A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I've been tied up with a lot of stuff, mostly real-life stuff. But I'm finally able to continue with the story. This chapter includes the first real conflict... enjoy!

Chapter 3: Chimera Frenzy

Since the construction began, walking between Tazmily City and Osohe Castle didn't seem to be as much of a chore anymore… at least, to the naked eye. The city had gotten big enough to extend right up to the graveyard and into part of the forest -- which the Chimeras didn't mind parting with, it seemed -- though Lucas knew it didn't change the location of his own house. It was still a long walk to him.

But nonetheless, entering the new and bigger city was somewhat exhilarating to him. He didn't know why… he'd seen a big and high-tech city before in the form of New Pork City, though perhaps he never had the chance to admire it because he was on a mission then. All of the wondrous man-made structures he'd seen in his adventures, all of the technological marvels… he knew they were the property of Porky and served some vile purpose. But now that Porky was gone, sealed away in the impenetrable Absolutely Safe Capsule, his once-destructive creations were being used for a greater purpose.

"Man, I still can't believe this is almost done…" Lucas said to express his awe. Most of the houses he saw around here were already able to be moved into, only waiting for a nice paint job. And the houses he saw that were still being built -- right at this moment, no less -- were nearly finished.

"Yeah, I never thought Pigmasks were good for anything until now." Kumatora sneered. "They've really cleaned up their act."

"Well, they had a bad leader." Lucas reminded her. He remembered when they sealed him away underground, how Dr. Andonuts had effectively tricked Porky into entering the capsule with the knowledge that it would never release him. "I still wonder if he deserved it… being trapped forever, never passing on." He looked up at Kumatora as they walked further into the city. "What do you think, Kumatora?" he asked.

She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "It's probably better that he's trapped. Take it from someone who knows; the dead do things just as bad as the living." Kumatora answered.

Lucas grunted. "I guess you're right… I wonder what made him like that, though? He said it himself that he still had the mind of a child…"

"A spoiled, selfish brat of a child." Kumatora reminded him. "How he managed to become the ruler of an empire is beyond me, though… I'm willing to bet the story behind that is as retarded as he is."

"I know, but… still, he was a kid…" Lucas repeated. "I just don't feel right doing something like that to someone younger than me… if it were someone older and more twisted and evil, maybe. But Porky just strikes me as someone who fell in with the wrong crowd…"

At hearing his opinion, Kumatora had no real rebuttal. "I see your point… but whatever the case, he still had to be stopped. He could've brought the world to an end."

That was definitely true, Porky had every intent to destroy the world with the Dragon of Darkness and had the power and resources to do so. And in stopping the young-minded tyrant, he might have unleashed something potentially worse. Lucas let out a heavy sigh. "Being a hero isn't easy…"

Kumatora shook her head. "Nope."

The two walked on in silence from that point on, until they were mid-way to the town square. However, they were stopped by the sudden, horrible wailing of what seemed to be a siren. A very loud siren. Lucas and Kumatora both covered their ears, groaning in obvious discomfort along with the rest of the townspeople around them. "What is that sound!?" Lucas screeched. Whatever reply Kumatora gave him was effortlessly drowned out by the siren, this he figured out when he looked at her and saw her mouth moving with no words reaching his ears. "What!?" he yelled back to Kumatora so she could repeat herself.

Their faces turned to scowls as they realized that trying to speak with each other over this horrific noise was an exercise in futility. Kumatora briefly motioned with her hand for Lucas to follow her into a nearby alleyway, then quickly put the hand back on her ear and rushed off with the boy closely following. "Jesus Christ! I think I'm deaf!" he heard her complain; the siren was not drowned out as much as they had hoped, but at least now they could hear what they were saying.

"What is that!?" Lucas yelled.

"How the hell should I know!?" Kumatora yelled back. "God, it's worse that Duster's Siren Beetle in that cave! And that's saying a lot!" She then clasped her hands down onto her ears harder, growling in annoyance.

Lucas could unfortunately see the truth in her humor; while the Siren Beetle was quite loud, it could only cause mild discomfort, even when held right up to his ear. This siren, on the other hand, actually made his ears hurt from a distance.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the noise seemed to have stopped. They both tried to listen for the noise with their hands still on their ears just in case, but heard nothing. They cautiously uncovered their ears to make sure, but they were then assaulted by the same siren; its volume had considerably decreased, but they could still hear it clearly over the ringing in their ears it had left behind. "Thank God, I think somebody fixed the volume." Kumatora sighed with relief.

The townspeople visible from their alleyway didn't seem so content, however, running towards the source of the noise in a mob. While Lucas couldn't blame them for being angry, he hoped they didn't do anything rash. He then noticed that the siren was dying down further… and that the townspeople weren't shouting curses, but they were screaming. As if they were running from something… what could they be running from? He looked up at Kumatora, who returned the glance with equal confusion and a shrug.

A roar got their attention. They looked out at the alleyway to see that there were no longer people running down the street in a panic, but a pack of wild animals. And they didn't look like normal animals, more like… combinations of them.

A wave of fear swept over them both; they were now looking at a mob of rabid Chimeras. "Kumatora… am I seeing things?" Lucas asked.

"We wish…" Kumatora responded grimly. A Chimera suddenly turned into the alleyway; it had the body of a blue fish, the feet of a chicken and the head of a Dalmatian dog. It was a Dogfish, a Chimera that was only supposed to live near the water. This Dogfish looked angry, barking loudly as it ran towards them. It then lunged at Kumatora, who was ready; she sent her fist flying forwards and into the Chimera's skull, knocking it back. It rolled once before skidding across the ground on its feet, growling and barking angrily.

The Dogfish lunged at her again. This time it was Lucas who took the offensive, drawing his brother's sword and delivering a solid blow to the Chimera's head before it reached its target. A flurry of sparks erupted from the point of impact, briefly reminding him that his sword was not only electrically-charged, but that this breed of Chimera was heavily averse to electricity. This time when the Dogfish fell, it didn't get back up, its body twitching from electrocution.

Her brief rush of adrenaline ending, Kumatora hissed and shook around the fist she had used to knock the Dogfish away. "Damnit, I'dve brought my gloves if I knew we'd be fighting!" she complained.

Lucas looked down at the spasming Chimera with a sense of pity. "What's happening? Why are the Chimeras suddenly attacking our town?" he wondered.

"Maybe that sound is driving them nuts." Kumatora theorized, trying to listen for the siren again. It was nullified slightly by the screams of the townspeople and the barking and roars of the Chimeras, but definitely still present. "And if that's it, then why the hell hasn't anyone shut it off?"

A good question, but beside the point at the moment. "We'll worry about that later, right now we have to protect the people!" Lucas reminded her as he dashed out of the alleyway with his sword at the ready. Kumatora rushed alongside him, not really enthusiastic about fighting without her gloves, but her hands would heal.

The street they were running down was in a panic. Townspeople were running every which way in seek of shelter while avoiding Chimeras, while a handful of them were bravely taking up arms using whatever was light enough to lift. Unfortunately, since these people had next-to-no experience with fighting the creatures, it was a losing battle. As Lucas and Kumatora approached a rampaging Cattlesnake that was pursuing a young woman, however, the beast turned around with no hesitation whatsoever and charged at them instead. They barely had time to leap out of the way of the surprise attack, and then retaliated with a tag team attack.

"PK Love!" "PK Fire!"

The massive Chimera was actually blown off of the ground before landing on its side, too damaged to move. They continued on. The Cattlesnake's behaviour was mimicked by every Chimera that they came within a few feet of; while these sudden attacks saved Lucas and Kumatora the trouble of chasing the things around, it was quickly taking its toll. In past conflicts they had the chance to rest and recover after each fight, but with the townspeople in danger and enemies lunging at them at every opportunity, they did not have that advantage. They were forced to fight through every Chimera occupying the street until they reached the town square… and the source of the noise.

The siren sound seemed to be coming from a… what was it? It was sticking out from the well, its figure silhouetted by the roof above the hole. All they would make out was a red glow atop a thin pole, constantly twirling around as it emitted the disturbing noise. "What the hell is that?" Kumatora asked.

As if cued, the sound stopped completely and the… thing stopped twirling, the red glow now pointed directly at them. All was silent; the Chimeras had stopped running wild and looked around slowly, seemingly confused. This left the humans in the area puzzled. A new noise purged the quiet, a series of beeps and buzzes. They were coming from the red glow, which was still pointed at Lucas and Kumatora. After a monotone series of beeps, the thing's full form erupted out of the well, destroying it and sending pieces of debris flying everywhere.

It looked a lot like something that could be best described as a whip-stitch of flesh and metal, coiled around each other like brain matter with the matching colours; the only difference was the red glow, which seemed to be a single eye that served as a relatively small head. Its body, arms and legs were thin and almost very long with the total combined height of three average people, and its hands and feet were large; they each had a set of five fingers or toes, long and razor-sharp.

"Whoa…" Lucas and Kumatora both breathed out at once. This was unlike any creature they'd seen before, organic or robotic. The thing lurched its head up high, giving three quick rings of its siren before dashing at the duo without warning; and due to its long legs, it could run fairly fast. They jumped backward as it tried to stomp them, its claw-like foot leaving an impression in the pavement. Its right claw swung down at Kumatora, which she caught by its palm, but then she gasped in surprise at how strong it was. But rather than try to outmuscle her – something that she thought it actually could've done – it swung its other claw at her mid-section. Having to fight against being crushed by its right hand left her defenseless of her own accord.

So Lucas decided to bail her out, tackling her out from under its right hand just in time to dodge its left. They rolled along the ground for a moment before springing back up to their feet; she didn't even get the chance to thank him, as the fusion of flesh and machinery leapt into the air with the intent of goring them with its sharp toes. They leapt in opposite directions, the foe getting the sharp appendages impaled in the ground. Lucas saw this as a chance to attack, dashing with his sword, but a surprise lashing-out from its claws knocked him away hard. "Lucas!" Kumatora shouted in alarm, and the townspeople who were looking on gasped in horror.

She retaliated in his stead. "PK FREEZE!" she called out, thrusting her palms forward with a bright-blue glow. A blast of air so cold that it was visible shot out of her hands towards the mysterious creature. What she had never expected to see, however, was a collection of pale-blue diamond-like shapes to surround its entire body like a shield. An unfamiliar wave of horror flowed through her as she recognized what it was: PK Psycho-Counter, a defensive PSI that lessens the damage of a PSI-based attack and sends its full force back at the attacker. She had no time to prepare before her own torrent of frigid air was blown back towards her, being struck by the redirected attack dead-on. She yelped as pain tore through her, all but her head now encased in a block of ice. A curse made its way through her clattering teeth at her misfortune, as with her hands frozen and her head currently in a state of brain-freeze, she couldn't cook up any form of PK Fire to get out of her frosty prison. To make matters worse, the robotic enemy didn't seem at all fazed from what was left of the icy attack; in fact, the frost that had accumulated on its exterior was already melting off, revealing that it had suffered no damage at all.

"Kumatora!" Lucas cried out. The foe was quick to return the failed attack as its shield of deep-blue diamonds faded away, ready to crush Kumatora under its foot. He thrust his hands out towards her and shouted, "PK Counter!" A shield composed of yellow octagon-shapes surrounded Kumatora before its foot crashed down on her. The physically-oriented Counter shield sparked and crackled before repelling the monster's foot, sending it flying back a couple of feet before it landed on its back with a tremor. The PK Counter's recoil then made itself known, the ice encasing Kumatora cracking and shattering. She fell to her knees, her arms wrapping around herself to try and get warm as she felt an odd combination of pain and numbing. Lucas was quick to come to her aid. "PK Healing." he said, a warm, light-blue glow coming from his hand. The glow spread to Kumatora, and she almost immediately felt warmed up. "PK Lifeup." The blue glow was replaced with a green one, and she felt her strength returned. She quickly got to her feet.

"Thanks…" Kumatora thanked him before they turned their heads to the strange monster, which was getting up. "What kind of robot can use PSI!? It's not possible! What is this monster!?"

As the creature got back onto its feet, Lucas took the chance to cast another, "PK Counter!" This time, Lucas made a shield over his own body while repairing Kumatora's. "If PSI won't work, then we need protection from its physical attacks!"

"Yeah, good thinking!" Kumatora applauded. They then dashed at the creature with more confidence now that they were more protected against its attacks. Again, however, it surprised them; rather than try to swat at or crush them, it fired a bright-red beam out of its eye. They dashed to the side, knowing full well that neither Counter or Psycho-Counter had an effect on attacks like lasers. "Oh, come on!" Kumatora complained; it was as if this foe knew every way to counter their fighting styles. Regardless though, the laser was less of a threat than getting crushed like a pancake or getting ripped to shreds by those razor-sharp claws. "I've got an idea! Draw its attention!" she called out to Lucas.

"Okay!" he called back, rushing up to the enemy and slashing his sword at its foot. It left a cut and a scorch mark on its flesh-and-metal exterior, and this was enough to divert the monster's attention. It jumped backward, firing a volley of beams at him whilst airborne, but Lucas was agile enough to dodge each one. Kumatora took advantage of this distraction and leapt up the enemy's leg, slamming her fist into its thin midsection. She didn't break her fist thanks to having the sense to aim for a flesh-covered spot, but it was still surprisingly tough and still hurt like she'd punched a brick wall. Nonetheless, it got the desired effect; the enemy fell down. "Go for its head!" she shouted to Lucas.

Lucas shouted a war cry as he ran for the new target, raising his sword and jumping into the air. He jammed it as hard as he could into the red glass of its eye. The robot's aversion to high voltage did the rest, electricity coursing through its entire body and causing its limbs to twitch and spasm violently. Eventually, it began to break down and explode all over. Lucas leapt away before the eye was blown away, soaring up into the air and crashing down with the sound of shattering glass. The red glow in its damaged eye flickered for a moment before dimming and going out completely. The battle was won.

Lucas and Kumatora let out relieved sighs as they were cheered on by the surrounding townspeople. Looking around, they saw that the Chimeras that were present were turning around and heading for the exits of the town. It looked like the danger was over for the day. "Well! That was… exhilarating." Kumatora joked. She was then reminded of the searing pain in her hand, rubbing her sore knuckles and making a mental note from now on to bring her fighting gloves wherever she went.

As townspeople rushed over to the two heroes, Lucas looked at the remains of the strange machine. "What was this thing?" he wondered, picking up its dead and shattered eye.

"Well, that was something to see!" came a familiar voice from the crowd. Lucas and Kumatora turned to it to see an old man in a white lab coat pushing his way through the masses. The white hair that was left on his balding head was done up into a point on either side of it, and it had a white moustache. He has a pair of small, circular glasses obscuring his eyes from view.

"Dr. Andonuts!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Hey! Long time no see, Doc." Kumatora greeted.

"Likewise, Princess." Dr. Andonuts replied. "But what kind of malevolent machine is this, hm? I've never seen robots capable of PSI before… except for…" he stopped himself. He cleared his throat and said, "Nevermind, just reminiscing. I want to examine this machine and see if I can figure out what it was. Lucas, would you?"

"O-oh, sure." Lucas complied, handing the doctor the broken eye.

"Thank you so much." Andonuts thanked him before wandering off towards the scrap of the robot's body.

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After Lucas and Kumatora were finished receiving the thanks and praise of the townspeople, they continued on their way to his home. At the way down to this house, they encountered Flint, who had a rare smirk on his face. "I saw how you handled that creature. You two have become strong."

Kumatora winked and said, "Ehh, nothing we haven't done already, right Lucas?" She messed up his hair with her hand, much to the boy's protest. She then remembered the reason why they were coming here in the first place. "Oh yeah… speaking of that… it looks like we've got ourselves tangled up in another adventure."

Flint's smirk faded, replaced by a raised eyebrow. "How so?"

Lucas made an uncomfortable whimper. "I'm not sure, but… it has to do with where me and Claus pulled out the needles… and maybe the Dragon, too…"

Flint was silent for a moment, before letting out a small sigh. "Tell me everything you know."

A/N: Rest assured, things aren't gonna stay calm for very long. Just wait until you see what Dr. Andonuts discovers... R&R!