Threads of the Soul

Chapter 496 - 496: Lock-down

"Do we have any communication with the guard team? We don't know how long they've been surveiling us, but there is a high chance that they physically followed one of us to the Loch.If we can have the fish-men or one of their other land breathing units check the surrounding areas, we might find who it is that was spying on us. Since they've been discovered, the might try to force their way in instead of running, so just to be careful double the guard on the entrance."

Alfie barked orders with an air of natural authority that was far from the meek, timid young man that he used to be. He had grown in many ways thanks to his multiple brushes with death as well as his family and the responsibilities he had gained, both of which had been suddenly dumped on his lap.

Where previously there had been a skinny little nerd in glasses, there was now a confident, straight backed man filling out his clothes with muscles - and a slight bit of a dad bod gut. Although even when his eyes improved to the point of not needing them, he still wore his glasses.

Zero was trailing behind and didn't waste his breath complaining about authority or who was really in charge here. Not only did such posturing achieve nothing, the fact that some spy had been able to infiltrate his facility under his nose, meant that the failure was his burden to bear and his alone.

If part of that burden meant taking orders from someone decades his junior, then so be it.

However, Zero's bushy white eyebrows creased into a frown as he kept trying to get through to the fish-guards. With a communicator he had been given by Corvus, he tried multiple different people.

The one's that should be standing outside the gate, the one that had led him down into the Loch, even a stable boy that had been friendly with him one time and had slipped his details into the communicator with a entrepreneurial spirit that he found amusing.

Yet his calls were met with only silence. Not even Corvus himself was available for any communication. Unfortunately that was the limit of everyone that he knew. As miserable as that was for his social life, Zero focused only on the important part.

"Communication is unavailable. No one is responding. It's unclear if its interference or... if something else has happened. Corvus is even unavailable."

"Yeah... But I wouldn't put it past that idiot to be busy in his own little world and just not picking up. Give me that, I have someone we can try."

He quickly took the communicator from Zero, swiping through its options before dialling a number he had long since memorised, even if he didn't have a communicator of his own. Every second they had to wait, as the idle ringing played while it tried to get through, was agony. However unlike before, the picture on the communicator changed to display an annoyed, wooden face.

"Who is this and How did you get this- Oh, my Bumble Bee. What are you doing? This isn't the office communicator, is something wrong?"

Juniper's face appeared on the display, the annoyance quickly leaving her voice as she recognised who it was on the other side.

Normally Alfie would have blushed at the cutesy nickname being mentioned around others, but at the moment it couldn't pierce through his hardened expression as he spoke with urgency and a slight hint of panic.

The fact that his communication with her had gone through while others hadn't could only mean one thing.

"June, I need you to get in contact with Astra or Corvus immediately. The portal at the lake is under attack, I need you to get them to send reinforcements immediately. Do you understand me?"

"What? I uh... Yes, I understand."

An explosion tore through the facility, causing it to shudder as if it was in an earthquake. The blast wasn't big enough to reach where Alfie and Zero stood, but they could still feel its after effects.

Shouts and cries of panic escaped from the scientists and non-combatants, while the facilities guards not already on active duty quickly streamed out of their respective rooms and hurried to get geared up.

"That came from the portal!" Zero shouted, before launching himself down the corridor at impressive speeds for an old man, his supposedly withered body sprinting as if he was an Olympian in the prime of his life.

Alfie was about to move himself, but something drew his attention to the communicator in his hand. He could see the fear and confusion in Juniper's eyes as she stared at him, waiting for some kind of explanation or assurance.

Instead, a complicated smile graced his lips as he muttered softly,

"It might have been a strange beginning between us. But I hope you understand truly how much I love you, Petrichor."

Before she could respond, he cut off the communication and stuffed it into his pocket. A silver liquid spread over his body as he ran after Zero, quickly forming into a set of armour that looked like wood made of Iron as his strange smile was hidden behind the enclosed helmet.

***

"Sir... Don't we need that to get back?" Lightning Tiger asked nervously. He hated looking at the corpse of his friend being puppeteered by this... alien entity. But he kept his disgust to himself, because the being had made its disdain clear enough that the only reason he was not dead yet, was because it simply didn't feel like it at the moment and Lightning Tiger was not ready to give him a reason.

But he couldn't help but express his concern when this thing completely destroyed the portal they had just stepped through. A dozen Kelpies surrounded them, the guard that was stationed to protect the portal were either crushed or ensnared by their seaweed tendrils.

The thing didn't even need to lift a finger.

"My Liege, that is how you will address me boy." The thing replied with an irate tone, "I might serve another, but I am still a King and you will do well to remember it. Or has the name Neptune not reached this miserable little ball you call a planet yet?"

"Yes Si- Uh... Yes... My Liege, It has. We know your name well."

Neptune, the entity in control of his comrades body, nodded his head slightly.

"Good. But we will not need the portal to return. It is best to remove this side. I have memorised the code for my return. Now, do you know who has possession of the artifact? It is important that it is collected before it is tampered with."

"Ah yes... We believe an old man has possession of it, or can lead us to it. We are certain of it, considering his age and position. If anyone knows about it, it's him."

Neptune considered the words before tapping his Trident on the ground twice to alert the Kelpies.

"You heard the whelp. Capture the old man, alive, and bring him to me. As for anyone else... You can kill them for all I care."