Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 42: New Horrors

It felt good for the group to get back to their home. They really needed a break from that last thing. It was also great to see Kratos and Venus as the two canines had been teleported back before the last adventure had been completed. It was for their own safety and from here on out, they wouldn't join the group on those. In the meantime, the couples were very keen to spend time with their loved one. Napoleon, as soon as and Pachira were able to, went straight to their bed. There was much love and passion shared in their love making session. At the end of it, the two nude vampires snuggled cutely. "Mmmm… you are just so adorable and cute honey," the male whispered into her ear.

"Awwww, you big sweetie," she cooed. Pachira loved that about Napoleon that he didn't care about her tit size as for her, that was her biggest weakness was how small they were. Not ridiculous but something that Pachira was conscious of. But her loving boyfriend hadn't cared as he loved his girl for her personality and other gorgeous looks. He even loved how cute her small tits were showing that not all guys loved big tits.

"Nah, you're the sweetie," he playful shot back, tickling her. Pachira giggled and grabbed his hands that were doing so before kissing him and rolling on top of his body.

"I still can't believe at times how much you love me," she whispered, placing a hand on his right cheek with love.

"Oh? Why is that baby?"

"Well… you're just so good looking and loving and kind to me. Even if my chest…" Pachira couldn't finish the thought but Napoleon knew where she had been going.

"Oh you silly beautiful vampire, I don't care about that," he told his girl and smiled. "Pachira, you are the most lovely thing to me in the whole universe."

"But my boobs…" she began and the male shook his head.

"Pachira, you are perfect for me just the way you are. Not all guys like huge tits. Because in the end what I love about you the most isn't those." Here the male placed one finger on her forehead. "It's what's in here, your personality, along with your heart and soul that matters to me the most. I wouldn't have you any other way, even with how you look. Because of those other things I find you to be so beautiful, adorable, and cute."

Her eyes began to water up with tears of happiness. "Even my boobs that are too small?" Pachira asked. She had heard her boyfriend tell her these things before, even on that first night she had lost her virginity to him but still loved it when Napoleon did.

"Even those I love just as much as any other part of you." The female found his mouth in a lunge, just so happy for the male and making her feel this way. It was why the next round they did was even more hot and loving when it came to sex.

Meanwhile with the Uma and Logan, he had found his girl had finished taking care of her pet rabbits and let out a breath to steady his nerves with what he wanted to ask her. "Hey, you finished here yet honey?" the wizard asked his girlfriend witch.

"Mhm!" she happily replied before turning to look at her loving boyfriend.

"So… there was something I wanted to really talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Well… you know I love you, right Uma?"

"Yeah, of course I do," the witch replied with a smile.

"And I know you love me to."

She nodded. "So… what is it?"

"I want to start by saying, no matter what, I will always respect your opinion. With that said, I just don't want to be apart from you tonight. What I'm saying is…" Logan paused a beat. "Uma, I want to take the next step in our relationship. I don't mean sex, but I was wondering if starting tonight we could share the same bed and be closer that way…"

Now Pachira had told a little of what sharing a bed was like with the other three females as had Liru. Uma like all of them was a virgin, or at least Pachira had been before Napoleon had claimed that with love. Now the witch did love her wizard boyfriend, but hadn't before him really thought of sex or even sharing a bed with a male, just getting a guy. When Logan had asked her out, Uma had been very happy, and certainly was to this day with still being his girlfriend. Now though even before the male had mentioned of sharing the same bed, it had only been within the time of coming back that she had started considering of just sharing the same bed with Logan like Liru did with Nicholas. "Well…" She paused, looked down, then back up at him and smiled. "Okay, let's try it."

He lit up with happiness. "Really?" Logan asked with a grin. "You mean it?"

"I do, I really do." He hugged her with warmth and love and Uma hugged him back without missing a beat, the two then kissing.

That night found the wizard waiting in his room. "You good?" he called to Uma who was in the bathroom getting ready.

"Yeah," came her reply. She then stepped out and Logan smiled when he saw the witch in her cute sleepwear.

"Um… do I have something on my face?" Uma asked, seeing her boyfriend smiling at her.

"Nah, just seeing how cute you look right now. Come here."

Logan held his arms open to Uma who smiled back and to the wizard. The two snuggled cozily on the bed. "This feels nice," the witch sighed happily.

"You have no idea how much so," her guy replied softly, one hand stroking her hair with love.

"Well at least I know what Pachira and Liru meant."

"Oh? Did those two say something to you honey?"

"Just how it felt to have the one you love hold you in their arms like this." Uma then blushed red. "I mean… I didn't ask beyond that…"

"It's okay," Logan said, seeing this. "To be honest, the more intimate details I don't need to hear. And neither should you as it's their business. If they wanted to share they would. And I also will say we don't need to go beyond this like I said before. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable and do something you're not ready for. When the time is right, it will be far more better."

The two pulled back a little to look at their loved one with smiles. "Thank you," Uma whispered and they had a loving kiss.

"Come on, I think we should get some sleep. I love you…"

"I love you too…" The witch and wizard settled in the bed, soon drifting off to sleep.

Meanwhile Cosmo found Aiko finishing up a task of some kind. The male android leaned against the door frame that led into the room with a smile, watching his girl busy. It was a cute sight to him. The female android then sense she was being watched and turned her head to see him standing there. "Hey you," he said softly.

"Hey there," Aiko replied. She noticed her guy smiling. "What? Is… something wrong?"

"Nah, it's nothing honey." The male walked up to her. "Actually… there was a thing I wanted to discuss and ask you."

"Sure, what is it?"

The hands the two had came together." Aiko, you know I love you, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. I love you too."

Cosmo nodded to show he knew that to. "Well I was wondering Akio if you were okay with it… Maybe we could take the next step in our relationship."

The female android blushed red, her mind going to the extreme end having heard Pachira mention a little of how she and Napoleon had sex. "I… I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet!" Aiko exclaimed, all flustered and embarrassed.

Cosmo couldn't hide his disappoint and his face fell. "Oh… so… you mean not sharing the same bed just for sleep?" he asked.

His girlfriend blinked as the female then got it. "Wait… you mean not even sex…?" Aiko replied, still red but now less flustered.

The male nodded. "Yeah, just for sleeping honey. A couple can share the same bed and not even engage in sex."

The female android now got what her boyfriend meant and then smiled with a nod. "Oh that I can do," she stated. "It's just after hearing Pachira talk about her and Napoleon…"

"Yeah, I understand why your mind went there. So is that a yes then?"

"It is, I would love to…" The two hugged with happiness.

Later that night, the two were settling into his bed. Thanks to the upgrades he had done for her long ago, Aiko could sleep like Cosmo. However neither needed food or water. "You comfortable honey?" he asked as they got cozy.

"I am, thanks," she replied happily. "This feel very nice honey."

"It is, and because of love." His girl let out a sigh of content.

"Now I know why Liru and Pachira love doing this with their guy. And why I never want to be by myself ever again…"

Cosmo kissed her head in response. "Here, let's get some sleep," he whispered.

"Yes. I love you…"

"I love you too." The two androids kissed and were asleep, happy and snuggled up in a cute heap.

Finally with Liru and Nicholas, the two were in the room they shared on their bed. Her long shirt for sleep ware was on and he was bare-chested. The male werewolf had slept this way before with his girl a number of times and it didn't bother the female at all. Their lips were in motion with Liru on top as she and the love of her life made out. His arms and hands held his girl close while she stroked his face and neck. The two werewolves then broke apart, breathing heavy from staying lip locked for so long. "Damn honey…" the male breathed. "You've come such a long ways since that first kiss of ours…"

"Is that a good thing?" she whispered, a little concerned.

"It is beautiful." Liru then got a dazzling smile and kissed her boyfriend on the nose in response.

"You make me so happy you know that?" Her guy nodded in response.

"That's all I want to do to the werewolf I love so much. Especially being the only guy you're ever dated and been truly in love with."

"Yes, and I don't regret it!" Liru's tail was wagging with happiness. "I only love you and you alone baby…"

"Ain't that the damn truth babe?" The two kissed again. But then his hands which were stroking here went a little lower then intended to the base of her wagging tail and ass cheeks. Liru felt that in an instant of her boyfriend touching those area and broke apart in shock with wide eyes. Being a virgin, nobody had ever touched her there until now.

"Wha… Nicholas, what are you doing?!" she whispered in shock, going red.

He realized what had happened and began to panic, instantly letting go. "Oh shit; honey I'm sorry!" the male werewolf stated in a rush. "I didn't mean to touch you there!" The couple in love were silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Forgive me Liru… My hands sometimes have a mind of their own and well…" Nicholas paused. "Being a guy I can see how very attractive and beautiful you are physically. I don't love you just because of everything else that is you but your looks as well. And I have noticed a few things on you… I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I've always envisioned one day of touching you there. Not just for going further but in general. But I don't want to if you're not comfortable or ready for that yet. Only when you are will it be much more enjoyable…"

Liru took in his words, believing him, but also touched that he was considering her feelings and wants. The female knew she could tell her boyfriend to not do that and he would be fine with it. But at the same time, the werewolf thought back to the feeling of the bigger one touching her ass and other area. Now that she was over the shock, Liru found Nicholas doing that to not be a bad thing. In fact, she wanted it a little more. "Honey, I…" The female looked down, a little less red in the face, and then back up into his eyes. "I actually want some more of that if you can do it again…"

Nicholas got a relieved, happy face at those words. "I can for sure beautiful. We don't have to go further, that is more than enough for me." He found her lips again and the female answered back. There was no hesitation in his hands and actions as they went for Liru's ass and lay them on the cheeks. She in turn didn't stop when feeling that but instead made a small sound to encourage her boyfriend to continue. Nicholas began to feel and grope his girlfriend's ass cheeks and Liru found she loved the feeling. His grip on those areas tightened while she began to stroke his face and neck. How long they stayed lip lock, the couple didn't know. But eventually they had to break apart, panting, and with a trail of saliva connecting their mouths. The female then lay her head on his muscled chest, sighing happily. "So how was it for you?" the male asked.

"So wonderful… I wouldn't mind something like that again…"

Nicholas kissed her on the head and Liru giggled, snuggling cutely against his body. "Then that's all I need to know… Let's get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah," Liru replied. "I love you…"

"And I love you, Liru…" The two settled down to sleep, very happy and content to be with their one and only.

However, things were only going to get worse when it came to dealing with the enemy. "So, you heard I assume Major?" the Doctor asked the said person who was looking at some recording from the monitors on the blimp they rode on.

"Ah yes, a loss with Desker," the shorter male replied. "But rest assured, the samples of his creation will be useful. And then there is another as well…"

"You mean the most recent one developed?"

"Precisely Doctor. And it will help with the impending war…"

The truth of his words would come to pass. And it all started with an invitation to a little gathering, even if it was far more than that it turned out. "So who's it from?" Liru asked as the whole group was gathered in the living room area of Napoleon's place where they all stayed at. The mail had come in as always but there was something that was addressed for all of them.

The male vampire opened it and his eyebrows went up. "It's from Claire!" he stated.

"Wait Chris's sister?!" Uma asked. Everyone was shocked as they had kept in contact with her but hadn't seen her in a long time.

"Yeah and it's an invitation to a gathering for LerraSave."

"LerraSave… I think I've heard of that," Cosmo said and his left arm turned into a kind of keypad that the male android typed on before bringing up a pic of the logo and a brief history all projected from the same arm.

"So besides the DSAA, there's these guys then?" Akio asked.

"Yeah," her boyfriend replied. "They help fight against bio-terror and viruses but are separate from the DSAA."

"So shall we go to this?" Logan asked. "It might be fun."

"I'm for it," Nicholas replied. And one by one, the rest agreed.

The group had to take a plane to the location and were soon reunited with Claire. She hadn't changed a bit and it was a wonderful reunion. The female human had been doing well and was told a bit what had happened with the group, including with helping her brother even if she had heard about that from him. It was then to the skyscraper that LerraSave had their headquarters located in. Here, those from the nether were introduced to many of the members and then it was time for the gathering to begin. Some were dressed a little more fancy, but many were semi casual. The space had long table with food, soft music playing, the idle chatter floating around, and a comfortable atmosphere. "This is nice," Pachira said to Napoleon as they got something to eat.

"My kind of setting," he added with a grin.

"Quite a turn out," Nicholas commented to Liru as they both glanced over the faces.

The two caught Claire's eye who smiled back at them. "Hey!" a new female voice called out to get the other's attention. "Hey Claire!"

All three looked to the source to see another human woman about the same age as Claire. Her face did have some familiar face features from an old F.I.L.E.S. member the group had worked with long ago. Her brown colored hair was cut short, very short that it barely went past her ears. But even if it was more a cut for a man, it was still in such a style that for a woman, it worked. She was also wearing a light jacket and jeans that for a gathering liked this worked. "Lora!" Claire acknowledged the new person.

The two came in for a friendly hug. "Welcome to the club."

"Reporting for duty Miss Limefield," Lora said after they broke apart in a teasing, sarcastic way. She even did a salute. "When do the hazing start?"

"Cut it out," Claire replied with amusement. "We've been friends for how long now?"

"Long enough that I'm allowed to give you shit."

Nicholas let out a chuckle at that. "Sounds like me and my friends," the male werewolf stated.

"Nice to see ya again!" Liru said to Lora with her usual wolf like grin. The ones from the nether had met this individual but didn't know her for as long as Claire.

"Oh hey, you guys joining today?" Lora asked. She was well aware they weren't human so this woman wasn't scared and had been told where they had original come from.

"Nah, Claire invited us to this little gathering," Nicholas explained.

Just then a new person tapped the said female on the shoulder. "Claire, could you um," he stated and jerked his head to the side as it was something important.

She indicated with a finger she was needed and the other three nodded in understanding. The female human to a side of the room and away from prying ears. "What's up Ned?" she asked. The said guy was wearing a grey shirt for this event with only a couple of buttons at the top. He had short dark hair that was the same color as his eyes along with facial hair to form a very closely trimmed beard.

"Something's going down lately," he told her. "Did you hear anything?"

"What, rumors of the new virus?" Claire gave him a small smile. "Come on, you know Dricell is history. Right?" Ned made no response, instead checking something on a clipboard that was held in a leather case that was on him.

"Hello?" Claire asked, trying to see if he was still with her.

"Hey, that Barry Lurton's girl?' the male human then asked, changing the subject and looking at Lora. That was the old F.I.L.E.'s member who had been at the mansion when Desker had revealed his true colors and why his daughter looked a little like him to those from the nether.

"Yup. Lora started today." Claire looked to see the said person was talking with a couple of others. "But you've gotta be careful if you're gonna mention-"

"Her and her dad?" Ned said and let a small chuckle. "Oh yeah. Emotional minefield."

"Ok. You did your homework." Claire noticed him checking the clipboard again. "What other horrible invasions of privacy have you got in there?" She was just teasing Ned.

"Hey, I gotta look after LerraSave. We have our enemies. Anyway, good luck breaking her in."

Ned walked away leaving Claire to roll her eyes with amused annoyance. "She's not a horse," she replied as if the guy was still there in a tone to match.

The female human then noticed Lora was checking her phone and didn't look too happy. Nicholas and Liru were next to the latter and heard her angry grunt at whatever Lora had been texted. "Uh, you okay?" the male werewolf asked.

"Uh oh, what did he do this time?" Claire asked, guessing what it was.

"Fucking Barry!" Lora snapped. "Every time I ask him anything, he pushes back. I wouldn't even be here if I had listened to-"

Suddenly all the lights in the room went out. This wasn't like someone had flipped a switch, this was more like a black out. "What the hell?!" Nicholas asked as everyone in here began to mummer in surprise.

Claire and Lora looked to the big window, the kind an office building like this would have where one could look out and see the city down below. Suddenly a very bright spotlight and then two more shown out into the room. Although it caused some squinting people could tell there were coming from some helicopters. They were getting closer. Then men came down from above from the roof on zip lines all dressed in black combat gear and their faces were covered up by helmets. It seemed to all be happening in slow motion to the ones in the room. They saw one of the men hold up some kind of MP 40 machine gun to the window to shoot. And then more of these guys came into the room with the same kind of weapon firing these all while things still seemed to happen in slow motion. The person at the window fired at the glass to crack it so he could kick it in. Shards of the stuff went flying and among this commotion, Claire and those from the nether were able to hear the shouting of others. "What the hell are you doing?!" one person asked. "Let me go!"

"What the hell?!" went another.

"Claire Limefield, you're coming with us!" the man who had shot at the window stated to the said human.

"What?" she gasped. "No, there must be some kind of mis-"

Her words were cut off because one of the men who were attacking took out an injection and stuck it into Claire's neck, shooting whatever was in it into her body. "Claiiiree!" Lora yelled before the same thing happened to her. Then those from the nether got it to.

"Not again…!" Nicholas groaned before they all blacked out and knew nothing more.

Nobody knew how much time passed. But Claire was the first to stir. The sound of dripping water in some kind of cavern or building echoed while the female human let out a groan. She opened her eyes and slowly rose up. Little did she know that someone was watching her every move from a camera in the hallway. The surroundings was some kind of rundown prison with her in one of the cells. The human then noticed on her left wrist was a band that hadn't been there before. It was made of metal and not likely to come off. There were two glowing sections on it colored green and appeared to be somewhat complicated. Before Claire could look at it closely, a sound that was similar to doors being opened in a prison sounded and her cell door opened, the bars moving to the right. The human slowly got up, confused, but otherwise alright. "Why did it open?" she asked out loud. "I didn't do anything…"

Emerging she could heard something like a voice on a radio coming from somewhere but unable to locate it. "Where have I been taken?" Looking to her right showed a very dark hallway and even railroad tracks used in mines. The whole place looked to be rundown and abandoned. At the end of the corridor was some kind of lighting that was constantly flickering like it would go out at any second. Claire had no choice but to carefully traverse down this hallway so as not to trip and break a bone. The sound on the radio was getting closer and then something else was heard.

"Take it easy, don't trip." It was a male voice and one Claire knew all too well.

"Wait… Nicholas?" the human called out.

"Yeah it's me and Liru," came his reply in a grumble. The male werewolf was clearly not happy.

The two emerged with both looking okay. The female though was holding onto her guy's arm for safety and protection. "You two okay?" Claire asked.

"Mostly. Ugh, why has this shit happened again?"

"At least you found me quick," the female told her love with a smile.

"True," he agreed and smiled back at Liru.

Just then the three heard the sound of someone banging on some bars. They could also pick up a voice. "Wait.. is that Lora?" Claire asked.

"I think so," Nicholas replied.

The trio ran to the source of the noise to find it was the other female and in her own cell. "Oh my god, Claire," Lora stated with relief.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of there right away," the first female human told the second.

"Are you okay?" Liru asked. "Did they hurt you?"

"No! All I remember is-" Lora sounded like she was panicking again. The four had no idea they were being watched on another camera nearby.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Nicholas told the second female human in a calm, soothing voice.

"I mean, what in a moist barrel of fucks is-"

"Stop talking," Claire cut Lora off. "Let us figure this out."

Suddenly an income system that could be used to contact what could assumed the head area of this place and what also operated the bars of Lora's cell turned green on the small screen. A buzzing sound was heard to indicate it was opening while the wrist band Claire had made a static like noise. The bars then moved to the side and Lora rushed out, grabbing the first female by the shoulders as she was scared shitless. "Guys, I just wanna go home," Lora stated, on the verge of freaking out.

"Shh," Claire told her. "It's okay, we're gonna get out of here."

"Wait, what about the others?" Liru stated. "What if they're here to?"

"Someone mention us?" went another familiar voice that was male. It was Napoleon.

Liru, Nicholas, Claire, and Lora turned their heads to see the rest from the nether approaching. They also appeared a little shaken but otherwise unhurt. "There you are; you guys holding up?" the male werewolf asked.

"Yeah, somehow," the male vampire answered with a frown. He wasn't happy like Nicholas.

"Ugh… I'm creeped out by this place," Uma stated while holding onto her guy Logan for warmth and security.

Just then another sound, the kind that was heard when prisoners were let out for the day, blared out and more cells opened as well as the way forward. "So what now?" Pachira asked. "Are we really going to go on ahead…?" The female vampire looked to be in the same boat as Uma.

"I'd rather not stay here, thanks," Cosmo told her. "Plus, we're not totally helpless."

"How can you say that?" Aiko asked her guy, also feeling worried.

"Well babe, for one thing, I'm like a walking swiss army knife. I can fix just about anything or make anything mechanical or weapon wise to a point."

"Plus most of us know how to fight hand to hand," Nicholas added. "I think if me and the guys stay in front, we should be fine. Just keep your eyes out for anything that could work as a weapon."

The guys began to lead the way forward. "None of this makes any sense," Lora stated, still sounding scared. "What did we do?"

"Wish I could tell you," Claire replied as the large group went down a darkened hallway.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," Cosmo stated.

The group then found another door, one made of what appeared to be iron and had bars. This was easily pushed open. Everyone went through it and the lights turned on to have a ghastly sight greet them. "What the hell…?!" Napoleon asked.

"Oh my god…" Liru whispered, clutching to her boyfriend Nicholas for comfort.

"Jesus…" he stated softly in shock and disgust.

The group was in a large circular room that went up to the surface but also down below. The mine tracks continued both up and down which must have been used for the carts and went down and up on the sides of the walls. There was a large fan above slowly turning as the shadow of the huge blades could be seen going. But the most shocking part was what has hanging in front of the group. Hanging in bags were corpses attached to chains. Many of them were impaled with some kind of metal rods. "This is so messed up," Lora stated. "What do you think this place was?"

"I don't think we want to know," Logan replied.

"Let's head up," Napoleon stated.

The group began to do so. But there was a moment that made them jump when one of the bodies was suddenly lowered. "Shit… that could have made me jumped off of here," Nicholas growled.

Everyone continued and then the tracks ended because there was a small section that the group had to jump. Then it was up a ladder and then shimming across a narrow space before making it to the next section. From there it was to the left and up a slope. But before they reached the top, they heard some kind of noise and then followed by a woman's scream. "What the hell?!" Napoleon asked.

"Did you hear that?" Claire asked.

"Is there someone else in here?" Lora replied, now getting even more scared.

The group began to go in the direction the yell had been heard. They noticed on their left the remains of blood from a gruesome fate of a poor soul. But while on the way, they did stop at a table as there were a couple of knives on it and a flashlight. They looked to be combat like and Claire picked one up. "These should come in handy," she stated while examining her blade.

"Perfect," the male werewolf said as he took the other knife. Lora picked up the flashlight and turned it on, showing it worked with its powerful beam of light.

"Guess I'm on light duty," Lora stated in a soft voice that had a hint of still being scared.

Claire led the way now that she had a weapon. It was then through a door into a room that looked to be straight out of a horror movie. It looked to be like some kind of room for operations. There was a table to work on a body but there was dried blood on the sheet covering it and the floor. Even worse, there were large metal hooks protruding from the body. To the right was a window that people could look through and see the horror that took place. It was a little broken and didn't take much from Claire with her knife to fully break the glass. The group was able to hope over the ledge where thatt stuff had been into the next area. Only this looked even worse than the last room. There was very poor lighting, even more dried blood everywhere with gore smeared into it, and even a couple of slices in the wall. It was like someone had taken a claw or sword and marked up the wall. There was also a desk that had drawers in one corner and shelving against one of the walls. "See if there's anything," Nicholas said.

Liru went to the shelving and found a piece of paper. "Hey honey, there's something written here," the female told her guy, holding it up.

"Maybe we can start getting answers," Uma stated.

Looking showed it was a list of three simple rules. Put it was for monitoring test subjects. According the paper the ones participating in the experiment had to observe the rules. They were the subjects and had to be monitored for 24 hours, monitor the sensor for any changes, log its status every ten minutes, and dispose of any subject showing signs of abnormality immediately. "Hmmm… so we might have another whack job to deal with," Nicholas guessed after everyone had read this and pocketed the piece of paper into a pants pocket to hold on like any other document. Since the group had none of the ruins on them, the male werewolf knew Cosmo would have to either store them or make something to store any documents that were found later.

"Guess whatever it is, we need to stop it like always," Logan commented with a grin. He then got a serious look. "Is there anything else in here?"

"Check the desk."

There was some handgun ammo found but without any guns, it was useless. It was still taken just in case there might be one. "If not, I could probably use the metal for something," Cosmo told the others.

It was then through another door and it was liking stepping into a whole different building. Instead of it being like a mine, now it looked like the group had stumbled onto an abandoned, rundown hospital. The walls and flooring had a different look. Even so, the lighting was dim and poor, and there was blood and gore smeared in places on the floor and walls. After going through another door, the group got to a hallway. There was barely any light and the main source was coming from a dangling source that flickered on and off like it was about to go out. There was even a patient transport abandoned in here. Everyone walked passed it and found something blocking their way. It appeared to be some kind of shelving but there was a small space between it and the floor as it rested against the wall. "I think we can squeeze under this," Claire said after looking at it.

"Alright, I'll hold," Napoleon offered. "Cosmo, help me out."

Everyone made it and then the group found the way was blocked by some kind of shelving. This one had spaces in between each shelf so they could see through and that the hallway took a right up ahead. "Careful, stand back," Nicholas told the others.

The male werewolf began to slowly move it forward to be on the safe side. But then a sound of metal pipping falling could be heard and it sounded really close. Just before the blockade was fully moved, something came bursting out of nowhere, reaching for Nicholas with a sound that made everyone jump bad. The next thing the werewolf knew, the thing that had appeared had tilted the shelving over so the creature could reach in further. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Nicholas snarled and started stabbing the thing with his knife.

After a few hits, the thing managed to grab the long-haired male. The werewolf stabbed it in the shoulder blade and saw whatever it was, was smooth all over with no hair or anything. The tone of the skin color was horrible and there were ratted, tattered clothing on the body. Even worse there were shards of metal pipping or something in the arm and what appeared to be barbed wire on certain sections. The thing let go of the werewolf and just as quickly as it had appeared, vanished back from where it had come from. "Are you okay…?" Liru whispered to him as the guy got up, pushing the shelving back to a position to move it forward.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Omigod," Lora whispered. "What the fuck."

"That was close," Napoleon said softly.

Just then the group heard the sound of a screaming woman and another that sounded like the creature that had just appeared. "Shit, help me move this!" Nicholas snarled to Claire.

The thing was moved and group rushed to the source of the noise. They came into a room that was almost black with darkness. Some kind of mist was in here and the group could make out the monster that had just appeared and a woman who was clearly human. The thing, whatever it was, rushed towards her, and they disappeared into the mist like substance that seemed to be coming from the doorway that led to the next area. "Holly shit; it's gonna kill her!" Lora exclaimed after the first woman screamed.

"C'mon; hurry!" Claire ordered.

"I hope we're not too late!" Uma whispered with hope.

The group ran after the monster. They went through a few more rooms, just as abandoned, worn down, decrypted, and dimly lit like the areas so far. Then came a hallway where blocking the way was a sliding metal door, the kind that docking places had that unloaded stuff from trucks. A few in the group lifted it up so everyone else could get under before they moved and let the door fall with a crash. Dead silence followed except for the sound of dripping water. Lora was starting to breath like she was going to hyperventilating with fear. And around the corner, the woman was found, all bloodied and limping. "Rina!" Claire whispered.

The said person collapsed onto the latter. Her black hair was streaked with blood as was her face that still wore glasses. "The animal eyes!" she chocked and whispered. The woman then fell to the floor. "Oh god…" Rina then didn't move or say anything more.

"We're too late; she's dead," Napoleon said softly. Looking on Rina's left wrist there was another bracelet like what the group was wearing.

"Did you know here?" Lora whispered to Claire.

"Yeah," the other female human replied. "She's with LerraSave… Why would anyone do this?" Her voice sounded like it was going to break.

There was nothing else to do but head to the door to get out of this room. "I can hear the wind out there," Lora said. "This must be the way out."

The door was tried but it was locked. "Then we need to find a way through," Claire stated.

"I would try to pick it but I'm afraid of how old and decrypted this is," Cosmo said. "If I do so, I might cause some damage or something. If we can't find the key, I'll try that." It was the same for Logan and Uma who could have unlocked with magic but the same problem might occur. And since nobody had the ruins on them, a skeleton key couldn't be made.

"Let's try through that door," Nicholas suggested, pointing at a different doorway that went elsewhere.

They went through that and found themselves in a large section. There were metal stairs that could be taken to get down to the lower level of this area. In the center was some huge metal cylinder like structure. It was like a kind of hopper but there were sections in the metal that were open. A light from a source was shining straight down it. Like the other rooms there was still poor lighting and even some kind of mist in here. "What kind of wackjob would… This is not OK," Lora stated when seeing this room.

Claire led the way down the stairs where the group spotted a dead body of a man hanging from a chain and upside down. His ankles were held in some kind of clamp. And attached to his belt was a keyring.

"Here, one of you hold me steady," Claire told the others and began to reach for the keys.

None of the group saw the camera in here that was allowing the one in charge to see their every move. "Uh… okay," Lora replied and held onto Claire's right arm while the latter left hand reached out to the keys.

"Almost… got it…" Suddenly the clamp holding the legs opened and the body fell down to the lower level.

"Oh come on!" Nicholas exclaimed in frustration.

"Well that blows," Lora grumbled.

Suddenly the group heard the same noise like a jail had when it was time to let out the prisoners coming from their right. They all looked to see the door at the bottom of the stairs was now unlocked. They went through the doorway to find themselves in another hallways similar as the last ones. But the group could heard the sound of some kind of creature making noises. They were soft, but could still be heard. "Should've known there was more than one of those things that attacked earlier," Napoleon said with a frown.

"Let's move quickly and quietly before we're noticed," Logan suggested.

The group went forward, going through rooms similar to what they had found before making it to the place where they could use a ladder to get down to the lower level and grab the fallen keys. "All right, we made it," Claire stated once they all climbed down. "Key's over there."

"Ugh," Lora complained. "This place reeks."

"Yeah, don't remind me and Nicholas," Liru groaned. Being werewolves, the two had much sharper senses of smell. So the stench would really hurt their noses if those were used. They were breathing in and out of their mouths to avoid this.

Suddenly there was a sudden noise. "Shit, what's that sound?" Lora asked in a rush and scared.

Claire went over to the body and searched it. "The key's gone…" she then stated with dread.

The female then pulled a gun out from the belt holster the corpse had. "Do you, uh… are you gonna use that?" Lora asked with nerves but also with the tone of having a bad experience with guns.

"It's more reliable than any person."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Logan grumbled and meant he and the rest of those nether.

"Here, I'll take your knife," Napoleon said and took the weapon from Claire while the female human put the belt and holster on for the gun.

"The key must have shook loose when the body fell," Claire told the others. "It could be anywhere."

It didn't take long to find them and for the one with the gun to shoot them down. As soon as Claire had, the same sound for letting prisoners out was heard along with a couple doors in the area unlocking just ahead. But then a dreaded moaning like sound could be heard from either side of them. "I've got a bad feeling…" Nicholas growled, getting ready.

Suddenly the doors burst open and out stumbled two of the same kind of enemies that had attacked earlier in the hallway. "Watch out!" Lora shouted.

Claire fired without hesitation at one of the incoming monsters. The ones who had the knives used those and their hand to hand combat skills to take care of the rest. But even when the few that had appeared were killed, more started to come from above. "Forget about 'em!" Lora exclaimed. "Just run!"

"I agree, too many of them!" Logan replied.

"Go!" Napoleon told those that didn't have a weapon. "We'll cover you!"

The ones without weapons went up the ladder first and then followed by the rest. "Let's double back and try the key," Claire suggested.

The group had to fight their way through a few enemies before making it back. The key worked on the locked door which lead to another hallway that was run down, had poor lighting, and very much looked like the others. But here the group found another corpse but it had a shotgun on it. "Looks like another that could have been brought here," Logan suggested when asked how this corpse could have a gun like this. Napoleon took it to use.

"At least he went down fighting," the male vampire stated.

"You need a gun too Lora," Claire then said to the other human after getting out of this hallway and into the next room. There was better lighting in here.

"No, I really, really don't," the latter replied in a firm voice, but also sounding scared like remembering a horrible past experience. "Sorry, I don't do firearms. Not after what happened."

"Shit, I'm sorry." Claire's voice truly showed she was that. "I forgot. Maybe we can find you something else."

"No, I'll just… be on flashlight duty or something. It's fine."

The ones from the nether got questioning looks as they hadn't heard of this. Only that Lora and her dad weren't on good terms. "Um… are we gonna learn what happened?" Uma asked, not sure if it was good to ask.

"Later, I'll tell you guys later," Claire replied before Lora could answer. The second human looked grateful for that.

"Very well," Nicholas replied. "In any case, let's search this room. There seem to be a number of boxes that might have something."

Looking yielded a bit more ammo for the guns but also a crowbar that Lora took. "Nice," she stated. "Blunt weapons. I can do blunt weapons."

"And a handy tool that might come in handy for opening things," Aiko added with a smile to reassure the female human.

Once everything useful had been grabbed, it was too the next door but there was a board across it. "Here, let me," Lora stated and used her new crowbar to pull the board away.

The group went into the next hallway. The was barely any lighting again and some kind of mist near the floor. But everyone was able to a small figure at the end who jumped and quickly ran out of view after letting out a loud, surprised gasp. "Guys… you saw that, right?" Lora asked nervously.

"Yeah," Claire replied. "I saw… something."

"It didn't look like an enemy," Uma said.

The group continued down the hallway, picking up the few things that would help. They then reached another of the metal doors that had to be lifted up in order to continue. Then it was up a flight of stairs where looking showed it was getting lighter, but not like they were going outside. "Wait… are we in a prison?" Cosmo asked when they got to the top of the stairs.

The group had arrived in some kind of prison but like the rest of this place was old, decrypted, and run down. There were two sets of stairs that went to holding cells on a second level and the first floor had them too. But the group also heard the distinct moaning of the same kind of enemies faced before. "I hear a number of them… great," Nicholas grumbled.

"Let's get out of here before they show up," Liru suggested.

The group had hardly gone forward when each of their wrist bands made some static sounds. Then a woman's voice came out from them. "Fear what you will become," they said. "And become what you fear…"

"What?" Lora asked in shock. "Who the fuck is quoting poetry?"

"Are you afraid? You can tell me. Talk to me." Above another camera zoomed in so the one spying on the group could see them better.

"What are you talking about?" the same female human asked.

"Those bracelets change color in response to fear." Looking at them the group could see the colored section had become yellow.

"And who exactly are you?" Claire demanded.

"So much suffering…" the woman continued. "You don't even know what to be afraid of yet." Then there was silence.

"Is she talking to us or at us?" Uma asked.

"Doesn't matter, it's none of her business what I'm afraid of," Nicholas growled.

The group then continued passed the cell to the next section and found a map to this place. "This will come in handy," Pachira said after everyone took a look.

The next thing the group found was on a table right nearby. "What do we have here?" Logan asked and picked up a clipboard with a few papers on it.

"Anything important?" Uma asked.

"Yeah, if what's on it is to be believed." Looking showed it was a written recording on improving security measures of this place. Whoever had wrote this, per the director's instructions, had put a fire-breathing bust in front of the exit of the facility. The flames this thing spat out were no joke. Even if several of the experiments tried to break through at once, they were all going to get fried, no questions asked. It ended with saying thou shalt no pass and with so much for hope of anything trying to escape.

"That thing might still be here," Nicholas stated after the document was put away like the one from before.

"You mean like that over there?" Aiko then asked while looking ahead.

Everyone else looked to see a door that was blocked by bars that could slide to be opened. Behind it was some kind of metal contraption. It had a muzzle, similar to what a flamethrower had to shoot out fire and was cylinder in shape with a rounded top. It was about as tall as a regular human. The group approached the door. "This looks like a way out," Claire stated.

They could see behind the metal thing was a door and daylight was spotted in the cracks. But there was no way to get to it because the mechanics that operated the door wasn't working. It was a gear cog system and one of the gears, more specifically the one that went in the middle, was missing. "Fucking technology…" Lora grumbled.

"No point in complaining," Pachira said. "Guess we'll need to find it."

The group began to check out the other hallways that branched off from this room. There were two of them in total. One they couldn't go far because the door there was locked on the other side. But the second one they were able to get passed that door. They did notice that in a section and tucked away on a set of rails was some kind of horrible device. It had two wheels and was cylinder in shape. It was taller than an average human and looked like a huge bird cage that a person could be placed in. But attached to the sides were blades on metal rings that would spin when the thing was moving. "What the hell would anyone need that?" Liru asked with nervousness when seeing them.

"Maybe when the experiments mentioned break out?" Uma suggested. She didn't like the look of the thing either.

"We can only guess," her boyfriend Logan said.

It was then through the door to another hallway. Nothing could be found here so the group went to the next room but stopped short when they saw what was inside. "Oh my god…" Liru whispered, holding onto her boyfriend Nicholas for support.

"Oh, that looks comfy," Lora stated sarcastically.

"Yeah," Claire agreed in the same tone. "Let's take one home."

The thing was rectangular in shape and in the center of the room. Half of it looked like some kind of metal bed for a person to be placed on. Above it was a smaller metal section with spikes on the bottom that could be used to impale something. This was attached to a metal lifter that could raise and lower the top part and control by a switch. The group went over to look closer as they thought they spotted something in between the top and bottom sections. Lora shinned her flashlight and it turned out there was. "Look at this machine," the female human stated. "There's something stuck in it."

"Wait… that's the gear we need," Uma said and looking showed it was the middle one missing for the door that would get the group out of here.

Cosmo tried the switch that was on a control box right by the thing but nothing happened. "It's not working," he stated. "The power must be off. Maybe there's a switch?"

"Can you just feed it power or something?" Uma asked.

"If I did that, I might end up frying and busting the whole thing. This place is very old and I might cause more problems than solutions."

The group then went to the next room and here Liru found something useful. "Hey, check it out!" the female werewolf stated with triumph, clashing her grin and holding up a customization gear kit found on a shelf. It was the kind for upgrading guns.

"Perfect!" Nicholas said. There was a workbench in here and Claire took the parts. The female human used them to help increase the damage.

Once that task was finished, it was on to figuring out what to do next. "I'll check what's up there," Uma said, pointing at a ladder that went up to a higher level here. The witch climbed up and found a door but it was locked.

"Guess we gotta back track," Logan stated after his girl reported this to the rest of the group.

In the previous room, they looked around and spotted a second level that could be reached. But the ladder to climb to it was partially broken in the middle and bottom. "So who's going to go up?" Logan asked as it was clear some would have to.

It was decided that Lora, Liru, Pachira, and Napoleon would do so. "Here, we'll give you a boost," Claire told them. "See if you can climb up."

With a little jumping effort, the four made it. "We'll see you at the locked door," Nicholas told them and the rest of the group bellow returned to the previous room.

Lora led the way and the group found a small container. The human got it opened to find a handgun ammo case that was taken for Claire. Then it was to unlocking the door for the others. The group were then reunited and could continue. "Maybe once we're outside we can find someone to help us," Akio said.

"Let's hope so," Cosmo replied.

It was then through a new door. "Hmm… I think I hear something," Liru whispered, her wolf like ears twitching.

"I do as well," her boyfriend Nicholas stated in a soft voice.

The group carefully went forward to the next hallway. This one had an arching ceiling like some kind of glass tube in an aquarium but it was made of stone and metal. Like the other areas seen so far, this was just worn down, old, and falling apart. Everyone had hardly taken some steps forward when something suddenly poured out of the ceiling where panels were missing. It was hard to tell if it was gas or something else. But the suddenly appearance and noise of it made many duck or jump. Then they heard the sound of creaking like something above them was moving. "Jesus!" Cosmo stated after getting over the scare and when the thing pouring out stopped.

"Let's get out of here before something else show up," Pachira whispered, staying close to her guy Napoleon.

The group went down the hallway. On their right was a locked door. However they could see through an observation window that it led to a control room that had monitors and stuff to observe the cells of this place. There was only one other path now and that was to the door at the end of the hallway. "I just want to get out of here…" Lora whispered.

"You and me both," Logan told her.

"Let's… not get ahead of ourselves," Claire stated.

The group went passed the door to see more of the same kind of hallway seen already with bars. But when they took some steps forward, another of the enemy stumbled out of an open doorway. The moaning certainly made a couple in the group jump. "Shit; more of 'em!" Lora exclaimed.

Claire had no problem shooting the thing's brains out. "Anymore?" Aiko whispered while sticking close to Cosmo.

"I don't think so, I don't hear anything that indicates it," Nicholas replied. As a werewolf it was not just his sense of smell but hearing that was better than a human's in general.

The next two cells didn't have anything. But in the third one on a table was a scrap of paper with writing on it. Nicholas picked it up and squinted to try to make out the words. "What is it?" Napoleon asked.

"Not sure," the werewolf replied. "I think it's some kind of letter but it's written in a different language. I think it's Russian but I can't read it.

"Let me," Claire offered and took it. Being a part of her organization that had been there she could read basic Russian.

The female human read it and from the look on her face, the others could tell whatever was written on it must have been horrifying. She even told them as best as she could it was written by a little girl. They had written this to their mom, telling how those in charge her called her and other experiments. How the ones in charged tortured her and the others day after day. The note ended with the girl asking what she had done to deserve this and it hurt so much. "Disgusting," Nicholas growled in anger.

"Horrible…" Liru whispered in horror.

"Unforgivable," Logan added and the thing was carefully put away to take with the group like the other documents found so far.

It was then through another door into a larger space. Three more enemies came out and were quickly killed before it was then moving on to finding anything of use here. And in one of the storage areas, the group did find something very useful. "I've got something here," Cosmo announced to the others when he got it. "And you're not going to like this but you need to know."

"How come?" Logan asked once the rest joined the male android.

"It involves those damn bracelets strapped to our wrists."

The document was giving caution on to handle the experiments here. It started by saying the bracelets had sensors that measured the adrenaline and nor-epinephrine levels to calculate the fear the subject is experiencing. There were four colors to indicate the changes with green being for normal, orange for anxiety, blinking red for fear, and solid red for mutation. The document ended by stating if the subjects sensors should turned to red, they were already in the mutation phase and to be shot immediately. After reading, everyone checked what was around the wrist right away. "Looks like we're good," Nicholas stated and seeing that nobody was at red.

"Yes, but it's easier said than done to control our fear, right?" Liru asked, starting to get nervous herself.

"Don't worry honey," her one and only told his girl with a reassuring smile. "Just remember I'm here and will always keep you safe."

The one he was dating smiled at her darling, his words soothing her like a lullaby and calming down. "Thank you," Liru whispered and couldn't help but hug Nicholas.

Claire cleared her throat to bring them back to reality. The male werewolf rolled his eyes with slight annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you," he grumbled. "Now's not the time for romance. I get it."

"Although… do you think whatever causes the mutation would affect us from the nether?" Uma asked. "All the other things haven't as they're for human purposes only."

"I don't think so," Logan answered. "We may be able to have children should we want with humans. However, when it comes to our immunity it's different. Plus all the viruses and things were meant for human purpose only as you said. Not those from the nether. Plus Aiko and Cosmo are the most protected being androids and not quiet flesh and blood in a sense."

"Of course, me and her, plus the rest despite being immune to these are certainly no less safe from whatever they produce," the male android pointed out. "We can still be killed by them."

"Touché. But we won't let that happen."

The group then continued on their way. There was a hallway that had to be taken to move forward but was blocked by broken off stone and other things that made it impossible to fully go down it. Luckily another room helped with getting around this. In it another parts box for the guns was found and taken. Then after exiting the room and getting pass the blocking rubble, the group found some stairs that went down and took them. But at the bottom, they could heard noises being made by something. And they sounded like the enemies seen before. "Wait," Claire whispered but with order to those that didn't have guns or weapons to really fight back.

The female human took a peek around the corner at the bottom of the stairs and sucked in breath in frustration. "What is it?" Logan whispered to her.

"Just look," she stated in a soft voice.

A couple did and saw what Claire did. Looking ahead showed an open area. The sounds they had heard from were coming from more enemies here. But these were different as they were much taller and had more metal parts attached to their bodies. Plus they were wielding a hammer of some kind each. Next to them was another of the horrible devices on rails that had the blades on the side seen earlier. A couple more could also be seen and there were a couple other doors and paths that branched off from the area ahead. "Should we rush them?" asked Cosmo quietly who had been one of the ones too look and after telling the rest what had been seen.

"Bad idea," Napoleon whispered. He been the other to look. "Let me see if I can sneak up and take them out."

"Good idea," Nicholas agreed softly. Not only could the male vampire move silently, if he got injured, Napoleon could regenerate from the damage from all the blood still inside his body from others taken. Only the monsters and those that were evil as Napoleon would never attack or feed on good, innocent humans.

He was given the two knives found so far and made quick work of the enemies. "All clear!" he told the other and the rest joined him.

They took a look around and saw ahead what appeared to maybe be the place, or part of what was the power source. "Looks like we can't reach it from here, there's gotta be another way," Logan said.

"Yeah, trying to make a hole to get to it might cause something to collapse," Nicholas stated.

It was decided that the next best thing was to check out the couple of doors here. One of them was locked but another opened. The group chose to go beyond that. In the next area, which still look similar to what had been seen before, the group found the key just hanging on a shelf for the locked door. "Huh… that's it?" Uma asked after grabbing it. "No alarms or anything?"

"It does seem a bit too easy," Logan agreed with his girl.

"Meh, let's just take it and go," Nicholas said. "You know, before anything does show up."

The group then went ahead to the next door after moving a container that was in the way. Beyond that was still the familiar looking layout. And it turned out it was another pathway to get to the system that needed the gear seen before. So now the group had another way to reach this area. They then doubled back to the locked door and used the key on it. Beyond it the group found themselves in a room with a huge ass trash compactor smack dab in the middle of the space. And there was something else on the sides that grossed a couple in the group out. "Bugs!" Lora groaned. "Of course there had to be bugs…"

"Ugh, what is with them?" Liru asked. "They're huge like some mutation we've seen…"

"Here, allow us," Nicholas offered to his love with a grin and working with a couple of others cleared the insects out.

The only way to get the other side was to then jump below, cross the trash compactor and then boost a few up. Lora went up but this time Cosmo and Aiko joined him. The three went ahead and found themselves in the room they had seen earlier that looked like it was part of the power source. It turned out to actually be the area for power, but there was another of the horrible blade like devices right nearby on a track. "Good, we found it," the male android said with a grin. "Let's get the juice flowing."

They found the breaker switch and Cosmo took a hold of it. "Let's hope nothing blows up," he stated before pulling it down.

The guy did and nothing did explode. The power came back on but the torture device activated and began to move towards the three. "What? Are you kidding me?!" Lora exclaimed.

"Let's just move!" Cosmo ordered.

The three then went back the way they came. Suddenly an enemy came bursting out of a door that had been passed but hadn't been able to be opened before the power had been resorted. "OUT OF OUR WAY!" the male android shouted and punched the monster with all his strength. It sent the mutated abomination into a wall and hard enough to crack bone. Since most of the damage went to the head, that was all it took to kill the enemy in one blow.

"Shit," Lora said after getting over what she had just witnessed. "Remind me to never fucking piss you off."

The three made it back and saw that the trash compactor had become activate again and one end was moving where the group was. It was clear if the rest didn't move, they would be crushed to death. "Get out of there!" Lora shouted at them.

"Will you shut up?!" Nicholas snapped. "Look at how slow it's moving! We'll use the upper part as a way to get out!"

Once the part that would have crushed the group in the compactor was out far enough, Claire and the rest from the nether world used it to get up and out of harm's way. "See? No problem," Napoleon told Lora.

"Well at least we got power," Claire said after the group left this area. "That should help."

"Uh yeah, not unless we get diced up," Logan groaned and seeing what was going on ahead.

"Great…" Nicholas groaned as well with a roll of his eyes.

The horrible devices with blades that had been passed before were active and moving, creating a hazard obstacle course ahead. They were moving slowly but the group had to be careful. Luckily there was a different way to get to where they needed to go and took some stairs up instead. Along the way, they had to take down a few enemies, including a new one that was just a bubbling mass of flesh that exploded like a bomb. It was then going through hallways already passed until they had reached the room where the cog was stuck. "Alright, fingers crossed this works," Cosmo told them after going to the switch to activate the machine.

"We might want to step back just in case," Nicholas added.

The male android pulled the switch and the group saw the top part move to reveal on the underside were spikes. On the bed was the cog but also a dead body. From the looks of it, the person had been dead for quite a while. Even worse the wrist and ankles where locked so they couldn't get away. "Ugh, sick…" Lora groaned as this wasn't cool at all.

"So they were torturing people…" Claire stated softly.

Comso took the cog. "Let's get this back and then the hell out of here," he said.

"Yeah, I've had enough of this place," his girl agreed softly.

The group made their way back to where the cog was needed. "Care to do the honors?" the male android asked Claire, holding up the cog for her to insert.

The human took it and the mechanism instantly came to life. The gate that blocked the way out slowly began to move. But then the silence was interrupted as a warning sound ripped through the air. "Oh no… that better not be what I think it means," Liru groaned as everyone got a similar feeling.

The cell doors in the room ahead all flew open, each one having an enemy and all of them came stumbling out. The group saw this. "Welp; we're fucked," Nicholas stated in a sarcastic way like it was a good thing but wasn't.

Looking showed the gate was now wide enough to start letting some go pass it. "One at a time; quick!" Claire ordered.

A few made it to the way that had been blocked. The enemy monsters started coming and were dealt with so the rest could make it while being covered. Once everyone had made it, the metal contraption seen and mentioned in that writing was turned and rotated so the muzzle was facing towards the oncoming assault. Cosmo spotted a large wheel, the kind one turned to let gas flow on a large pipe nearby and hurried towards it. "LIGHT IT UP!" Nicholas barked once the male android got into position.

Cosmo turned the wheel as fast as he could the second the flamethrower was facing the enemies. It took a few seconds but then the thing began to blech and blow out quiet the intense flames in terms of heat and how much. It was enough to work as a barrier that got the enemies and set them ablaze. "Holy…!" Logan exclaimed and let out a whoop as it was quiet something to see.

Lora spotted the door the group need to go through had to be taken care of with her crowbar and got to work on that. With a little help, the way was opened and the group hurried out of the building. They had to lift up a metal door to do so, but finally at last they were outside. The bright light of the setting sun caused them to blink rapidly and wait until their eyes adjusted to the light having been inside for quite a while. "Ugh, finally," Liru grumbled.

"So much better…" Aiko whispered with relief.

"Now we can catch our breaths and figure a way out of this mess," Logan added.

"Yeah, fuck that place very much," Lora agreed. "Where do you think we are?"

Looking showed in front of them were the fencing and walls that acted as barriers and lookout areas to keep prisoners for escaping or things from entering. There were even a couple watch towers here too. The group then went forward, passing under a gate way. But they had hardly made it out when a static from their wrists bands were heard. The woman's voice from before then came on. "…Said the poor lost soul, as she lamented her fate."

Liru and Lora let out growls and grumbles of anger. "Again with these stupid bracelets," Lora snarled. "Who are you?" she then demanded. "I want answers!"

"I am the Overseer. Fear requires and audience… and a conductor."

"Overseer?" Nicholas repeated as the title was a bit odd and not what anyone was expecting.

"You must go to the Wossek, where life begins."

"What do you want from us?" Lora demanded. But there was no answer, this person had gone silent.

"Nice; real nice," the human grumbled in anger.

"If this bitch thinks she can order us around being all high and mighty…" Nicholas began with a growl but then went silent to let the thought linger. "Fine, but I'm not doing it because she ordered us. I'm doing it to get some damn answers."

Scanning the surroundings, the group saw they were in some kind of rocky entrance that had a lot of grass and some trees. All the rocks here formed a kind of natural wall on both side for a path up ahead. It appeared to be the only way forward so everyone took it. It was a short path and soon the group reached a gate. In the distance they could see a radio tower standing tall and high. "Guys, look!" Pachira stated, pointing it out. "Over there!"

"Yeah, I see, it's a radio tower," Cosmo said.

"Maybe we can send out an SOS," Claire suggested.

They got the gate opened and began to make their way to the tower. Looking to their right, they could see the sunset and a lot of grey clouds in a mass. The smell of the sea and salt was picked up by those with a sharp sense of smell. "So we're by some ocean, though where, I can't say," Nicholas said.

The group made it to a covered bridge. But before crossing, a crate was found that happened to have another case for gun parts that was taken. It was then getting across to the tower. But everyone had hardly gone forward when one of the boards Claire walked on broke, falling down to the water far below. "Oh boy…" Uma gulped.

"Yeah… tread carefully," Napoleon said.

The group continued and there was a section of the bridge that was a hole that had to be jumped across. Everyone went over, but only with the last one was there an even bigger scare as after Lora landed from her jump, the section she landed on broke. Luckily she was pulled before the human fell, but it was still a scary moment. "Fuck you Hollywood," Lora said softly, getting over the scare. "That wasn't even close to easy."

At least the other side was just up ahead and easy to get to. "Listen Lora, I'm sorry," Claire told the other human. "I don't know what I got you mixed up in. Barry'll never forgive me…"

"This isn't your fault or the other's," Lora insisted. "Also, Barry can kiss my ass. The guy bitches and moans and granny swears about everything."

The ones from the nether just looked at the other, still not sure what had happened between Barry and Lora, but kept silent. The group then made it to a small structure right at the base of the tower and went in. It was much brighter in terms of the lighting, but still worn down. "Any enemies?" Uma asked.

"We're clear; I can't hear or smell anything that might be one," Nicholas replied.

"Alright, let me at that equipment," Cosmo said with a grin. Being an android and good with machines, the guy had a fascination with all kinds of technology.

What the group was looking for was in the next room. They could see all the equipment was here on the walls and at a central area. There was a window on the left where the base of the tower could been seen. Claire went up to where the mike was and tried a few switched and even tapped the former. "Well?" Lora asked.

"No, it's dead," Claire replied.

"Damn," Cosmo cursed. He looked out to the tower and saw there was a ladder one could climb up it. "You guys stay here. I'm gonna go check it out."

Claire went with him along with Napoleon and Pachira. It was a long climb up the ladder before the group made it to the top of the radio tower. "You okay?" the male vampire asked all of them once they made it since they were panting due to the climb.

"Yeah… give me a minute," his girl replied.

Cosmo then spotted an electrical box. "This has to be it," he stated and flipped the switch. A light came on to show the power was on again.

"This better work…" Clair said softly.

Down where the rest of the group was, the power did indeed allow the equipment to become operational and was clearly obvious. "That did it," Nicholas said.

Lora immediately went up to it and tapped on the mic and pressed a couple of button. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, on the verge of tears of hopelessness and due to being scared, but not to the point of being in danger like that one document had described. "Is anyone picking this up?"

"Lora…" Liru whispered, knowing how this human was feeling having once been like that way back in the day.

"My name is Lora Lurton," the human continued, speaking as calmly and as slowly as she could without breaking down into tears of helplessness. "My co-works and I were taken here against our will." The next part Lora did break a little in her voice. "I don't know where." The next bit came out like she was going to cry due to the situation being too much for someone who had never gone through this. "We have these fucked-up bracelets and this crazy woman is talking to us." Lore then calmed down a little. "Some kind of monsters have killed the others." But then her voice trembled again. "Please, send help."

There was no response. "Shit!" the human exclaimed. "One more time…" Lora couldn't even get passed her name being stated before she slumped against the main communication equipment, mentally and emotionally defeated. But thanks to those from the nether here, they knew a hug was needed and for that, Lora was grateful. But then it got worse when the rest up at the top of the radio tower saw something that made them realize something worse.

"Oh, God…" Claire whispered.

"We're…" Cosmo began.

"What is this place?" Pachira asked softly.

"And where the hell are we?" Napoleon concluded. For they could see they and the rest were stuck in the middle of nowhere on a small island in a unknown body of water somewhere in the world.

X

I just also want to say real quickly, I finally figured out how to spell Aiko's name properly. So I apologize for getting it wrong all this time.