The Scrap Tamer

'What the hell is going on?' Reid thought to himself.

He was currently sitting in his bunker, but unlike what he would've preferred, he wasn't alone.

"Nice place you have here," the stranger commented while lounging on the sofa, sipping a bottle of cold water. "It's hard to believe this is an underground bunker."

She looked entirely too comfortable, and Reid's brow twitched in annoyance. Still, he reminded himself that she was much stronger than him, and provoking her wouldn't end well. For now, he allowed her to do as she pleased.

"I'm sorry for my granddaughter's behavior," Old Man Scrappy said apologetically.

Reid glanced at the old man and then at the young woman. So this was the grandchild in the photo he'd seen last time. Now that he looked closer, he could see the resemblance to the girl in the picture.

She had short black hair and piercing black eyes. Her striking appearance was one that would undoubtedly turn heads anywhere she went.

"It's fine, old man. I'm sure Reid doesn't mind," she said breezily before turning to him. "Do you?"

"Of course I f***ing mind. You didn't even leave your shoes on the mat at the bottom of the stairs, and you had the gall to raid my fridge as soon as you arrived," Reid wanted to say. But instead, the words that came out were:

"Make yourself at home."

"See?" the granddaughter said with a smirk, raising her bottle of water as if in toast.

Scrappy chuckled awkwardly. "Sigh... I know it's a little late, but thank you for letting us in, Reid. Truly."

The reason they were in Reid's bunker was simple: Scrappy's train-cart home hadn't survived the clash between Raio and Calamity. Scrappy had asked for a place to talk with his granddaughter, and now they were here.

"I haven't introduced you two yet," Scrappy said, gesturing between them. "Reid, this is Elizabeth, my granddaughter."

Then, turning to her, he added, "Liz, meet Reid—the closest thing we have to a Forgemaster."

Scrappy's introduction felt exaggerated, but Reid didn't correct him. Truthfully, he was the only one in the area capable of fixing a forged beast, no matter how damaged it was.

"It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth," Reid said, extending his hand for a shake.

Elizabeth grasped his hand firmly, her black eyes studying him intently. "I've been meaning to ask," she said. "Are you, by any chance, a Fletcher or related to one?"

Reid stiffened immediately, his mood souring. "No," he said curtly, his tone noticeably sharper.

Elizabeth tilted her head, frowning slightly. "No? I could've sworn the white hair and blue eyes combo was unique to—"

"I said I'm not!" Reid snapped, cutting her off with a growl. His glare left no room for doubt about how much he disliked the topic.

"But—" she started again, only for Scrappy to interject.

"That's enough, Liz," Scrappy said firmly. "You're here for me, not to pry into Reid's life."

Elizabeth blinked and then sighed. "Sorry," she said to Reid, her tone genuinely apologetic.

Reid didn't respond. Instead, he stood abruptly. "I'll give you two some privacy. I'll be outside if you need me," he said before heading aboveground.

Once he was gone, Elizabeth turned to Scrappy. "Was I not supposed to ask that?"

"Yeah, family's a sensitive topic for him," Scrappy said with a weary sigh. He shook his head before leaning closer. "Now, tell me—why are you really here?"

"Why else?" Elizabeth began, her tone suddenly serious "I'm here to bring you back home".

"You know I can't go back, not after what happened" Scrappy let out another weary sigh.

"That was a long time ago grandpa, I'm sure even Mom would want you to return" she argued.

"You and I know that's not true, she still blames me for your grandma's death" Scrappy said softly, feeling the guilt return after all these years "it's best of I stay away from your happy lives".

"But—" Liz wanted to say but was interrupted by Scrappy again.

"Besides, the people here have come to rely on my protection, I can't just abandon them"

He walked closer to his now crying granddaughter and started patting her head slowly.

"This is unfair" she said, hugging the old man.

"I'm sorry" he said softly.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Elizabeth finally calmed down.

"That was embarrassing" she said with a laugh while cleaning her face.

"Nonsense!, I'm your grandpa and this is no the first time I've seen you cry" Scrappy teased, trying to shift to a less depressing mood "you used to do it all the time as a baby".

"That's different " she blushed in embarrassment.

Scrappy sat down on the sofa, crossing his arms and smiling a bit as he watched his grandaughter's expression eased.

"Won't you get in trouble for leaving your post?" He asked.

"Nah, it's fine" she said waving her hand in dismissal "I couldn't miss the only signal I could use to find you, so it's fine".

"Besides, I'm one of the higher rankers so no one would dare say anything " she completed, sounding smug.

Just like her grandfather, she also joined the military. Her soul power was high enough to allow her to tame a platinum-tier forged beast, making her the youngest platinum rank tamer.

"I see, you're giving them a hard time" Scrappy said with a laugh.

"What can I say?" She shrugged " I'm your grandkid after all".

"Hahaha, that's true" her words caused the old man to boisterously laugh. During his time at the military, he was known for doing what he wanted and ignoring orders.

"Speaking of the military, I have a favor to ask" Scrappy said.

----

While Scrappy was bonding with his granddaughter, Reid was faced with a dilemma.

A few steps ahead, sat Mia who seemed to be crying.

Reid knew that as her friend, he was supposed to somehow find a way to console her but that was a skill that he lacked in his repertoire.

After thinking for a while, he decided to bite the bullet and just approach her.

'What could go wrong?'

----

Answer to previous riddle: A hole.

This chapter's riddle: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?