Author's Note: I'm terribly sorry for how long this took to get out. I've become increasingly involved with the #SaveCOH movement and have spent a lot of my writing time helping them out. But, I don't want to keep you any longer, so enjoy!


Chapter 2

As the Rovers attempted to extricate themselves from their literal dog pile, they saw they were in a large open room, not unlike a warehouse in design. All around, they could see unusual equipment leaning against the walls and scattered about the floor. Weaving between the equipment, people of every size and description could be seen. Some, they noted, looked decidedly inhuman. Turning towards the voice they had just heard, they saw the voice's source standing next to the raised platform they had landed on, a tall, thin woman whose white hair fell to the small of her back. As they watched, the Master approached the woman and shook her hand.

"Morgana, it's good to see a familiar face," he said.

Turning to the mostly untangled Rovers, the Master gestured to the woman.

"Rovers, I'd like you to meet Morgana, master sorceress and a good friend of mine."

The sorceress turned towards the Rovers and bowed slightly.

"It is a distinct pleasure to meet all of you all," she said, a melodious tone to her voice.

Her face grew pensive for a moment, before turning to Gavin.

"No need to intrude on my private thoughts," she cautioned.

Gavin blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm still getting used to controlling that."

"It's quite alright, dear. Just don't let your mind wander too much. Now, I think I deserve an explanation, Shepherd," she turned back to the Master. "You suddenly go missing twelve years ago, and then, not two days ago, Justinian picks up your brainwaves just as suddenly as they vanished."

"Well, you see -"

"Hold on!" interrupted Hunter. "I think we deserve an explanation as well. Where exactly are we, and how did you know where we were?"

Morgana looked at the Rover's leader in puzzlement.

"You mean your Master never told you?"

"Never told us what?" asked Exile.

The silvery-haired woman turned back to Shepherd.

"Do you think they're ready?" she asked.

Shepherd pondered for a moment.

"Well," he began, "the original Rovers demonstrated their worth as heroes time and again under my guidance, and the Neo Rovers rescued the rest of us from a grim fate. So, I'd say that, yes, they are ready." He turned to the Rovers. "Follow us, everyone."

As the Rovers filed down off the platform, the Master undid Muzzle's restraints.

"I'm sure you remember this place, dontcha boy?" he asked. "Now, be good while we go on our tour, okay?"

The Rottweiler gave his master an affectionate lick before trotting off into the maze of equipment that covered the floor. Catching up to the others at the base of the platform, the Master joined Morgana and gestured for the rest to follow.

"So," he said, "what do you all know about me personally?"

"Shortly you developed the transdogmafier, General Parvo attempted to sabotage your efforts," Alex stated. "After failing that, he used your dog Scout to blackmail you into giving up the device's blueprints, destroying your lab shortly thereafter. Sometime later, you reemerged as the Master, with a new base of operations and new transdogmafiers, which you used to create the original Road Rovers."

"Very good, Alex," the Master said, complimenting the malamute, "I see you did your homework. And while all of that is true, that is not all that happened. You see, when my laboratory was destroyed, I was still inside it, and I was buried under several tons of rubble."

The Rovers looked on in shock as the Master continued.

"Thankfully, I lost consciousness almost instantly. I don't know how long I was knocked out, but when I woke up, I was surrounded by unfamiliar sights and sounds. Morgana, along with a few others, informed me that I had been caught in a collapsing office building."

"We had attempted to use an amnesiac on him," said Morgana, as they piled into an elevator, "but when he rebuffed our story, we realized that his memories were still intact."

"Why did you try to erase his memory?" asked Exile.

Morgana pressed a button on the elevator's console before replying.

"I'll explain that later," she said, "but when we realized that he remembered what had happened, and that he was the inventor of the transdogmafier, we recruited him."

"And just who is 'we'?" asked Blitz.

The elevator dinged as it came to a halt, and the Rovers followed the Master and Morgana out onto a balcony, overlooking an enormous room.

"Road Rovers," said the sorceress, "welcome to W.I.S.P. Headquarters."

The Road Rovers were stunned into silence as they looked down into the cavern below them. The walls and ceiling of the enormous chamber were largely unspoiled. Stalactites, some several yards long, hung from the ceiling. On the walls, picturesque rock formations interplayed with a number of doors and catwalks that crisscrossed the cave. Hundreds of people bustled about, giving the room the look and feel of an enormous anthill. On one side, a half dozen people were moving a large crate. The metal box seemed to have a mind of its own as it swayed back and forth erratically, while hanging from the underside of the mobile frame supporting it. On another catwalk, a glass cage was being pushed along. Inside, the Rovers could see what looked like a woman sitting comfortably in a metal chair, her body wreathed in flame. The Rovers watched as a tall, pale man leapt from one of the highest catwalks and fell to the ground floor, only for him to land squarely on his feet and walk away without so much as a limp.

After several moments of watch, mouths agape, before turning back to the two humans with them. Colleen was the first to find her voice.

"What is this place?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Morgana smiled as she replied.

"W.I.S.P." she said, "is the Worldwide Institute for the Study of the Paranormal. Simply put, we investigate, study, and contain paranormal objects and entities. Anything that opposes the world's sense of normality, we investigate and study, and should it prove too dangerous to leave unchecked, we capture and contain it."

"But, what does any of this have to do with our Master?" asked Sylvia.

"That's just it," replied Morgana. "He and all of you are PNEs, Para-Normal Entities. Your Master is what many would call a mad scientist."

The Master nodded as he tapped the side of his head.

"It seems that my brain works fundamentally differently that the rest of humanity," he said. "This allows me to create things, like my transdogmafier, that appear to break the natural laws of the universe. And because all of you were created by a process that cannot be understood by conventional science, you are, by definition, paranormal."

"So, is this how you found out about our missions?" asked Hunter.

"Very astute, Hunter," replied Morgana. "Yes, because you Rovers posed no threat, we would send your Master tasks that could not be handled quietly."

The Rovers pondered this information for a few quiet moments. Taz looked as though he were about to ask to ask a question when a loud klaxon screamed from high on the ceiling.

"Attention!" said a synthetic female voice. "Containment breach in Sector 12. All personnel A4 and below, please commence with standard PNE and PNO protection and containment procedures. All personnel A5 and above, please report to Sector 12, Block 36 immediately."

Instants later, the already busy chamber began to buzz even louder. W.I.S.P. agents began rushing towards the various doors all around the facility.

"What's going on?" asked Hubert.

"Containment breach," replied Morgana as she headed towards the elevator, "PNO-387, murderous semi-sentient plastic toys. Shepherd, if you wouldn't mind?"

She motioned to the elevator.

"Oh, of course."

The Master entered the elevator and turned to the Rovers.

"Stay here, Rovers," he said, "this shouldn't take long, and we can't really have you running around the facility without an escort."

As the elevator's door shut, the Rovers were left in an eerily still room. By now, each and every W.I.S.P. agent had gone to their posts. The klaxon still blared, but the room was empty, except for the eleven cano-sapiens on one of the higher catwalks. After a few moments of silence, Taz spoke up.

"Well, I'm bored. Who wants to take a look around?"

"The Master said to stay here," replied Hunter.

"Oh, come on, mate. What's it gonna hurt to just walk around the room?" Taz asked. He held up his hand in promise. "I swear, I won't touch anything."

With a laugh, the Rovers began moving towards one of the stairways that led downwards. As they walked, they got a better look at the setup of the main hall. Dozens of catwalks crisscrossed the cavern in no discernible pattern, their size and shape just as random as their placement. The stairs that connected them seemed just as random.

However, as Alex looked closer, she could see that there was some method to the madness. It appeared that the entire hall was designed to make it as simple as possible to get from any one door to any other door, all the while avoiding any noticeable patterns and while making as few walkways as possible.

After a few minutes, the Rovers had split up into several groups, promising to call over their communicators on the off chance they found something interesting. The walkways themselves were largely unremarkable, mostly made of steel, held aloft by various supports above and below and everything coated with a brass veneer.

As they walked, they noticed the labels bolted to the walls next to the dozens of doors. Some were labeled as "Safe" containment, some for "Exteras" containment, and some for "Terminus" containment. Some had several names and numbers on them, while a few had only one.

"I can't help but wonder what's behind all these," said Gavin, as he stared at one of the signs.

"The names themselves do conjure up unusual images," replied Hubert. "Like this one, 'PNO-324: Eulogy Tree' or 'PNO-330: Just Take Three'."

"'Site 13, PNE-605: Predatory Thunderstorm, Exteras class'" Alex read from another sign, not twenty feet away. "This elevator must go to another facility."

"This is all rather amusing, but –"

Hubert stopped and sniffed the air, a befuddled look on his face.

"Do you smell that?" he asked.

The other Rovers sniffed and shook their heads

"You're the one with the super nose, Hubert," replied Alex.

"Of course," said the bloodhound, as he continued to smell the air, "let's see…I smell…motor oil…varnished brass…heavy water and…cranial fluid?"

"I'm not sure I want to know how you know the scent of cranial fluid," gagged Gavin. "Where are you smelling all this?"

Hubert sniffed again.

"Two levels down, over there."

He pointed to a door on one of the lower levels. As the three of them watched, the door slid open and a metallic figure walked out. Its metal hide gleamed with a brassy hue, as it stepped out into the main hall. Its arms, legs, and torso were covered in armored plates, and even at their distance, the Rovers could hear the faint clattering of clockwork gears as its metal feet clanked softly against the steel floor. As they watched, it looked over its shoulder, as though making sure it was unseen. Instinctually, the Rovers ducked behind the catwalk's railing, thanking their lucky stars that they were waist-high walls, rather than just rails.

As they watched, the robotic figure raised one of the fingers on its hand and placed it against the sign next to the door through which it had entered. After it had pressed its finger against the sign in several seemingly random places, the Rovers watched the sign swung open, revealing a panel full of electric controls. As they watched, it began to type at the control panel. Moments later, an unusual sound permeated the hall.

Gavin reached for his communicator.

"Hey guys, did you hear that?" he asked.

"That sound like the demon spawn of a bass guitar and a humpback whale?" came Taz's reply. "Yeah, we heard it."

"Are you seeing what caused sound, comrade?" asked Exile.

"Not sure," replied Gavin, "stand by."

Turning back to the clockwork figure below them, Gavin watched as the door opened a second time. This time, three brass automatons walked out, one in front and two behind. The one in front was a head taller than the others, and between the two in the back, a young woman could be seen, struggling against the metallic arms that held her and the metal faceplate that kept her silent. As they stopped in front of the open control panel, Gavin's ears perked up as he heard it speak.

"Your DNA is necessary to complete the transition," it said, its metallic voice drumming through the air. "Your voluntary compliance is unnecessary, but further resistance will be in vain. The Broken Lord does not delight in senseless destruction, but should you not comply, we will extract your DNA by force."

The young woman wilted as the Rovers watched. She then reached up and pulled out one of the brown hairs that fell to the small of her back.

"The Broken Lord thanks you for your compliance," said the leader said. "Perhaps he will show you mercy on the Day of Integration."

As the mechanical being placed the hair on the control panel, the hall's voice spoke.

"DNA match: Deborah Faustus, A6. Modifications accepted, altering teleportation matrix."

"Wait, 'teleportation matrix'?" asked Alex. "Does that mean –"

The malamute was interrupted as she heard the familiar sound of the "elevators" activating.

"Everyone!" she called over the communicator, "find someplace to hide out of sight from the doors! We've got visitors coming in, and I don't think they're friendlies!"

She, Gavin, and Hubert rushed towards the center of the room, huddling down below the railing as doors all over the hall began to open. Peering over the railing, they watched as dozens of mechanical beings began to enter the room. As more and more filed in, the hall began to fill with the rhythmic clanking of their mechanical feet on the floor and the incessant clattering of their clockwork insides.

"Hey guys," said Hunter over the communicator, "somehow, I don't think this is a social call."

"Any ideas?" asked Blitz.

Gavin was about to answer, when he heard a voice ringing out somewhere in the cave.

"All you who are faithful, all you who have taken up the cause of the Broken Lord, today is a day that shall live on in history. For today, we retrieve that which rightfully belongs to the Broken Lord and begin the Day of Integration."

Gavin jumped as he heard Alex wheezing next to him, her eyes glowing a pale purple light.

"Alex, what are you doing?" he whispered.

"Whatever it is that they want, it's obviously not in this room," she replied, "and it's fairly obvious they're up to no good. So, if we can keep them here, we can keep them from whatever it is they want."

"And how to you plan on keeping them here?" asked Hubert.

"By sending out an EM pulse and frying the teleporters."

"Hold that thought, Alex," said Gavin. He pressed his communicator before continuing. "Everyone listen up, if you heard that speech, then you know that these guys are up to no good. Alex can disable the teleporters with an EMP, trapping them here, but that means we'll be trapped here with them. It also means that we'll be flying blind, unable to communicate. I wanted to let you guys know before we did anything."

"Gavin," said Hunter, "we will be able to communicate. Through you."

The statement stunned the Border collie.

"But I've never tried that before," he stuttered. "I don't even know what I'm capable of!"

Alex laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Gavin," she said, "you've already set up a mental link with someone, remember? When we fought the AI Master, you and I linked to combine our powers. I know it will be hard, but I know you can do this."

"We believe in you, mate," said Taz.

"Ja, you can do it," said Blitz.

"We're all with you," said Hunter.

As the other Rovers weighed in their support, Gavin swallowed nervously. However, when he glanced up and looked into Alex's eyes, he felt his determination congeal.

"Okay," he said, "here I go."

Gavin closed his eyes, reaching out and searching for the other Rovers' minds. He found Alex's and Hubert's first and latched onto them. Next, he found Taz, Blitz, and Sylvia. Within moments, he was reading all of the Rovers' minds simultaneously. In his mind's eye, he envisioned tying the threads of their thoughts into a knot, and moments later, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We know you could do it," thought Sylvia.

"Okay then," thought Hunter. "Alex, light 'em up!"

Instants later, the hall plunged into twilight as Alex's pulse fried every piece of electronics in the room. The teleporters, the lights, even the klaxon on the ceiling, were destroyed as the wave of energy swept over the hall. However, the room was not completely dark, as the dozens of metal creatures gave off a soft green glow from their midsections and heads.

"What is going on?" said the voice from before.

After a moment, another voice spoke up.

"Sir, it appears that the teleporters, along with all electronics, have been destroyed."

"Then search the hall! Find who did this and bring them to me!"

As the sound of clanking metal feet filled the hall, Gavin thought to the others.

"Okay guys, we're outnumbered by almost ten to one. I think guerrilla tactics are the name of the game. Sylvia, Shag, stay near Taz. His powers will make him the most visible of us all, and he's going to need backup. We need someone to help that girl they have cap –"

"I will do it!" Exile interjected. "I will save her."

Gavin paused for a moment.

"Okay, Exile's on hostage duty. Everyone else, hit and run. Did I miss anything, Hunter?"

Gavin could sense the Labrador's approval.

"Just one thing," Hunter thought. "What's Hubert going to do?"

"It just so happens," said the bloodhound, reaching into one of his pockets, "that I managed to pocket one of our sphere launchers before the Sonic Rover crashed."

"But, will that not be destroyed like the rest of the room?" asked Anton.

"Fortunately," Hubert pulled out the launcher and cocked it, "it has no electronic parts."

"Well then, I think we're ready!" thought Hunter.

"Good luck, everyone," said an unfamiliar voice.

Gavin paused for a moment.

"Shag?" he asked.

"Yes," replied the sheepdog, "the transdogmafication process left much of my mind doglike, preventing me from physically vocalizing my thoughts, but in here, I can be just as articulate as the rest of you. It is a shame I cannot express myself beyond this mental link."

"Problem for another day," thought Colleen, "let's kick some clockwork keester."

As one, the eleven Rovers raised their muzzles to the sky and howled as they leapt into action.

Leaping from his hiding place, Hubert loaded a round into his launcher and fired, the ball-like projectile whizzing through the air. Striking one of a group of automatons, it detonated with a blinding flash and resounding bang. As the bloodhound chambered another round, Gavin and Alex rushed the stunned automatons. Grasping one by the arm, Gavin spun and hurled it over the edge of the catwalk. Taking a running leap, Alex struck another in the head with a spinning kick. She cringed slightly as the head crumped under her blow; the sounds of metal grinding and pipes snapping as the automaton's glow died down and it crumpled to the ground. The pair rushed away into the darkness, before the automatons could react.

Up above them, Taz's arms burned brightly as he hurled blast after blast of fire at the incoming waves of automatons.

"Come on, ya rusty tea kettles! Gimme all ya got!" he cackled.

One automaton managed to get within striking distance of the flaming dingo, but before it could land a solid blow, Taz summoned two white hot plumes of fire and struck at its arms. He watched with satisfaction as the automaton's arms fell away, molten slag dripping from the points where he had connected. As the automaton turned and ran, Taz called to Sylvia.

"Some arm-y they got here, huh?"

"Not now, Taz!" exclaimed Sylvia.

The German shepherd was fighting off a trio of automatons, barely holding her own. One managed to get her in an arm lock, while the other two moved to hit her. Cringing, Sylvia felt pain rush through her as the bones in upper arms snapped. Ignoring the pain, she made use of the extra joint to escape the automaton's grasp. Green healing energy rushed down her arms as she punched one in the face, its faceplate crumpling under her fist. A hard kick sent another over the edge of the rail, as she spun and swept the legs of a third automaton. Swiftly reaching down, she twisted the metal man's neck until she felt viscous fluid flowing over her hands.

"Bloody brutal, Slyvie!" exclaimed Taz.

"Just like hunting squirrels," replied Sylvia.

Her eyes went wide as her eyes looked past the dingo.

"Taz, behind you!"

An enormous juggernaut was careening down the catwalk towards them, its metal feet cracking the floor beneath it. Taz formed fireball and hurled it at the oncoming automaton, but it seemed to shrug off the superhot flames as it barreled on. Taz stood routed to the ground in fear as it came closer, when suddenly, he heard a roar behind him. Turning, he watched as the white mass of fur known as Shag leapt towards the hulking machine. Meeting the metal mass head on, Shag shouldered the beast and planted his feet on the ground. After a few tense moments, the automaton had stopped in its path and raised its arms to strike at Shag. As it brought its arm down, Shag grabbed the arm, as well as the second that quickly followed. Roaring like a mad beast, Shag pulled with all his might and tore the behemoth's arms off, before tossing them aside. Planting his feet apart, he grasped the automaton's underbelly, before lifting the hulking figure above his head and hurling it down over the side. The sounds of its descent rang throughout the cave as the sheepdog turned to Taz.

"Next time," he said via Gavin's mental link, "do not let fear stop you from preserving your own life."

Taz swallowed as he stared up at the hulking Rover.

"Got it," he mumbled.

"Now come," thought Shag, laying a hand on Taz's shoulder. "Let us show these mechanical creatures what we are truly capable of."

Elsewhere in the cavern, Hunter rushed to and fro along the catwalks, barely slowing down as he tripped, kicked, and punched his adversaries at super-fast speeds.

"Alaska! Rhode Island! Alabama!" cried Colleen, each exclamation punctuating a punch or kick.

"I still don't understand why you do that!" exclaimed Hunter.

With a super spin, he used one of the automatons as a bludgeon, knocking half a dozen others.

"To tell you the truth, Hunty," replied Colleen, smashing the faceplate of another automaton, "I haven't the foggiest!"

Down below, Exile had managed to sneak down towards the automaton's hostage. Peering over the railing just above her, he could see she was still being held by two automatons. Activating his ice vision, he froze one of the automatons solid and leapt down to blast the second one. He used his heat vision to melt a hole straight through the automaton's chest before sending it crashing into the wall with a flying kick. Turning to the iced one, he drew back and punched it, shattered the brass machine into pieces.

Turning back to the young woman, he smiled. The woman was staring at him with a look of bewilderment and shock.

"Don't worry, baryshnya," he said. "I am here to help. Let's see if I can get this off you."

Exile watched as she turned her back to him and pointed to spot on her faceplate. Looking closer, Exile could see what looked like a lock on the back. After analyzing the back of the faceplate, he looked around.

"Did either one have a key?" he asked.

The woman turned towards him with a look that spoke volumes.

"Right, you would have already gotten it," Exile muttered. "Right, well, hold your donkeys. This might hurt a little."

Aiming his heat vision at the lock, he melted a portion of it, before quickly freezing the molten metal. Gripping both sides of the faceplate, he pulled with all his might, and with a resounding snap, the metal gag snapped in half.

"There you go," said Exile. "Did I –"

Exile's thought were interrupted as the woman gripped both sides of his face and pressed her forehead to his. In his shock, he barely heard her whisper something.

"Decernite et nominis sui et propositum."

Exile felt something strange in the back of his mind, before the woman drew back.

"Exile," she said, smiling, "one of Dr. Shepherd's cano-sapiens."

"How did you…" Exile stammered.

"A simple identify spell," she replied. "I'm Deborah, by the way, but we need to save the formalities for later. You and your friends are fighting these guys all wrong."

Exile looked at her in confusion.

"There is a right way to fight them?" he asked.

Deborah sighed, bring a hand to her face.

"Of course, you wouldn't know," she mumbled.

She walked over to the railing, looking down at the bottom of the cavern, where a pile of automaton parts was slowly growing as more of the mechanical beings fell from above.

"These are the Disciples of the Broken Lord," she said. "They replace their bodies with mechanical parts to show their devotion to their master, and when enough of them are damaged or destroyed within too short a time…"

Deborah paused as the sound of clanking of clockwork grew louder. Exile watched as the pile of parts began to move on its own accord, gears and springs snapping together, as the glow he had seen coming from within the automatons above began to shine from within the pile. Within moments, a towering mechanical creature rose to its feet.

"They combine their bodies and minds to form something even more powerful," Deborah finished.

Exile gaped in shock and awe as he saw the piece of machinery continue to assemble themselves. Claws two feet in length sprang from the ends of its arms, teeth the size of his own head could be seen within its enormous maw, and a barbed point appeared on the end of the creature's tail. Within moments, an enormous reptilian machine was standing at the base of the cavern.

As the beast rose to its full height and roared, Exile put his hand to the side of his head.

"Comrades," he thought, "I think we may be in over our beds."