Ondun came out of the elevator of the Coach Center to find a very exhausted-looking Sylphie handing over the capsule with Maggie in it. She turned and saw Ondun. "Oh. It's you," she said, then turned her nose up and went down the elevator. The woman at the desk gave him a quizzical look. "Hey, all I did was flee a librarian that Lowe said to never mess with after someone was a bit too loud and drew her ire."

  The woman kept giving him a flat, disapproving look. "That's a mean thing to do to your girlfriend, young man." Ondun's face was blank as he sputtered out a "n-n-no, we just met on Route 41, she challenged me to a battle, and keeps sticking around with me for some reason—I'm not involved with her!"

  The woman gave him a much smugger look for an uncomfortable amount of time before she extended a tray. "Capsules on the tray, please, and come along; we need to know what you did to heal this Galebul."

  Ondun put the two red capsules on the proffered tray and then followed the pink-clad woman to a back room, where the capsules were slotted into some kind of machine. As soon as she did, an image of the Mons inside the capsules appeared on a monitor. "Hmmm...the Aquepup is well-developed. According to our records, you've only had him four days, and he's growing at a reasonably advanced rate. What's his training regimen?"

  Ondun told her about the training in the Yongqi Forests and his special work with teaching Strudel to control his water powers by demonstrating the Water jutsus contained in his Shinobi Memory Gem and the ones he'd come up with on his own. The woman arched an eyebrow. "Fascinating...I never thought I'd meet an Auric Arts user," she said. Before Ondun could clarify, she changed the display to the Galebul.

  "Now, for the more worrying patient...hmm, she's in better shape than I was expecting. Tell me everything that happened."

  Ondun did just that. As he did, the woman nodded her head. "I see...yeah, there is some evidence of regenerated tissue in the places you indicated. This healing art...could you show it to me?"

  Ondun nodded and reached up to his chest, embodying the Medicus arts. As the pale blue and silver robes materialized about him, the woman looked speechless. "Wow...that look works so good on you..." Ondun ignored the comment and released the four Spellliths. "Tell me when I should start."

  She pressed a few keys on a mechanical keyboard—Ondun recognized this world's letters on each key and some words on certain other keys—before she turned and nodded. "Sensors are trained on me. Just use the technique you used until I tell you to stop."

  Ondun raised a hand, focused the ambient local anima through the Spelliths, and used the healing arts on her. "Wow...I already feel a little better..." the woman said. She let Ondun hold the spell for a bit longer before she pressed a key. "That's good enough. I got what I needed."

  Ondun did this. "Could you send a copy of that data to Dr. Wusiji in Yongqi Town? He's my sponsor, and I'm sure the data would be of interest to him."

  She nodded. "To be honest, he was going to be the first person I gave this to. He may be...eccentric..." Ondun had to stifle a snicker. "...But he's a solid scientist, and his insights are second to none. Thanks for sharing your technique with me."

  The pink-clad healer handed Strudel's capsule back to Ondun. "Your Aquepup is already in good health. Give him some rest, of course, but keep on training him. Mons grow stronger as their experience improves. I think you'll be the proud new owner of an Aquehound very soon, which is Aquepup's advanced form. As to the Galebul..." she pressed the button to materialize the bird.

  "Galebul?" was her questioning chirp. Ondun knelt. "My new friend, this woman is a healer of some kind. It seems like my healing arts were effective on you, but she wants to take a closer look...if that's OK with you."

  "Galebul! Gale-galebul!!" was the animated response. Fine, I'll do it...but you'll owe me! Ondun grinned and extended his fist to the small bird. "Indeed. As soon as you have a clean bill of health, we'll begin training you too. I have some arts that may inspire you."

  The woman turned to Ondun. "As a...healer...yourself, would you like to stay and watch? If you're anything like the Auric Arts wielders I've worked with in the past, then practical, non-magical experience will translate into the arts you wield."

  Ondun tilted his head. "It's like that here too?" In a way, though, it fit—this world's 'Mon moves' and 'Auric Arts,' to Ondun, were functionally indistinguishable from anima-powered magic disciplines from Arcanis.

  He nodded. "Very well. I'll just watch. Please treat Galebul with care. I'll try to think of a name for her as you do."

  The deeper treatment for Galebul took a short time. The woman gave the small bird Mon a brief examination and discovered there was some lingering bone damage. After discovering this, she recalled Galebul to her capture capsule and put it back in the machine. "I'm going to modify her minuscule form through software. When she rematerializes, the bone should be fixed."

  Ondun raised an eyebrow. "Minuscule form?"

  The woman tapped her lip. "Right...so, Mons are technically all of the same species and are a separate biological kingdom. Unlike animals, like you and me, Mons are a protean lifeform. One thing all Mons have in common is the ability to shrink themselves into a defensible state. Capture capsules..." she gestured to Galebul's, "...utilize this principle to make Mons easier to transport by humans. In this way, even the largest Mons can fight alongside humans, with teleporter support, flying mounts, ground mounts, or aquatic mounts. Capture capsule technology really makes a monster coach a formidable force!"

  Ondun nodded, his mind swimming with possibilities.

  "More to the point, though, it also makes healing a bit easier. In their shrunken form, Mons don't express their secondary biology—you know, being an Aquepup or Galebul—and as a result, it's easier to heal them. Sure, all Mons have a natural healing factor to them, but it can be greatly accelerated and manipulated. Broken bones are actually an easier ailment to manage."

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Ondun didn't know what to make of that. He wished other members of the Knowing Circle were here. Times like this, when he didn't have his much more learned friends to fall back on, he realized just how much he embodied the term 'dumb muscle.' Even so, it did make sense. If these Mons were a different order of life from animals, that also made them very different from the monsters back on Arcanis. Arcanian monsters were still technically animals, but with deviations in their genetics, or mutations from overexposure to magicks...sort of like what Astrals did to people they tried to convert to their faith, or punish with extreme mutations.

  Even as Ondun was drawing that comparison, a smartphone went off—it was the woman's. She picked it up. "Valerie here...wait, what!? Coming. Sorry, Ondun, we have to cut this short—here's your Galebul. Something has come up...apparently some weird dark Mon was reported in the forests nearby, and some Rangers were dispatched. Some didn't make it...and some might not."

  Ondun stood up. "I'll come with you. I've used healing magicks before on people. If nothing else, I can help you save some lives."

  She nodded. "Far be it from me to refuse an Auric Art user. Come with me, quickly."

  Ondun and Valerie made it up to the main basement, into a large room that was in chaos. A number of pink-clad nurses—many who resembled Valerie in a variety of ways—were rushing hither and thither, treating bloody, pained men and women, and their moms. The two found an older woman who was practically the spitting image of Valerie, or at least what she might look like in her early forties. "Ma, I'm here. This man is an Auric Arts user. He can help heal."

  The woman studied Ondun. He spoke up. "I have healing magicks that can mend moderate wounds. Anything too severe is beyond the scope of the magicks I wield...but I can at least take some pressure off your people."

  The woman tapped her lip once. "Valerie, help your sisters. Ondun, beds 5, 7, and 8 have the best cases. Ladies!" she yelled. "Auric Healer going to 5, 7, 8. Back him up too. You..." She turned back to Ondun. "Lives are in your hands. Don't fuck up."

  Ondun nodded. "That's practically the words that will be chiseled on my lichyard stone." He immediately moved to the beds and began channeling healing magics into the men. To the women's credit, they paid Ondun no attention of any kind—their hands were red with human and Mon blood as they staunched wound after wound, then moved up the triage order. For his part, Ondun was able to stabilize all three Rangers, to the point the older woman gave him an impressed look, to some of the younger women's genuine shock.

  Along the way, Ondun learned that the Rangers had engaged the Daemon in battle. The Mons had put up a good fight, but the beast was wounded. Ondun grimly took stock of their accounts of the battle. Before long, the two women and a young man were healed as much as he could, and he moved on to mending the lesser injuries so that the Rangers could get back to duty sooner.

  Soon, the one Ranger who could not be saved had a coverlet pulled over him. The rest gratefully thanked the women and Ondun for their help. "So...what happens now?" Ondun, he asked.

  "Well, given what happened to us, the Guardian will probably send ARC Coaches. They're coaches who are basically trained for tough fights and wars. Still...that beast will do a lot of damage. I'm worried that the Legendaries will notice and hold it against us." The commander, a woman named Lavianne Qing, said dejectedly. "Still...until we're clear to return to duty—which will be faster thanks to you—that monster will just rampage. Olympus knows the harm it will do."

  Ondun was not happy with that answer. He reached a hand up to his chest and drew out the Shinobi discipline before giving an Eastern bow. "Then...I offer my services. I'm skilled in fighting. I'm confident I can bring this monster down. Besides, one of my Mons was hurt by that thing."

  The Ranger was staring at the sudden appearance of ninja gear, especially the two shuriken at Ondun's hips. "In that case...I can send a message to the City Leader and let him know that you're on this." A few taps of a smartphone were made. "Report sent. Oh...and Mister Ondun? Give that thing hell."

  Ondun nodded. He gave the pink-clad women an eastern bow. "Honored healers, thank you for letting me help you. My apologies for the man who could not be saved. On my honor, I will see the creature that did this be brought to justice."

  Even as Valerie and the older woman spoke to stop him, he turned on his heel and left, a hand on both capture capsules. "Friends... I ask for your strength. We're going to take this Daemon down."

  It had been a couple of hours. Sylphie was still very angry with Ondun. Still...I can't stay mad at him. He did try to warn me out of there.

  With a sigh she sat up from her soft bed and gave Maggie a gentle pat. "Let's go find Ondun and see what trouble he'll get into next," she said to the tiny bird. "Either he's at the library, or he's hunting that 'daemon.'"

  Maggie shuddered at the memory of the Daemon but still chipped in assent. The tiny bird flitted onto Sylphie's shoulder, and she left the room, only to see a letter in the clear plastic slot on the door...

  Sylphie promptly crumpled the letter up. "Maggie, once again, they don't see me as a monster coach, just daddy's little girl." She rolled her eyes. "We're going after Ondun for sure now."

  "Fledgelev!" came the response. She grinned and nodded. "That's right, and I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. He's not getting rid of me so easily!"

  She left the Coach Center, giving the nurse at the desk a polite smile and nod that was more false than those of some politicians. Outside, she immediately sent Maggie up high and pulled out her smartphone. She figured she'd send Ondun a message. Using her simplest words, she asked if she could meet with him to talk about stuff.

  She narrowed her eyes. "This guy..." She then changed her tack.

  She grinned an evil grin. "HA! For a hero, he sure is a fool. Thanks for telling me precisely where to go next, Mister I'll-Do-Everything-Myself...giant frigging edgelord..." It was then that Maggie flew down, turned towards Route 41, and started chirping. Sylphie interpreted this as positive confirmation that Ondun had indeed gone to Route 41.

  "Good job, Maggie. Let's go after him."