In the deceiving lull that followed, humans took to rest with hearts a little lighter, a little more hopeful.
But by the sea, unbeknownst to humans watching for signs of movent from that towering beast, beings that had outgrown their unfortunate host, were starting to stir.
Plop!
Splshh!
Pluk.
One after the other, detaching from the flesh of a proud bloom, they slipped into the water. So sank, others floated briefly before vanishing into the black depths.
Farther down the coast, a scavenger beast was on the prowl toward the shore. It had taken ti for the surviving creatures to return after the water surged, but the remnants by the shores would most definitely satiate their hunger.
It could sll the scent of flesh, but when it arrived, only scattered debris was found.
But undeterred by its missing prey, it slunk through the shallow waters only to stop as it detected sothing.
Plop!
Sothing had moved.
Ears twitching, nostrils flaring, the creature’s head whipped toward the dark expanse of the water. For a long, tense mont, it stood completely still, eyes wide and alert.
Only the sound of the waves answered.
Or so it thought, because suddenly a small shape surfaced. It was no longer than a human arm that wriggled weakly, just the perfect al for a starving beast.
The beast observed only for a second longer until it pounced on what could only be food, eventually sealing its fate.
And maybe if the humans had seen it—and several other instances that followed—they would’ve understood why the second siren eventually sounded so hours later.
WEEEOOO! WEEEOOO! WEEEOOO!
The sounds blared through Zone Four, and from then on, the accounts of the regular soldiers would take a colorful and chaotic dive into madness.
Because really—how else could they describe everything that happened next?
__
anwhile, just as the crisis before them presented itself, one adjutant had very different thoughts.
Not that it was new, but at tis like this, he was more adamant about thinking of ways to properly fasten that contented little mop still curled up on his chest.
The alarms that could’ve woken up the dead didn’t even make his eyelashes twitch.
He didn’t even flinch.
It wasn’t like Kyle had issues with this; he was just concerned. If the sleepyhead had to sleep elsewhere and an ergency happened, how would he fare?
Kyle didn’t really want to know because it sounded like a whole lot of luck and prayers. So he figured maybe he would just have to stay with him like that all the ti.
Because see, even as he ran out to et up with his comrades, the little mop was still able to slumber in peace.
Then again, when he looked outside, Kyle, who muttered a curse under his breath, could only be slightly thankful. Because he figured Ollie didn’t need to add a new nightmare to his ever-growing list.
Just what was happening?
__
Down by the shore, soldiers were already scrambling into position.
The mutated beasts had returned—but this ti, sothing felt unusually wrong.
Instead of tearing at each other like they usually would, they were just crawling from the water in a manner that looked too organized for beasts that should’ve been going at each other’s throats.
One of the soldiers let out a shaky curse. "Ah, is it another tsunami?"
"Shit, don’t you say it! Your mouth is poisonous!" another shouted, checking his sensors. "In fact, don’t even dare think about it!"
And yet even as the soldiers with poisonous minds and apparently poisonous brains tried to stop thinking about it, the monsters still continued to advance like an inevitable tide.
For one heartbeat, everyone stood still as they watched the chas make contact.
Then, as the first squad of House Kyros chas landed on the ground, the monsters suddenly erupted into motion.
RRRRAAAHHHH!
They were suddenly charging in droves.
"!!!"
Duchess Alia made the first cut, just as her voice thundered through the comms, "First batch to shore. Guards, protect the temporary shelter."
Her orders left no room for hesitation.
All around the shelter, chas were powering up, thrusters igniting in unison.
On one of them was Sergeant Nia, whose voice ca through the shared private comms as she cursed all the monsters by the shore.
"Oh, for Solaris’s sake, if I die single, I’m haunting every one of you!"
"Focus, Sergeant," Captain Nico cut in dryly, rolling his eyes even though no one could see him. Then he switched frequencies and reported briskly, "Marshal, this is Captain Nico Kane. Zone Four’s periter is under attack once again. Duchess Alia has assud command."
But even Nico knew that all they could do was hold on until more reinforcents arrived.
It shouldn’t be long now, right?
Well, hopefully, because the soldiers down at the beach thought they needed the backup now.
"Again? Seriously?!" Sam yelled as he shot at another incoming beast.
It was no wonder soldiers developed PTSD when, just a nap before, they’d almost died from the claws and maws of the sa beasts, only to fight them again later.
Thankfully, they were better rested now, and when he thought about the ergency kit just beside him, he felt a strange flicker of reassurance.
At least this ti, he probably wouldn’t die dehydrated.
Then ca the shout that ruined whatever morale he had left.
"The beasts! They have tentacles!"
"What?!" Sam’s voice cracked so hard it nearly fried the comms.
He whipped to the side just in ti to see a nearby squad scrambling backward, as one sudden tentacle that looked like it ca out of nowhere was sticking to the tal shield.
They likely didn’t notice because it was much smaller than the tentacle of the giant that sprang up from the water.
"Marco! Back up! I’m serious—if you get hit, you’ll seize up faster than my old drill!" Sam scread. While the shield could probably block a tentacle or two, it couldn’t block all the rest that would likely co with it.
Marco didn’t even argue. He stomped his cha into reverse as gunfire rained from every direction.
All over the shore, communications about this could be heard, and one Luca Kyros was starting to wonder if he’d made a mistake in judging the enemy.
Did I miss sothing important? he thought to himself, as more and more people were pointing out the sa thing.
But just as he froze to think about it, a composed voice took over the comms, "Luca, would you mind checking this? I think I found sothing."
"Huh? But I think it’d be problematic if I make assumptions again. Like now—if I hadn’t—"
"If you hadn’t made assumptions," Xavier interrupted gently, "then I wouldn’t have noticed sothing odd about this."
Luca blinked. "Huh?"
But before he could even look into what Xavier and Sid had discovered, a scream tore through the channel.
It was Ollie, the savior, who finally woke up.
"Oh god! That tentacle just defeated my tentacle! How dare it?!"
"Your what?!" yelled Kyle.
"My tentacle! Look! My tentacle just exploded!"
The battlefield shook with the sound of explosions, gunfire, and now, collective confusion.
Well, save for one money-grubber whose heart was suddenly beating faster.
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