by Luca Braña
In a flash of movement, he and twenty of his replicas jumped out of hiding, intent on rushing towards the barrier. Making his move just as the bullets flew, the real Cyko vanished from the crowd of clones, unnoticed.
The looks on their faces as he appeared right in front of them with a glowing holo blade were priceless. With a laugh, he slashed at the magical construct, the blue streak creating a large, diagonal gash with cracks rapidly spreading out.
Once again vanishing just as all the guns turned to him and fired, Cyko giggled. The barrier was already recovering from the damage, but it would only be a matter of time until he broke it. Even with that squid helping them, it would make no difference. It was just a little more challenging fight he would love to overcome… ending with him slaughtering them all.
2
Dr. Gacha had a feeling something was amiss today. The guards seemed even more relaxed and bored than usual; the atmosphere seemed to cover a hidden tension, like the calm before a storm. It didn’t help that his daughter refused to leave his side. She was originally an animal and they have strong senses of impending catastrophes, so just in case, he had ordered his small staff to stop working on the project for now, and instead instructed Shiro to bring the serum with her so they could go to Mr. Whale’s office and present the results.
The emergency alarms started to wail the moment Shiro pocketed the concoction, causing her to hiss loudly and look around with her claws fully visible. The reason was clear in just a second… They lost all contact with the sixth and seventh levels, with certain sections having fired off reports about entering emergency isolation fields for unknown reasons.
The chaos was happening just a floor down from where they were.
“Dr. Ferdinand and Dr. Ivanovski, follow me to the third level, we’ll discuss this situation there,” the head scientist said, one of his hands playing with a small, metallic sphere in his pocket while the other looked at the alarm data on his tablet. “For now, it’s unclear what’s happening, but it might be tied to the same attack that happened a few months ago,” Dr. Gacha said, expression unchanging even in the face of a crisis.
“Papa, we need to go, it’s dangerous here,” his daughter said with urgency, ears and tail perked straight up, reacting to the slightest noise. Her father nodded, pocketing his tablet and hastily making his way towards the exit.
“I already ordered for every scientist to retreat to the third level and for the guards to reinforce both this level and the fourth,” the head scientist declared as they left his personal laboratory, heading straight for the closest elevator.
“Sir, what do you think caused the lower floors to go silent?” the bearded scientist asked, stroking his beard nervously as they entered the elevator.
“The sectors that entered the isolation mode were connected to the rest of the facility in such a way that if they were to go down, all other contact would be lost. A lack of foresight on my part I only just realized.”
Guards were rushing through the fourth level, hurrying to fortify positions and arrange equipment. The scientists ran towards the massive elevator at the opposite end of the area, avoiding and maneuvering through the many large, hard crates that contained all kinds of supplies.
The magical staff, both mercenaries and researchers, hurried to apply the required defenses on all the critically important staff, such as Dr. Gacha, his daughter, his two assistants, other leading scientists and commanding officers of the guards. The goal was to fortify as many positions as possible for the eventual outbreak of whatever was causing this.
It was a catastrophe without precedent. Considering what happened the last time, it might even be someone who is trying to free the subjects. That would be disastrous for their goals; they needed the army, they needed the subjects alive and loyal to them.
They arrived on the third level, by far the most reinforced floor, created to serve as the headquarters of the mercenary force, a safe house in case of catastrophes, and as a final defensive line in the case of an invasion… or a desperate rebellion.
At the entrance to the third floor, was what they called the command bridge, where all the mercenaries in charge of security were working intently, paying attention to their consoles to see if any new information appeared. Walking in further, Dr. Gacha looked up at the commander. The man was tall, looked to be made from pure muscle, and the experience and ruthlessness in his eyes was clear, enhanced by the scars that lined his face alone.
“Commander, what’s the situation?” Dr. Gacha asked as soon as the man turned to look at him.
Grunting, the mercenary leader looked back at his console, the largest and most elevated post on the bridge, surrounded by monitors that looked out on the two sides of the floor, which were covered in high-tech weapons galore.
“It’s unknown. We have dispatched soldiers to try to get inside the isolation fields, but so far, we have been without luck,” the man’s gruff voice answered.
“It seems you arrived just in time to see something interesting. Look, here.” The commander pointed towards the monitor, showing the live-feed of one of his soldiers. The camera panned over many scientists, guards, and a few mutants pouring out of a hole in the elevator. The mutant leader, Leo, was standing in front of the soldier whose live-feed they were watching, arms crossed, and stern-faced.
“The mutant is demanding to speak with you, scientist.”
“Wait, that’s Leo, isn’t it? What is going on?!” Shiro exclaimed. She, like her father, knew the names and who the strong leaders were. She knew that this giant lion was the one who took Drago’s post as the leader of the mutant faction, but she didn’t know exactly what that meant.
“Very well, activate the intercom,” the scientist ordered.
“Subject Leo, what do you wish to say?” Dr. Gacha’s emotionless voice echoed through the hallway in which the mutants were, causing the group to perk up, looking around for the source of his voice.
The lion growled. “I assume you don’t know what’s happening downstairs, do you? Then let me explain. The pride led by that telepathic girl, Tela, is the cause of all this chaos. She rebels against you, who gave us power, who gave us honor! I left one of my own to delay them as long as he can, but it won’t take long for them to arrive here,” Leo declared between growls.
“What?! But… But… Why?! Are my friends in this too?! Cyko, Magy, Myo?!” Shiro shouted, wide, worried eyes looking at the lion mutant on the screen who growled again.
“Who are you?! No, that’s not important. What you should know is that I only have around 40 other mutants with me, the others were in the gymnasium. As for those names you mentioned, the one called Cyko is one of their most vocal and motivated members. He is likely slaughtering guards as we speak,” the mutant leader said.
“But… But…” Shiro stammered, unable to comprehend what she heard. She knew her friends disliked her father, but that was just because of a misunderstanding, wasn’t it? She panicked before a strong, warm hand touched her shoulder. Looking up, she met her father’s gaze.
“Focus, my dear daughter. Don’t allow your emotions to cloud your judgment now. We’ll need a clear head for what’s coming.” He always knew what to say to calm her down or cheer her up… She would protect him, she would make sure.
The scientist turned back towards the live-feed, thinking hard about what he had just been told. An open rebellion. This was bad, terrible even. The purpose of the project’s latest phase was to increase loyalty amongst the subjects, but it failed catastrophically, this rebellion was proof of that… But how had the subjects caused this much chaos without them noticing?
“Subject Leo, how many loyal members do you have with you?” the scientist asked.
“We have over 80 loyal mutants, but here with us, about half that.”
“Very well. You may proceed to the fourth floor; your orders are to reinforce the position of the guards and mages there,” the scientist said.
“Know this, scientist. With my powers, I c
ould have escaped any moment I wanted; the walls and everything underneath us are under my command. Unlike that arrogant reptile, I know the danger those rebels present. The only reason I am doing this, is because I believe in this project of yours, and that it will bring glory upon us,” Leo declared between growls, snarling at the cowering soldier under him.
Just before he parted to make preparations, however, he turned to look at the soldier one more time, ignoring the man’s loud gulp.
“It would be wise to watch out for Tela and Cyko. The former is the leader of their faction, while the latter really, really hates your guts.” The lion turned and sauntered off.
“Cyko… This can’t be true, can it...?” Shiro whispered to herself, ears dropping in sadness at the thought of her friend’s anger. She looked back up at her father as he talked with the scary-looking man standing beside him, discussing the next steps. He looked so strong.
“It’s decided then,” her father’s voice rang out on the command bridge, the authority behind his posture unquestionable. “We need to wait until all the rebels leave the sixth level, otherwise the isolation fields will block the bracelets signal. All guards are to maintain a hit-and-run tactic, retreating towards the fourth level when possible. If all else fails, we still have many other defenses. Bring in the live feeds of all cameras connected to the fifth floor.” The head scientist ordered, causing the commander to grunt, but nodding as he pressed several buttons, resulting in the platform he, Dr. Gacha, and his daughter were standing on to be surrounded by holographic monitors.
On the screens, they could see many areas of the fifth level, both inside and outside the many, many specialized laboratories, including the now deserted cloning research facilities. All scientists had retreated by this point, and now only a token force of fifty guards and five mages stayed to give the impression of being caught unaware. If all went well, those mercenaries would join the others on the fourth floor in case the bracelets failed.
Soon enough they detected the first sign of activity. An elevator door was blown apart and several subjects poured out, scanning around for threats before a few of them broke off and the rest stayed behind. The scientist and the commander frowned as they realized the breach in security. Normally, an isolation field would remove all contact with the other rooms, this included cutting off electrical power, but in this case, elevators always had their own power source, to stay operational in case of emergencies and bypass the normally mandatory stops to get security clearance to continue upwards. Their own emergency protocols were being used against them.
“All soldiers commence operation!” the commander shouted, causing all the mercenaries to spring into action.
On one screen, Shiro could see her friends, Cyko and Magy, making short work of a group of guards who were working together with two mages. Thanks to the real-time updates on the mercenaries’ detection and preemption system, they were doing an excellent job of avoiding their attacks, with the mages taking every opportunity to curse the two children… However, it could only help them so much. Soon enough they began to tire, and the two children seized the opportunity.
The screams of pain that rang out from that battle would haunt her for years to come. They slew the guards without hesitation and to make it worse, they did so with joyful smiles on their faces.
“They are killing everyone…” Shiro whispered, watching as the two moved from group to group. They showed no mercy, slaughtering everyone in their way.
“All soldiers on the fifth level confirmed killed in action,” an operator on the command bridge said with a shaky voice. The commander himself had sweat running down his forehead. Never, outside of a full-blown war, did the Neon Lunatics lose so many soldiers in so little time.
“Hurry up and upload all the soldier’s data displays with enemy coordinates! I want no more soldiers to die! You!” The commander turned towards Dr. Gacha, his eyes squinted, and eyebrows furrowed. “My soldiers were ordered to use only non-lethal weaponry and the mages to use non-lethal spells! That decision is now slaughtering my men! You retract that order and allow my men to kill!”
The scientist closed his eyes. Now that there were no guards left, the rebels invaded and ripped apart the labs, ruining years of research and hard work. But, to allow the mercenaries to go all out meant that they would go for fatal attacks. Every subject was worth at least a hundred of theirs, for the purpose of this project was to create an army stronger than anyone else. At least he knew it worked.
He also couldn’t allow them to escape, to reveal the nature of their project to the outside world before it was time. This would bring the Creator’s wrath down on their heads, and she would surely end them all. If the subjects escaped, not only would everything they worked for be for naught, it would also put Shiro in danger.
It was decided.
“All mercenaries in this facility are now allowed to use lethal methods to end the rebellion. I hereby remove all restrictions, begin preparations for total combat immediately,” Dr. Gacha declared, earning himself a wide-eyed stare from his daughter. He sighed.
“You know what is at stake, little Shiro, your friends cannot be reasoned with, look at the brutal way they killed all the guards who were just doing their jobs.”
“The subjects have left their defensive position around the elevator!” an operator reported.
“Activate their bracelets now! Pick up the pace on the preparations! I want heavy weaponry ready on the fourth level!” the commander yelled out his orders, before turning back towards the scientist, smiling as the bracelets activated and immobilized all rebels instantly.
“The fourth level is roughly a third of the size of this one but filled to the brim with obstacles. Eight hundred soldiers will conduct the defense with lethal weaponry with the mutants, if by some miracle they escape both the bracelets and our defenses at the fourth level, we won’t hesitate to use the full might of the fortress to keep them from escaping.” The mercenary leader declared, looking at the scientist right in the eyes.
“I understand. We can’t worry about the cost right now,” the scientist replied before turning back to look at the bound subjects, frowning as he watched the blue-haired child, Cyko, once again destroy the binding and immediately get to work on freeing his pink-haired companion.
Blinking, the scientist looked down as his daughter tugged at his coat, a sad expression on her face. “Father… can I try to talk to them? I don’t… I don’t want them to get hurt, but I also don’t want them to hurt you! We can solve this if we just talk!” she pleaded, using the more formal ‘father’ rather than her usual affectionate ‘papa.’ She was serious about this; the scientist could tell.
“My daughter, I can’t allow you to do that. I know you are strong, very strong, but there are too many of them, and they all want retribution. You saw how they massacred the guards. What’s to say they didn’t do the same thing on the lower floors?”
“But… But...” she whispered, feeling hopeless.
“You should listen to your father, kitty,” the commander interrupted suddenly, causing both her and her father to look at him. “If the enemy is dead set on your destruction, then they aren’t your friends anymore, even if they once were.”
“I… I understand… I’ll do my best.” Shiro looked back up at him, tears gleaming in her eyes.
“That’s enough chit-chat! Look back at the screens!” The commander bellowed, eyes widening as one by one, the bindings in the bracelets were being undone with a flash of red—coming from the devices themselves.
“How did this happen?” the head scientist demanded.
“We aren’t sure, but the first subject after the blue-haired brat to get free was this one.” The man showed a recording of a red-haired child effortlessly shedding his own restraints, starting the chain reaction.
“Reddox...” the scientist whispered to himself. That mage was perhaps more dangerous than Cyko.
“They are moving towards the elevators,” the commander not
ed, frowning as he realized that a little over ten minutes had passed since he issued his orders. “What’s the status on the vanguard team? Let’s set up an ambush.”
Dr. Gacha’s eyes lit up, as this was the back-up plan he had been thinking about. He turned towards the commander.
“Follow my instructions, I have a plan for the ambush…” the scientist said before explaining his idea to contain the rebellion.
3
Tela took in the state of her friends and allies. So far, they had advanced through the floors nearly unimpeded.
When the bracelets were activated, she put her plan into motion: waiting until all of them were away from the elevator before activating it. Tela worried that the countermeasures she requested Reddox to make wouldn’t work, but then she had felt Cyko’s increase in power and knew he had freed himself, just like he did the first time. Worst-case scenario, it would take them hours to free everyone, but Reddox’s spell ended up releasing them all. They had been slightly weakened, but nothing major that would keep them down. The staff has been quite successful in making them stamina monsters.
“All right everyone, we don’t know what will await us on the fourth floor, chances are that their defenses will be much stronger now that they know what’s going on. They will strike at us with everything they have, but we won’t give up! We are closer than ever to finally being free!” the redhead exclaimed, her message and feeling of determination echoing through every single child’s heart.
“Now, let’s continue forward! Same strategy as before, close combat specialists will go first and scout the area while a small team remains behind to secure the elevator,” Tela explained, walking forward and forcing the doors of the elevator open with her mind. “Be prepared for anything.”
A few minutes later, Cyko and his squad stood in front of the closed door to the fourth floor. Just like the previous two, they heavily fortified it with enhancing spells, but as before, they were in the same poor condition, so they easily broke past them.