As the group left the city hall just after eleven, the streets of Solmere felt… different.
Not louder.
Not quieter.
Just changed.
Word had already spread. It always did. Conversations followed them in hushed fragments. Merchants leaned closer together. Townsfolk watched from doorways and balconies, expressions ranging from awe to worry to outright resentment.
Two weeks.
That was all it had taken.
"I still can't believe it," Bunny said finally, breaking the silence as they turned onto a side street toward the hotel. "In just two weeks, you abolished slavery in Solmere."
She didn't sound giddy.
She sounded stunned.
Jax exhaled slowly. "I didn't abolish slavery," he said. "The town did."
Nyxian scoffed lightly. "You're allowed to take some credit, you know."
Llandra shook her head. "No… he's right. Without the people backing it, nothing would've happened. They chose."
Zee walked a half-step behind them, hands clasped, eyes thoughtful. "Still," she said softly, "someone had to give them a reason to choose."
No one argued that.
They reached the hotel, slipping inside without ceremony. The staff bowed instinctively now—respect mixed with a hint of nervousness—and quickly scattered to give them space.
"Alright," Jax said once they reached the room. "We change. Then we train."
Bunny's ears perked immediately.
"My day?"
"Your day."
She grinned, tail flicking with barely contained energy. "I've been waiting."
They didn't head to Brannic's facility this time.
Instead, Jax led them beyond the edge of town, past the paths worn smooth by travelers, to a stretch of open land where stone met packed earth and the air carried the promise of wind.
Perfect footing.
Perfect space.
The others stayed back in town. It was just Jax and Bunny.
Bunny flopped down onto a sun-warmed rock. "Let's go over what skills I should chose."
Bunny opened up her own system in a way that Jax could see as well.
Jax turned to her, studying her system, as she was scrolling through several options.
"It will be your choice," he said, "I want you to make the best decision for yourself."
Bunny tilted her head. "I understand. But I still want your opinion on things."
"I understand," he replied calmly. "Your Legendary skill—Momentum Sovereign—seems to be a no braining. Skybound Step and Directed SeismicImpact seem very interesting as well."
Bunny's Legendary Skill was Momentum Sovereign. It increased her power of her hits by both staying in movement and also any non critical damage she took, she stored as energy and able to unleash it to devastating effect.
Skybound Step allowed her to to have limited jumps off the air itself, allowing her change direction midair as if she jumped off a wall or the ground itself.
Directed Seismic Impact allowed her to hit the ground and cause tremors and earthquakes directed in a particular direction.
She had narrowed down her other choices to a Taunting skill, one that allowed for super jumping, one that gave her danger sense and one that allowed her stealth.
Jax agreed with her narrowing down to those four.
"My wish for you is to always be safe. If this were me choosing for you, I would choose the danger sense skill and the stealth skill for you. Your strength is increasing and with the Skybound Step the Super Jumping one seems a bit redundant."
She nodded in agreement.
But her heart just wasn't in the stealth skill. She didn't want the ability to run and hide. She wanted the ability to protect.
Her grin widened. "Good. I have chosen. My final 2 skills will be Provoking Presence (taunt) and Preybreaker Instinct (danger sense and bonuses to speed when attacked)."
He nodded. "I knew you would choose to put yourself in danger."
She planted her feet in defiance. "If you are not around to protect us, then any danger will have to get through me, to cause harm to my fellow Vixens."
"Show me what you can do with these new skills," Jax said.
Bunny didn't hesitate.
She moved.
Not fast—not at first—but constantly. A step forward. A pivot. A short hop. Her hammer stayed resting on her shoulder as she shifted, bounced, rolled her shoulders.
Jax watched carefully.
"Feel it yet?" he asked.
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah. It's like… pressure. Like something winding up inside me."
"Good. Now don't stop."
He tossed a fist-sized stone toward her without warning.
She ducked, spun, and let it glance off her shoulder.
"Ow," she said automatically.
Then paused.
"…Oh."
Jax saw it too.
The air around her subtly changed.
"Damage that doesn't break you," he said, "feeds it."
Bunny laughed—a bright, feral sound. "That's amazing."
"Again."
This time he threw three stones.
She leapt.
Not away—through them.
Her foot struck the air.
And held.
Her ears snapped upright.
"I—wait—I did it!"
She kicked off nothing, twisting midair, landing in a crouch several yards away.
Skybound Step.
She didn't stop moving.
She couldn't.
Momentum built visibly now—not as light or flame, but as presence. The ground seemed to acknowledge her weight more than before.
"Try the ground," Jax said.
Bunny grinned, raised her fist, and slammed it down.
The earth rippled outward in a focused wave—not random, not chaotic—directed.
A line of dust burst forward like a shockwave.
Jax whistled. "That was clean."
Bunny stood slowly, breathing hard, eyes blazing. "Again."
They pushed her harder.
Jax struck at her—controlled, precise blows meant to test her reactions. Each hit that didn't slow her only fed the storm.
Provoking Presence kicked in instinctively. Even without enemies, her presence demanded attention.
She laughed as she fought.
Not because it was easy.
Because it was right.
Finally, Jax raised a hand. "Enough."
She skidded to a stop, panting, steam practically rising off her.
"How was that?" she asked eagerly.
Jax smiled—a rare, genuine one. "You're dangerous alone."
Her expression softened, just a little.
"Good," she said. "Because sometimes… I want to be."
They had practiced for 4 hours and it was close 3:30pm now. Bunny had activated and used all of her skills and even combined them. She was a one person wrecking crew now.
Bunny had changed today. Her confidence in her ability had never been higher. She never felt more alive than since she met Jax.
She walked up to Jax, her ears standing straight up. She grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. "Thank you Jax. For everything."
Jax tried to deflect the thanks, but before he could she put a finger to his lips and continued.
"You have helped me train my skills. And we have a couple of hours before we meet back in town. It's time you help me increase my body some more now as well."
She kissed him again while slipping her workout clothes off.
Jax paused, studying her.
Not just her body — though the sunlight catching on her skin made it hard not to notice — but her stance. Her eyes. The way she stood grounded now, confident, unflinching.
This wasn't the same Bunny who had first bounced into his life.
This was someone who knew exactly who she was. She was his Bunny Girl Goddess.
The wind rolled gently across the open land, carrying the scent of earth and sun-warmed stone as Jax pulled her into his arms.
The next stage of Bunny's training, was about to begin.