash nodded. He began applying illusions.
This time, he used a trickier illusion: illusionary fog.
A soft shimmer spread over the cage, like a gentle fog. The mice inside relaxed, even the trembling one. Their breathing steadied.
Ash focused. Extended the illusion. Wrapped it around the locks.
The metal flickered. Not physically moving, but the guard's eyes would see the cage as still closed, still locked, still untouched.
Ash opened the cage quietly.
One mouse.Two.Three.
They climbed into his hands, no fear, just trust. He took a deep breath and hid them under the illusion, making them appear like shadows in the room.
The rat guided the other mice to pile behind crates, invisible under the shimmering cloak.
Illusion fog could only last 5 minutes at most under this strain.
He worked fast.
Cage after cage clicked open.
The rat and its soldiers helped, biting at wires, pushing at tiny screws.
At one point, a guard walked by humming.Ash held his breath so hard he thought he'd pass out.The guard paused.Looked left.Looked right.Yawned.And walked away.
Ash almost collapsed from relief.
Cage seven.
Cage eight.
Cage nine.
Sweat dripped from Ash's face. His entire body felt like it was heating up under the strain of maintaining the illusions.
He looked at the last cage.
The rat stared at it too.
This one was different.Bigger.Heavier.The metal gleamed unnaturally.Five tiny mice huddled inside, barely conscious.
Ash whispered, "This one feels wrong."
Squeak. (Break it. Last one. After this, all saved.)
Ash nodded. He placed both hands on the cage.
"Almost… almost…" he gritted out.
Then
CRACK
The lock snapped.
The mice crawled weakly toward him.
He scooped them up gently.
"All of them," he whispered. "We got all of them."
The rat trembled slightly. Not from fear. From relief.
Squeak. (Good work… Ash.)
Ash smiled. "Let's get out"
Footsteps.
Not from the hallway.
From inside the room.
Ash froze.
The rat froze.
A faint blue light flickered behind the stacked crates.
Ash's heart skipped.
Someone else was here.
He slowly peeked.
And his breath stopped cold in his throat.
There was a man in a white coat standing near a console.He wasn't walking from the hallway.He was just there.
As if he appeared from the shadows.
The man touched a glowing panel, then turned his head slightly.
"…Strange," he muttered. "Why did Cage Sector Nine register motion?"
Ash ducked behind a crate so fast he almost smashed his nose.
The rat pressed itself against his foot.
Squeak. (Kid… we must go. Now.)
Ash swallowed. "If we move, he'll hear."
The man took one step toward them.
Ash's illusions shimmered, holding on by a thread.
The man paused.
Then…
He reached for a switch.
A red warning light blinked on the wall.
Ash's blood ran cold.
The man said quietly:
"…Lab breach detected."
Ash felt the world drop under his feet.
The rat whispered with panic in its voice.
Squeak. (Kid… let's run!)
The alarm began to rise.
Wee Wong Wee Wong.....