Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Next Chapter will be out soon and will conclude this Arc. Hope you are exciting for the next Arc, since I'm already writing it.

Feeling the ice shards piercing his body was so painful that Kaz could barely think. Immediately, he put his hands on his wounds. He didn't see blood coming out, but still, the pain was too much. Instinctively, Kaz knew that he would die soon. His vision began to grow dimmer. His eyes became heavy. He had trouble breathing. He felt like he was drowning.

He heard many voices. He didn't know who they were. For a second, he thought his mom was yelling his name. Kaz turned around, but he could barely see anyone. With every moment he felt his heart growing weaker and slowing down so much that standing up was becoming difficult. What he saw best was a large red silhouette.

"Kaz!" Chaor shouted.

"S-sorry," Kaz said with the remaining of his strength. As he closed his eyes and fell on the ground, he heard one last thing.

"KAZ!" his mother said in an agonizing cry.

Chapter 74: Battle For Chaotic Part 9

Kaz suddenly exploded into code. Once the explosion was gone, there was nothing remaining. It was just like a Chaotic match. Except it was outside of the Dromes. Except it felt too real.

Cassandra began to cry while her best friend held her.

The others were also disturbed and shocked by the sight of it. Despite their being no blood, it had felt too real.

"K-kaz," Sarah sobbed.

Tom clenched his hands. He raised his head and glared at the M'arrillians, imagining the worst he could do to them.

(We have one human we can get.) Milla'iin commented.

Chaor stood up. His breathing became loud as his body slowly ignited with fire. He glared at the M'arrillians. "Milla'iin!" He wasn't thinking straight. There was only one thing in his mind. In his heart, there was only anger and one purpose. To turn that creature into ashes, "Incinerase!"

The Underworlder released the fire from his body. The flame never stopped as it went to the M'arrillians. He didn't aim at one of them. He aimed at all of them. He focused it most on the one who killed Kaz though. He heard the M'arrillians screaming in pain. He barely saw his allies getting out of the way. After a few seconds, his attack ended. Grunting, he fell to his knees, feeling exhausted.

Milla'iin had been partially burned by the attack. His tendrils were burned and smoke was coming off of him.

Chaor tried to stand up but couldn't. The attack had drained him completely.

The M'arrillians quickly targeted him.

Theb-Saar, Maxxor and Odu-Bathax quickly stood in their way. The robot jumped and landed in front of the creatures, pointing his weapons at them.

Imthor watched on, his hands shaking. He felt weak. He had failed them. Even if they could give him another code, they had failed them.

Seeing Imthor falter Hotekk yelled, "Focus! We still need to save the others!"

The Codemaster quickly recovered and nodded, "Right. Crellan. You better have finished everything because Kazdan has been coded!"

"I'm doing this as fast as I can! Tirasis is connecting the wires and I pretty much finished installing the platform!"

"Don't worry. We aren't taking our time. Just be ready to let them out of here once we are done," Tirasis replied before they cut connections.

Imthor put his hand on his forehead, trying to ignore the sense of failure weighing on his shoulders, "Hotekk. Where is the M'arrillian army?"

"Fast approaching. They will be here in a minute or two," Hotekk replied, "I cannot slow them down. There are no doors underground. They lost some time getting in there and the creatures and the machines are weakening them. Still, it won't be enough." Suddenly, Imthor saw Hotekka hands start to shake, "I… I also noticed that some of those M'arrillians are young. Not ready for battle, yet, they are fighting and getting butchered."

"Using children to fight. The same as on Earth," Imthor muttered. He focused on the battle near the portal. Chaor was out of commission and they were still many M'arrillians ready to fight.

Peyton yelped as one of the M'arrillians approached him to capture him.

Theb-Saar charged and punched the creature in the face. He then used a wind attack to push him away. He gazed at the boy. Theb-Saar frowned as he saw how close the M'arrillians were to the humans. Fortunately, the other creatures also stood in front of them.

The only one not protecting the humans directly was the robot, who stood to the side firing at the M'arrillians. He fired more of his cannons and ammos, but he had slowed down as they came closer to the humans and the creatures.

Odu-Bathax used his power to raise the ground, creating a small wall to protect the humans from any attacks. Maxxor jumped out of the cover and threw Fireballs at them.

Chaor panted as he punched the ground. He had no fire anymore and had little strength left. He breathed slowly as he tried to recover and continue fighting. He couldn't do that though. He was out of energy and couldn't turn this fight around. He punched the ground again. "Kazzy."

The humans had trouble focusing on the fight. Kaz had just died and they couldn't focus on anything else.

Alexandre remained calm as he tapped Peyton's shoulder, "Can you pass me the pocket knife?"

Peyton shot him a confused look, "W-why? I have it to protect myself."

"Can you use it if they came towards you?" Alexandre asked pointedly.

The portly boy was quiet for a few seconds. He thought about it and sighed, "N-no."

"I'll take that burden and protect you. I'm the adult here," Alexandre reassured him.

The boy nodded and gave him his pocket knife, "T-thanks."

The man gazed at it and observed the battle.

Things were at a stalemate. The three creatures and the robot were fighting defensively. They weren't trying to attack the M'arrillians, they were only trying to hold on and wait for a chance to inflict damage. Thing was, that chance wasn't coming anytime soon.

Any hope for victory was getting further and further away. The creatures couldn't find an opening and the remaining enemies were still numerous and powerful enough to finish them. They also had to watch over and protect the humans.

The robot took a few more blasts, causing even more dent on its armor. Still, it caused no significant damage and countered the attack by shooting his gatling gun. He managed to take down two more of the invaders before he ran out of ammo for this weapon.

The Codemasters grew nervous, knowing everything would end soon. They continued checking to see if the alliance might catch their enemies soon. So far, they had done so and were fighting them fiercely, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. The M'arrillians were quickly entering in the passageway leading to the portal. It was clear that they would retreat soon and that the four creatures and robot would be overwhelmed soon.

Imthor sighed. He had already warned Michael about the situation and to expect the worst very soon. He knew the man wasn't that happy about it, but he hadn't complained. He had his head in his hands and focused on what he could do, "Any idea to slow them down?"

"I got nothing. We didn't put any defenses in the underground because we couldn't break the walls. They were harder than anything we had. Anyway, we might try to put them on the wrong path with the light, but they might get the idea quickly," someone suggested.

Hotekk grumbled, "Yeah. I'm sure the M'arrillians had the map thanks to the others," he gazed at the path Milla'iin took and smiled, "Imthor. Once they are in there, we can guide the creatures to another path. They are surely using the one Milla'iin took and guess what? They took a lot of detours. We might be able to force them to cross paths before they reach the portal."

Imthor turned towards him and nodded, "We need to wait for the right moment and to coordinate it quickly. We cannot make any mistakes or the M'arrillians might understand what we will do."

"Even so. They will have to follow the creatures and they will reach it first. It doesn't matter if they know," Hotekk chuckled.

Relieved, Imthor nodded. He decided to tell the creatures once the M'arrillians were in there and couldn't turn back.

Imthor looked at the screens with hope. They had a shot now. They had a chance to turn this around. "We won't fail. We won't."

Crellan finished installing the machine. It looked a little like the portal the Chaotic Players used, but it was a rough one.

Meanwhile, Tirasis struggled to connect the wires, "Dammit. I really hate those wires!"

The other Codemaster came over, "Finished my part. I'll help you."

"Good, I need more hands. You need to hold this while I attach them." Tirasis pulled a few wires from the crack in the wall and began attaching them.

Crellan did so and waited for this to be over, "Imthor. Once we are done, you can open the door and we will evacuate them."

"Understood. The battle is heating up now and they are getting in trouble. I'm not sure how long they can handle this," Imthor told them.

"And… just need one wire and it should work. I need you to confirm this Imthor," Tirasis told them as he began to connect the last wire.

"If there is one wire not working, I'll rage," Crellan warned them.

"Don't complain. Wait after the catastrophe is over," the other Codemaster replied. He finished. "And done!"

"Testing it right now," Imthor began the test.

The platform began to shine a little. It then began to emit light in the air as the portal activated.

"The computer says it's working."

"Got visual confirmations!" The two were relieved it was working and sighed, a large smile under their masks.

"I'll send the-those who remain right now," the Codemaster said darkly.

The two wondered what just happened. They knew at least one more had been coded.

The humans stayed in cover behind the wall made of rock. They hoped it would be over soon or they would be in trouble.

Alexandre played with the knife, waiting for the M'arrillians to come. He didn't know what might come next and that made him nervous. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, the intensity of battle making him anxious. He saw the others played with their scanners.

Cassandra was still in tears despite the fact that she knew her son was safe on Earth. She was struggling to focus on the situation. She couldn't get over what she just saw. It was a mother's worst nightmare.

The wall was broken and two M'arrillians approached them. None of the three creatures could protect them.

Aval'par was one of them and he used his tendril to reach for Tom's shoulder and capture him. Spotting the danger, Peyton pushed his friend aside. It missed Tom, but managed to grab Peyton instead.

"Peyton!" Sarah saw red. Her mind was blank. There was only one thought. Make the M'arrillian pay. She grabbed her knife and charged at the M'arrillian. Before Aval'par could react Sarah stabbed him in the face, causing the creature to let out a howl of pain.

Aval'par reacted quickly, "Impudent human!" Before Sarah could register the threat, he pierced her heart with his tendril.

Her code exploded in a bright flash.

The other humans were by the side of Peyton as they made sure he was fine. They realised their friend was gone.

Peyton took it hard and cried out, "Sarah!"

Aval'par turned, but was attacked by Odu-Bathax who used his power to push him away. He then summoned rock shards and threw them at another M'arrillian. The M'arrillians retaliated, pushing him back.

The remaining humans were up against the wall with no way to escape.

Alexandre had his knife hidden in his pocket, just in case he might have a chance to use it. He was sweating after witnessing two teenagers die so quickly at the M'arrillian's hands, and knowing he had only one chance to use his knife should it come to it made the whole thing worse. He was also well aware that everything would be over the moment they got him. He made up his mind. If it came down to it, he would do that.

A door suddenly opened near them. Codemaster Crellan called to them, "Over here! You have to get out of here!"

The creatures and M'arrillians turned around as the humans went to escape. The three creatures and Chaor, who managed to have enough strength back, stood in their way as the humans escaped towards the door.

Milla'iin used his tendril to get one of them. He chuckled when he caught one.

Alexandre had the tendril wrapped around his waist and couldn't resist the creature. He was near him and felt another tendril against his neck. He tried to look at the creature as he grunted.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Kaz walked towards the mall. He sighed as he checked his scanner. He had had no news for three days and wondered if the M'arrillians would attack or not.

He entered the mall. The people were talking together. Bad music was coming out of the speakers. Walking towards the food court he heard his scanner ring. He pulled it out and checked his screen, his face paling at the message. "I've… been coded in Chaotic. W-what happened?"

He wondered if it was a creature that had coded him. Was it because the M'arrillians finally showed up or because the tribes had fought against each other? He soon got another message and read it.

"You've been coded by the M'arrillians attacking Chaotic. You'll get more intel once the situation has been solved."

Kaz dropped his hand and clutched his scanner. He didn't know what was going on in Chaotic, but he hoped it would end for the better. Trying to not to get overwhelmed he kept walking forward.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

Next: It might be the last part before we go to the third arc. Depends if the chapter had to be gigantic.