In a futile attempt to contain the creature, Chase, Rocky, Marshall, and Zuma banded together to trap Feroxmalis in the vents. They had underestimated its intelligence, however, and the electrical stability of the building, two factors that led to it breaking free from the trap. In their desperate time of need, the last dog anyone thought they'd see suddenly emerged to rescue them: Liberty, their mutual friend from Adventure City. None of the dogs spoke at the sight of her, only the single uttering of her name.

Looking around wearily, Liberty took a moment to check behind them, surveying the path in case Feroxmalis was in pursuit. Seeing nothing but the darkness of corridors, she turned back to her friends to address them. "Okay, I know what you're thinking-"

Zuma butted in, "that doesn't even begin to describe it!" he barked, then winced at the volume of his voice, knowing loud sounds were an easy target for the creature, "how did you even get down here?"

"It's a long story," Liberty held up her paw in an attempt to reassure him, "but right now-"

"Oh no no no," now it was Chase who interrupted, "we've been through enough, and we've already lost two members because of all the shit that's been going on for the last week!" he flattened his ears, staring down into the smaller dog, "let me guess, you're working for the ACG, aren't you?"

"Those ruffians? Please," she waved off the question, "you think I'd work for savages like them?"

Rocky narrowed his eyes, "well you did throw an exploding fire bottle a few seconds ago,"

"They're called Molotov cocktails, Rocky," Liberty shot back,

"Exactly, how hell did you get that?"

Liberty went silent, flicking her gaze to the side while she kneaded her paws on the ground. It was true that she had a secret, but how to share it with four dogs who had clearly seen death was challenging. Chase and Zuma had her cornered, two significantly stronger dogs who were demanding answers from her. Rocky was standing behind, cradling a fearful Marshall although still not taking his eyes off of the Dachshund.

Realizing there was no way out, figuratively and literally, she spoke up, "alright fine. You're right, I was sent here,"

"I knew it," Zuma growled, bearing his teeth,

"But not from the ACG!" She protested, "I'm on a special assignment from the Archline Foundation," she hastily explained, trying to save himself from being torn to pieces by the larger dogs, "I assume you don't know who they are,"

"You think we know jackshit anything?" Chase hissed, bristling his fur, "who are they?"

Taking a deep breath, Liberty spoke, "Of course, Captain Cyrus wouldn't tell you. They're genetic researchers, hellbent on designing perfect animals or foods," she continued as everyone tilted their heads in confusion, "recently, they had a breach in one of their facilities... a certain parasitic creature had escaped."

Chase recoiled, "you mean... Feroxmalis? It came from them?"

"Indeed," Liberty nodded, "they're not too happy about it, but they've sent me into Adventure Bay to gather samples."

"What do you mean, gather?" Zuma raised an eyebrow,

Rubbing her arm uncomfortably, Liberty knew this was the part they weren't going to like, "even though Feroxmalis is out of control, they're taking the opportunity to see how it fares in the wild. So... they've hired me to investigate its behavior, document whatever it does."

"Well it came out of Rubble, you can write that down," Zuma grumbled,

"Did it now?" Liberty exclaimed, "that's... unfortunate,"

"Well technically, it came from Skye," Rocky added, "then it jumped bodies into Rubble,"

Chase could be seen visibly freezing up.

"It can do that?" the small dog sat down, "I don't remember reading that in the files,"

"Well, it's what Chase said,"

Rocky was going to say something else when the Shepherd suddenly jutted into the conversation, "hey hey hey, it's in the past now," he said quickly, visibly nervous, "what matters here and now is staying alive and escaping that thing."

Zuma narrowed his eyes, studying Chase.

"Hey wait a minute," the mix began again, "you said you were sent here to gather samples on the creature," he recanted, "but why are you down here in the basement?"

Liberty stood up again, "because I'm investigating the worst case of the infection I've ever seen."

"Wouldn't Feroxmalis itself classify as that?"

"No," she shook her head, "believe it or not, there's something even worse down here in the basement." She shuddered as an aura of fear and confusion consumed the room. Before she could say anything else, Chase closed the distance between them and stared into her eyes, "are you saying there's more?!"

Liberty took a step back at the sudden violation of personal space, "I... I hate to tell you this, but Feroxmalis may have... done something to a certain area of the basement. I gathered what I could and tried to escape but..." she bristled in frustration, "the exit locked behind me and I can't get it open. I think the power's out."

"Yeah, that thing destroyed the fuse box a couple of hours ago," Rocky reported, remembering Feroxmalis's clever method of cutting off the tower's power, "you must've been seconds from getting out before it happened."

"Wait a minute, how'd you even get down here in the first place?" Chase suddenly realized, looking Liberty up and down, "and what exit? Because we got from the vents!"

"Ryder's garage," the Daschund replied, "there's a path in the basement that leads us right there. The door was cracked when I came through it, but it closed behind me."

Zuma jumped up, calling himself to action, "that's our way out."

"She just said it's blocked from lack of power," Chase turned to him, then suddenly a realization hit his mind, and he stopped in his tracks. He remembered back when he sent Rocky through the rain to investigate the fuse box, and came back with an interesting revelation, "wait, Rocky said the power was only gone from the tower," he pointed out, "there's totally power down here, how else did the vent sealing work?"

Everyone sat in silence, trying to comprehend the new information. If the basement was still powered, then why was Liberty blocked from leaving? Every answer they seemed to find only came with more questions. Shaking his head, Chase only cared about the here and now. Liberty's words weren't making any sense, and the Shepherd was becoming weary of her presence, "Alright, Archline spy," he leaned into Liberty with flattened ears, slightly baring his teeth, "what are you hiding from us?"

"I'm not hiding anything," she countered him,

"Nothing you say checks out,"

"Well, then I'm just as confused as you!"

"Can we stop arguing?" Zuma protested, "that thing is actively looking for us!"

Rocky spoke up in a fearful voice, "he's right, we can't stay here."

Thinking for a moment, Chase was irritated by Liberty's infiltration but knew there were other matters at hand. Growling faintly, he looked the small dog up and down, "we had a power surge back there, almost got me killed and freed the creature from our trap!"

"You trapped it?!" Liberty recoiled in surprise,

"Yeah, until everything messed up completely," the Shepherd griped, "the surge happened and undid everything!"

Liberty went wide-eyed, "oh... oh." She trailed, contorting a little, "that... may have been my fault."

"What?!" Rocky exclaimed, "what did you do?!" Now it was three dogs glaring daggers into Liberty, who was growing visibly tenser as she spoke. It seemed like she was one accusatory comment from turning tail and running as fast as she could.

"I... I went into an electric room and turned up the voltage amount on everything I saw," she confessed, "I thought if I created a surge, it would maybe reset the doors!"

Shaking his head, Rocky spoke up as Chase was already beginning to bare his teeth, "It wouldn't. Those doors are electric, sure, but spiking the voltage would just break them, not open them."

Liberty was unable to respond as Chase crashed into her, pinning her to the floor, "we had it locked down and you let it out?! You almost got me killed!"

"Get off me!" She protested, trying to wrench her way out of his grasp, but he was leagues stronger than her. The Shepherd was writhing, almost ready to tear the smaller dog to pieces. Marshall came to his side in a flash, putting his paws against his friend, "Chase, stop, it's gonna hear us!" At the Dalmation's words, he felt himself slightly come back to his senses, but he was beyond angered that Liberty was responsible for their failures. Sighing, he removed his paws from the smaller dog and released her, stepping aside so she could stand. "After all we've been through," he muttered to her, "everything that happened in the city, you didn't even write or call... and now this?"

Lowering her head, Liberty felt shame, "I'm sorry. I'd like to help you all get out of here,"

Chase nodded, already regretting his outburst. He stepped aside as Rocky came forward, a question on his mind, "you said you were hired by the labs Feroxmalis escaped from," the mix recanted, "by chance, is there anything you know about the monster that could help us?"

"Like what?" Liberty tilted her head, "like its genetic makeup or something?"

"A way to kill it."

"It's afraid of fire," Zuma piped up.

"Everything living thing on Earth is afraid of fire," Chase bickered at the Lab, who shot a glare back at him.

Liberty thought for a moment, running the math in her head, "despite its lethality, the body itself is actually very vulnerable," she said to the group.

"Yeah, but we can't fight that thing!" Rocky argued, "not even all of us at once!"

"We don't need to fight it," Zuma pushed past everyone and came to the center, "I've been looking around since we came down here. It clearly reacted to the Molotov and blowtorch, so what if we created some kind of explosion?"

"In The Lookout?!" Chase recoiled at the thought, "we can't just destroy our home!"

"There are gas canisters all over the place," the Lab pressed his idea, then turned to Liberty, "maybe not an explosion, but if we could create a fire big enough, would that kill it?"

The Dachshund thought for a moment, trying to remember the data she read from the labs, "it would have to be complete incineration, with no chance of it escaping."

"Great," Zuma wagged his tail, happy someone was finally agreeing with him, "let's go find gasoline and block some doors."

"No!" Chase jumped in to face the Lab, baring his teeth, "don't you remember the original plan? I need to get in the Boiler Room!"

"I thought that plan failed," Rocky asked.

"It never failed," the Shepherd hissed, "there's a radio in there to contact Captain Cyrus. Once I get it back, this place will be swarming with soldiers and Feroxmalis will be disposed of."

"Um, Chase," Liberty came to his side, "it's not going to be that simple,"

"What do you mean?" the police officer raised an eyebrow,

"Because it's not just Feroxmalis that needs disposing of," her voice quivered slightly, and a wave of fear went over her, "there's something you need to see."

The dogs had questions, but Liberty just shook her head and beckoned for them to follow. Rocky followed first with Marshall, although Chase and Zuma were still glaring daggers at one another. Their hostility was silently upsetting Liberty, as she remembered long ago how close they had been as friends. What in the world could be happening between them to break them apart? They were suppressing their words now, but it was easy to tell that the two were growing tenser by the minute.

Feroxmalis had fled from the Molotov cocktail, disappearing into the dark corridors of the basement. The walls were nothing but old, peeling white paint with cords and wires dangling from the top, the floors expanding out with dirty black and white tiles. Every few moments, an echoing scream would bounce down the hallways, seemingly coming from nowhere. Marshall jumped at each one, and Chase would emit a low whine. The creature was regrouping, collecting itself elsewhere before it took to the hallways again, stalking down its prey. The group of five stopped at every corner, peeking around to make sure they wouldn't accidentally run head-on into danger. Even with Liberty as the newest addition, they were still powerless if Feroxmalis succeeded in hunting them down.

"So what are you showing us?" Zuma whispered as the group got against the wall, moving in single file.

Liberty peered through the cracked door, scanning the dark corridor on the other side, "all I can say is, do you know how long Feroxmalis has been in Adventure Bay?"

Chase spoke up, positioned behind the Dachshund, "I only learned about it a few days ago from Cyrus, my best guess is a few days."

"Try a week," she responded grimly, grimacing in disgust at what she was seeing through the doorway.

"An entire week?" the Shepherd exclaimed, "what makes you say that?"

Shuddering, Liberty backed from the door, turning to her companions as she pointed her paw, "remember when I said there was something even worse in the basement?" She was visibly scared, a piece of her not wanting to go through, "go and see for yourself." There was a feeling of dread that washed over the group, a piercing lash of static that infested all five dogs at once. She had been addressing Chase, putting him in the position of walking through the door first and charging into whatever was behind it. Usually, the Shepherd enjoyed being the one to take leadership, but now he wasn't feeling so sure, and yet he knew no one else would take charge. Putting every ounce of his manpower into moving, Chase began to move forward.

"I'm going," Rocky suddenly pushed past the Shepherd.

Chase reared in horror, fearing the mix walking into death, "Rocky, wait, let me-"

The Eco dog slowly turned his head, looking Chase directly in the eye, "I'm going." His tone was sharp, enough to shut the Shepherd up and close his mouth. Taking a deep breath, Rocky walked forward and went through, disappearing through the metal doorway. The four dogs listened intently, all frozen in place and fearing to utter even a single word. There were no screams yet, no roars from the creature, and eventually Chase's anxiety completely took over. "Rocky?" He whispered, creeping his nose along the wall to the door, moving slowly. There was no response, and he couldn't take it anymore. "Rocky, are you-" Chase left the wall and passed under the doorway, following his friend inside.

It was like walking into the depths of hell.

The first thing he saw was Rocky, standing paralyzed in fear as he quivered in terror, eyes locked upward as he stared out. Chase was about to call his friend when a gruesome sight met his eyes, locking him in place as well. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, not even anything a simple movie or book could come up with. For all he knew, he had just walked straight into another world.

The walls were slathered in slime, glistening in a putrid light. Bulbous, flesh-like masses were growing out of the wall, leeching around the corridor and along the ceiling. It was like walking down a giant human throat, you couldn't even see the edges where the wall and ceiling met, all just wet, veiny, red muscle mass that covered the surface. Translucent sludge dripped down from the ceiling, tapping at the slippery floor that was also undergoing a disgusting transformation. Taking a fearful step into the esophagus that the hallway had been turned into, Chase could barely get a word out. His paw splashed into the warm, sticky slime that was collecting on the tile, a repulsive stench of stomach acid hitting his nose. Tumor-like lumps were dotted around the walls in various sizes, like boils puffing up in one's throat. Most of the overhead lights were obscured, but a weak glow was able to pass through the biomass, providing only a tiny amount of lighting for the puppies to see their way in.

"What- what is..." he stammered, darting his eyes as the nightmare unfolded before him. He came to Rocky's side, who still hadn't moved, "what the hell is all this, what happened down here?!"

Liberty followed in behind him, her face stained with discomfort as she entered the vile corridor, "it's a hive. This is what Feroxmalis has been doing for the last week." Zuma and Marshall entered after her, the Lab immediately grabbing the Dalmation and holding him close at the horrible sight before them.

Slowly turning around, Chase could feel his sanity breaking, "a hive?" he repeated in disbelief, "that thing has been nesting down here right under our noses?!"

"What... is all this?" Zuma choked, "how did it even build all this?"

"I... I don't know," Liberty confessed, covering her mouth as she was seconds from throwing up, "the Archline Foundation didn't mention any behavior even remotely similar to this. This is something new."

Quaking inside, Chase stared down the pulsating cavern, "we... we have to go down here, don't we? This is the way to Ryder's Garage."

"I'm going to assume it didn't always look like this," the Dachshund hesitantly continued forward, "let's just keep going."

With great persuasion, Zuma carefully led Marshall along the terrifying pathway, each step producing a sickening noise as it pressed into the slime below. Every few feet, they passed a new monstrosity to molest their eyes and mind. It wasn't just one room, the horror continued and expanded, transforming the entire other side of the basement into what could only be called Feroxmalis's personal hive. Seven feet in, they came to an intersection, but the left and right paths were completely blocked. Thick, tendon-like strings stretched from the floor to the ceiling, forming a tough barricade barring off passage to the new paths and forcing the route to remain one way. As they passed by, the stings started vibrating for a few seconds, producing a low, layered hum that echoed throughout the living corridors.

"I hate this, I hate this," Rocky nervously paced, flinching as slime dripped on his back.

"Liberty, talk to me," Chase called to the front of the line, "where are we going?"

The small dog took a moment to respond, over-encumbered by her slowly slipping sanity, "I remembered coming into a series of rooms, one of which had the electric systems where I caused the surge. If we're going to find out why the door is sealed, we have to get there first."

"If we end up actually getting into the garage, I could find a Dialectric Driver," Rocky inquired, breathing heavily, "then I could fix the breakers, and you could get into the boiler room."

"Marshall," Chase called behind him, "how are you doing back there? Talk to me."

Walking as if he was automated, the Dalmation spoke with a broken voice. He hadn't yet stopped staring at the ground, "Chase, I really don't want to talk right now."

Looking up from the group, Zuma's eyes briefly centered on the sickly-white boils that grew from the wall. With morbid curiosity, he approached the sac, a wet smell he couldn't describe foaming up his nose. Despite every instinct telling him to back away, there was something drawing him towards it. It was massive in size, significantly bigger than the Labrador. Stopping before, Zuma squinted his eyes and stared into the pus-filled tumor, searching for any answer to his sea of questions.

"I can see things moving in the walls," Rocky breathed,

"What?!" Chase fearfully glanced around, panicked that something was looming over them,

"Like... worms," the mix looked up at the ceiling, "and a lot of other things,"

"I'm pretty sure those are just normal bugs," Liberty inquired, "probably attracted to the hive's atmosphere."

"Guys!" Zuma jumped back, "there's a person floating in here!"

Everyone turned around at once to see the Lab recoiling in terror. Before they could say anything, Zuma swiped forward with his dull claws, tearing into the boil. The attack produced a slit in the skin-like casing, then suddenly popped open as liquid flooded out, causing the dogs to rear back in disgust. The casing deflated as it was emptied, and a human woman fell out, landing on her side. Marshall wanted to scream, Chase wanted to howl, and they all were a hair's length from exploding in an uproar of terror. But they couldn't, as much as they wanted to scream, they simply couldn't be at risk of alerting the creature to their location.

"Wait a minute," Chase narrowed his eyes, walking past Rocky and stepping into the puddle of emptied pus, "I... I think I recognize her,"

"You do?" Liberty tilted her head.

Lowering his head for a closer look, Chase surveyed the corpse. The woman wasn't mangled, but it was obvious her bones had been broken. "A few days ago, we got a call for a missing woman and her pet," he explained, "we arrived on the scene, but then the ACG appeared and interrupted us... we never finished the mission." He grimaced, realizing he just solved the case, "well... here she is."

A haunting revelation hit the dogs: Every single boil they passed, every writhing sac that grew from the wall, served a purpose. Each and everyone had a victim, be it human or animal, housed inside it. Chase begged for it not to be true, but he approached another bulbous sac sitting off to the right, he could clearly see the silhouette of a dog floating inside.

"But why is it taking people?" Zuma asked in disbelief, "I thought it just killed things and ate them,"

Overhearing the conversation, Liberty walked ahead, not wanting to stare at the body any longer. As she trudged through the slime, which was starting to rise in elevation, she stopped when she spotted something obscured in the darkness. Desperate for anything that would classify as a "sample," as Liberty was itching to escape the hellhole she was walking through, he made haste to the object. Perhaps they were some kind of waste? Did Feroxmalis even produce waste to begin with? She thought it was just another boil as she approached it, but as her eyes focused on it she realized it was something completely new.

It was an oval-shaped pod, sitting quietly in the peaceful darkness. It was small, not much bigger than her. It was covered in veins and multiple layers of biomass, as Liberty hesitantly pressed her paw to it she found it was warm to the touch. Reluctantly moving her ear to it, she could hear faint sounds inside it, sounds she couldn't describe. It was like gurgling, so quiet and low she could barely make out it was there. Looking around the pod, she realized it wasn't just one. An entire second pod was sitting on its side nearby, and a third was not even two feet away. As the dogs behind her cried to one another in distress, Liberty walked further down the passage and stopped when she came to a distressing sight. The path continued, but all along the walls, dozens of pods had been laid. There were clusters of them everywhere, some were gently floating in the sludge while others sat on top of others.

Her eyes went wide as a terrifying revelation hit her, and at that moment all courage within her died away.

"You mean to tell me every single one of those sacs we passed had someone inside it?" Rocky recoiled, "how many people are down here?!"

"No idea," Chase shook his head, "but I don't understand why it would just... take people. Why store them all down here?"

Liberty emerged behind them, her face gone pale, "food," she said simply, "they're meant to be food."

"But why?" Zuma looked at her, "why not just eat them then and there?"

"Because it's food for something else," she replied, her voice shaking, "... it's for the offspring." She shakily turned and pointed at the pods she had found, now extremely fearful of their presence.

"Feroxmalis is laying eggs..."