9 Chimaeras' Advent

"Kay, kiddos. The amplitude package is sent!" Dorian smiled, closing her laptop along with the other connected computers. "But we won't be able to send another amplitude in for about 12 to 24 hours."

"Good!" Cecilius snapped his finger. "Now it's up to Ms. Shuruuko to lead the players out."

"Yeah, I just hope Mivangeline is up to the challenge," Saitori sighed, crossing her arms.

"What is it, General?" Cecilius walked up to her. "You seem troubled."

"Oh, well, I know Mivangeline has potential and has what it takes, but um… She's just... well… Can she even handle such a task?"

"I know you are worried about her. However, she's the only best option we have. No other UICA folks of ours present in the game have any capability to lead other than her. Remember, she will have help, as Dr. Niang said."

As Saitori nodded, the transceiver attached to her skirt released a muffled voice.

"Gen… General?" The voice spoke. "Howdy! General Saitori? Do… do you co…. copy… copy partner?"

"Captain Arius!" Saitori held the transceiver up close. "I hear you loud and clear! What's the status?"

"Not…n… not good!" The voice became more clear. "The droid army has taken down our shoreline defenses from the east and west coasts! The border shields are down!"

"What? How did the droids destroy them? Their artillery could never have-"

"They have these invisible wolf things, whatever they are. They went through and destroyed the shield generators."

"Wait," Cecilius listened. "Did he say, invisible wolves?"

"Ugh, chauliodoid stealth hounds," Saitori groaned. "I hate those guys! Should never have designed them. Captain, where are you right now?"

"We were overrun. We are retreating to the center. Be careful, the wolves have infested the streets and are coming your way! Crap! On your right, partner!"

"Captain?" The transceiver became quiet. "Are you there?"

"Well, good thing Dorian got the amplitude through in time!" Cecilius said.

"Yeah, but we gotta get out of here before-"

A series of screams and gunshots could be heard from the hallway.

"The hounds find us," Saitori continued. "That didn't sound good."

"Could we take a geococcoid runner to escape?" Cecilius asked.

Saitori heard the door behind her make a slight creek. She looked to see the door open by itself slowly. As she spotted a set of seven red eyes dashing for Dorian, Saitori drew her teal blade to cut the stealth hound in half as it jumped. The halves of the mechanical wolf became visible while electrical sparks flailed across the air with green liquid oozing out.

"Wh… what," Dorian shook, slowly closing her laptop. "What was that?"

"That," Saitori made a deep breath. "That was a stealth hound. Seems like they reached this floor. Too bad all of the geococcoid runners are at the hangar below. So much for that plan."

Cecilius drew his gray sword.

"Well, we got a helipad a couple of floors up from here, right?" He spoke.

"Okay, then we got to move before more of those stealth hounds show up," Saitori replied.

The UICA president looked at Dorian.

"Dorian, we cannot lose you. You are the only one who can counter the Eclipser and make contact with the players," Cecilius told her. "Stay close to us, we will lead the way."

"O… okay," Dorian placed her computer in her case. "But we have to carry these other computers and laptops to continue sending more amplitude packages."

"We will help," Saitori placed the other devices in a nearby backpack.

"General!" Cecilius yelled as he jumped in front of the ladies.

The UICA president was blocking laser bullets coming out of thin air.

"Lead the way, Saitori!" Cecilius shouted as the two wolves appeared from nowhere, continuing to fire with their back blasters. "I will cover from behind!"

Saitori nodded as she slung the backpack in her back and grabbed Dorian's arm out the other door. Cecilius backed up quickly as one of the hounds lunged. When the savage droid opened its vicious electrified fangs, the UICA president kicked the wolf's face and stabbed the blade at its eyes. When he spotted the other wolf disappearing towards the ladies, he swiftly jumped across the table, stomping on the mechanical hound's blasters before piercing his blade onto its head.

"Huh," Cecilius spun his blade across his fingers. "Can't believe we had to see these wolves again."

Saitori peeked her head out of the door to spot any movement.

"All clear," She whispered to the others. "Remember, we can't make too much noise with those hounds on the loose. Walk quietly."

The general led Dorian out to the right of the empty hall while Cecilius watched their backs. As they crept through the hall full of tattered equipment and dead bodies. The lights ominously flickered in rhythm with their footsteps. Dorian trembled with the two, smelling the air of dried blood. Saitori lifted her hand as the three heard a growling, spotting a stealth hound chasing a UICA worker from afar.

"Damn," Saitori grumbled. "Those hounds turned our center into a bloodbath."

"M… more like a scene from... from a horror movie," Dorian's hands shook with her laptop case. "Eh, now I… I don't blame Shien."

"Shien?" Cecilius whispered as he checked behind them. "You're a friend of Dr. Niang's son?"

"Yeah, Shien hates horror movies. That poor kiddo. We decided to watch a sci-fi horror movie, Shien couldn't stop crying."

"Ooof. Did he recover?"

"Uh-huh, but it was a long process. My friend, Calice, had to like cuddle him for an hour."

"Okay, why are you guys talking so much?" Saitori glared, lifting her hand again.

The three abruptly stopped behind Saitori's arm as they spotted sets of red eyes pouncing into a room ahead of them. Dorian sweated as she heard screams and gunshots. Saitori signaled the two to turn right, away from the room.

"You see that, dumbbells!" Saitori clenched her teeth. "The more we talk, the more likely those freakin dogs will hear us."

"Well, sorry that I had to comfort Ms. Cazeium here, General. She's never experienced the Niang Chronicles like us old men."

"Doesn't matter! She's gonna have to get used to it."

"General!"

"Shhh!" Saitori murmured. "Ugh, it was much easier to work with Dr. Niang along with Oreic and Rahim those years ago."

The three encountered an intersection. Saitori looked at all three routes to check if they were clear as the lights kept flickering on and off. The hallway seemed empty. She pointed to the rightward route.

"The helipad is this way," She said.

They continued to follow Saitori's lead through the eerie hallway.

"President!" A loud voice shouted as Cecilius felt a tug at his leg. "Pres… Cecilius!"

The three gasped to see from the floor, a green-haired man wearing broken glasses. He had a large cut on his body.

"Dr. Kullian," Cecilius bent down to the man. "Are you okay?"

"I… I'll be fine, just a scratch," The man grumbled. "Why are you still here?"

"We are trying to escape to the helipad."

"Then go, quickly!"

"We aren't just going to leave you!" Cecilius took off his yellow coat to wrap it around the wound the best he can.

"N… no! No time!" Dr. Kullian panicked. "He… he will find us!"

"Don't worry, we handled those machine dogs before."

"No! No! Not the dogs!"

"What? What do you mean?" Cecilius questioned as he held Dr. Kullian's arm around his back.

"Coast is still clear so far," Saitori told them. "Let's keep it that way. Dorian, the laptop is safe?"

"Y… yes, general," Dorian wiped off a sweat drop.

"Good, then we should move."

"No! Leave me!" Dr. Kullian struggled to break free from Cecilius' tough arms.

"He's coming! He's coming! Please leave me! No time… wherever he goes… the darkness follows!"

"Wait a minute," Saitori's eyes enlarged. "What did you just say?"

"He… he brings the dark with him!"

"What… what does he mean?" Dorian trembled, almost dropping her laptop.

"Dr. Kullian," Saitori asked as they walked across the flickering hallway. "What did… what did his face look like?"

Suddenly, Dr. Kullian screamed as he continued struggling away from Cecilius.

"Doctor! Calm yourself! You will lead the stealth hounds here!" Cecilius yelled. "I told you, we won't leave you! What's wrong with you?"

"His face changes!" Dr. Kullian began to shout out obnoxiously, scaring Dorian. "Baby faces! Bloody ones. Dollies! Happy, happy rabbits! Haha, cute kids, cute kids, cuddly things. Hehe, happy kitty becomes the devil's face! Bugs coming out of the pony face! The doll turned bloody! Aaahhh! Circle mouths!"

"No. No, it can't be," Saitori shuddered. "Not him."

The three blankly looked at Saitori as she leaned her head on the wall, closing her eyes as she breathed hard.

"What, what's wrong?" Dorian quietly asked as her feet shook,

Saitori didn't reply. The four then heard a rustling behind them. They looked to see sets of red eyes scrambling behind them.

"Shoot! The stealth hounds heard us!" Saitori exclaimed. "We've got to move!"

As Dr. Kullian continued to scream, the group ran for their lives while the stealth hounds were unseen specters that jumped from wall to wall as they fired with their back blasters. Saitori stepped back to protect the group. The others ran through the hallway maze as the stealth hounds scampered on the blood-stained walls with their visibility flickering on and off. Saitori sweated, knowing she may be unable to protect the others for long. When a set of electrified fangs appeared in front of her from thin air, a man with a fedora kicked the wolf while another man finished it off with his laser pistol. The gang looked to see the fedora bounce across the wall to cut down the other hounds. After the two men finished off the stealth hounds, they looked back at the four.

"Howdy, yall!" The man with gray hair tipped his fedora.

"Ah, Captain Arius!" Saitori said with relief. "Magnus!"

"Glad we could come in time," The other man with gray and orange hair spoke. "Too bad we couldn't help the others. President Cecilius!"

"Mr. Qalvic," Cecilius smiled. "Glad you and the captain are okay. Where's the rest of your squad?"

Magnus looked at the tattered floor without saying a word.

"We're all that's left, pres," Arius spoke as he rubbed Magnus' shoulder.

There was a moment of silence.

"I… I um… I am so sorry," Cecilius replied.

Dr. Kullian let out a weary moan as Cecilius almost dropped him.

"Woah there, partner," Arius quickly held the doctor by the armpits. "Looks like he passed out. Magnus and I can hold him, president."

"Thanks, captain," The UICA president said as Magnus stepped in to take Dorian's place.

"Oh! Hey, Dorian!" Magnus recognized her. "Didn't know you were here. Let me take over for you."

"Hey, Magnus," Dorian forced a smile to distract herself from everything. "Thanks."

"Thought you were in the game with my bro and the others. Hope they're alright. I couldn't contact them at all."

"Oh, don't… don't worry," Dorian hugged her laptop tightly as she heard a stealth hound howling from the floor below them. "We found a way… to lead the players out."

"Really? How?"

"It's… it's a long story."

"Okay, if you all are done talking," Saitori went in front of the group. "We should get moving."

"Ms. Cazeium," Cecilius walked with Dorian. "Are you alright? You don't seem well."

"Um, it's just," Dorian mumbled, clutching her laptop case. "Why? Why is this happening? People are dying, and my friends are stuck in the game."

"Trust me, we all are just as confused as you are. I… I am so sorry you had to witness all of this."

Saitori led them up the stairs.

"Ms. Cazeium," Cecilius began. "I assure you, we will get out of here. We will stop the Eclipser and get to the bottom of this Federation plot. Now we know how to counter the Eclipser, there's hope."

Dorian nodded.

"Okay," Saitori told the group. "The helipad is across this floor."

"Strange," Arius grumbled. "There aren't any bodies here."

"Guessing the stealth hounds haven't reached here yet," Magnus struggled to hold Dr. Kullian up.

"Guys?" Dorian looked outside the window. "What's that?"

Saitori and the others stopped to look. Across the city, purple circles erupted from the sky. Out of the circles came enormous warships, shaped like sharks.

"Huh?" Dr. Kullian slowly woke up. "What, what's happening?"

The large sharks groaned with power as they emerged from the portals. Their long bodies faced towards a tall building with a bird statue.

"That's, that's our other WARBLER Center on the other side of the city!" Cecilius said.

"Wait," Arius thought. "Almost all our forces went to the beaches!"

"Holy crap!" Magnus stomped on the ground. "Don't tell me, the shoreline invasion was all a distraction!"

"Chimaeras," Saitori shook her head from her painful memories of the Niang Chronicles. "We should go before those droid warships find this WARBLER Center too!"

"But, our other WARBLER Center there should occupy them for a while, right?" Magnus mentioned. "I mean it's not like that center has no defenses."

The group then witnessed the WARBLER Center's little turrets firing at the warships while little helicopters attempted to flee from the building. However, the warships opened compartments near their eyes, firing swarms of missiles at the building. As the WARBLER Center collapsed with a catastrophic purple explosion, the remaining missiles blasted all the other choppers down. The gang was speechless until the chimaeras slowly turned towards their direction.

"Uh oh!" Arius exclaimed. "I think we've been spotted!"