It's a Kid's World
5.3: The Human Harvest – Part One
Earlier in the day before the fateful battle began, Lincoln Loud was sitting in his bedroom. He had his best friend Clyde holding an old video camera with some batteries in. They began to record a video with the camera pointed directly at Lincoln's face…
"You know? For a long time, I asked myself why all this happened. Who or what caused the world's adults to disappear? Eventually, we all discovered the truth. It was a madman with wild dreams of dominion over the earth, and an unhealthy obsession with changing the human race. Then the question became… why would someone do such a thing?" Lincoln said.
He then briefly paused and stared at the ground in fear and regret, before facing the camera again to finish his message…
"Now I think I know the reason. Because for all the evil tyrant's insanity, he speaks one undeniable truth. We're a messed-up species. We are a cancer to the world. We all have many, many problems and sometimes, I honestly think the world would be better off without us. The reason I'm recording this message, and saying all of these things… *sigh* …is because if we don't make it through this thing, if we don't win… I want any survivors of all this, or even any extra-terrestrials observing the planet many years in the future to know why we're all gone. We screwed up! We all played power games with each other for too long, and by the time a real threat came and endangered us all, it was too late! There are some noble characters among us, and they're the ones volunteering to stand and fight with us… but I fear it's just not enough. So, here we are, at the last stand. We either win… or we die. If you're watching this, it means we didn't win." Lincoln finished saying, before the video message ended, and the camera was switched off and hidden away.
The sun was setting, the darkness was approaching. The children of the living stood bravely before the impending doom that was waiting for them. In the distance was a mass of thousands upon thousands of corpse soldiers, alongside over one hundred mighty battle-droids. And yet, the child army of Royal Woods was not about to back down.
Of course, that didn't mean they weren't petrified as countless undead soldiers were standing in the distance, ready to attack. The mood was tense and chilling as the children all got ready for battle and waited for the 'harvest' to begin.
Lincoln and Lynn stood guard inside the Loud House as Lisa worked in her laboratory to bring back the adults of the world. On the peak of the highest hilltop in town stood Luan, alongside many other kids holding slingshots and bows, acting as the long range fire and archery unit, ready to shoot the zombies from their strategic position.
There were many other teams and divisions amongst the army of children, and they all got into battle formation, ready for the ensuing carnage. Lana and her friends were all covered in mud, carrying various weapons such as hammers and battle axes, ready to smash their way through the enemies. Lucy stood with her Mortician's Guard allies, including Lincoln's friend group, all armed with swords and daggers, prepared for battle. Many others were also there, including the esteemed monks who served under Ronnie Anne. They did their best to remain calm and collected, but even for them, it was a front, as they were just as scared as the rest of the children deep down. There were some other accomplished martial artists present for the fight, too, such as Becky the little blonde wrestler, and Jane the Karate girl. Even the kindergarten children were contributing as much as they could. Though small, they were energetic and willing to fight. They also had some of the same hi-tech weapons they had during the fight against Chester's faction.
Hidden away inside the bunker of Lisa Loud were Lily and the other babies of the local populace. Being even younger than the kindergarteners, they were defenceless and so they were kept hidden away, as distanced from the action as their slightly older caretakers could put them. Even in the most dire and desperate of circumstances, there was no way tiny little babies could possibly be expected to engage on the battlefield. The Loud family pets also hid in the bunker with them, doing their best to resist their animalistic instincts and keep quiet even while sensing overwhelming danger around them.
Needless to say, it was a little 'cosy' in there, as there were so many of them packed into one room. The fact that there was a mysterious big container in the middle of the room with them didn't make it better. The only saving graces about this arrangement were the security the bunker had from outsiders, and the machine that renewed and circulated the air supply in the room, so they wouldn't run out of oxygen.
Still, it was the best that could be provided for them under the circumstances, and the young ones had bigger things to worry about than a lack of space…
But standing on the frontline was the faction of Viking Children Ronnie Anne picked up from Detroit. On the surface, they stood brave, all bare-chested and eager to taste blood. But it was a different story on the inside even for them. Nevertheless, they knew what they had to do.
After a moment of hesitation, the young warriors sucked it up and accepted their fates.
"FOR VALHALLA!" one of the leading Berserker boys roared before the entire clan let out a fierce battle cry and raced into battle, with their sharp weapons in hand.
The little warriors had set forth on a one-way journey towards death, quite literally. Utilising the flank tactic their leaders had discussed earlier, they strategically spread themselves out in the aim of targeting the central front portion of the undead army, coming at them from both the front and sides, hoping to deplete a small part of their overall unit. They continued to roar as they let out all their energy and passion into one final act of war.
As the Vikings finally reached the zombie mass in the distance, they continued with their battle cries as they gave it everything they had, fighting until the very last breath. Some of the other children had the fortune… or misfortune, of being able to see what was happening thanks to being positioned on the rooftops of high buildings or on hilltops. Luan and her archer team were among some of the kids who could see it, and they were quick to adopt fittingly nervous and fearful facial expressions. They looked on as all they could see in the distance was a vague, blurry visual of what was taking place. A group of brave young fighters chipping away at an inconceivable amount of standing corpses before them.
However, it became very eerie and terrifying to listen to very quickly. The children heard and anticipated in fear as the battle cries of the Viking boy's became fainter with every passing second. The bare-chested, sword wielding blurs in the distance could also be seen dropping to the ground as this was happening. After a minute, the screams stopped entirely. It became clear to the children that the Berserker's had been wiped out.
Even to those who couldn't see what was happening from where they were positioned, the decreasing screams of the Viking's was enough to make them fill the blanks. This invading army was out for their blood.
The Viking children were among the toughest, deadliest and most highly regarded young warriors left in the world. But just then, they had been trounced in one-minute flat. In that moment of dread and tension, one thought dominated the minds of every fighting child…
"What on earth is coming for us?!"
Ronnie Anne was torn apart on the inside to bare witness as all her soldiers perished at the hands of Viribus and his killer corpses, but she had to keep it together externally. For the sake of her friends and her family, she had to stay strong, and make sure the noble sacrifice of her allies was not in vain.
The leader of the invading abominations, Lord Viribus himself, stood beside the forefront of his army. Now that he had sent a powerful warning over to the opposition, he was ready for his forces to charge towards Royal Woods…
He simply pointed at the town his army was about to attack. That was enough to prompt his mass of monsters to advance.
The zombies then ran towards Royal Woods, intent on inflicting destruction upon the town. Their robotic masters slowly marched behind them.
The war was on.
"GET READY EVERYONE! DEFEND THIS TOWN WITH YOUR LIVES!" one of the monks commanded out loud as the opposing army could be seen racing towards them in the distance.
"Okay, everyone! Prepare your arrows and blades!" Luan shouted to the archers as she prepared to shoot a dagger with her slingshot.
Luan and the other archers then shot their various projectiles up into the air, with enough velocity and momentum for them to travel all the way to the outskirts of the town, where the zombies were charging from. Many of the sharp flying weapons landed on top of the zombies, but very few of them were actually hitting them in the head, which was their critical weak point. A few of the arrows went through their brains, destroying them, but the effort of the archers was ultimately making only a very tiny difference.
A lot of the children who were previously untrained in fighting were at least now adept at very basic sword fighting, thanks to the training they had been doing the week prior under the guidance of the Vikings, Monks and Mortician's Guard among others. They began to stab and chop away at the mass of corpses that began to approach them. Some of the other unarmed children found whatever objects they could find to use as weapons; from lead pipes to broken bottles. This was one time where the decreased clearing of waste in an adult free world was going to be advantageous.
As the zombies continued to make their way into the outer parameters of Royal Woods, the rest of the army now had to join in the fight. Lana and her muddy friends met them head on with axes and hammers. These girls were incredibly strong for their size and age, and this was something that counted at such a crucial moment of battle. Lana managed to slam some of the zombies to the ground before finishing them off with her axe, striking them in the head and destroying the brain in the process. Her friends did the same, and faired reasonably well for the time being as they fended off the animated corpses that advanced towards them.
But the advancing undead began to diverge, splitting into different directions to cover more ground. Fortunately, the children were prepared for this. Becky, the little blonde Lucha Libre fighter, was ready for them, stood alongside her other wrestler buddies. As the zombies reached them, they utilised their strength and skills in grappling to take them on and bring them to the ground, where they could quickly strike them in the heads.
"*RAARRHH!*" Becky roared after wrenching a zombie's head off with her bare hands, fully absorbed into her battle mentality.
Jane the Karate Girl also had a similar tactic. She and a group of other karate, boxing, and other experienced martial artists all stood together and waited for the fearsome creatures of evil to approach them. Upon collision, the martial artists put their skills to good use by rapidly punching and kicking the corpses, aiming mainly for the head area. Jane managed to perform a kick so powerful she literally took one of their heads off.
"Woah!" one kid said after seeing the accomplished karate girl behead a zombie.
Even the kids who weren't particularly adept at fighting were doing their part, like Jordan and her girl posse. Jordan was utilising her well known skills as a dodgeball player to throw heavy and sharp objects like rocks and bricks at the zombies, hoping to hit them in the head and take them down.
"BULLSEYE!" Jordan cheered to herself after getting a perfect shot.
Elsewhere, the children who chose to remain in the dilapidated part of town instead of fight were now sitting together in a quiet, dark alley as they could hear lots of fighting and death in the distant background. They were all careful not to move a muscle as they realised the warnings of the Mortician's Guard were true, and one sudden sound could mean the end of their lives.
The children of the living fought hard against the chilling corpses. But for all their efforts, many of the zombies still managed to make it through their defences. However, as the undead began to make it closer to Franklin Avenue, Luan and her archers were able to get easier and clearer shots in.
"Alright, guys! They're in ideal range! Shoot 'em!" she ordered.
The archers then shot their weapons with far more precision, managing to land many all-important headshots, bringing down many of the zombies from where they stood. However, there were so many charging at once that they couldn't destroy them all fast enough…
"There's too many of them!" Luan worryingly shouted to herself.
Just then, Lucy and the Mortician's Guard got stuck into the battle as the first group of zombies reached their position on Franklin Avenue, but they were ready with their swords and daggers in hand. Lucy and Haiku stood back to back and used their daggers to fend off the advancing enemies. Clyde and his friends fought them off with their swords, displaying ever-improving skill with their weapons.
Margo and her roller derby friends then ran into the fight and aided the Mortician's Guard against the advancing horde of the dead. They used their natural strength, athleticism and brawn to bring them down. Just as they did against Chester Bundy's faction, the goths and the jocks worked side by side against a common threat.
As more of the monsters kept coming, the children's army had one more offensive move at their disposal. The small band of mafia guards who disobeyed the orders of their ringleader arrived on the scene in their limousine. As the vehicle stopped in its tracks, ten suited boys came out with their firearms in hand.
"Alright, guys. Shoot to kill!" one of them said, before they all opened fire.
The mafia boys shot with malice, firing fiercely at the approaching mass of undead creatures. Being trained with guns, they were pretty good at aiming for the right spots. Many of the bullets collided with the heads of the zombies, destroying the brains and rendering them inanimate in the process. Many corpses dropped to the ground as the armed boys proved efficient against the opposing force.
However, they were still only a small number of armed young warriors contributing to a war against thousands of converted creatures. Their effect in turning the tide of the battle was still incredibly miniscule.
After a short while of fighting, the zombies stopped coming. For a brief moment, the children actually kidded themselves into thinking they had won. That moment quickly passed, however, as they just knew it couldn't be that easy…
Sure enough, once the kids started looking around, they figured out what was happening. The zombies they had all just exterminated were merely a small first wave. Indeed, there were thousands upon thousands more of them. It appeared that first melee was just a distraction tactic employed by Viribus, allowing the zombies time to make their way around the circumference of the town. They completely surrounded the remaining children, cornering them inside their own home area. Royal Woods suddenly had undead warriors advancing from all sides.
It turned out both sides were thinking of using the flank tactic in this war. The only difference being the enemy utilised it on a much grander scale.
"AW, GIVE US A BREAK!" one boy amongst the living shouted in utter disbelief and exhaustion.
"This battle has only just begun!" Ronnie Anne then said to herself as she stood beside her monks.
Her pet tigers, Maria and Frida were both still by her side. Even though she had lost a significant portion of her army, she still had her loyal feline companions. They were prepared to protect her as the fighting continued. She also still had her monks, but eventually they would get sucked into the ascending mayhem, too.
As the fighting young children waited outside for the next wave of zombies to reach them, Lincoln and Lynn continued to stand guard inside the Loud House, serving as the last line of defence for their genius sibling, Lisa Loud, who was still busy working on her invention that would reverse the effects of The Big Vanish.
"I hope she gets that thing finished soon!" Lynn said to Lincoln.
"She's working as fast as she can. We all knew we were going to take losses before this battle started!" Lincoln said.
"What if she doesn't get it finished in time, and this whole thing is for nothing?" Lynn asked cynically.
"Then we would have fought until our last breath for the future of our whole race. I hardly think that counts as nothing." he told her.
"Stink… er, Lincoln. If we don't make it out of this, I want you to know… I always thought you were a really cool brother." Lynn admitted, suddenly sounding less brash or headstrong than usual in her tone.
"Lynn, don't talk like that. We're going to make it!" Lincoln tried to reassure her.
"No, really! I know it may not seem like the right time to talk about it, but… I always thought you were totally awesome! Yeah, I teased you sometimes, or roughhoused with you, but that was because I knew you could handle it! I always told myself I did it to make you stronger…" she began to explain.
"Yeah?" Lincoln asked curiously.
"But the truth is you were always stronger than me! I crumbled when I got bullied, but you took it like a true champ! I've never admitted this to anyone, but I think I was just a bit jealous of you. That's the real reason why I was so harsh on you!" Lynn uneasily confessed as she became audibly and visibly upset.
"YOU?! Jealous of me?! Lynn, you're a champion in literally every sport on earth! You have tons of trophies! You're good at pretty much EVERYTHING! And you're saying you're jealous of me?!" Lincoln asked in disbelief.
"All those trophies and all that glory… *pfft*, it means nothing. I was never confident in myself. That's why I became so obsessed with winning. That's why I cared so much about luck, even at your expense. *Sigh* I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm really sorry for being such a terrible sister. If I weren't so broken, I could have been the cool big sis you actually deserve! But instead, I was a total jerk! *GRUGH!* All those tough experiences you faced, I should've been there to help, but all I did was make things worse!" Lynn said with a deep sense of regret, struggling not to tear up.
"Lynn, don't beat yourself up now, we need you at your best! As for what you said, if we make it out of this alive, then we'll have a real talk about things. But all you need to know right now is that you're not a terrible sister! Sure, you have your flaws, but I know your heart's in the right place. Also, I know you'll always fight to protect your loved ones, like you're doing right now!" Lincoln told her as he put his hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her.
"Thanks, Lincoln." she said softly, still upset but a little cheered up by his words.
"Now, come on! Man-up and get ready to fight!" Lincoln ordered her, with a slight jokey tone to his voice.
"Heh, never thought you'd say something like that to me, bro." she remarked as she playfully hit him in the arm, perking herself up just enough to get back in the mood to fight.
In the very next room, Lisa was still frantically rushing around, adjusting bolts and screws on her machine and mixing up chemical solutions to add to it. With Darcy's assistance, the young prodigy was on a mission of her own; to complete the device and bring back the world's adults before the battle was lost. Bringing back the adults was, in her mind, the only way to overcome the undead threat, as the world's militaries would stand a far better chance at defeating the thousands of zombies than a collective of mere child survivors.
"Alright, let's get this finished! I'll finally crack this stupid vanishing conundrum or die trying!" Lisa told herself, determined to succeed.
"I can hear fighting outside! We should probably hurry!" Darcy warned her.
"I know, time is against us! Still, I have a few contingency plans if we become desperate." Lisa informed her.
"Like what?" Darcy curiously asked.
"Oh, let's just say I've made some very 'explosive' contributions to this army's ammunition." she said as she smiled confidently.
Back outside, the zombies were racing towards the remaining children from all directions. But the defenders of the living were ready and waiting for them…
"Alright, NOW!" Luan shouted as her archers were equipped with some grenades, thanks to Lisa.
After pulling the triggers, they threw them into the air, and they landed right where the zombies were and exploded on cue. Each fiery blast engulfed several zombies and immobilised them.
"We did it!" one of the archers shouted in triumph.
However, this tiny victory of sorts was short lived, as there were so many zombies coming from every single direction towards them that even the explosive power of the grenades was not enough to prevent all of them from closing in on the archers, forcing them to purely focus on defending themselves with their ammo. This meant they could no longer concentrate on shooting other zombies from a long range, making the battle even tougher for the rest of the kids.
The enemies continued to advance from multiple fronts. Sensing a continued effort to fight them out in the open would be counter-productive, the kids began to wise-up and employed a different strategy.
"EVERYONE! LURE THE BRAIN-DEAD MORONS INSIDE!" Lana shouted, prompting all her mucky girl friends to run into the surrounding houses.
The zombies followed them, and the girls used the house interiors to their advantage. One of the girls lured a pursuing zombie up the stairs and into the bedroom. The girl then jumped on top of the zombie from behind after hiding behind the door. She then used her tremendous strength to rip its head off, destroying it.
Lana herself was able to take on three zombies at once, using her strength and wrestling skills to beat them down. She punched one of them in the eye with enough force to go through it and destroy the brain. She then gradually fought off the other two until she could do the same to them.
"Ugh, this is hopeless!" she said to herself in frustration, realising how little an impact she and her friends were having in the battle.
Just then, she had a eureka moment. She ran outside and went to her own backyard, which was fortunately only a couple of blocks away.
The mafia boys continued to shoot at the zombies, but some of them were running out of ammo. They were only able to sneak out so much of Carl's remaining supply of bullets when they departed from Great Lakes City.
"I'm out!" one of the boys said.
"And me!" another responded.
"Alright, the rest of you, conserve your remaining ammo! Don't shoot them until you're sure you can get a clean headshot!" Jeff said to the rest of them.
"Wait, why don't we just use the car?!" one of the boys suggested.
The rest of them then looked at him with a strange 'huh?' expression until they figured out what he meant.
A moment later, they were driving around in the limousine, smashing through groups of zombies as a way of physically disabling them, while also taking the opportunity to get close to them and shoot from a closer range.
Lana had a similar idea, as she found Lola's old pink toy car in the backyard of her house and began to drive it. She did the same thing as the mafia boys, though with her vehicle of choice being much smaller, she had to target one zombie at a time. Still, it was more efficient than her previous method.
"Ha, and Lola always said I couldn't drive this thing!" Lana joked to herself as she ploughed her way through the zombies, one at a time.
Hank and Hawk, having been ordered to fight, found themselves showing their true cowardly nature as they came face to face with a swarm of bloody zombies.
"Argh, I can't do this! Those things are covered in blood!" Hawk shouted as they were confronted by the dead.
"We have to, bro! Our lives depend on it!" Hank told him as he punched a zombie that ran towards him, knocking it to the ground.
Both of them then screamed to themselves like little girls when they saw the sight of blood on Hank's hand.
"*EEK* I have blood on my hand!" Hank yelled.
"Ugh, here it comes!" Hawk said before barfing out his earlier lunchtime meal.
"Dude! Did you have to? Now I'm gonna do it!" Hank said before doing the same thing as his friend.
"Let's get out of here!" Hawk said once the two momentarily managed to regain themselves.
At that point, two of the supposedly toughest kids in Royal Woods were revealed as the cowardly little punks they really were as they shamefully ran away from the advancing danger, while the allegedly weaker kids they once bullied were fighting the fight, head on.
But the overgrown fat boys had to run with every ounce of energy they had, as the undead monstrosities were not giving up without a chase. Hank and Hawk screamed in panic and fear as they shamefully ran for their lives.
The Mortician's Guard and the roller derby girls continued to fight off the corpses that came at them. A few of the Mortician's members were getting picked off and put into dangerously outnumbering situations, but most of them like Lucy and Haiku were still able to stand their ground, using their knife fighting techniques to get quick stab kills against the enemies.
Clyde, Rusty, Zach, Liam and Stella continued to cut them up with their swords, demonstrating better skill with their weapons than ever before. Such high stakes and a terrifying threat seemed to have motivated the young kids to continue upping their game.
"I can't believe it, I'm a badass!" Rusty said to himself.
"Come on, everyone! Don't give up now!" Clyde told the others, encouraging them to keep pushing forwards.
But no matter how many of them the courageous young knights cut their way through, more of the undead atrocities continued to make their way towards them. It seemed as if the battle was a lost cause.
However, Clyde's gang and all the other children fighting for their lives had a saving grace coming their way, and they didn't even know it yet.
The dark night had now arrived. The sky was now pitch black. Thanks to the vanish, there was no electricity, meaning no artificial lights to brighten up the town. While the children had gotten used to it throughout the previous months since the adults disappeared, it was still getting really hard to keep fighting the zombies when their visibility was reduced.
As many of the defenders of the living were being overwhelmed and cornered with absolutely no way out, suddenly some bright lights penetrated the surrounding darkness, commanding the attention of the young fighters…
*BEEP BEEP*
Several limousines suddenly accelerated their way into the designated battlefield, shooting down every zombie in their sights. Bullets were being fired rapidly into critical points of the corpses' bodies, destroying them and finally taking a chunk, albeit an incredibly tiny one, out of the opposing army's numbers.
The children of Royal Woods were able to let out one huge sigh of relief as this happened. Just when it seemed there was no hope and the battle was already lost, something turned up.
Ronnie Anne saw the arrival of the mafia men as she stood from afar and proudly said to herself…
"I knew there was still good in you, Carl."
One of the limousines pulled over next to the limousine Jeff was driving…
"Hey, Jeff! I thought those zombies you told us about were a load of hogwash!" the driver of the other vehicle said.
"I wish! Anyway, I see the boss had a change of heart?" Jeff replied.
"Yeah, he just told us to come packing down to Royal Woods. To be honest, I'm really regretting following his order right about now!" the other suited mafia boy said.
"Well, we were gonna have to fight this fight sooner or later! Those kids were right! If those monsters aren't stopped here, they'll just keep moving until they find us!" Jeff argued.
"Eh, this still sucks!" the other boy said.
"Yeah, I know. Still, it's a little late to try and get away now with all these monsters everywhere. We might as well just fight the good fight!" Jeff replied, before the two boys sucked it up and decided to carry on warring with the dead.
Despite the added numbers and ammo the mafia cronies brought into the equation, there were many more of the animated corpses still in the circumference of the town, ready to come in and advance against the living. But they were actually only a small fraction of the children's worries.
Thanks to the services of the mob, the Royal Woods army may have been able to enjoy a moment of ease and rest for a small pocket of time…
…but that feeling was never going to last.
"We've done it! We've held them off!" Clyde shouted, congratulating his peers.
However, his friends did not share his joy or optimism.
"I don't think we should celebrate just yet! Something tells me that was only the warm-up!" Stella replied.
"Probably, but at least we know now that we can fend for ourselves against these zombies." Zach said.
"Yeah, and you've got Rusty in your corner! I can handle any amount of zombies they throw at us!" the little redhead bragged, though the timing couldn't have been worse for it.
Zach and Rusty felt confident, for the first time that night, that they could somehow pull off an upset victory against a force that greatly outnumbered their own side.
"I think you're getting a little overconfident, guys. There is such a thing as having too many to fight against." Stella worryingly stated.
"It doesn't matter, guys! We can beat them; we've got this!" Rusty said.
Liam, Stella and Clyde, however, caught a glimpse of something rather alarming in the distance…
"Erm, guys?" Liam blurted out nervously.
"What?" Zach asked as he turned to face his friend.
"We hate to break it to you two, but I think those guys we just beat were only the grunt soldiers." Liam regretfully informed them.
Rusty and Zach then looked in the direction that Liam was pointing at, and saw exactly what he and the others were talking about…
*STOMP*
…the androids had finally made their way into the town. Even from a distance, they looked incredibly imposing. They were in a large group, all marching their way from the outskirts of Royal Woods towards Franklin Avenue.
Behind them was the leader of the monsters himself, Lord Viribus. He marched his way into Royal Woods alongside his new pet, the resurrected tiger Carlota, who was the fallen companion of Ronnie Anne. Carlota was no longer Ronnie Anne's pet, however, as she only had a taste for her former owner's blood.
The Loud, metallic stomps became louder and louder from the perspective of the children, as the robots got closer. The battle had only just begun, and it was about to get a whole lot harder for the kids…
As the converted technological warriors marched past some of the houses in the outer area of the town, one small band of pre-teen brothers watched from outside from their front window. They stared in terror as they saw these fearsome, mechanical demons walking right past them.
One of the androids then turned around and looked in their direction, as it spotted them looking through the window.
"AGH! Quick, get to the back of the house! Make sure all the doors and windows are locked!" one of the brothers cried in fear as the young boys ran away from the window.
The robot that saw them was then accompanied by a partner as the duo separated from the marching mass and approached the front of the house.
"INITIATE ATTACK FORMATION SIX!" the robot then spoke before the two of them fired their lasers at the house.
The laser strikes were powerful enough to completely destroy the interior of the building, igniting every square inch of it with fire in an instant, no doubt spelling doom for the children inside, too.
Asherah, who had been noticeably absent from the scope of the battle, was wandering the town with her crystal ball in her hands. She eventually reached the hilltop where Luan and her archer team were positioned. After having fought off the last wave of zombie attackers, Luan and the others were taking a short but sweet breather in the midst of action.
"Asherah, why aren't you fighting?! We need everyone to pull their fingers out!" Luan told her.
"I am sorry, but there is no further help I can offer." she said with a defeated tone, uncharacteristic for someone who had been proactive in the effort to defeat Lord Viribus until that point.
"What are you talking about?" a confused Luan asked.
"This is something I've kept quiet about for a while now. The thing is… there is one more truth I've concealed from you." Asherah uneasily admitted.
"Huh?" Luan responded.
"You're 15 years old, right? And being the same height as you, you'd expect me to be around the same age. Well, I am, but not exactly. I'm 15, same as you, but I'm quite a few months older…" the seer then began to explain.
Luan suddenly let out a horrified gasp as she caught on to what Asherah was trying to tell her.
"So how long have you…" Luan went to ask but was interrupted.
"Today is my birthday. Quite frankly, I'm surprised I'm still here now. Perhaps it's because I was born just two minutes before midnight." she sadly revealed.
"Oh, Asherah… I'm so sorry." Luan said sympathetically as she went to reach out and give the doomed girl a shoulder to cry on.
"Do not worry, Luan. If my time has come, then it has come. You just need to maintain focus on the fight. All I know is that if your sister does not succeed in completing her invention, the outcome of this war will not matter in regards to my personal fate. I will meet my end tonight either way." Asherah then said.
"Oh, Asherah…" Luan blurted out as she tried to think of something comforting to say.
"The only certainty tonight amongst all this chaos and destruction is that my time will be up before midnight. Anyway, Luan, children… good luck." she said to the archer team before walking away into the darkness of the night.
Thousands upon thousands of reanimated zombie warriors… over one hundred powerfully built, bulky elite robot generals… a reborn feline of the dead… and one converted maniacal dictator at the heart of the insurmountable invading army. Outmatched was not a word that even began to describe the predicament the kids of Royal Woods were facing. It seemed all was lost for the survivors, despite their best efforts.
Could the Loud children and other kids survive one last time and fight off the advancing threat? And could Lisa Loud finish her invention in time? The night was young, and the outcome of this battle was still undecided. But things were certainly going to get worse before there was any hope of them getting better…
Author's Footnote:
You didn't think it would be over that quickly, did you? There's more of this battle yet to come as the living will need a miracle to beat this undead army.
Anyway, it turns out has had a few problems lately and this caused chapter two to be unavailable for many of you to view. Thankfully, it looks like that issue has been fixed now, meaning I should not need to postpone the uploading of any chapters this season.
I'll be back in a few days with the next chapter.