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Counter Earth Chronicles - Fallen Empire

Chapter 92: One Act Of Betrayal Saves Us All

Day 199 (6:41 PM The formerly sealed exit to the eastern maze)

"What do you mean friends of mine Shira?!" I shouted as the scorpion man walked through the large crack in the wall confidently holding his trident proudly. "Humor in a time like this?"

"I knew this wasn't a natural land formation." He said to his 'comrades' who hissed and grunted in response.

The creature was slightly shorter than myself because he didn't have human legs. From his waist up he did have a human body and a nice one at that- washboard abs, plump chest, nice muscular build and no hair. But what was below the waist wasn't human, it was a body of a scorpion with six legs and a long tail complete with a stinger.

(Is he another hybrid like Zhade and Kenna or just a straight out monster?)

"OH CRAP!" I shouted.

"Who goes there!" The she tiger grumbled while I tried to blow the alert horn to summon help.

Try as I might, I couldn't; I was too frazzled to alert anyone in the lost city that Shira and I were in extreme crisis. Sure, they weren't Others, our number one threat, rather our number two threat. Regardless we were outnumbered.

"We don't like invaders around here." I said aiming the tip of my grappling hook at the scorpion man feigning confidence trying to intimidate him.... I don't think it was working.

"I am Linias. My companions and I are here on our own accord." The scorpion man said starring Shira and myself down.

(He was introducing himself?!)

It was odd that he wasn't pointing his trident at me or Shira.

"You mean you are here to rape, pillage and plunder." The sabre-tooth tiger shouted as she attacked.

*PFFFT*

She used her blow dart weapon and fired three darts at Sandu the red/black lizard and at Haem the black multi-eyed octopus thingie. Three darts made contact with the lizard's hide and were melted instantly while the three she fired at the octopus entered but didn't exit.

(Ok, my turn.)

I fired my grappling hook at the black multi-eyed monster the spear tip passed right through it, like it wasn't there.

!!!

(I should have seen that coming, I know it did.)

The three were on us in an instant. The lizard grunted while the octopus creature waved two of its limbs and to Linias.

"Right Haem. You two!!" The scorpion man said sounding so authoritative.

"Let me guess, this is where you ask if we have any last words before you run us through with your weapon." Shira growled.

"I do have something to ask- help us!! Help us please!!" The scorpion man shouted.

"Say what now?" The tigress asked rebounding to her paws and pointing her spear at him.

"We must escape from him!"

"Him who?!" I asked recoiling my weapon.

"Our ruler!! We will make it worth your while!! Haem!!" Linias said.

The black multi-limbed, multi-eyed octopus thingie spat up this black goo onto the ground.

"We were going to eat her later but if you help us, you can have her!" The scorpion man said. His voice literally pleaded with desperation.

I ran over to see what it was the creature had spat up. In the black ooze was a female otter- she was struggling to breathe. I removed the goo from her face. She started breathing heavily as if she was hyperventilating.

"Alex?" Shira shouted.

"It is a otter, female, young, about Corbin's age."

"Not what I meant!" The barbarian said correcting me.

!!!

Another creature had entered through the broken wall. It was a tall sinisterly evil looking feline with very distinctive looking features, elongated face, neck, ears, snout, paws and claws. The most eerie feature though was the large eyes with slit-like pupils.

"Linias, the king would like to have a word with you." The feline creature said to the three invaders who quivered and trembled in its presence.

"No." The scorpion said presenting his trident. "I don't want to go back, no I won't go back!"

"You defy your king, our master?! His word is law." The cat creature said calmly.

"We need help now." I said handing the tigress the horn.

Shira blew it for all she was worth. The low bass sound echoed throughout the maze and the lost city.

"What a shrill sounding device!" The feline monster said. "Be gone!!!"

!!!

"Shira!" I shouted grabbing her.

*SLICE* *SLICE* *SLICE*

The feline monster slashed the horn with its long claws. The alert horn was no more.

"I won't go with you Malice. I would rather die." Linias said defiantly.

"The... the... the monster king?!" The female otter said standing to her foot paws. She then ran for the black octopus and dove back inside it.

(That was not good.)

"Disobedience is death." The cat creature said advancing. "Which can be arranged."

"Mr. Malice is it?" I said finding my voice.

"Miss." The cat creature said correcting me.

(That thing is female?!)

"Regardless, you are on private property I must ask you to leave." I said confidently.

"No." The she monster said. "Not without my liege's property."

"Fine, take them and go Shira interjected."

"Gee thanks you two." Linias shook his head in protest as the fire lizard and octopus turned to face their attacker.

"On second thought we had heard rumors of a colony of succulent refugees near by. You two will make fine morsels for the king as well." Malice said staring at Shira and myself coldly.

"We must politely decline." The female barbarian said grinding her teeth.

"Ok it looks like we are in this together." I said to the scorpion man, the black octopus and lizard.

"You three if we attack together she can't take us all at once." The female barbarian announced.

"Can I now?" Malice said grinning.

The black octopus wrapped an arm around the cat creature's waist while the scorpion man charged in with his trident.

Without batting an eyelash Malice sliced through the limb and swatted Linias away like he was a gnat.

*AUGH*

"Not much of a fighter are you Linias? Who is next?"

The fire lizard hacked what looked to be a nasty loogie of fire, ash and magma at the cat creature who easily dodged it and then counter attacked.

"Alright meat ready to go Hey where did you go?" Malice said looking for Shira and myself.

*THOKK!!*

"AH!!!!" The cat creature screamed as the tip of my grappling hook made contact with her left eye. She stumbled backward as Shira made her move from behind.

*IMPALE*

"AWK!!!"

"Nice move." I said to the female tigress

"Back at you!!" Shira said to me.

"MALICE!!! Leave while you still can!!" The scorpion man said.

"Or you can perish right here, right now." Shira said retrieving her spear, wiping off bits of bloody matter from its tip.

"The choice is yours." I said piling on as our backup arrived.

(About time!)

VAROOOMMM!!!

*Alex Winter do you require assistance?* The automated assistant announced as the silver prototype arrived.

"Yes Wheels."

*Sidepods engaged. Locking onto targets.*

"It is over Malice you can't win." Linias said coughing.

"Defeated by you weaklings?! You will suffer for thissssss!!!" The cat creature said hobbling off.

*I say what happened here?*

"An incursion Wheels. Get word to our leaders we need to seal this breach immediately."

*Acknowledged. And those three?*

"Yes what about these three?" Shira said studying the three monsters.

"We request asylum and protection from our enemies." Linias pleaded.

*HISS* *HISS* The fire creature said to the scorpion.

"That means the same thing? Oh." Linias coughed violently.

"You three are freaking monsters what enemies do you have?" I countered.

"Let's say that we burned some bridges." The scorpion man said fainting, his companions rushed to his side.

"But who is this king they are talking about?" Shira asked.

I walked over Linias he had three nasty cuts across his chest, very deep and was not taking it well.

"He has been poisoned." I then ran over to the black octopus with the severed arm. "Same here."

It took about thirty minutes for our relief to arrive.

"What is that?!" Corey said arriving upon the attempted incursion.

"...monsters..." Rumble said.

"Present company excluded right? What happened here? Barq and Ursa said it was some type of invasion." Mr. Collins said studying the scene.

"Yeah we wound up in the middle of someone else's fight." Shira said to the black haired teen.

"Two of them are wounded; I need to see to them. Can you two seal up the breach?"

"Right Alex we are on it." Mr. Collins said.

"Now how are we to get those three back to the city?" Shira asked that is a silver coupe not a transport vehicle.

"You know about transport vehicles?!"

"Not the time Alex."

The black octopus creature with the numerous eyes enveloped the scorpion and fire lizard and then climbed into the trunk of the silver coupe.

"That was easy." I said astounded.

*I think it knew we were attempting to help it and its comrades.*

We proceeded back into maze as quickly as we could.

"Alex, Shira what is going on?" Lady Barq said appearing on the upper left monitor of the center stack.

"An incursion. Have any of the other warriors been attacked?" I asked the badger.

"No. Gahri and Ananias are watching the south maze, Tanya and T'hoka the west maze, Tori and Rhinox the north maze. Ursa and I were watching the interior. All is quiet."

"Then it was just us." I said to the badger warrior.

"Us what?" Lady Barq asked.

"Lady Ursa, Lady Barq meet us at the holding house, have Shakara waiting with her medical supplies and send Overwatch to back up Corey and Rumble."

"Acknowledged."

When we arrived at the holding house Shira, Shakara and myself rushed the patients inside as Yogi and Corbin guarded the door inside and Wheels the outside.

"An evening visit? My bathroom break isn't for another six hours!" Zhade said as we walked in. "Or is this a meeting?"

"The prisoner will be silent!" Lady Barq barked.

"So pet what happened?" My she beast asked as she and Lady Barq met us inside.

"Three monsters breached the wall blocking the exit to the eastern maze." I said to the badger and bear warriors.

"We thought it was an invasion until they begged us to help them." Shira added.

"They were fleeing from someone called the king. One of his emissaries was pursuing them and demanded their immediate return."

"Do we know where?" The badger warrior asked.

"I think Capital Stadium. They did not want to go with her." I added as Shakara noted that there was only one creature in the room with Zhade.

"It enveloped its companions for transport." Shira said to my lioness. "We just need to tell it to release them along with their prisoner."

"Prisoner?" The dark tanned lioness asked.

"Yeah, food they were saving for later." The tigress said.

"So what did this emissary look like Alex?"

"It was a hideous looking cat creature with disturbing elongated features. She called herself Malice. It took all our efforts to beat her back and drive her off."

*BLECH* The black octopus creature said releasing the fire lizard and scorpion man. They were covered in its goo.

"Thank you Haem." Linias said dry heaving. The octopus creature started waving its limbs back to him.

Shakara ran her triangle scanning instrument over his person. "You are right, Alex he has been poisoned."

"The one over there lost a limb during the fight." I added as my devious person approached Sandu.

*Hiss*

"But the lizard seems to be fine." Shakara said backing away from it slowly. "Why are its eyes smoking?!"

"Sandu, these creatures are our rescuers not enemies."

*Hiss*

"Yes, they do look delicious, very delicious but they are here to save us and they can't do so if they are in our bellies." Linias said.

"If you believe we are your saviors, we need a sign of good faith then." Shira said staring the scorpion creature down.

He nodded.

"You are never to refer to us as your food again and that otter girl you were going to eat- don't."

"If that octopus thingie hasn't digested it yet." I added.

"Haem." Linias ordered.

The black octopus spat out the otter girl. I quickly ran over to her and removed the black muck from her face. She turned over and started coughing up black goo. She was mostly naked except for a beaded necklace on her neck and a white loincloth she wore around her waist.

*gasp*

"Easy, it is ok you are safe." I said calming her. "What is your name?"

"Tippi. They were going to eat me!!!" She said gesturing to the lizard, scorpion and octopus who tried to look most innocent.

"We were hungry." The scorpion man said.

"Wll you are safe here." Lady Barq said.

"Interesting development. Some monsters requesting asylum in our little city?" Zhade said.

"We haven't decided." My warrior bear said to the human/tiger hybrid. "Alex, Shakara treat the injured. Corbin, Yogi stand guard."

"You are leaving our safety to the mongoose and yeti?" The anarchist said.

"We will be just outside." The badger said. "Besides we are all carrying weapons.

"Shira please accompany us." The bear said to the tigress. "We require your counsel."

The sabertooth tiger grumbled at the thought of being with the badger and possibly meeting the rhino again.

"Not the time Shira." I warned her as she departed with Lady Barq and Lady Ursa.

"Ok now will someone tell me about this king of monsters?" I asked as Zhade took particular notice.

The octopus and lizard looked at the scorpion man.

"Ok since they don't speak that leaves you two." I said gesturing to the otter and scorpion.

"He is the monster master, their ruler!" Tippi shouted. "His fur is as dark as the night, his teeth indescribably sharp and he is quite tall and menacing. He is very cold, unfeeling and without mercy."

(WOW.)

"Interesting, we had heard that the monsters were organizing." My lioness said examining the scorpion's wounds.

*cough* "We have."

"Why? Safety in numbers?" I asked.

"To turn what is left of the planet on its side." Linias said looking at the female otter.

*HISS* The fire lizard said.

The black octopus waved its limbs in agreement.

"Why?" Corbin asked.

"The day your world collapsed we became free beings, free from the scientists that had created us, the companies that had experimented on us and the handlers who had mistreated us." Linias said.

*HISS* The black and red lizard said. His eyes shimmering.

"What did it say?" Yogi asked.

"He said that king was just another freed monster. But he had big plans- he united us in this forest, made it our home and established viable feeding sources to support our numbers." The scorpion man said.

"Our colony." Shakara said.

"Yes for a time." Linias said. "Things were great, we sustained ourselves on whatever meat we found."

"You mean survivors." Corbin said holding his boomerang.

"Yes, survivors. We largely stayed away from the city. The king said that there was another faction vying for control of what was left of the empire."

"Others." I said interrupting.

"Is that what you call them?" Linias said.

"Yes, they have even claimed some of yours and made them their own." I added.

"So that is what happened to the missing. Well, over the last few weeks the king started acting strangely. He sent us out to hunt down his creator who enslaved him. We thought we did. And then those orders expanded to those who mistreated, poked, prodded and experimented on us." Linias said as Zhade, Corbin, Yogi, Shakara and myself gave the scorpion our full attention. "The orders were changed again to take over what is left of the planet not under the Others control, to conquer the defenseless, savage the weak in order to make sure we are never oppressed again."

"And you are against this Linias?" Ms. Kubari asked. "Why?"

"I have no vendetta against those that created me. But he also wants pillage and plunder. I do not."

"And another player enters the game. You know if the colony takes these three in this king of monsters will also become our enemy as well?" The hybrid said.

"Shut up Zhade!" I said to the half human/half tiger.

"That is a disturbing thought though big brother." Corbin observed.

"We would be dealing with this monster king and its forces in addition to ONE and TWO." The manufactured monster behind me said. "The neighborhood has really become less friendly."

(That is a disturbing thought indeed.)

"I think I can synthesize an antidote for the poison." My lioness said taking some blood samples from the gashes on Linias' chest.

"What about Haem's limb?" I asked. "It is not like I can reattach it."

We watched as the black octopus monster reattached its severed limb.

"Ok maybe it can. How are you feeling?" I asked the creature.

It moved two of its eight limbs. I stepped back cautiously weapon at the ready in case this was some sort prelude to a attack. It wasn't it was signing! Apparently the black octopus thingie with the numerous yellow eyes could not communicate verbally, but it knew some type of sign language!

"He says that he is in pain but it will pass." Linias said. "I am also in pain and I don't think it will pass so easily."

"It is the poison." Shakara said. "It is going to take time to counteract this. You will have to be patient."

*HISS, HISS.* The fire lizard said.

"Sandu wants to know how long he is going to be here?" The scorpion man said.

"We plan to discuss that now." Lady Barq said re-entering the holding house. My mistress, Shira, Una and Commander Rhinox were with her.

"Status pet."

"Haem reattached his limb. He is in pain but fine for the moment. Sandu from what we can tell is unharmed. Tippi is traumatized and Linias is getting worse by the moment." I said noticing that the warriors were all carrying their weapons.

"So you two are headed back to the infirmary to try to save the scorpion's life?"

"Yes commander." My lioness said.

"Go." Lady Ursa ordered us. "Time is of the essence."

"And you five?" Yogi asked.

"You and Corbin watch the door." The badger warrior said to the mongoose and yeti. "We are going to interrogate our new arrivals to see if they are worthy of what they seek."

As Shakara, Yogi, Corbin and I were leaving we watched the five step forward towards the otter, fire lizard, octopus monster and scorpion man. Lady Ursa with her sword, Lady Barq with her mace, Ms. Una with her whip, Shira with her spear and commander Rhinox with his service weapon.

"Gee and I thought that I was going to be bored this evening..." Zhade announced.

As we stepped outside of the holding house we realized that word was spreading fast among the residents of the colony. Those who weren't on guard duty had come to the holding house to see the so called 'prisoners' including the Wilds, Milton, Melinda, Kenna, Celestine, Augustin, were among the crowd.

And so...

"Seeing the crowd in front of the holding house reminded me of just how small our colony actually is." I said as my devious person started mixing medicines with our sample of Linias' blood back in the infirmary.

"Yes." She said in deep thought.

"We could use some new blood around here- but monsters?"

"Rumble and Yogi are monsters, little cutie."

"Yes, but they aren't from a hostile colony that tried to eat us earlier this year. Remember the constant incursions? We even lost Rumble."

"Before we learned he could regenerate." My devious person said correcting me.

"But those were some dark times." I said pondering as the dark tan lioness worked.

"Yes the lost city was in danger... as we are now." She said stopping momentarily to squeeze my ass.

"What you are saying is there is safety in numbers."

"And strength." Shakara said fetching supplies from the closet before returning back to the table. She continued mixing some of the medicines with Linias' blood.

"So what if Linias, Haem, Sandu and Tippi aren't who they say they are and this is some type of coordinated attack? I mean the vetting process we have is to find Others not beastial and human eating monsters."

"I think if they are loyal to this king of monsters Ms. Una's hypnosis and the commander's truth ray will get to the bottom of that little cutie. There it is done."

"You got an antidote?"

"Either this will make Linias better or really, really, really sick." The dark tan lioness said grinning quite broadly.

We soon returned to the holding house where the five had finished interrogating our prisoners. We found Tippi, Sandu and Haem lying on the floor. Linias had collapsed as well with only his trident keeping him upright.

"What happened here?!" I said as we came upon the scene.

"We were quite thorough even with the girl." Lady Barq said walking past me. Una and Shria nodded leaving. The commander re-holstered his service weapon and joined them.

Leaving only Lady Ursa and Zhade in the room with Shakara and I. I noticed that the hybrid had been gagged.

Shakara then walked over to the sick scorpion. "This is the best we could come up with."

"Thank you." Linias said as I started dabbing his wound with Shakara's concoction. "Thank you all."

"Barq, Rhinox and I determined that Linias, Sandu and Haem are adolescents; they are rebelling against their master." My perfect person said.

"But you are going to let us stay anyway." Linias said.

"Big cutie?" Shakara asked.

"Say what?!" I gasped.

On that evening our colony admitted four new residents three beastial/human eating monsters and a terrified otter girl to our community.

Alex Winter July 26, YOE 34