A transport system

Marika rummaged through the stuff of the gunslinger, looking for what he had. He didn't have anything she could consider stealing, at least, not that she could consider, but found the food he was carrying. Enough ration for a couple of days, but mostly food to make you go further in a journey.

Why was he starving if he had food?

The structure she picked up as refuge from the sun, another ruin made of metal of old age, just like everything in the area. It was enough to keep them a bit cooler and out of the reach of the scorching sun. The sand was slowly devouring the old building.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked him while trying to feed him, starting with a bit of water.

He woke up not much later and took a piece of beef jerky from her hand, starting to devour it like crazy.

"Are you going to answer?" she insists.

"About what?" he asked, looking at the ground and eating.

"Who are you? What is your name, where do you come from? For starters" she said, looking at him. The wind was managing to enter the spot, carrying a bit of sand around them.

The stranger makes a long pause, considering his answer. He swallows a piece of the beef jerky and takes another hungry bite. The wind picks up once more, making the stranger's jacket fly with it.

"Warren" he answered "That is all that matters"

He was insufferable! Not wanting to answer such a simple question. Like he was a mysterious cowboy looking for revenge after years of not working.

"Okay, mystery boy, my name is Marika" she said, sarcastic in tone, "How long since you last ate? You came prepared but you are starving"

Warren lets out a long sigh. Then he starts to count with his fingers. "1, 2, 3..." he reached 10, then continued with the first hand, "11, 12..."

"12 hours? I imagine you feeling fatigued because of that" she answered.

"No, 12 days" Warren answered without looking at her.

There was a small pause between them while Marika managed to process the information he just dropped on her.

"Why are you lying?" she asked. There was no way he survived through the desert without eating for 12 days.

"I am not," he answered.

This is going nowhere Marika thought to herself, knowing that he would not back off from his position. Anyway, why lie? Why act like he was that much of an incredible human that he could survive with nothing to eat for 12 days? Her right ear twitched from the exasperation of having to hear such a lie.

She started rummaging through his stuff once more, mostly to avoid the topic.

Warren then noticed she was still going through his stuff and he turned towards her. "Hey! That's my bag!" He yelled and yanked it from her hand.

"Wow!" She said, managing to snatch one thing that called her attention.

It was a small ball that had a small button. It had a golden cover with a cafe noir color. It was pretty to look at and it caught Marika's full attention.

When Warren saw that she was holding it, he quickly tried to snatch it from her hands. But, almost immediately, Marika stands up and takes distance from him.

"You have a PDTU!" She yelled, raising it to the air and looking at it with glee. Her tail started to wag around, showcasing her excitement, "I thought they were not making these anymore! Where did you get it?"

"A what?" Warren asked in confusion at the name. He had never heard anything about that so far "I-It was a gift, now give it back!"

Warren attempted to snatch it once more, but Marike, still with her eyes shining in amazement from her discovery and her tail wagging with happiness, dodges his attempt.

"I always wanted one of these!" She said, then she turned towards Warren, and put both her hands, closing her eyes "Ehem!" she clears her throat and then starts to sing. "Pocket Dimension Transport Unit! We drive you to your dreams!" She makes a peace sign with her hand holding the ball and puts the hand on her forehead. Her other hand rests on her hip, striking a playful pose.

A wind passes by the structure they are under.

"PFFFT!" Warren tried to choke a laugh by looking to the side and pressing his lips, but he was visibly chuckling.

"Hmph!" Marika complained, at least he can show emotions "Laugh all you want! You are the idiot who did not know what this was and walked through the desert for 12 days!"

"Do I take it is a form of transport?" he said.

"Yes, and I know how it works" She offered him his property back, but as Warren was about to grab it "BUT!" she pulled back her hand "You will give me 20% of your bounty reward!" she said.

Warren rolled his eyes and complained "Ugh... fine! You win, missy" he extended his hand so she could give him back the PDTU.

"We have a deal!" Marika reaches with her other hand and stretches his, signing the deal.

Warren grunted, feeling he was about to get scammed by the fox-girl in front of him.

Marika turned around, giving small skips and humming a playful song with a wide smile on her face. She grabs her bag, holding her prize from the last hit, and continues skipping towards the sun.

Warren fixed his hat and followed her in silence, grunting while playing in his mind all the possibilities of what he just signed up for.

"One of the horses is still around!" Marika aimed at the scrawny one that Darel and his partner came on "Good, that saves us time"

She then walks towards an open space between the debris and the bodies. Warren leans against one of the structures and observes her actions, holding his hat from the wind of the desert.

Marika presses the button of the ball and throws it in a small arc to the ground. Then takes a few steps back. Nothing happens.

"And?" Warren asks.

"Give a couple more seconds!" she said.

They wait, and then the ball starts to jerk around, jumping a bit, and then makes a big jump into the air to the surprise of Warren, whose eyes opened wide when he saw the height it grabbed, and then it fell to the ground.

Once the artifact hits the ground, a big white cloud appears around it a several metallic sounds can be heard coming from inside of it. Warren quickly reached for his revolver and pulled it out.

The clouds dissipated and they revealed a carriage, cafe noir brown color with beautiful golden decorations. There was a door in the back and the front.

"My, you get jumpy," Marika said "Relax, you will live longer!"

Warren felt embarrassed after his display and simply placed his gun back into its holster.

"So is it just a carriage?" He asked, getting closer.

However, calling it like that underplayed the beautiful finish it had. The wood and paint used seemed to be of high quality, and the golden decorations appeared to be genuine and might fetch a high price just by themselves. But, how was a transport of this size inside of the small ball?

Warren approached it to inspect it closer. When he reached, he placed his hand on the cold wood for a few moments, as is mesmerizing. Marika looked at him, noticing how his expression changed from plain to a more soft, caring one, like that carriage he did not know existed suddenly was the most precious item in his belongings.

What is the story behind this man?

He then moved towards the back door and opened it. Warren was still doubting about what made it so special to be transported like that.

As he stepped into the first stair to enter and opened the entrance to get in, Marika, playfully, pushed him inside, causing him to fall to the wood floor inside. She followed immediately into the carriage, closing the door behind her.

Warren immediately stood up once she went inside.

"What is wrong with you?!" he screamed, angry and pissed.

"You were taking too long!" she complained. "Besides, look around you"

Warren did as she asked, and he could not believe his eyes.

They were on a platform made of wood in the middle of an infinite dark void. Nothingness surrounded them, total silence when neither of them spoke or made noises while walking. It was hard to process, how could this be inside of the carriage?

Although is doesn't need to be said, the platform is where most of the stuff inside was. It was big, specially for being inside of the carriage. There was a bed on the right, a desk, and a chest. On another side, to the left, there was what appeared to be a control center, a surface with a big blue ball. At the other end, there was a door.

The rest was empty. An open canvas.

"You had this in your bag this whole time!" she placed her hands on her waist, looking proud of herself "You never tried pressing the button on it?"

"Yes, and it did nothing" Warren answered, still looking around his surroundings "Never imagined I had to throw it to the ground to work"

"Well, if you don't have the manual is not that obvious" she said.

Warren's face suddenly shifted to one of realization, closing his lips tight as if wanting to say something, but not letting it out.

"You have the manual, don't you?" Marika asked, but Warren did not answer. She shakes her head "Well, unless you have a horse or something that can move it, is a stage method and not a transport, and considering you came here walking through the desert"

Warren's body turned even more tense after she mentioned the horse.

He had a horse... Does this guy lack common sense?! Marika thought, surprised at what lengths he came to travel. If he had a horse, why did he not take it? Several of his choices and actions made no sense!

"Anyway..." she attempted to return to the topic "This PDTU is meant to be a pocket dimension of sorts. How they managed to get it going is behind me, but they are useful as a mobile base... just don't fall by the edge"

Warren got closer to inspect. He could not see any bottom. The railing was big enough to stop anyone from falling by accident but still seemed like a dangerous part of the pocket dimension.

"Amazing, isn't it? I wanted one of these long ago! I didn't know they were still making them!" she said with a happy tone of voice, seeming happy from being inside of the pocket dimension.

"Seems like it is a useful transport" He admitted. Marika seemed annoyed at his lack of excitement. He arrived at the control center and took a look at the big ball in the middle.

A [System] screen appeared, and it showed information about the carriage.

[Level 1 PDTU]

[Upgrades installed: Resting area]

[Movement method installed: None]

A series of options appeared: upgrades to install, to unlock, some furniture, and crafting stations. It was a literal mobile base on level one. He could do whatever he wanted inside of this. But all asked for resources he did not have at the moment. He could even make the platform bigger!

"I am going to inspect this more in detail later" he finally said once he looked enough around. He knew the amount of uses a mobile base could bring him "We need to get this thing moving"

"Yep!" Marika agreed, walking to the door they used to get inside "Let's get the horse that is walking around us and get back to town," She said.

Warren went out with her to help her. They both left their own bag inside.

The carriage was way smaller outside, disguising the inside with a simple well-decorated shell. It was still too ornamented with gold for his comfort, someone might try to assault him, believing he had resources to spare.

They manage to get the horse. Although Marika had a bit of trouble getting it to trust her, Warren had little issue with it. Petting him slowly, "There, big girl" he mentioned once he noticed it was a mare. The animal slowly eased into him and allowed herself to be guided towards the carriage. Then they set her up and prepared her to carry the transport.

"You are getting us something to eat too!" Marika said, inviting herself to eat something with his money.

Warren only rolled his eyes and made the horse go, following the fox-girl's directions towards town.