Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for everything he offered to improve the writing for the story. I hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter 72: Battle For Chaotic Part 7

Imthor carefully monitored the progression of Milla'iin and the other M'arrillians through the tunnels. It was slow going, thankfully, given the number of dead ends and loops, but that would only deter them so long. Turning his attention, he gazed at the spot where Crellan had been. It was empty now. He had left only a short while ago with Tirasis to take the teleportation device to the Players. At the rate things were going they needed to evacuate them fast.

"Got any message from Michael? I bet he's pissed off at us," Hotekk commented.

"You should know already." Imthor said

"I am dedicating 100% of my processor capacity to fighting off the M'arrillians. I have no time for what's going on with Earth," Hotekk replied as he continued making sure the battle remained in their favor.

"Good. Anything strange going on?"

"Not at all," Hotekk sighed loudly. He pressed on the switch and glanced at the other Codemaster. The others also watched them, clearly wondering why he had sighed, "Imthor. Be honest with us. Can we do this? Can we stop them?"

"You…being pessimistic? The world is really ending if you say things like that," Imthor chuckled grimly.

"I'm serious. This battle is going well for now, but the M'arrillians are too numerous for our final line of defense and the four creatures. If they get the humans, then it's over and they will be able to come to Earth."

"It won't happen. I will put everything on the line to stop them. This is why we were made. To protect the Earth, the humans and to study, observe, and understand Perim. Sooner or later, the creatures will reach the Earth. Michael wants it to be peaceful. Father wants it to be peaceful. That is why we exist."

"Yeah. We won't fail," Hotekk replied as he quickly checked a few things. He then pressed on a switch and an explosion took place on his screen. He saw a few M'arrillians blasting through the air.

Imthor noticed the direction Milla'iin was guiding his soldiers, "They are getting closer."

Tension rose among them as the Codemaster messaged the humans and creatures about it. The only thing they had now was hope. They prayed that everything would work out well in the end.

The humans closed their scanners and gazed at the creatures, all of whom were focused on the exit. They seemed ready for anything coming at them. The robot went to the corner and was unnoticeable. Just like when they had first entered the room.

Kaz was glad that his thoughts were currently protected by the circlet, even if he found it to be ridiculous.

"Here they come," Odu-Bathax whispered.

The muscles of everyone tensed as they heard the footsteps of the M'arrillians closing in. They waited and soon, a hint of light shined the darkness.

Milla'iin appeared first, with the Coralsmith, Aval'par, and others following close behind him. Most of them were Chieftains.

"We found the portal," the purple M'arrillian said as he gazed at it. It was majestic.

Milla'iin chuckled as he gazed at the humans and creatures, (Looks like you are the final enemy we need to kill. I am so glad Aa'une's killers are here. We can finally avenge our Oligarch.)

"You think we'll let that happen?" Chaor asked with a confident smirk.

"This is our last stand. We won't fall that easily," Theb-Saar replied with a steely tone.

"We defeated you once, we will do it again," Maxxor commented confidently.

"You're going down," Odu-Bathax said, pointing his finger at them.

(You are fools! You are outnumbered and we are more powerful than you! We will capture the Messenger and you will fall!)

The Overworlder frowned Milla'iin's cockiness, "You think you will get him or any of the humans? You will have to go through us first."

Sarah had her hand in her pocket. She held the handle of her knife, observing them.

"I got one too," Peyton whispered as also had his hand in his pocket.

Tom crossed his arms. He hadn't brought anything with him. Just thinking of stabbing a creature himself didn't feel right. He knew they might have no choice, but he didn't have to like it. He did regret not thinking of bringing anything for self defence this time though. He hadn't expected the M'arrillians to show up today, "Not me."

"Me neither," Kaz sighed.

"Didn't bring what?" Reggie asked nervously.

"Something to protect ourselves," Sarah told them.

Cassandra knew what she meant, "I got pepper spray in my pocket. It's small though, so only for one creature or two." Already she was targeting Milla'iin. His big eyeball was an easy target.

"Got nothing," Alexandre grumbled. He gazed at them, "Should have been more careful."

"Gonna need something if they come to Earth.," Kaz gulped just at the thought of them coming here.

"It won't happen. It won't," Lulu replied reassuringly, though her voice betrayed her fear.

Done talking, the M'arrillians began approaching the creatures. They would all be grinning, if they had a face that was.

Only the Coralsmith remained back. He wasn't certain if this was the right thing to do anymore. His hesitation to reach the Cothica had only grown since the invasion. He knew what Milla'iin would do to the Cothica. He knew there would be a lot of damage if they put their hands and tendrils upon that world. Still, he wanted to see the Cothica. He wanted to meet this Lord. If that Lord created the Cothica, he could easily fix it. Still, it wasn't making things easier. This invasion felt wrong. Just watching the boy Tom and the Messenger made him hesitate. Still, he was here for one thing and he would see it through to the end, no matter what that end was.

"Intruders detected!" a voice suddenly yelled.

The M'arrillians turned around and saw a large machine with weapons out, aiming at them.

(Split up!) Milla'iin ordered.

The creatures split up as many shots were fired, a few of them yelling painfully as the explosions reached them.

Aval'par saw Chaor coming at him with fire in his hands.

"You thought I forgot what you did to Kazzy?" Chaor asked as his blue eyes shined.

"Of course not," the purple M'arrillian replied as he avoided the attack.

The two creatures began to fight against each other.

Theb-Saar aimed at Milla'iin, hoping to take out the leader of the invasion.

Maxxor and Odu-Bathax launched themselves at two other chieftains.

The humans watched as the battle began. They saw the explosions from the creatures and the large robot as they battled for the portal leading to Earth.

Crellan and Tirasis rushed through the secret corridors leading towards the portal.

"We cannot lose even a second," Crellan said as he transported the heavy material with one hand.

"I know, and you are the one who is dragging us behind!" Tirasis commented

"I'm… I'm not!" Crellan replied furiously.

"Anyway, I hope we'll be there in time and-"

"The M'arrillians have reached the portal. The battle has just begun," Imthor told them.

"And there goes my hope," Tirasis sighed loudly.

"They are currently holding them off. I don't know how long before they reach the humans or the portal. That depends on what they focused on first. From what I can see, you will be there in a minute or two."

"That is long enough for everything to go south," Crellan commented.

"And I'm sure it will go south," Tirasis replied as he accelerated his pace.

"I'm the one with the heavy stuff. Slow down a little," the other Codemaster snapped.

"We cannot send anyone to help you. You better hurry. Especially you Crellan."

"I am the one transporting the heavy stuff!" He yelled back at Imthor.

"There's something else going on. I'll call back when I can. Keep it up."

"Another Codemaster would have been really helpful for you," Tirasis chuckled.

"You can carry some of the heavy stuff too!"

"The platform is something that is better for you to transport. None of the fragile wires or pieces can be damaged or the device would be useless."

"I know!"

"Then hurry up so you can drop them faster."

"Don't try to be funny! This isn't the time at all!"

Imthor checked on the battle in front of the portal. So far, it wasn't going that terribly. The situation was somewhere between bad and manageable. There was nothing they could do to help them though. They needed to evacuate the Chaotic Players as quickly as possible. Only then would their final defense be able to go all out. For now, he knew the robot was restricting itself. He had shown the enemy his most deadly weapons in an attempt to intimidate them. It was working for now, but it wouldn't work forever.

"Dammit. Something else is going on," Hotekk grunted.

He gazed at another screen of one of the cameras. It was the portal from the Deep Ocean. Other M'arrillians were coming out of the portal with weapons. The sight was almost enough to send him into despair. They had no chance against them now.

"Wait," someone said. He didn't check who it was as he was filled with disbelief, "Are they…" he didn't say anything else.

Imthor gazed at them and knew the moment he saw Gal'drad come out that it wasn't going to get worse for them. It wasn't the enemies that had come, but allies. He immediately began communications with them, "What are you doing here?"

Gal'drad searched for the voice who had asked why they were here. "We are here to defend Chaotic."

"You are here to help us," Imthor replied as he grumbled pensively for a few seconds, "We have no choice but to accept The M'arrillians are at the Crellan Drome. I'll guide you to it."

"We will defend the Cothica from Milla'iin!" the Chieftain declared as he raised his tendril.

The other rebels soon joined his side and let out a war cry. The Codemaster gave them directions to go help the alliance.

Gal'drad lead the rebels as they began to search for Milla'iin, "We need to stop them before they try to corrupt the Cothica!"

"Yes Chieftain!" they replied.

(No more words now. They can hear us soon. We need to catch them by surprise.) he told them mentally.

(Yes Chieftain!) they replied.

Imthor felt relieved that help had come. He hadn't expected them to come at all. He put his hand on his chest as he let go of some of the stress.

Hotekk had to agree that it was getting too dangerous for them. The alliance was in trouble and more and more of the machines he was controlling were dropped. Too many had already lost some of their battle power. Already some were getting weaker faster than the other tribes, "Things might turn out well for us. As long as the creatures don't try to attack the rebels when they come to help."

"We will have to warn them. Still, we will need to wait for the perfect moment before calling the creatures. The M'arrillians will know at the same time that enemies will come at them," imthor said.

"You better make sure they get them from behind. An attack on two flanks will be perfect."

"There are no ways to pull that off from where the M'arrillians are. The two ways would allow them to attack the flank and nothing more," Imthor replied as he observed them. He checked the map, "And they will have an escape route from the path Gal'drad didn't take."

"So, there is just trouble for us," Hotekk grunted before focusing back on the battle and ignoring the reinforcements for now.

"We will need to find a way to block that escape route. Maybe they can split up into two groups?" Imthor contemplated the possibility.

"Not a chance, they are already in the corridor and they would lose time to turn back," Hotekk told the other Codemaster.

"Then we will have to act quickly and coordinate everything so they can't escape and join the others. They are surely already aware of the portal location."

With those words, the Codemasters continued monitoring everything in uneasy silence.

AC: This is the end of this part.

Next part: The battle went on as the rebels came to help. Meanwhile, near the portal, the battle takes a turn for the worst as someone falls.