Old Man Scrappy's Power.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, kid," Old man Scrappy said before focusing on the beast. "But let me take care of this first."

The Time Rat was frozen in place, merely due to the pressure being emitted by Raio, Old man Scrappy's forged-beast. Its instincts were screaming for it to run, but it was paralyzed.

"You've bullied the kid enough. Don't you think it's fair for me to do the same to you?" Old man Scrappy taunted with a smirk.

The beast, as if understanding Scrappy's words, growled in anger and forced itself to move, ignoring the protests of its instincts. Its goal was to swipe off that smile on the old man's face, along with his head.

It used its skill [Skip] to disappear, and when it appeared next, it was close to Scrappy—its mouth opened wide, ready to chomp on his head.

Old man Scrappy didn't flinch. He just stood there, the smirk never leaving his lips.

Raio moved like a flash of light, intercepting the Time Rat mid-lunge. The lightning forged-beast's claws struck, sending the rat hurtling backward.

The Time Rat hit the ground with a thud, its fur singed. But it wasn't done. It snarled, baring its fangs, and used [Skip] again, disappearing for a brief moment.

Raio snarled, prepared for its next attack. The Time Rat reappeared behind Scrappy, moving with the speed of its skill.

Its claws swiped toward the old man, but Raio reacted first, a shield of lightning erupting in a dome around Scrappy. The rat's claws met the crackling barrier, and it howled in pain as electricity coursed through it.

"Yawn. I'm starting to get bored," Scrappy taunted the rat, clearly amused by its efforts. "Maybe try using another skill."

The Time Rat, as if responding to his words, let out a shrill cry and activated [Pause]. A ripple spread through the air, and for a brief moment, Raio froze mid-motion, its movements locked in place by the skill.

The rat seized the opportunity and lunged at Scrappy, aiming for his exposed neck.

Scrappy's smirk didn't falter. "Nice try."

With sheer force of will, the lightning beast broke free of the [Pause] effect in an instant.

Before the rat's attack could land, Raio countered, slamming into the rat with an electrified tackle that sent it skidding across the ground.

The beast snarled, blood dripping from its maw, and then its body began to shimmer faintly.

It activated [Rewind], and its wounds closed as though time itself was reversing on its body. The blood vanished, its fur mended, and its stance steadied once again.

"Tch. Annoying little trick," Scrappy muttered "But let's see how many times you can pull that off."

The rat growled, its eyes glowing.

Raio roared, arcs of electricity surging toward the rat. The beast dodged left, then right, using [Skip] repeatedly to avoid the strikes.

But Raio was faster.

With a single leap, the lightning beast closed the distance, its claws raking across the Time Rat's side.

The beast screeched in pain, wounds marked where it had been struck. It shimmered again, attempting to activate [Rewind] a second time, but Raio was relentless.

"End it," Scrappy ordered.

Raio howled as it activated its ability: [Thunder Fang], causing lightning trails to appear on its fangs.

It lunged, sinking its electrified jaws into the Time Rat. A crack of thunder followed as the rat convulsed, its body consumed by energy.

When the light faded, the Time Rat lay motionless, its core glowing faintly within its chest.

Scrappy approached the rat's corpse. He reached down, extracting the core with practiced ease.

"You alive, kid?" he asked Reid, who was leaning on the cave wall, impressed by how easily Old man Scrappy handled the beast.

Reid groaned but nodded weakly. "Barely."

"This is why I keep warning you to avoid going to the deeper end of the scrap," Scrappy said.

"I've gotta admit, holding your own against a much stronger beast takes guts." He tossed him the core. "But guts won't keep you alive. You'll need this more than I will."

Reid caught the core, his eyes wide. "You're just… giving it to me?"

"Consider it a reward for surviving," Scrappy replied.

"Thanks," Reid said softly, feeling grateful.

Scrappy patted Raio's mane, a flicker of satisfaction appearing in the beast's eyes.

"Now," he said, turning back to Reid, "you've got a lot of explaining to do."

"Well, let's get you outta here first "He looked at Reid's condition and said.

He then carried Reid, placed him on Raio and started walking towards the cave's entrance.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue" Reid, laying on the wolf with his broken arm dangling, thanked Scrappy.

"There's someone else you should thank" old man Scrappy replied.

---

Waiting at the entrance of the cave was a worried Mia. She has been pacing about for the past 10 minutes since Old man Scrappy walked in the cave.

'What if I was too late? What if Reid's already —' she slammed both palms on her cheeks to erase those thoughts 'be positive Mia, he'll be fine, everything will be fine '.

As Mia paced back and forth, she stopped in her tracks when she heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching the cave entrance. Her heart raced, and she braced herself, a mix of hope and dread surging through her.

Moments later, Scrappy emerged from the shadows, his imposing figure illuminated by the faint light from the cave's entrance. Behind him, Raio padded forward with Reid slumped on its back.

"Reid!" Mia —forgetting all her shyness— rushed over, her voice trembling. Her eyes darted to his injuries, taking in the broken arm and the scratches on his face. "Are you okay?"

Reid forced a smile, though it came out more as a grimace. "I've been better, but I'm alive."

"Thank you for calling old man Scrappy" Reid said to Mia. This was the most he had ever spoken to her since he came to the Scrapyards.

Mostly because she was always avoiding him for reasons he didn't understand.

"I'm sorry, I should have been faster—I…" tears welled up in her eyes looking at his broken hand.

Scrappy waved her off with a gruff laugh. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. If you'd gone in there, it would've been two corpses I'd have to haul out instead of one brat with a death wish."

Mia's cheeks flushed, but she nodded, swallowing her retort. Her focus returned to Reid, and she gently helped him off Raio's back.

"Careful," she murmured as she supported him.

Reid winced but didn't complain, though the movement made his broken arm throb. "Thanks, Mia."

Scrappy watched the two with a raised eyebrow before breaking the silence. "All right, lovebirds. Save the mushy stuff for later. Let's get back before something else decides to crawl out of this cursed place."

Mia stiffened, her face turning red and her shyness returning. "W-We're not—"

"Yeah, yeah," Scrappy interrupted with a knowing smirk. "Let's move."