Chapter 138: Tension
Tom and Sarah followed Milla'iin as he prepared the defenses. The two knew that rescue would come soon. It was obvious from the start.
"You think they can save us easily?" Sarah whispered.
"No idea. I have no idea when they might come," Tom replied as he gazed around.
The creatures frowned at the two humans. They especially glared at Tom, as he had caused them trouble recently and had managed to escape them.
"What is Milla'iin doing with him around?" One of the M'arrillians asked.
"No idea, but he surely had something in his mind," another one commented.
"Might be harder for the humans and the eight creatures to get him close to Milla'iin," one guessed.
"Or a hostage."
"He is smart."
"I would have just let them rot in jail. Still, you're right, it's a clever idea. Wouldn't think of that."
"We hope to crush the humans when they come to rescue them."
"They have powerful weapons, but not powerful bodies or power."
"Focus on the task at hand," Milla'iin ordered.
The creatures obeyed and stopped talking or guessing.
Tom and Sarah saw that their morale was high. They were confident of their victory. Unless there was something unexpected, they were in trouble. Not only them, but also the world.
"I hope you are preparing yourself to see the humans and the creatures bow to us. Your life has great value as an inhabitant of the Cothica."
"We are not in the Cothica. This is Earth," Sarah replied.
"You just don't believe this is the Cothica," Milla'iin replied in annoyance. He crossed his tendrils as he looked at the humans. He focused on Tom, "But we know it is. You lived here for too long to know it is. No point in commenting."
Tom chose not to reply. It was pointless to argue with them. He also knew the other tribes thought the same way. He crossed his arms and looked the other way.
"Once they come, I will bring you to that tower," he pointed at the higher building of the small city, the clock tower. They could see it was ten in the morning.
Sarah sighed, "Good thing we aren't afraid of heights."
"Know one thing humans. If you try anything, you will pay for it," his eye shined at them. He chuckled as he challenged them to even dare to try it.
The two humans decided it was better not to play with his nerves. They held hands and clenched them a little. They were still together and would overcome it. They didn't know how, but they couldn't not believe in the army and the eight creatures.
Peyton and Kaz were still outside as they watched where the trucks were. The two were alone as they wondered what to do. They could only pass time until it was over. It would be difficult and painful to wait for the result.
"I'm sure everything will be okay!" Peyton declared optimistically. He gazed at his friend, "They won't fail. I'm sure the M'arrillians don't know the creatures are here."
"Yeah, but the M'arrillians might panic and try something they shouldn't," he grabbed his hand nervously. He took a deep breath and let out a small smile, "Still, they won't fail."
"We should get back to our parents. They might think we are trying to follow them," the brown-haired boy suggested.
"Yes," Kaz agreed.
The two returned to the building where they went.
The adults nervously talked together.
Annie sat with Sarah's parents and talked with them. Those three needed the most support.
"Where is Alexander?" Kaz looked around.
"He's over there," he pointed at the man with Cassandra.
"You have no idea what they might do?" Alexander asked her.
"No. I'm really worried for them. Annie is trying to look tough, but it is hard for her. Her husband is also going to the frontline."
"Yeah. George will be okay. I'm sure of it," he let out a smile.
"Of course, he will," Cassandra replied.
"I hope my sister will behave herself. Not about her being a jerk or something like that," the man gazed to the side, "I hope she isn't provoking them and that the M'arrillians haven't hurt her in any way. She isn't afraid to speak her mind. She has been hurt a few times for that in the past."
"How?"
"Well, some jerks bullied Peyton because he isn't acting like most children of his age should. Much too happy and optimistic."
Peyton heard that and nervously looked away.
Kaz put a hand on his shoulders. He went through that too.
"Sarah came and yelled a few insults. She ended up in a fight and went to the nurse. A few times. She didn't explain why she was hurt," he crossed his arms. Alexander sighed, "Eventually, I put an end to it when I realized what was going on. Saw it when I came to check on her. Our schools were next to each other. Boy, was I in trouble for entering the school through the fence and giving them a verbal lesson."
"Yeah," Pamela heard them.
"My son went through it too, but didn't say a thing until you told me Annie," Cassandra told her.
"Yeah. Tom got in a fight against his bullies," Annie replied. She sighed a little weakly. She stood up, "He wouldn't let something like bullies get in his way to help Kaz."
"He didn't," Kaz replied as he joined them.
"Anyway, we should focus on positivity. No need to be sad!" Peyton decided.
Lucas chuckled, "My boy is right! We need to have some good thoughts. We can help your kids if we believe they will be fine."
"God will grant us that miracle," Remi commented with a small smile. He put his hands together and prayed. Not only for them, but also the creatures. He hoped his M'arrillian friend would make it out of it alright.
Chaor grumbled quietly as they approached the town where the final battle would take place. He already decided that there wouldn't be another fight after this one. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He had a smile on his face when he thought back of his little talk with Kaz. He ignored the creatures as they talked with each other and the drivers. He thought back to the battle plan. He couldn't find any fault in it. Still, the rescue part relied a lot on the Mipedians. However, he wasn't an expert in rescue missions. He preferred to be the one who crushed those skeletons to pieces with his hands.
He shot a glance at Rothar who didn't sit that far from him. He contemplated meeting the demands of Kaz. He decided that now wasn't the time to order him to back off from his boy's mother. They were going to war. Still, he let out a small smirk. At the moment they would celebrate their victory, he would tell the minotaur. He mentally snickered at how the mood of his soldier would quickly switch once he was told to stand down.
Rothar spoke, "What should we do if the plan goes wrong?"
"We will get their attention. Since they won't be able to read our minds, they won't know what we planned for them," Chaor replied with a grin.
Takinom nodded, "We still need to defeat those M'arrillians."
"Still, what do we do with the children and the non-combatant M'arrillians? Do we do as the humans said and not hurt them? They might become our enemies later on," Agitos stated.
The ruler replied, "We follow as the will of the inhabitants of the Cothica wants. This is their territory. Besides, killing children…there is no way I will accept what my father would have done." He grunted at the thought of his father.
That brought a bit of bad memories for the blue lizard. He had had a taste of what that bastard could do, "Right."
Wamma cracked his knuckles a few times as he gave the most serious look he ever gave in his life. "I'm ready to crush those bastards. The Mipedians better get Sarah out of danger."
Odu-Bathax knew he had to keep an eye on the red Mandiblor. Not because he might do something extremely reckless, but to see what his soldier could be ready to do when he was that serious. He knew Wamma always had potential, but was too lazy for it. If they caught him in such a serious mood, he wouldn't be able to easily return to his old way of life, "We have to make sure the M'arrillians won't ignore us. We need to strike fast and hard. The humans said they can fix what we destroy. Still, we will help them restore the Cothica at the end."
"Right!" the Danians replied.
He wondered if his queen would agree to this. Still, it would obtain some trust from the humans who didn't know about their tribe. However, they would be in competition with the other tribes for the support of the Cothica.
Theb-Saar crossed his arms as he waited for them to reach their destination. He was a bit nervous as some of his soldiers went to another location. As he checked who was here, he was aware that none of the Conjurers were brought on the Cothica. He had to agree that it was too risky for them and the humans to be here. A power like that in an unknown world, who knew what could happen?
Sobtjek asked, "And how are you planning to make sure they won't notice that we might have some Mipedians missing?"
"The humans didn't think of it, but we might try an ambush during the attack. We will turn invisible and attack them by surprise. The M'arrillians might not suspect that we are in the city, especially with me giving the commands," the Mipedian king replied, "They need to believe the lie that I am in command of every Mipedian. The others won't know about it, but I will tell them once we are in position."
Ario nodded, "They need to believe we are with you and nowhere else."
"They might drop their guards a little. They will get ready when they see the tribes attacking at the same time. If they don't see us, what would they think?"
"We are invisible and ready to rescue the humans out of their tendrils," Sobtjek nodded.
"However, remember to hold it back if they use the humans under their control. We cannot bring them harm. We will restrain them and liberate their minds once this is over," the king reminded them.
"If Chaor remembers it," the green Mipedian grumbled.
"He will."
Maxxor focused on the mission. He couldn't let his worries get the better of him. His friend Tom was in danger once again, but this time, trouble came to him, not the opposite. He sighed, "He always causes so much trouble."
Intress nodded, "Indeed, but we will get him out of there. Once the M'arrillians are defeated, this will be it. They won't cause us any trouble anymore."
"If Gal'drad takes full control of the M'arrillians and changes them for the better. I hope he will succeed."
"Unless he has ulterior motives," Arias grumbled.
Attacat nodded, "We have no idea what's in his mind."
"I will give him some faith," the ruler of the Overworld replied with a small smile, "We will have to think about that other tribe we found. The elemental creatures might plan something in the future. However, this will wait after our victory."
The creatures nodded. They had a lot to think about.
"The enemy shall fall under us very soon," Arias went on. He flexed his muscles, "And we will give the perfect chance for the Mipedians to save Tom and Sarah."
It was a bit annoying for them to let another tribe save their guide to the Cothica, but they wouldn't complain. It was for the best.
Intress grunted as she remembered it was because she couldn't save them that they were in this situation.
For now, there was only silence as they waited to reach their destinations.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: The Final Battle Part 1.
The creatures get into position for the final battle, including the M'arrillians. Tom asked one question that began to nag Milla'iin. One question that might bring Milla'iin salvation or damnation.
P.S: There is one bit that I am not certain about. It is the fate of Milla'iin. I won't put it into vote, His fate will be sealed once we reach the confrontation.