Impossible Creatures, Chapter Fourteen, Part Two: Island of the Crazies.
Rex allowed himself a quick breather one he had dosed himself with the cure spilling from the ruined chamber. He watched his now healthy dozen Eeri milling about the chamber and turned to check on Wolf. He was lying down, his forepaws nearly touching the pool of liquid cure, panting heavily and looking exhausted. Rex realized he felt rather like Wolf looked. A sudden tiredness begged him to sit down and made his head swim. Rex leaned unsteadily against a slightly slanted pole that had been holding up the cure chamber, his head hanging. He might be cured now but he hadn't realized until the rush of adrenadile from battle faded how worn out his body had become battling the Sigma-targeted virus. He fought not to sit down beside Wolf. They still had to rescue Lucy, and there was also a base to destroy on this island. Weakly he waved the Eeri over to the pathway leading around to the southern part of the island to stand guard there. He radioed the base for them to send the gyrocoper up with some supplies. It was be easiest if he built a second creature chamber beside the source of the cure so he wouldn't lose any more creatures to the virus.
Rex dozed off standing, propped up by the post. He wasn't even awake when the gyrocopter landed and the henchman started to set up the creature chamber.
A nudge at his ankle brought his eyes open though. Wolf lurched up onto his paws, looking a little unsteady still, but with his white eyes shining in determination.
"What is it, Wolf?" Rex couldn't see any enemy creatures approaching. But Wolf was focused back the way they'd come. They had travelled in a full U-turn following the lay of the land and now overlooked the first metal dock just down from their base. Rex followed Wolf's line of sight and gaped as a huge creature broke the surface of the bay, blowing a spout of vapor into the air. It was a sperm whale. "Come on, Wolf. We've got to get a sample!" Rex told Wolf, and they set off together back down the hill.
The whale was still swimming in a lazy, unrushed fashion when they made it to the edge of the metal platform. Rex glanced down at the water - several meters from the dock surface. He could have continued up closer to his main base and entered the water at the little beach beside it, but Rex didn't want to risk the whale diving while he doubled back. He pulled off his boots, rifle and his shirt and overcoat, taking in his hand a single needle to collect a sample. Then he dived off the metal dock.
He hit the water smoothly and kept plunging down for a short distance. When he opened his eyes, the world of water was nearly dominated by a grey wall he realized was the side of the whale. Light reflected a shimmering pattern off the whale's skin. Striking out for the surface, his head broke through the waves and he drew in a deep breath. Wolf stared down at him from above, looking anxious. "Don't worry, Wolf." Rex had no intention of getting eaten by a whale. No one would be left to rescue Lucy.
He didn't even think the whale felt it as he took the sample. It was so large - bobbing beside it, Rex would only make out a shadowy grey shape, mainly underwater. He got the impression of a peaceful, intelligent mind as he laid his hand on the whale's side. But there was little time to acquaint himself with the cetacean. Rex struck out for the little beach beside his base. He had to get to Lucy... he didn't know what he'd do without her.
Wolf trotted up to meet him, carrying a white piece of material in his jaws. Rex recognized his shirt when Wolf dropped it at his feet. He patted him gratefully after he put it on and Wolf wagged his tail, accompanying the man as he went back up the metal dock to collect the rest of his belongings.
As they arrived at their small outpost, a mob of chameleon-bats winged up form the south. They passed quite low overhead, aiming their tongue attacks at the new creature chamber, but a few Eeri soon took care of the fragile flyers. Wolf sprang up at the last one and batted at it, sending it bouncing off the metal dome of the cure chamber. It didn't move again afterwards. Rex was pleased to see Wolf's usual agility returning - it meant he was recovering well form the virus.
The chamber was completed by now. Rex decided to update a few of his designs now that he had new whale DNA to add in. The first thing he did was update the Lorca, replacing the killer whale portion with the new sperm whale sample. It was much the same creature, only with even higher health, so Rex didn't change its name. His Killer Tiger became bigger and stronger, too. He began production.
Hammerhead chimps started to attack from further down the path. They didn't have as good defense or as much health as the Eeri but they were persistent and they scooped up handfuls of rocks and metal scraps to rain upon Rex's army. Eeri snorted and pawed the ground as they waited for the wary shark-age hybrids to venture close enough for a battle of ranged attacks to begin.
Rex set them up in a semi-circle with three rows, so they could fire over one another's heads. He flanked the edge of the formation with Killer Tigers, which blasted the hammerhead-chimps with sonic waves to slow them down and let the Eeri fire electrical attacks. In this way they defended themselves until Rex had enough of an army to attack. He prepared the substantial force of thirty Eeri, four Killer Tigers, and ten Lorca.
They were ready.
Down the path was a soundbeam tower. In itself it didn't present much danger, but there was a herd of hammerhead-sharks grouped around a chamber just below it. To his shock, Rex saw a very similar shape to the Eeri emerge form the creature chamber. It was a hippo-eel, a slightly smaller remake of the Eeri design. Rex brought it down quickly, before he started concentrating on the hammerhead-chimps. Luckily his Eeri had slightly better range.
He lost two Eeri in the attack, but the Lorca were soon grouped around the creature chamber, ripping it to shreds in their claws. Meanwhile the Eeri pressed forward and removed a soundbeam tower from a nearby hillside. Rex, mounted on Wolf, saw a small but well set-up base just ahead of the hill. Soundbeam towers were protected by brambles. He let the Orca go in first, their tough exoskeletons granting them some protection from the soundwaves and the fence's thorns. With as many Eeri as he had they had little trouble breaking through the defenses. They were harassed by more Hippo-eels and another group of hammerhead-chimps that emerged up yet another metal dock further along the path, but they only served to slow them momentarily. They dismantled the anti-air towers at the rear of the base and pressed on to the next dock.
Hornet-eels swooped down as they clopped along it. Eeri fired while on the run, rainbow arcs bright in the air. The hornet-eels barely got a handful of retaliatory blasts back before their striped bodies bounced unforgivingly onto the docks. Rex and the army stampeded onward. Barely a few steps up the dock was yet another creature chamber, guarded by hilltop towers. More hornet-eels swooped. Rex split up the Eeri, letting half attack the soundbeam towers and the remainder target the flying enemies. The Lorca pushed past them to tear down the chamber, used to the routine by now.
The army were looking a bit battered as a whole by the time this base was destroyed. Several Eeri limped and fell to the rear of the army and a Killer Tiger was on its last legs, though it hobbled on resolutely with the rest.
Rex knew when they'd reached the main base. He barely got a glimpse of the soundbeam towers before they were attacked. A dozen hippo-eagles, huge flying shark-eagles, and more hammerhead-chips ran up to defend their base. Stones, soundwaves and electrical charges flew. The Lorca lumbered into the fray. Multiple soundbeam towers slowed them even further. When a second group of hippo-eels swam up form the bay beside the base things started to get ugly. Rex slid from Wolf's back to let him charge in. He plunged towards the nearest hippo-eel and sank his fangs painfully into its nose. The beast reared straight up, but Wolf hung on, swept right off his paws by the bigger creature. A Lorca came to his aid, snapping with its pincers at the hippo-eel's ankles. It crashed down onto its side, easy prey for Wolf and the Lorca.
The Eeri were being steadily depleted by the new hippo-eels. Rex yelled at them to take on one at a time as he loaded his rifle, firing at one in the rear, still afloat in the bay. It sank below the surface as his dart hit home.
A rhino-mantis charged form further back in the base. Some of the main defenses had fallen but Rex's army was dwindling fast. He set two Lorca to seek out and destroy any creature chamber, ignoring all attacks. After dealing with the final hippo-eel he turned the Eeri on the water chamber in the bay. Once that had fallen Rex allowed himself to relax a notch. They had turned the tide, at the cost of over three-quarters of the Eeri. But most of the Lorca had survived a little better, repairing minor damage shortly after receiving it. He set them on some of the bases' smaller buildings, and franctically started a search of the lab and the outbuildings around it. Wolf bounded with him, his keen senses at the ready. Ten tense and frustrating minutes later, he knew Ganglion had lied to him. Lucy wasn't on this island - Ganglion had truly set him up. He stood back and let the Lorca rip into the lab. He didn't flinch as huge chunks of metal rained down from the falling building.
"That's the end of that. Now to pay back Ganglion for bringing us here in the first place." Wolf growled his agreement.
"I don't think so, Mr Chance." Ganglion was monitoring Rex's radio. "Next time you should think twice before you leave your keys behind!" He broke into gleeful and rather deranged giggles as he climbed into the lab. Rex gave a shout of dismay as he saw it taking off. Even with Wolf running at full-speed he never could have made it back to base in time - Ganglion would have disappeared, leaving Rex no idea of where to go.
The Eeri had circled a helicopter pad, where a terrified henchman clung protectively to the gyprocopter upon it. "Wait!" Rex raced over as the Eeri paused, still ready to fire. It was a much bigger gyrocopter than the one he was used to - probably one of Julius's personal ones. It had two seats and a powerful looking propeller.
"I need to borrow your gyrocopter!" He demanded, pushing through the Eeri herd.
"But I love my copter!" Protested the henchman weakly, staring nervously over his shoulder at the restless Eeri. "Aren't you riding in your lab?"
Rex shifted his boots. "Ganglion, um, stole it."
This seemed to bemuse the henchman. "He stole it? How? You'd have to do something stupid, like, uh, leave the keys inside."
"Hey!" Rex protested defensively. "It's not like I haven't had a lot on my mind, all right?" Something snapped within in and he'd had it with arguing. He was watching Lucy's lab flying off into the distance, and any chance of finding her with it. He clenched his fist and smacked the henchman in the jaw, knocking him out cold.
"Come on, Wolf!" The gyrocopter leaned rather noticeably to the side with Wolf in the spare seat, but it still flew. It wasn't difficult to figure out how to steer the copter, since the controls were a more simplified version of the lab's. He turned the craft after the lab.
"I'm coming for you, Lucy. Even if I have to fight through both Julius and Ganglion to do it."
