AC: I want to thank my Beta-reader for proof-reading this chapter and all the previous ones I forgot to mention.
Chapter 145: The Final Battle Part 7
Tom pinched his nose and pointed his head down. The Mipedians followed with Gathup as the only Mipedian still visible. The others split up and turned invisible, just in case of an ambush. They knew two M'arrillians might be on the loose.
They walked on the main street of the abandoned city, leaving the battlegrounds and approaching the limit of the town. They were surrounded with abandoned houses, showing the had left the shopping district.
"Thanks for saving us," Tom told the Mipedian.
"You already told us that," he replied. The lizard observed the boy, "Are you sure you are alright? You are still bleeding."
"I'd rather get out of here quickly. It's slowing down now if we stop for the bleeding to stop-what am I saying?" He commented as he realized that he said the word stop twice.
Gathup snickered and nodded, "Right. And you Sarah? Are you okay?"
"I'm good. Just hurt a lot."
"You two were brave. You made a stand against Rath'tab and you slowed him down long enough for us to save you."
"That was luck," Sarah replied. She crossed her arms, "Any idea if Aval'par is okay? He was fighting Milla'iin before we left to hide in the mall." She wasn't that worried for the M'arrillian, but the creature did put his life on the line for them. She was grateful for all the risks he took to come and save them.
"We split up in half. The others went where the fight was going on. They will surely save Aval'par," Gathup sighed, "Made the rescue much easier. It was harder to make a plan while you were under the tendril of Milla'iin. We didn't plan for him keeping you that close."
"He expected a rescue operation. Maybe he thought Mipedians might come to our rescue…or not. He saw Maxxor and went towards him," Tom thought back.
"Anyway, we don't have long before we leave the city for the rendezvous. Once you are safe, we will join the others and end this war once and for all. We intend this to be the last M'arrillian war."
"Good. Because the Earth won't handle another one after this," Sarah commented. She refrained from being sarcastic. She grabbed the hand of her boyfriend, "Our parents will be so relieved when we come back."
"Yeah. Guess we will hear them talk after a long time."
"More me. I rushed against that crab to save you," she sighed at how stupid she was. She still had no regrets though.
"Anyway," Gathup stopped and quickly turned around. He felt something wrong in the air. He grabbed two pieces of headgear and gave them to the teenagers, "Put these on your head and hide. Someone is coming."
The Mipedian turned invisible.
The two teenagers rushed towards an abandoned house and hid inside. They didn't hear the Mipedians coming inside and guessed they were on the lookout outside.
The two were a bit relieved they weren't alone this time, in a repeat of their previous situation. The waiting game began.
The Mipedians observed the M'arrillians and waited for their course of action. They prepared for an ambush if they approached the house where the two humans were hiding. None of them moved, to make sure the two creatures in the air couldn't perceive any movement.
After a few minutes, the two M'arrillians flew away. Still, they weren't gone from the Mipedians' sight. It was clear that the hunt was on.
"You think they suspect we are still around?" One of them dared to whisper.
"Yeah," Gathup replied.
Nothing else was said after this bare minimum. They waited for a while and the two creatures came back to them. It took the five lizards by surprise, as they already explored the area.
The two M'arrillians landed and observed the ground.
"There were indeed human's footprints here and quite recent," Rath'tab commented.
Milla'iin nodded, "They surely went in the house and continued on. Let's go," the two flew in the air and went to the other side of the house.
Gathup paled a little as he guessed what the thought processes of the M'arrillians would be. There weren't any footprints on the other side of the house. Tom and Sarah wouldn't quickly be discovered. "Get near the house and get ready to ambush them once they show up in the house," they whispered, "Tom, Sarah. Get ready to jump out if Milla'iin and Rath'tab come in." He had no idea if they heard him or not. He just hoped they would jump.
Inside the house, Tom and Sarah nodded together. They managed to hear Gathup and wondered what was going on. The two M'arrillians couldn't be at the front or the creatures would already be fighting.
They heard something on the other side of the house. They quickly understood the M'arrillians were in the backyard. The sound of the door breaking down told them all they needed to know.
Tom opened the window and Sarah jumped outside first.
"Stop!" Rath'tab ordered as he saw the boy near the window.
"No!" The teenager replied before he jumped out.
Milla'iin used a water attack and tore the wall down.
The two waited for a few seconds for the smoke to disperse.
The Mipedians launched a surprise attack and hit the two M'arrillians a few times.
The two retreated at the back of the house.
"We need to capture those two humans quickly!" Rath'tab ordered.
"Ignore the Mipedians, get the humans," (I'll ask about those wounds on the humans later.) the leader of the tribe commented.
The blue creature was a bit nervous, but already had an excuse on why he roughed them up.
(I'll leave the house and you get the Mipedians attention. There are five of them. If one of them is missing, tell me and I'll know one of them is ready to strike me.)
(Yes,) Rath'tab replied. He guessed this was his punishment after all. He used his best water attack and tried to see how many of those lizards were in his way. He saw four of them attacking him, (I see four of them. One of them is missing.) he retreated to another cover when his first cover was destroyed.
(Good. I had a feeling. I found the two humans with a visible Mipedian. The one who was with that large human,) Milla'iin replied in his mind.
The blue M'arrillian grunted in pain when an explosion went off near him and a part of the wall hit the back of his head. He grunted as he decided to leave the house and strike behind them. He created a wall made of ice and flew outside. He was above when he quickly noticed they expected him to get them by surprise. He dodged the attacks and took cover to another abandoned house.
Rath'tab grunted as he couldn't fight back on his own. One of him wasn't enough against four of them.
Tom and Sarah panted a bit in exhaustion as they ran away as fast as they could. They had no idea where the M'arrillians might be. They heard a battle near the house they hid in.
Gathup grumbled, "Don't drop your guard. One of them might have already escaped to get us."
"I have no intention of getting captured by their slimy tentacles again," Sarah commented.
(And you are wrong in the matter,) a voice said in their mind.
Milla'iin landed in front of them, tendrils out. He glared at the creature and the two humans, "This is the end for you. Once I capture them, you will surely bow down to me."
The Mipedian grunted as he clenched his hands. It would be a difficult fight where it was easier for him to lose. Still, he had an advantage. He let out a small smirk, "How long can you keep fighting Milla'iin. You already fought Aval'par and took a beating already. I can see your bruises."
The M'arrillian frowned, "Enough. I will not fall in the end. Your tribes will fall and bow to me. The Cothica will be under my tribe's control once and for all! It is only a matter of time."
"I wonder how the battle is going with the others," Gathup wondered. It wasn't important to ask that question in their situation anyway.
That made the yellow creature gaze where the armies clashed. That cost the creature when he was hit by a wind attack, making him crash through the entrance of a door. He came out by a window and extended his tendril to grab the Mipedian. He missed him and the humans and quickly pulled him back to him. He dodged another attack and dropped on the ground for a second. He quickly floated in the air again, "I have had enough of you!"
And the battle between the two creatures went on while the two teenagers went to take cover.
Theb-Saar watched the building the M'arrillians took cover. He knew it would collapse on itself very soon and then everything would be over. He crossed his arms and let out a small smile. Still, he was nervous that something could go wrong in this fight.
In a war, things could turn sour at any moment. For now, he focused on making sure the M'arrillians didn't have any other dirty idea like using the humans to fight them.
The thought came that they might use their own children in some way. He hoped they wouldn't stoop that low.
Mudeenu was by his side and commented, "You think they are planning something else?"
"It might be possible," he told his nephew. He crossed his arms, "Maybe they are stalling for time until Milla'iin manages to capture Tom and Sarah once again. If we win before he could, it might be over, even if he took the humans as hostages."
"Gal'drad looks like he can't back some of them down," he gazed at the sky.
"I didn't think he could. The rest of his tribe is dead set on this. Tom was lucky to put some doubt and convince a few of them to change sides. Just like the Messenger of the Cothica, it might be something best left to the humans," the blue Mipedian concluded.
"When shall we charge?"
"Once everything crumbles down on them. It won't be long now."
Gal'drad panted as his body was covered with wounds.
Neth'uar also panted as he lost a bit of blood from one of his deeper wounds, "You won't be able to fight much longer."
"You can also say the same."
The two watched each other. They stood there for a minute, as the battle raged under and around them.
Neth'uar sighed for a second. He asked, "If we lose Gal'drad… promise me you will protect the children and the citizens of the Deep Ocean."
"Of course. I will protect them when this war is over. None of them had anything to do with this. They couldn't disobey Milla'iin," Gal'drad replied.
"Good."
The worm creature charged and tried to tackle the green M'arrillian. He missed the other one who flew to the side.
The two continued to use their best attacks and endured more pain. They floated in the air and panted loudly.
The two had reached their limits. They raised their tendril for another attack, but nothing came out. The two couldn't fight anymore and just looked at each other. Their tendril dropped on their side and they eventually just began falling slowly down to the ground.
It wasn't long before they crashed on the ground, too tired to keep fighting. Their battle was over.
Gal'drad regretted he couldn't find Milla'iin and stop him himself. Still, he defeated Neth'uar without killing him. Now, he had to save his strength to keep his promise.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next part: The battle continued on while Gathup did his best to protect the two humans.