It's a Kid's World
5.4: The Human Harvest – Part Two
As the darkness of the night cast the town of Royal Woods in an extreme shade of eerie blackness, the raging fires caused by the robotic conquerors were able to partially light up the surroundings, resulting in a dark orange glow across the different parts of the town, very much creating an inferno-like ambience that only made the situation that much more unsettling for the children of the living.
The kids continued to fight with every last ounce of energy they had left. They continued to plough their way through countless dead warriors, though with even more coming to meet them afterwards. However, Viribus and his elite mechs had entered the scene, and were ready to wreak havoc and destruction on Royal Woods.
The Moritician's Guard and Roller Queens continued to use their brawn and weapons to their advantage, slicing and smashing their way through the corpses, but these attributes were hardly going to be sufficient against the robotic demons.
"RETREAT!" Clyde shouted to his allies, who all immediately obeyed and ran for their lives.
Many of the other fighters across town did the same thing, retreating from the open outdoors and into the nearest accessible buildings. They ran inside the houses with open doors before slamming them shut and applying all the locks, making it harder for the pursuing zombie hordes to follow them in.
However, a simple piece of wood like a door was not truly effective blockage in this case. The zombies could still tear their way in after about a minute, while the robots were perfectly capable of blasting down entire houses with a simple blast or two from their laser canons. Plus, that strategy would lose even more effectiveness once the enemy caught onto the fact that it was happening. As the commander of the evil forces observed and understood what the opposing side was doing, he decided to counter their strategy…
"ALL UNITS, THE ENEMIES ARE HIDING INSIDE THEIR HOMES! RAID AND DESTROY ALL HOUSES IN THE AREA! INFLICT MAXIMUM EXTERMINATION!" the imposing cyber overlord commanded.
And with that, many of the fleeing and hiding children had their tactic backfire on them. The houses were all becoming the primary targets of the enemy. The zombies began to tear and claw their way through the doors and windows to get inside, while the mechs just stood from outside and blasted their lasers through the windows, igniting the house interiors in an instant. Many children were becoming casualties at that point in the night, and yet, this backfiring strategy to hide away was still their best hope of survival, as fighting and fleeing were even more likely to result in death.
Some of the others were relatively lucky. Meli Ramos, who was one of the many who had volunteered to fight against the zombies, eventually found herself overwhelmed much like many of the other children. As she retreated from the battle into a nearby house, she had so far managed to avoid being blown to ashes as none of the robots had made their way towards the part of the town she was hiding in.
She found herself tiptoeing around inside the supposedly empty home, trying to be as quiet and as stealthy as possible. Every step she took she knew could have been her last. To add to her petrifying sense of fear and panic, as she tried to remain silent for the sake of survival, she began to hear the metallic demons outside blasting at other buildings, and the desperate cries of the children unfortunate enough to get caught in the resulting explosions and infernos.
Meli decided to find a place to hide upstairs. She began to climb up the staircase, but she froze in fear as one of her footsteps made an audible creaking noise.
After she let out a near silent shriek and emitted a petrified facial expression for a few seconds, Meli concluded that no one heard the noise she made. She then slowly and cautiously made her way up the stairs, believing she was alone in the house.
"*GRAAGGHHH!*"
She was wrong. There was a zombie that she couldn't see, lurking in the shadowy hallways of the house, and it suddenly leaped out and pounced on her as soon as she made it to the top of the stairs. The terrified little girl squirmed and struggled as she tried to avoid being bitten to death by the deformed and degenerated undead soldier. She moved her head around to avoid its attempts to bite into her face.
The girl screamed in fear and terror as the creature continued to attack. Not being able to see properly also made it harder for her to keep evading the creature's vicious bites.
Fortunately, a familiar friend of hers was also inside the house, lurking in the shadows, and she came to her rescue just in the nick of time.
*SHRAK*
An arrow had been launched through the zombie's head, rendering it motionless.
"You?!" Meli asked as she got back up and saw her saviour, surprised but pleasantly so.
Her friend still stood partially in the shadows, but Meli could tell who it was. She was delighted to see her again, but unfortunately there was little time for friendly reunions.
"Thank you." Meli said gratefully to her saviour, who nodded graciously before walking off, seemingly having something else she needed to take care of.
Back outside on the streets, surrounded by several of his elite mechanical soldiers stood the one responsible for all the destruction that was happening across Royal Woods. Lord Viribus looked around as he saw the carnage he had created. Even as a robot, he had enough emotion left to revel in what he and his army had accomplished…
"THIS IS OUR PARADISE, MY CHILDREN! WE HAVE PURIFIED THIS TOWN WITH A BLAZING INFERNO! NOW WE MUST EXECUTE THE FINAL OBJECTIVE; TO ERADICATE THE UNWORTHY BY ELIMINATING THE YOUNG PRODIGY!" Viribus, with his new loud and booming mechanical voice, told his fellow robot lords.
Viribus and his minions had one goal in mind as the rest of their forces wasted the town's children. Their destination was Franklin Avenue, and one house in particular that resided on that road.
Elsewhere, many of the other children still stood and fought their enemies head on. Becky and her wrestler buddies continued to use their brawn and skill to hold off as many of the zombies as possible, as did the karate kids. The mafia also continued to provide tremendous assistance in the battle against the invading monsters.
The mafia employed a tactic that allowed for speed, mobility and a reduction in the likelihood of getting caught by the enemy. Each limo was driven around the streets while several other suited boys poked their heads and guns out of the side windows and shot at the various zombies they encountered on their travels.
"Remember, don't waste your ammo! Shoot only when you know you've got a good shot, or else we'll run out of bullets!" instructed the driver of one of the vehicles to his mafia buddies.
However, even their bullets were not strong enough to penetrate through the metallic shells of the robots. Any attempts at shooting them were in vain, so the mafia cronies could only avoid them and aim for the less formidable grunts.
But with the efforts of the mob and its weaponry, it looked like there was a slim chance of victory for the living. If they could somehow hold off the advancing threat for long enough, there was an outside chance they could survive this war.
However, this positive attitude was greatly premature, as the bloodshed had only just begun. The driver of one of the limo's looked ahead and saw, in the final seconds of his life, the bone-chilling sight of one of the robots spotting the vehicle in its sights, pointing its arm canon at them, and firing its mighty weapon.
"ARGH!" he yelled in horrifying fear as he and his men were then blown to smithereens from inside their limousine.
One of the unfortunate little mafia men, who was poking his head out the window to shoot at zombie targets during that moment, was killed in the ensuing explosion and let go of his gun. It flew into the air and landed on the ground, with nobody around to pick it up and use it.
Ronnie Anne, having lost her Viking warriors, now only had her monks left to protect her. By this point in the battle, they were already deeply involved in the heart of the action, using their martial arts skills and weapons to fight off the attacking hordes of zombie adversaries.
However, these esteemed monks were about to have more to deal with than just zombies… Lord Viribus and several of his robotic comrades were approaching them as they stood in their path to Franklin Avenue. The tyrannical warlord appeared especially imposing with all these monstrous converted warriors beside him. Not only that, but he even had Ronnie Anne's third tiger, Carlota, who had been presumed dead, standing by his side as well.
"Carlota?" Ronnie asked in disbelief as she saw the cold dead eyes of her former pet standing against her.
Ronnie Anne stared down Viribus and his robots with a passionately livid expression on her face. Not a word was spoken, but the intense mutual hatred was obvious to everyone; even the cold, heartless machines that were present.
"Tigress, stand back, we'll handle this!" Shi told her as he prepared to face Viribus head on.
Shi and the monks then turned their attention to the androids. They used their evasive finesse and battle smarts to survive as long as they could in a desperate effort to save their master. However, with now both zombies and robots to deal with, even they were beginning to get overwhelmed.
Now with only her two remaining tigers by her side, Ronnie Anne felt incredibly vulnerable as she knew danger could emerge at any second from any corner…
…she then turned around to see a small band of corpses approaching her from behind.
Maria stood in front of Ronnie Anne, protective of her beloved owner, and fought off the zombies as they came her way, slicing and biting her way through the deadly corpses.
Frida prepared to join her, but she was about to have her paws full as she sensed a presence. She was confronted by her deceased sister, Carlota, who she saw fall victim to the blade of Lord Viribus one week prior. Now, Carlota had been brought back as a servant of the enemy…
The two tigers stared at each other for a brief moment, while Ronnie Anne looked on and watched in fear, heartbroken as her two pet felines began to run at each other and tear each other to shreds.
Both of the beasts were ferocious and vicious in their attacks, using their sharp claws and teeth to rip giant chunks into each other's flesh, slowly chipping away at each other until one of their bodies was too damaged to fight on. The two attempted to pin each other to the ground and obtain the dominant position, but both felines, even the dead one, were energetic and aggressive enough to keep the struggle for dominance ongoing for a while.
"Please, girls, stop!" Ronnie Anne said to herself, visibly upset to see her precious pets fight so brutally.
Frida managed to get an impressive strike on Carlota, ripping out one of her eyes in the process. However, the undead beast felt no pain and quickly struck back with a nasty neck bite. The resurrected tiger then sunk its teeth into her living sister's throat.
Frida let out a terrifying and soul crushing roar, which her observing owner understood as a cry for help, but there was nothing she could do to save her pet. She couldn't force the attacker to back off, as Carlota was no longer under her control. She was just a little girl compared to the might of these fearsome predators, and she could do nothing to stop them.
Finally, Frida collapsed to the ground, once the teeth of her undead sister sunk deep enough for the damage to be fatal. One advantage the undead tiger had in the battle was the fact that it was already deceased, making it much harder to put out of action.
However, the strongest and mightiest of the tiger sisters, Maria, upon seeing what the undead Carlota had just done to Frida, charged towards the reanimated beast in a frenzy. Having fought her way through the zombie horde, Maria still had plenty of fight left in her, and she was about to take it to Carlota.
Maria pounced on top of her resurrected, corrupted dead sister and easily managed to pin her to the ground. From there, she unleashed a fury of claw strikes and vicious bites to the other tiger. The fact that they were once sisters no longer mattered to Maria. The only emotion running inside her animalistic mind at that moment was anger. She scratched and clawed her opponent rapidly and continuously, until Carlota was nothing more than a pile of bloody, fleshy chunks on the ground.
Finally having decapitated her reanimated shadow of a sister, Maria returned to her master, who gave her a comforting hug.
"Come here, girl! We're the only two left now, but don't worry, we'll make it through this alive!" Ronnie Anne said to her pet as the two embraced in a cuddle of companionship.
But their moment of ease and reassurance was brief, as Viribus and his fellow robots, having swiftly dealt with the monks while the tigers were battling it out, now stood before Ronnie Anne and her last remaining pet.
Maria then growled and stood in front of Ronnie Anne, still eager to protect her from any hostile threats. Despite being tired and a little damaged, Maria was still willing to stand her ground.
The last remaining tiger then ran towards the converted madman and attempted to slice open his metallic frame. But the large and bulky conqueror simply swatted Maria to the side like a rag doll, demonstrating the sheer strength and might he now possessed.
"MARIA!" Ronnie Anne shouted, concerned for her pet, as she ran over to check on her.
But Viribus quickly pulled out his arm cannon and shot in Ronnie Anne's direction. She stopped in her tracks as she saw the blast coming, and narrowly avoided it. Maria then got back to her feet, determined to keep protecting her master, but she was quickly approached by more hordes of zombies. The spirited tiger then continued to fight them off while Ronnie Anne focused solely on the despicable Lord Viribus.
"YOU WILL NOT HARM HER!" suddenly shouted the last of the young Shaolin warriors, who had somehow survived the onslaught of the metallic monsters, as he saw her leader in danger, quickly running to her rescue.
But for all his heart, he was still just a little boy challenging the likes of a mechanical titan. He was quickly shot down by Viribus for his troubles.
Viribus then looked around to make sure the rest of Ronnie Anne's collective of monks had been wiped out, and it appeared his metal men had completely annihilated them. Bodies of little bald children were lying on the ground in every direction. With this observation, Viribus had reassured himself that he had just done away with the last one.
The efforts of the last monk were not in vain, however, as the distraction allowed Ronnie Anne to quickly step away and pick up a gun that was left on the ground nearby. She picked it up and aimed it straight at her enemy…
"VEGANZA!" the Hispanic young tomboy then roared as she fired the gun frantically at the titanic overlord.
But for all the bullets she could fire at him, they weren't even leaving the tiniest of dents in his nigh invulnerable metallic shell.
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" Ronnie then shouted as she became completely engulfed in a state of enragement and pure hatred.
This was the entity responsible for the deaths of two of her pets. This was also the being responsible for wiping out her army of loyal soldiers that she had spent months tirelessly working to build up from scratch. Extensively, every misfortune she and others had suffered since the vanish was because of him. Everything she had lost, and all the friends and loved ones that were taken from her… in her mind, at that moment, it was all the fault of the metallic demon stood in front of her. She only cared about one thing; she just wanted to make him pay…
…but she eventually ran out of bullets. She had used up all her ammo, relentlessly trying to destroy her most loathed nemesis, but to no avail.
"HA HA HA HA HA!" the robotic Viribus then creepily let out a mechanical laughter of sorts, slowly but menacingly, openly mocking the young defenceless girl.
The enraged tomboy then threw her empty gun at Viribus, only for it to bounce off him, but at least it was one last way of her venting out a little more of her anger.
Her rage suddenly turned to fear, however, once she saw Viribus and his robotic allies raise their arm cannons, ready to fire back. She quickly ran away as the robotic entities shot at her, narrowly avoiding death by using her ability to duck, dodge and evade attacks.
Lucy and the Mortician's Guard were still fighting alongside Margo and the other sporty girls as they all did their best to fend off an increasing number of corpses. Despite their combat proficiency, it was becoming too much for even them to handle.
"There's too many of them!" Clyde shouted.
"We have to keep fighting! Even if it means we don't make it!" Dante bravely stated.
The swords and daggers of the Guard's warriors were drenched in blood at this point as they had all sliced through so many bodies. The little zombie slayers were absolutely exhausted, much like everybody else on the battlefield, but they had to keep going.
"All those roller derby games… *Pant* nothing could prepare us for this!" Lainey remarked as she tried to catch her breath.
"Just keep pushing through it, Lainey!" Nadia said.
"Yeah! Remember, it's just like when we were training!" Margo encouragingly told her.
But there was no time to regain breath as an even larger swarm of zombies came from all directions. All of the jocks and the Mortician's Guard members found themselves getting separated as they desperately tried to cut their way through all the corpses while narrowly avoiding death, watching themselves from all angles and constantly keeping on the move.
"Oh no… the zombies are breaking our battle formation!" Lucy realised as she suddenly found herself battling alone.
Once they were no longer standing beside their friends, some of the fighters decided it was better to adopt a fleeing defensive strategy than try to stand and fight against so many at once.
Rusty, Zach, Liam and Clyde were all among these children. They knew their best chance of prolonged survival was to run for it and lure the zombies into following them. At the very least, this had a decent chance of distracting some of the army from reaching its intended destination for a short period. Of course, managing to distance oneself from the army of zombies in the first place was rather difficult at this point in the battle.
"Catch me if you can, losers!" Rusty confidently said to his undead pursuers once he saw an opening to flee, all while fearing for his life under his cocky surface.
But many of the fighting children could not find an opportunity to get away from the attacking undead. It seemed like they were mere moments away from death, when suddenly…
"CHARGE!" shouted one girl as she and an entire army of children on horsebacks suddenly entered the fight.
Using the might of their horses and the swords they held, this unit of unknown youngsters quickly cut its way through the mass of zombies that were surrounding the Mortician's and the jocks. This gave those fighting young children a golden opportunity to breath and create distance between themselves and the enemy.
"Who are those guys?!" Zach asked as it seemed nobody knew who these new horse-riding fighters were.
"Right now, I don't care! I'm just glad they came and helped us!" Stella said.
Once again, a cavalry of sorts had arrived to save the living fighters just as the invading monsters had them on the ropes.
"Someone must have told them about all this and asked them to come here… but who?" Rocky asked himself.
Asherah, who was still aimlessly wandering the streets of the war-torn town, waiting for her inevitable disappearing act, suddenly saw someone whose mere presence was enough to visibly brighten her spirits…
"So, you are alive, after all? I thought as much. I gather the involvement of this external faction of horseback riders is your doing? Hmm, you impress me, little one. I did tell your sisters help could come from the unlikeliest of places. I must leave now, but I trust you know what you must do." Asherah briefly stopped and said to this person before continuing on her way.
Luan and her team of archers had just managed to fight off the latest wave of zombies to attack them. However, their stamina was almost completely drained, as was their ammo. With little energy or arrows left, the remaining members of the team discussed their next move…
"Luan, what do we do next?" Benny asked.
"Yeah, because I don't think we can survive another wave of these things!" Lindsay said.
Luan thought to herself, figuring out what their best move was from that point. Suddenly, her intense pondering was interrupted when she noticed something peculiar in the distance. She picked up her binoculars to look more closely…
"Those robots?! Oh no…" she worryingly said.
"What? What is it?" Benny fearfully asked.
"It's the robots! They're using their flying ability!" Luan told them.
"Wait, they can fly, too?!" a genuinely surprised and scared Lindsay then blurted out in response.
The already imposing robots now took to the skies to maximise their capacity to destroy. From up high, they could shoot down on the town, inflicting even more damage on its buildings and increasing the threat level for the living.
"Wait! What are they…? They're going to that old, backwater part of town where no one ever goes." Luan then said.
"Why?" a confused Benny asked.
"Who cares?! If they're focusing over there, that gives us a chance to think of something quick!" Lindsay told them.
Luan was about to see a horrific sight through their binoculars. All of the lonely, abandoned children from the decayed part of town were quietly sitting by themselves in a secluded alley, trying to keep out of the sights of the invading monsters. Dennis and his buddies were among them as they all could hear intense fighting, powerful explosions, and disheartening screams of terror all throughout the night.
But things were about to get much worse for them. Suddenly, they could hear the sound of jet fuel in the mix, and this sound became louder and louder as their heartbeats began to raise rapidly, as they sensed they were no longer alone.
Several robots then flew down from the sky and surrounded them. The cornered and trapped children screamed in fear and ran around frantically as they panicked for their lives. But there was no escape!
"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! IT'S NOT FAIR! I DON'T DESERVE TO DIE! I'M A WINNER! YOU DON'T EVEN EXIST! THERE'S NO SUCH THINGS AS ZOMBIES OR ROBOTS!" an absolutely petrified Dennis shouted out loud; his brash and confident, macho front completely crumbling as he realised he was about to die at the hand of a metallic demon.
From where Luan was standing on atop the hill, she was able to observe the slaughter from a distance. An entire area of poor, frightened little children… wiped out.
She then lowered her binoculars and revealed a deeply saddened facial expression.
"What is it? What happened?" a concerned Benny asked.
Luan hesitated for a few seconds before finally stomaching the will power to say it.
"The robots… they killed them all." she said as tears formed in her eyes, shocked and disheartened by what she had just witnessed.
Back in the neighbourhood of the Loud House, Lord Viribus and his prime squad of robotised cronies made their way to the aforementioned location. As they stood inside their home, Lincoln and Lynn could hear formidable stomping coming from outside. It became louder as they sensed their enemies were approaching closer.
"It's time." Lincoln said bravely as he prepared to fight.
"LISA! HOW LONG TIL YOU'RE DONE?!" Lynn frantically shouted to her sister as panic began to set in for the siblings.
"I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" Lisa shouted back from her room.
"WELL, YOU BETTER PICK UP THE PACE!" Lynn warned her.
Lisa continued to rush as quickly as she practically could, knowing there figuratively was a strict timer she was working against. Darcy continued to help in any way she could, but Lisa knew her only hope was to rely on the last resorts she had put into place…
"What are we going to do, Lisa?" a worried Darcy asked.
"Don't worry. I had precautions prepared for just this occasion." Lisa devilishly grinned as she revealed this fact, before reaching over and pressing an emergency red button.
Suddenly, the large container stored in Lisa's bunker opened to reveal her old robots were inside. The robots were activated as Lily and the other young babies looked on in awe. As one of her final safety measures in case all else failed, Lisa had these old creations of hers rebuilt and made battle ready as a last line of defence against the invading army…
…the robots made their way out of the bunker and resealed the entrance, protecting the babies that were still hiding inside.
FriendBot1000, Todd, Mr. Reinforced Titanium Alloy Arms, Gravybot, Mr, Potty Bot, Dare Bot… these were among the prestigious inventions Lisa had stored away, ready for defensive combat if or when the time came. Now armed with highly advanced laser weaponry, these contraptions confronted the approaching group of metal monsters.
Lord Viribus and his prime soldiers stood before these inventions as it appeared Lisa's robots were vastly outmatched. Viribus's titans were larger, bulkier and appeared to be far more invulnerable to attacks. However…
"YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?!" Dare Bot suddenly chanted before blasting down one of the opposing robots.
Spectacularly, for the first time that night, the defending side managed to strike down one of the evil metal men.
Lisa's robots fought valiantly, showing surprising levels of combat efficiency and fire power in their effort to hold off the mechanical generals for a short time. They managed to destroy a couple more of them, before they were finally overwhelmed.
FriendBot, Todd and Mr. Reinforced Titanium Alloy Arms, Gravybot and Potty Bot were all wiped out once the opposition managed to take back the momentum of the fight, while Dare Bot used its laser to attempt one final strike against the converted Lord Viribus.
*PZZZT*
But the blast didn't even leave a mark. The shell of Viribus's new form was exactly what it said on the tin. It was nearly indestructible. Even Dare Bot's laser had no effect.
However, the same could not be said once the roles were reversed. Viribus fired up his arm canon and swiftly dealt the finishing blow to Lisa's esteemed creation, blowing it to smithereens.
The evil mechanical tyrant and his robotic minions then continued to make their way towards the Loud House. However, another distraction then emerged to allow Lisa a few more moments of precious time…
It was Lana, still riding Lola's car, who had a handful of wet mud balls in her hand. She threw it at Viribus, staining his metallic back, who then turned around to face the little tomboy…
This distraction did nothing but annoy Viribus and the other robots, which then began firing at a fleeing Lana. The young, spirited tomboy used her wits and reflexes to dodge the attacks in Lola's car, skilfully evading all the shots fired in her direction from behind the wheel.
But her reflexes and driving skills were not enough to keep her safe for long. Before Lana could drive away, Viribus managed to land a shot on Lola's car, destroying it and sending Lana flying several feet.
"Oof!" Lana cried as she hit and scraped against the ground hard, earning herself a few cuts and bruises in the process. She had to fight the pain, however, and quickly get back up as she was still in danger.
Viribus then slowly wandered towards the bruised-up girl. She was hurt and afraid, but she still stood her ground. Thanks to her brainy sister, she had a sneak attack in her pocket. A secret weapon she was given to use as a last resort of her own.
"Well, here goes nuthin'!" she told herself before quickly pulling a grenade out of her pocket, activating it, and throwing it straight at the robotic warlord's face.
*BOOM*
The grenade exploded on impact, and for a single shining second, it looked like Lana might have actually dealt damage to the metal overlord.
However, the smoke cleared, and the titan was unharmed.
"Dang it! What the hell are you even made of?!" Lana frustratingly asked herself as she ran out of options.
The desperate girl then ran for it. She narrowly managed to avoid death in that moment as she ran and hid from the demonic metal men, using what energy and mobility she had remaining to avoid being shot down. Fortunately for her, the robots no longer retained focus towards her.
As Viribus and his androids quickly turned their attention away from the fleeing Lana and back towards their primary target; the Loud House…
"Those robots were superior to my own." Lisa disappointingly reflected on the outcome of the skirmish she had just witnessed from her bedroom window.
"What are we going to do, Lisa?" a fearful Darcy asked her.
"There is… one final chance." the brainiac then admitted.
Lisa then flicked a switch which activated a final defence measure. Suddenly, a powerful forcefield surrounded the entire house, like a transparent bubble but one made with tremendous energy.
Back on the hilltop, Luan and her archer team were nearly out of ammo…
"I'm out!" Benny said.
"Same!" Lindsay replied.
"We can't stop fighting! Our whole town is counting on us to do everything we can to stop these monsters!" Luan told them.
"But it's hopeless! We have nothing left to fight with!" Lindsay pointed out.
"Then we move from this spot, get back onto the streets and find other weapons. Anything you can find… knives, baseball bats, broken glass bottles, lead pipes… literally anything you can use in a fight!" Luan commanded as the archer's prepared to go.
But as soon as the archer team tried to move, the poor kids found themselves surrounded by a group of descending androids. They were in deep trouble.
"RUN!" Lindsay screamed as she prompted everyone in the group to run in different directions, as at least then there was a chance some of them could escape unscathed.
Benny, Lindsay and Luan were among the ones to getaway, while many of the other archer children were shot down by the robotic killers.
Luan then ran for her life as she did her best to avoid any more danger as she made her way back down the hill, hoping she would eventually run into a familiar face or two, as having to face off against such danger alone only made the situation that much worse for her.
Back at the Loud House, Lisa's shield proved to be strong enough at deflecting the laser blasts fired by the robots, thus preventing them from being able to blow up the building from the outside.
"You did it!" Darcy congratulated her.
"Don't celebrate just yet, my forcefield may be able to deflect energy blasts…" Lisa began to say…
…just as a nearby swarm of zombies ran through the forcefield and began to tear its way through the front door.
"…but those abominations can still physically invade us! The forcefield only repels projectiles!" Lisa then eerily revealed, much to the terror of herself and Darcy, as well as the two other Loud siblings standing guard at the top of the stairs.
"DRAT! I was hoping it would take a little longer for those creatures to figure that out! Ohh! If only I had more time to perfect the forcefield!" Lisa then angrily remarked to herself.
"Lincoln, stand back! I'll deal with them!" Lynn courageously and selflessly offered.
"No, Lynn! We stand together!" he insisted as the two of them prepared to fight side by side.
Lana continued to roam through the devastated streets of the town as she did her best to avoid fires, robots and animated corpses. Though she was tough for her age, she was still a little six year old girl, and the weight of the situation was beginning to get the better of her head as she was shaking and shivering, terrified for her life.
She was looking around as she moved, trying to prevent any sneak attacks from the enemy, when she suddenly bumped into Lucy.
"Lucy?! Boy am I glad to see you." A relieved Lana cried after running into her sister.
"You've managed to stay alive? That's good. Do you know if the same goes for the others?" Lucy concerningly asked.
"No, I've been fighting all those creepy robot things! I haven't seen them. I hope they're okay." Lana replied.
"I'm sure they are." Lucy tried to reassure her sister before offering her hand out.
Lana took her hand and let her older sister lead the way as the pair of them tried to find somewhere to hide. Their efforts at fighting having been in vain, and without any strategies or weapons left, all they could do was run to a safe place…
…not that there were any safe places left in Royal Woods that night.
"YOU TWO!" a third familiar voice suddenly called out.
It was their older sister, Luan, who was also fleeing from danger.
"Luan?!" the two younger sisters shouted in surprise.
"Those metal monsters had our number! They wiped out most of my archer team! Me and a few others barely made it out alive!" Luan grimly recalled.
"This is a disaster! We couldn't even hold them off for a couple of hours!" Lana said.
"I don't think anything can hurt those wretched contraptions." Lucy claimed.
"I know something that might have done!" Lana said, referring to a certain someone and their unique weapon.
"All we can do now is hope Lisa is able to complete her invention in time. It's looking grim, though. She doesn't have much time left before those robots reach her." Luan said.
"They already have! I tried to hold them off, but they quickly dealt with me." Lana told her.
But before the sisters could reflect on the situation any further, they could hear some blood curdling screeches and groans coming from behind them. Sensing the presence of nearby zombies, the three sisters tried to find somewhere they could hide.
"Come on, if there's any chance of us making it through this, we have to hide!" Luan ordered her two sisters.
"But don't we have to find a way to fight back?!" Lana protested.
"There's nothing we can do! Besides, you guys matter more to me! Now come on, I'm not losing you two!" Luan commanded as she led the two young ones to relative safety, with emphasis on the word 'relative'.
As even hiding was a risky move to the surviving children of Royal Woods, considering many homes were being obliterated by the fiery blasts from above. The town was being increasingly covered in flames as time was running out for the young prodigy of the Loud House…
…the army of the living was falling before the might of Lord Viribus's creatures. It seemed like all hope was lost.
Author's Footnote:
Be sure to keep a lookout on this website for chapter five, coming Friday. Just three chapters left to go now…