Alexandre sighed. He rested his head against the chair as he held his scanner. He had received a message from Cassandra that they were ready to fight the M'arrillians who were coming to attack them.
He really was frustrated that he couldn't do anything. Right now, he was stuck in Antarctica and had to stay here.
He was in his room right now and he had nothing to do but worry over his friend. It was the worst for him. His mind was stuck wondering about so many things and he couldn't just not think about them. All he could do was either wait for a message from his friend or pray for everyone's safety. It was pretty much the only thing he could do right now.
"Are you okay son?" His father asked as he entered his room.
"Of course not. My friend and her family are being attacked by the M'arrillians and there is nothing we can do or we'll end up with our minds under their control," Alexandre muttered. He watched the dark screen of his scanner, hoping to get any messages soon.
"They can surely take care of themselves. The creatures are with them and will help them fight back against them," Joseph replied.
"That many? I know there are many M'arrillians near their home that could get there soon," Alexandre replied, feeling powerless.
"The army is sending soldiers to evacuate them to a temporary safe location."
The man sighed, "Cassandra didn't tell me about that."
"She probably didn't have time for that or think to warn you about it," Alexandre suggested.
"Guess so. She is usually better at writing than that. I barely understood what she wrote about the M'arrillians. And also, that Wombo word. Don't know why it showed up there." He let out a small, forced smile.
They sat together for a while. Eventually, Alexandre received a message.
We all got away.
Alexandre held back his tears. Cassandra just told him they were all safe.
Chapter 98: In Preparation
Father and son stayed together in the room for a while until someone interrupted them.
"Joseph. Alexandre. You are called to the command room. It seems Michel wants to have a chat with you two."
"We are coming, Ika," Joseph replied.
"They called a while ago, but I figured it was a bad moment as you two needed some relief from the stress," Ika told them.
"Mostly me," Alexandre replied, "I'm ready."
"Let's go."
The two walked the long corridor of the Antarctica base and reached the command room.
There were many high-ranking soldiers present. On the screen, Michel was present, "Welcome you two. Sorry for calling you in so soon after what went on, but we need your experience and help as a Chaotic Player."
Alexandre nodded, "You need my help for something about the M'arrillians right?"
"Yes. We need to prepare some strategies to deal with them and have a few possible scenarios about what they might do," the black man replied.
"I don't know what they might be planning. I didn't really deal with them back on Chaotic. I got captured, but I don't know how they operate together. I mean, they can communicate with their minds. They could form a plan at any time without anyone realizing." He gave the idea a bit of thought.
"We might know a little more once we receive the report of what happened at Tom's grandparents farm. We don't have the full report or even the gist of it," Michel grumbled pensively.
"I have no invention that could help us read their minds. That is something I am completely against," Joseph warned him before anyone got the slightest idea to make such a thing.
The potential misuse of such an invention was too great to consider its existence.
"Alexandre. Do you have any idea what they might want to do next?"
"I think they will expand their territory, something you probably already guessed."
"Yes. We already figured that out with what they have done," he sighed.
"What's the way they are expanding?" Alexandre asked.
Michel showed a map, which appeared on another screen, "As of now, they are going south. They followed this road," he pointed at it. Many red arrows appeared and went south.
Alexandre noticed it, "Is that a river?" He saw a blue line in the middle of the M'arrillians path.
"Yes. We noticed it too. There is a river. I'm certain it is for their water supplies. They surely are aware of how the water system works anyway," the black man replied.
"Still, they are following the river in a way," the man's father commented.
"Yes."
"Any idea where they would go if they went north later?" Alexandre asked.
"We are focusing on their actions right now. They might reach the next city soon. We also have to deal with a problem occurring right now."
"What's going on?" Joseph asked.
"Some independent journalist decided to go and record what is going on in the city. He must have noticed the suspicious things going on and went to investigate. He went there by helicopter and recorded everything live. That also included Rath'tab noticing it and taking control of their mind. It's public now," Michel sighed.
"Guess there will be panic around the world soon now that they know the M'arrillians are invading Earth," Alexandre sighed, "We heard nothing of the sort over here. Cassandra said nothing either."
"It just happened a few minutes ago," he replied.
Alexandre nodded and went back to the previous topic, "Michel. I have a guess of where they might go next when they stop expanding south."
"You mean they might try to go north?"
"Yes. I also mean that they might follow the river again. If they did it in one direction, they wouldn't hesitate the other way. I'm sure the M'arrillians need more water than the other tribes or humans. Especially the creatures whose bodies are more… jelly-like compared to their crab-people."
"Kha'ralls?"
"That. I just can't stop thinking of them as crab people," he sighed. He crossed his arms nervously, "Anyway. I believe they will follow the river north and go in that direction."
"Anything else on your mind?"
"No. I never really confronted them when I traveled to Perim in my teenage years. My friends and I avoided trouble," he sighed in melancholy.
"Then we move on to the next thing we wanted to talk with you about."
"What is it?"
"What is your knowledge of the Cothica? We don't have a full explanation. The belief of the creatures around that is quite unknown."
"The Cothica. I think they believe… since they found traces of my existence that I come from the Cothica. I mean, they call me the Messenger of the Cothica. I think they believe our world is the Cothica."
"I was hoping for another thing."
"Well, it is a rather complicated matter," Alexandre replied a little nervously. He scratched the back of his head as he searched for a clear answer, "Before, I think they weren't sure. Some were surely suspicious about us. Having the ability to just teleport around Perim and leave it quickly with the scanners….it was bound to happen sooner or later. My existence brought the sooner part with the M'arrillian invasion."
"You couldn't see this happen. I didn't expect my original invention to bring you to the past of Perim," his father commented.
"What remained of that scanner?"
"As Najarin suggested, I destroyed it. Too dangerous. I mean, I was messing with time by accident," Alexandre sighed a little nervously.
"Thank you. Anyway, we need to prepare a few plans of attack with everything you shared."
"How's the progress in Perim? I'm sure the creatures are trying to come here quickly."
"Nothing big for now and-" Michel stopped as he watched something, "Gracious. We have a potential situation at hand. The video of that journalist is spreading on the internet. We will try to do some damage control. Call you later." With that he hung up.
"And cue to a public panic," Alexandre sighed.
Joseph chuckled, "Unless the other Chaotic Players can smooth things up. Michel didn't sound like it was time to panic. I guess he had something for such situations," he tapped the back of his son.
"Yeah. We can only hope so…anything else about Cassandra and the others?"
"They are close to the military base. They will be safe for a while and then be ready to evacuate. You shouldn't underestimate the military," Ika warned him.
"Not my intention. I was wondering if they were absolutely safe. The M'arrilians could still chase after them in the air."
"No signs of them chasing them. They are retreating to the city. The attack taxed them and forced them to push the plan of invasion back a little. That is just a possibility though. With Aval'par as our prisoner…we gain an advantage."
"They got a M'arrillian? Damn. They got Phelphor in Perim and Aval'par here," Alexandre commented. He knew that the Phelphor situation was completely different. He knew Phelphor was the son of his M'arrillian friend. He wondered if the face of the creature was a little easier on the eyes than his father was.
"Yes. The battle went better than anyone expected. They were only lightly injured by the M'arrillians. Everyone survived and they have a prisoner. A Chieftain."
"We need all the good news we can get. We need hope with everything going on. I'll take this as the best news we can claim for now," Alexandre sighed in relief. He was already planning a chat with Cassandra once it was possible.
"Yes, my boy," Joseph replied as he gazed at the empty screen. He then turned towards him, "Anyway, I need to study something now."
"What is it?"
"The Codemasters shared the plan around how the portal works. I will give my insight. Maybe I can figure out a way to repair the portal faster. It lacks energy, but it can have more damage we don't know about." With that the man left him on his own.
Alexandre sighed and returned to his room. Once he was back, he sat on the bed and thought back. He felt tired as the stress left him.
He grabbed his scanner, but saw no message from anyone yet. He put it up on the shelf and decided to take a short nap. Knowing himself, he might not rest for the night if she contacted him.
Meanwhile, Tom, his friends and the creatures were fast approaching the military base. They observed the large location getting closer.
From the point of view of the creatures, it was a strange looking base. It had many large structures with many big and small battlegear. They were all outside and vulnerable. Still, the number of those were high compared to their tribes.
It looked more like a city than a military base. There was no high wall surrounding it, just a metal thing. There were also many humans in uniforms that were armed and ready to greet them.
It sent a chill through the back of the portly Mipedian scales.
"No need to worry," Ario heard the pilot of the helicopter say, "We all know about you. You are allies and not enemies. They are just ready to imprison Aval'par."
Ario remembered that. Of course, they had to contain him quickly, "Right."
They soon reached their destination and the helicopters flew down, following a precise procedure he didn't understand.
"Once again, this feels really strange," Ario grumbled.
The helicopter soon touched the ground and everyone climbed off.
Many already came and grabbed the still unconscious M'arrillian in a disciplined manner. The soldiers came out and were already preparing to give their report of the mission.
One of those who came to their rescue approached Tom and his family.
"Tom. You sure have grown up since last time!" A kindly voice told him.
The boy turned around and looked at the man who was smiling at him.
"Dad!" Tom smiled back.
AC: This is the end of the chapter.
Next: Military Safety.
The group went to their resting spot while Tom and his father caught up. After this, they gave their report and received support they might need.