Tom and Sarah painfully grumbled as the grasp of the M'arrillian was strong on them. The two said nothing. It was better to be safe and unhurt.
Even if they were captured, they were both aware that it wasn't over yet. They could still be saved. They had no intention of giving up.
The Kha'rall stopped when he reached the other M'arrillians and dropped them on the ground, "There you go. We got two of them instead of just one," he chuckled as the creatures watched the two humans.
Rath'tab grabbed Tom by the throat, "Look who we have here? I am glad you are one of our prisoners Tom. I'm sure Milla'iin will be glad to do whatever he had in his mind to you," the creature dropped him on the ground, "Too bad he wants you to be brought mostly unharmed. I wished I could break a bone or two."
The teenage boy paled a little, but raised his gaze, "Rath'tab," he said nothing else. He held back anything that might provoke the creature. He remembered the time he escaped the M'arrillian. It was long ago, before the creatures could come to Chaotic.
Neth'uar came, "Enough chatter. We will bring them back to Milla'iin. There is no reason to check their minds, but we shouldn't take any risk," he put his tendrils on the forehead of the two humans. He read enough and released his tendrils from them, "N-no spies! The humans watched us from the sky all along!"
The other M'arrillians turned towards him.
"We wasted so much time hunting for a spy for nothing. Nothing!" He hit the ground and caused a few cracks. He sighed and looked at the humans, "I'll transport them myself. Let's join Milla'iin right now."
They left and dragged their prisoners with them.
Chapter 133: The Army They Waited For
Meanwhile, the humans checked the damage. Meanwhile the general gave instructions.
The creatures watched the result. Much of the human battlegear was heavily damaged or destroyed in the attack. Most of the humans were fine. Few were injured. It was obvious the M'arrillians had focused on the other creatures rather than the humans.
Wamma was still in shock. His failure weighed heavily on his shoulders and mind. He gazed to the side, "I can't believe I could fail her like that."
Odu-Bathax was annoyed and hit his head, "Enough with this! Get stronger and save her! You always just go somewhere to rest lazily!" He held back a little as the other Danian glared at him.
"You're right," the glare on Wamma softened, "I need to get stronger… it wasn't because I wasn't strong enough this time, but next time… it might be."
Intress crossed her arms, "And the others didn't come in time. What are they going to do with Tom and Sarah?"
"What do you mean what they might do?" Tom's mother yelled as she rushed towards them. She grabbed the Overworlder"s arm, "What happened to him?"
"And our daughter!" Jeff asked.
Alexander gazed at the ground, "And we couldn't protect her ourselves."
Pamela sobbed, "She just went straight at him," she couldn't believe her daughter tried to fight a crabman like that on her own. She grabbed herself, "Why?"
Annie searched for her husband and saw him on his duties. She came to him, making sure not to interrupt anything. She waited for him to notice her and talk first.
The man smiled, "What is it?"
"Do you know when you are going to save our son? Is he still fine?" She asked as she tried to contain her emotions.
George let out a small reassuring smile, "We'll keep an eye on them. We will save them once we are ready," he clenched his hand, "They are fine. We won't waste too much time. Only if the creatures come here sooner."
"Yeah. Still, they saved us when we escaped the city… I don't want to be angry at them. But… he is gone with Sarah and they are in danger. We… we couldn't save him. The creatures were with you and he was with us. I was there. I should have protected him. I'm his mother and I couldn't even do that," she sobbed.
Her husband hugged her, "We did everything we could, but it wasn't enough this time. Still-"
"Sergeant. We have to get ready. The Codemasters announced that the portal is ready and the creatures will soon be here to prepare for a counter-attack," a soldier came.
"Thank you. Annie. I got to go. Hand in here. We will bring those two children back safe and sound. I promise."
"Good," she replied.
In Chaotic, the creatures had everything prepared. Battlegear was ready, the rations were ready for a long stay, and they also had the missing parts for the battlegear to protect the minds of the humans for battle.
Maxxor was nervous as anything could go wrong. He knew Tom was captured and anything could happen to him and Sarah.
For the Danian queen, she was also afraid for the girl. They grew attached to her and wished to save her as quickly as possible.
Theb-Saar looked at his troop, "Everyone ready. Because once we reach the Cothica, there is no going back until they are safe."
His soldiers replied positively with a loud war cry.
The Underworlder had a similar speech. Chaor grunted as he added, "And you better not fail me, because you will pay for it!"
Takinom put her hand on her face at the end of such a speech. She wondered if everything would be fine. She knew Chaor was worried for Kaz, but he was safe. She could imagine what Chaor would have done if Kaz was one of the prisoners. The red Underworlder would leave only destruction in its path. She crossed her arms and waited with the others for the portal to open.
It was too late for them to protect the base, but there was time for a rescue mission.
The only tribe who wouldn't come to the portal, except a few of them, were the M'arrillians who wanted to protect the humans.
Gal'drad didn't complain, he understood the reason. He was one of the few who would cross the portal with Vix'ben. He picked a few others who would be unlikely to cause trouble. Once the pick was done, they waited.
After a few minutes, Imthor came. He looked at the creatures and nodded, "The portal is ready. Come with me, we will open it," the creatures followed him, "The humans are aware of your coming. They are currently preparing a rescue plan to save Tom and Sarah. This is their first priority. The second is to capture Milla'iin in order to put an end to the invasion."
Theb-Saar nodded, "Good. They aren't wasting a second in the mission. I will check on Peyton once we are there. I have to be certain he is fine."
Mudeenu crossed his arms. He held back his more childish behavior. He wanted to squeak a little in joy at the prospect of finally being able to reach the Cothica. He wanted to see what it looked like with his own eyes. Of course, there was a small problem. The other tribes would reach it too. The larger problem was that the M'arrillians caused some destruction already. Still, they would save it. Once everything was done, he wondered what his king planned for the Cothica. It became obvious that claiming it was out of the question. Humans would never let them do that. Still, the future might be glorious for their tribe. He pushed that thought aside when they reached the portal.
The portal lit up with a blue light that shined brightly.
"You will show up one kilometer from the base. Head south and you will reach your destination. It will be easy, you can see it," Imthor told them. He put his hand on his chest, "Please, save the Earth. We have done everything we can. The rest is up to you."
"We will save them," Maxxor replied with confidence.
Gal'drad nodded, "And I will make sure they pay the price for soiling the Cothica. You can believe me."
No one completely believed those words. Maxxor decided to put faith in those, after they been through with the Elemental tribe, "This is-"
Chaor grunted, "Too long!" and went to the portal with his soldiers.
The others quickly followed suit to the Cothica.
At the other side of the portal, the creatures quickly noticed the base. Despite that, they took time to look around. The Cothica was far from what they expected.
"It's still beautiful," Sobjeck muttered to himself.
Chaor marched forward alone, until the others noticed he didn't stop. In the mind of the Underworlder, he cared little for the plan yet. He had to see his Kazzy. He couldn't push aside the moment the boy was coded. Even when he saw the boy on the monitor it didn't feel that real. He needed to see the boy in flesh and blood. This was the best way to take care of this artificial uneasiness.
The Underworlder just hoped that nothing happened during the attack on the base. If there was a single scratch, the enemies would beg to simply be killed.
They reached the base and a few humans were ready to welcome them.
George stood in front of them and saluted the creatures, "Welcome," his voice sounded a little weak for the red creature.
Maxxor noticed a bit of similarity with Tom. He guessed that it was the father of his friend, "Hello."
"You must be Maxxor, a friend of my son. Tom Major," he replied.
"And you are?"
"George Major, father of Tom. Anyway, no time for greetings. We need to prepare for a rescue mission. We are already planning everything."
"How long until the plan is ready?" Theb-Saar asked.
"We need to know where they are going to stop," George replied. He put his hand on his side, "They are still on the move. A plan cannot be completed until they stop. We also need to finish as many battlegear as possible to protect our minds and your army."
The creatures nodded.
"Where is Kazzy?" Chaor ordered.
"I'll show them," one of the soldiers replied.
Theb-Saar sighed, "Mudeenu. Install everyone for the night. Once it's done, go and see how the battle plan is progressing. I'll see how Peyton is doing," he walked away.
The Mipedian Prince nodded as he organized everyone.
"Maxxor!" Intress quickly joined the green creature, "I'm sorry. They got Tom."
The leader of the Overworld nodded, "I know. The Codemasters told us what happened."
"And also, Sarah," Aszil replied.
"My queen! W-what are you doing here?" Odu-Bathax asked as he rushed towards her.
Wamma remained on the side. His gaze focused on the ground instead of looking at his ruler. He just whispered, "I won't be weak anymore," he clenched his hands.
The other three creatures sighed with a bit of relief. They knew the end was near.
Agitos walked out of a building where they formulated the plan. He approached Chaor, "My lord. You have to know that Kaz is safe and unhurt."
"I will decide this when I see him!" He grunted.
"Then… I'll return to focus on the battleplan," he left his ruler and joined the humans.
The red creature stopped near the structure where the boy was.
"This is where Kaz is," the soldier replied.
Chaor entered without hesitation.
Inside, they all turned around when the door brutally opened.
It wasn't long before Kaz recognised the visitor, "Chaor!" He stood up as the Underworlder approached him, "If you're here, that means."
"Yes. The portal is fixed and the army is here," he replied. Chaor kneeled down. He carefully observed the boy, "You are indeed fine," a small relieved smile appeared on his face. It was obvious he was holding back, "I'll talk with you later… Alone," he left them.
The Mipedian king entered next and watched the portly boy. He saw that he was still in shock from losing his two friends. The usually optimistic boy seemed to have lost that optimism. He was oddly quiet.
Theb-Saar approached the boy and put a hand on his shoulder, "We will save your friend Peyton. As the king of the Mipedian, I promise."
Peyton's parents gazed at the blue creature quietly. They couldn't believe there was a lizard king in front of them.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Prisoners Of Milla'iin.
Tom and Sarah are brought to Milla'iin. What awaits them?