Her breath hot with fury and snorting with anger, Cindy bolted from cover to cover, listening closely for anyone following as she made her way into Leech's lab. For such a tall, muscular crocodilian, she was surprisingly quiet on her feet.
She knew Leech wasn't inside the lab; she would have heard her by now. Just to be safe, though, she darted past the main lab and through one of the side doors, entering a chamber that was full of ceiling-height silver storage tanks and buzzing lab machines that were all mid-way through completing their processes. This place was cramped, with many dark corners to hide in, a perfect area to conduct an ambush.
A quick search through the room revealed a pile of scrap metal thrown aside, full of various shapes and sizes of leftover waste. Cindy scavenged through it quickly and pulled out a large, dagger-like chunk with a sharp point. She stabbed it through the air a few times, and decided it would suffice.
“I'm gonna tear her fucking throat out... Take me from Seeth will she? Keep me locked up? Well, we'll see about that, won't we Leech?!” Cindy growled, scrambling to the back of the room and quieting down. She looked over the metal chunk in her hands and played the scene in her head.
Leech would come into the room, turning to face one of the many machines. Cindy would listen closely, eyes to the floor and ears primed and alert, to confirm Leech’s position, and then, she would strike! She’d lunge at her – no messing around – straight for the neck and face with the metal blade, and get the job done. She could carve her up afterwards and claim her trophy once the kill was secured but she needed to be effective over anything else. She imagined the metal cutting through Leech's jade green flesh, a smile curling over her face as she did so, thinking about the life draining from that evil bitch’s body.
She focused again upon hearing voices coming from the lab, but they were too quiet for her to hear what they were saying, and she couldn't risk coming out of cover to listen. Her clawed fingers shook slightly in anticipation and fear, but the croc’s hunter instincts were kicking in, and she stilled herself quickly and perfectly, breathing slowly and controlled, undetectable under the hum of the machines vibrating in the room.
It took some time, but eventually, she heard the heavy thumping of Leech's footsteps, getting closer and closer, one after the other, no idea of what was lying in wait.
Cautiously, Cindy peaked out from behind the storage in the corner, roughly glancing in Leech's direction but keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. The alien had her back to her, and was currently fiddling with one of the machines.
“Bastard thing. Couple of degrees off and it's practically cooked the cultures. I'll need more samples and yet more time. UGH. I can’t be arsed with this today.” She thumped the top of the machine and brought herself a bit lower to look inside it, presenting her back perfectly for Cindy to attack.
Everything was matching up perfectly. Cindy was only a few paces away from her and immediately began to tread towards the vulnerable alien, her metal shank firmly in hand as she crept across the cold stone flooring of the dungeon laboratory.
Leech was still busy focusing on the machine, her head still inside its innards, and Cindy was now just a couple of steps away. Even the seven foot tall Cindy, who'd usually look down on everyone, was intimidated by the size of her, but she steeled herself again, grasping the shank tightly and kept her head down.. She pictured herself grabbing Leech by her long jelly locks, pulling her head to the side and plunging the shank deep into her vulnerable neck.
Cindy lunged forward into the air, filled with adrenaline and snarling in anger, but Leech struck her leg out backwards in a devastating mule kick, slamming into Cindy's chest with tremendous force, sending her skidding backwards and thumping into a storage unit behind her. The kick knocked the air out of her lungs and shook the shank right out of her hands. Cindy clutched at her chest, trying desperately to scramble to her feet.
She wheezed painfully and looked up to see the grinning face of Leech staring straight down at her. Leech seized the back of Cindy’s neck and lifted her straight into the air. Cindy fought back, wrapping her thick, scaly tail around Leech's shoulders and neck and trying to wriggle free of her grip, thrashing her body around with as much force as she could, but then Leech grabbed her thigh as well, lifting the crocodilian above her head with ease.
“...C3 should do the trick.”
The ground suddenly rushed towards Cindy, a painful, loud, fleshy slap rang out as Leech brought the girl down directly onto her knee, breaking her back with a single, precise slam. Cindy's vision went dark, a sudden coldness spread through her limbs. Leech stared down at her collapsed form, watching intently with an ever growing smile as she remained still.
Is this it… am I… did I lose? Am I dead?
But slowly, Cindy’s vision began to return, sluggish and blurry but... she was alive and…
Leech's grinning face slowly came into focus.
“You have some gall, little crocodile. Attacking me in my own lab.” Leech scoffed at her, taking Cindy by the neck again, but this time her body hung limply in Leech's bastard grip. “Of all the ways you could have handled that... HAH! You genuinely thought you could take me?!” She cackled and dragged the crocodilian out of the side room and into the lab. Inside, Cindy noticed a wolf-man, tied up against the back wall. They briefly made eye contact but he broke off nervously and remained quiet. Leech continued on through another side door. There was nothing Cindy could do now, her body just wasn’t responding, no matter how much she strained. All she could feel was a deep, cold tingling in the core of her being.
“Another Controller might have just killed you, but not me, I'm smarter than that...” She laughed again and discarded Cindy's body down onto an operating table akin to how someone would throw away a used towel. “So kind of you to volunteer your body for science - I promise to put it to good use. Together, we're really gonna make a difference, you know?”
Terror flooded Cindy’s mind as the realisation hit her. She was no longer just a prisoner in the dungeon; now, she was a prisoner in her own body.
“It’ll just be you, me and the sound of me taking samples from you. It's just a shame you won’t be able to feel any of it.” The scientist cackled and disappeared briefly, before returning with a couple of hanging bags of fluid and the appropriate medical tubing. “But you are gonna get real familiar with the sounds of scalpels and flesh. So at least there's that.” She leaned in close to the crocodilian's head, her voice twisted with malice and spite. “You should have listened to them, Cindy. I'm coming for your friends next, and if they don't give me what I want, I'm going to break them too.”
Leech finished setting up the fluid bags and fed the needles into the poor girl's arm, before flicking the lights off, leaving Cindy a paralysed mess in the dark with nothing but her own thoughts and failures to keep her company.
“You should know, I would have handled her irrespective of your help -” Leech sighed as she turned back towards the main lab, slamming the door behind her and locking it shut. “- but your… loyalty has been noted, Venter.” A slight look of disgust crept over her face as she spoke to the wolf, but it quickly faded away. “I will see you are rewarded for it later. For now though, I have an invasion to organise.”
*
Diego, Trent, Geralt and Tivy made their way through the dungeon corridors, staying low and quiet, with Tivy in the lead and guiding them through room after room towards the armoury. Hurrying footsteps echoed behind them, intensifying to a low grumble as activity increased. A cloud of anxiety hung over the group, as though there were constantly seconds away from capture.
Diego remained at the back of the group, ready to break off and distract from the others in case they were found. Each barefooted step was taken delicately and deliberately, they swerved in and out of unoccupied side rooms and nimbly avoided discovery with remarkable guile. After about an hour, they’d somehow dodged numerous patrols and made it to the armoury. However, The armoury door was a heavy metal security bulkhead, securely bolted and locked to the wall with several different mechanisms. The team paused and took cover in a small room just opposite, which was full of random bits of industrial equipment.
“There's a bit of luck!” Trent happily whispered to the group. “Excellent job everyone! I think we can use these tools to slowly bust open those locks... Tivy, you take point and let us know if anyone is coming around the corners, Diego you stay on... erm... distraction duty and scouting? I'm sorry dude, I hate to think of you as bait...”
“Don't worry about me. You and Geralt get on those locks, me and Tivy will keep you safe.” Diego smiled back at him, putting a friendly hand on Trent’s shoulder. “It’s all coming together.”
They quickly looked through the discarded tools and grabbed some pieces that they could use, a couple of things they thought might work. They only needed to duck behind some shelving once, when a lone Node came running down the corridor.
Everyone took their positions. Tivy peered around one corner, Diego around the other and gave the thumbs up for Geralt and Trent to begin working on the locks. They filed at the metal and gently hammered at vulnerable parts of the door, but activity was building within the dungeon; squads of Nodes were charging back and forth with supplies, passing by the armoury again and again and causing the whole team to fall back and wait for the all clear.
Work was slow. Any time they seemed to be making some progress on the thick metal locks, someone would turn up and they'd all have to retreat into the opposite room, staying quiet and hidden. Progress was slow and agonising, there was a constant battle between trying to actually damage the door and not make too much noise. Before too long Geralt’s arms were starting to burn with the new strain on his muscles, and without warning, the blade in his hands suddenly broke mid-saw, and it clattered loudly against the stone flooring, bouncing twice before settling to a stop.
The group went silent and listened intently. Tivy gasped and signalled for the group to hide and they poured back into the dark supply room, waiting with baited breath as the sound of approaching footsteps thudded closer. The team all covered their mouths as the figure approached the door. It appeared to be a Node, standing at seven foot tall, dressed in a flat jacket of sorts and military pants with thick boots on. Her figure was pressing tightly against her clothes and she was armed too, with a rifle strapped to her back and an energy whip hanging off her hips.
She could immediately see that something was going on. Her eyes darted from the tool on the floor, to the door. She turned away from the group as she began to inspect the damage.
Tivy nervously fidgeted and felt for Trents hand, holding onto his fingers tightly. Nerves continued to build as the Node refused to move on... Trent grabbed Diego's arm and whispered as quietly as he could.
“C-Could you knock her out...? With your psyonics or something?” The fox asked desperately. “If she comes over here, it could all be over…”
“I can, but it'll be loud...” Diego whispered back, inching forward and preparing himself. This needed to be clean, or things would go south quickly. His body began to crackle with power and he held his palm out, preparing a strike, when suddenly the Node’s head snapped up; some had caught her attention. Diego paused.
The Node stared down the corridor, great concern sweeping over her face, followed by a look of shock. A tremendous smashing noise rippled through the dungeon, making the whole squad jump, and Geralt stumble.
The Node suddenly took off, sprinting and disappearing around a corner. Other footsteps followed behind her, heading away, and moments later, silence fell upon the group. It felt as if the entire wing of the dungeon was completely empty.
“What... the fuck was that?!” Geralt exclaimed, staggering to his feet and feeling across his chest, hands shaking.
“I don't know...” But there was no mistaking the terrible feeling crawling its way through Diego’s body. They needed to leave, now. “You know what they say about seizing the moment and all that shit?” He asked, flexing his neck and arms. “Well, I think I'm gonna seize ours. Stand back!”
*
“SEETH?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”
“YOU'RE GONNA STOP THIS SHIT, LEECH! ALL OF IT!”
Another enormous crash shuddered through the dungeon as Leech crashed through the wall and into her lab, masonry dust thrown into the air and buzzing around the room under the clinical white lights. Seeth stormed after her through the fresh hole in the wall, stepping over the smashed brickwork and ripped cables. A terrified Venter watched the two confront one other, cowering in the far corner.
“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND?!” Leech screamed, quickly looking around the lab to assess the damage done as she stood back up, blood dripping down the front of her leg from Seeth's assault.
“No! No I have not! I am done with all of this horrific shit, and so are you!” Seeth lowered her tone slightly, but stood defiant and firm.
“OR WHAT?!” Leech screamed again, absolutely livid; why was this happening, in her lab of all places?!
“Or, I'm going to end you. This can’t go on. It's not too late, we can pack all this up and actually try to make something of ourselves!” An audience of Nodes was building at the lab entrance, a mixture of terror and confusion across their faces.
“Oh wow. WOW. You finally decide to grow a spine now, huh?! I am NOT going to let you destroy all my work here just because you're a weak willed little sissy bitch, who's fallen for a fat butt lizard that makes your heart go all a-flutter! It's pathetic, Seeth, honestly!” Leech glared across the room at her friend, then continued her assessment of the lab.
“T-This isn't about him, it's about us! Do you seriously think this is the right way for anyone to live their lives?! How far do you think you'll get before you make an enemy too strong to stop?! You could be killed! And don’t you care at all about the people we trample on in the process?!”
“You can’t stop me, Seeth! Fuck this planet, and fuck you!” Leech gestured towards a Node who promptly marched out into the room, drawing her rifle at Seeth.
Oh no you don’t; this is between you, and me. Seeth narrowed her eyes and reached deep into the hierclasty, the hivemind which connected the Controllers to their horde, and before the Node could even blink, Seeth had taken control. The Node had become a passenger in her body; her eyes flickered and stared where Seeth wanted them to, her fingers relaxed around the rifle and it clattered to the floor. No, NO! The Node screamed, trapped within the confines of her own thoughts. We can’t disobey Leech!
Leech could feel Seeth’s intrusion into her loyal Node, and quickly made to override her puppeteering. As the two Controllers fought over her, the Node was left, standing in the middle of the room, shaking violently. The Node's body began to crumple, creak and crack under the competing forces in her mind, body, and soul. Barely a whimper escaped her mouth, and the lab echoed with the horrible wet noise of a body being ripped in two, as she fell apart into a splintery wet mess on the floor.
Their fight for control had lasted only mere moments.
“Oh shit... that was... kinda cool.” Leech remarked, curiosity replacing her anger for a moment as she admired the Node’s remains. However, that moment was all Seeth needed, and Leech was filled with an instant regret as Seeth suddenly surged across the room, smacking her right in the face, and sending her reeling backwards.
Before she could continue her assault, Plasia leapt out from another doorway and pounced onto Seeth's back, trying to restrain her arms behind her. Leech charged forward and slugged Seeth across the jaw as she was wrestling with Plasia, splattering purple saliva across the lab floor. Seeth launched herself backwards and slammed Plasia against a wall, loosening her grip and allowing Seeth to stand properly again. But Leech was already behind her, grabbing Seeth by the hips and lifting her up into the air. She fumbled with her grip, trying to get Seeth into a good position to slam her down.
“I don't want to do this to you Seeth... but I will! C4 perhaps, and-”
Leech’s words trailed off, she glanced up confused as she realised that Seeth was rising out of her grip. Through the glare of the lab’s white lights she saw Seeth hanging from the huge metal ceiling beams and lifting herself up, before delivering a strong kick to Leech's head and dropping back to the floor.
Leech stumbled to the ground, feeling her head for injuries and edging away, keeping some space between her and Seeth, but the frenzied sapphire Controller launched herself at Seeth again, tongue hanging loose from her toothy maw as she bared down on her.
But Seeth was ready.
Plasia came swinging towards her but Seeth nimbly dodged out the way and slammed three perfect, shuddering hits into Plasia's mid-section. Plasia had a moment to yelp and stumble, before Seeth followed up with a massive arcing kick that slammed into Plasia's face, sending her smashing through the same front wall she’d sent Leech through earlier.
Behind her, Leech had gotten back on her feet and grabbed a scalpel from a desk nearby.
“If we're really doing this, then lets fucking go.” The furious green alien hissed, eyes narrowing and staring straight at Seeth's throat.
*
It sounded like all hell was breaking loose in the dungeon, multiple shouts and screams reverbing down through the corridors and echoing all together, making it impossible to tell who or where the sounds were coming from. But now was the time to move, not to wonder.
Diego planted his feet firmly on the floor and roared into the air, a powerful aura blasted out of his core and his skin colour twisted into a deep red, as he grabbed the door handle, pulling firmly at the door with a ear-wrenching screech as the metal tore and ripped like fabric under his new strength.
The bolts ripped out the walls and he tore the entire door off, calmly placing it to the side and focusing in to relax himself. The aura faded and he returned to normal. He turned to face the squad, who were all staring at him, gobsmacked and a little windswept from the blast.
“C'mon guys, questions later, guns now!”
They quickly ran into the armoury and found it well stocked, with a variety of different guns, melee weapons and protective gear. Diego's sword and armour had been left scattered against the back wall, although his crotch plate and shoulder guard were now adorned with several neon-blue kiss marks.
The gang went about grabbing anything and everything that they could. Most of the armour was far too big for the Marks, especially little critter-sized Tivy, so instead they hastily grabbed some basic firearms and as much ammo as they could strap onto their naked bodies. As Diego bent down however, and started strapping his armour across his body, they couldn't help but stare at his unusual choice of ordnance. His shoulders visibly tensed and hardened, and a gentle sigh escaped his lips as his hand tugged at the first strap. The glossy red and silver plating had an almost harsh sheen to it, especially beneath the bright lighting in the room.
Although his armour was scattered with seemingly little abandon, that didn't seem to be a problem for the lizard. He handled each piece with a clear familiarity, and knew exactly how to lift the plates to begin strapping them to his body.
“It's a shame they didn’t leave your under-shirt here too.” Geralt said, as he struggled with the rifle in his hands. “I don't know if we've got time, but maybe we could nip into another one of these rooms, try and find your clothes.”
“Oh no, don't worry.” Diego replied, his gaze purposely fixed on his hands as he buckled up the next set of straps. “This is all I came here with.”
“Okay… So, where’s the underpadding?” Geralt asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced around the room.
“There isn’t any.” Diego’s response was followed by the sound of worn, cold leather being pulled across his scales.
“Wow! That’s gotta be so uncomfortable!” Tivy said loudly, her body buzzing in anticipation. She looked almost mesmerised by how the plate slid so expertly into place on his frame.
“It is...” Diego murmured with a serious, almost mourning look in his eyes. He rolled his shoulder, reconciling to the cold heavy kiss of plated steel against his skin. A moment later however, and that look in his eyes was gone, and he turned around to address his team. “Right! You guys go! I'll be right behind you!”
“Y-You sure you don’t want us to wait?!” Trent yelled, hovering at the door as he slung a shotgun over his shoulder.
“Yep! Just go! Head for the stairs!”
Trent nodded, and the team ran for the stairs, not wanting to hang around and see if Diego's forceful entry had attracted any attention. This was it, now or never, no second chances. Diego remained behind to slip on his armour, fingers nimbly buckling and unbuckling the clasps and sliding the plates smoothly over his chest. It would have only taken a couple of minutes for Diego to suit up, but right now, every second was precious.
Whatever was unfolding in the dungeon had attracted everyone's attention however, and the hallway was empty. There was no one between them and the dingy, cold concrete staircase that would lead them to freedom. Trent looked up the staircase and felt dread in the pit of his stomach. They'd need to pass by several occupied floors, and then it would be a mad dash up the final forty flights or so until they hit the top. Trent, Geralt and Tivy all began their ascent, barefoot on concrete as the madness of the dungeon continued to intensify behind them. Another near deafening screech rattled through the floor and echoed up the staircase.
Still in the armoury, Diego was just finishing up his plating when he heard the slow, stumbling, heavy, footsteps of someone approaching. He froze. Perhaps he didn't have as much time as he'd hoped.
