Meanwhile, at the exact same moment, in the highly advanced and dome-protected floating city of New Leviathan, located in the middle of the ocean, inside the G.D.A. headquarters, "BLAK," a man dressed like a doctor burst into a room. He rushed in, face pale, clutching a tablet. He walked straight to a desk where a middle-aged man was seated, writing.
"Commander Heindrich, I have something to report, it's urgent," the man said, slamming his hand onto the desk.
Heindrich raised his head. He saw the panic and fear in the man's expression and glanced at the tablet in his hand.
"What is it, Doctor Michael?" Heindrich asked.
"Look at this, Commander, someone has infiltrated our old facility," Michael said, handing the tablet to him.
Heindrich snatched the device and stared at the footage captured by satellite imagery. The video showed Cole and Celes walking into the building, holding hands. Heindrich's face instantly went white. He glared at Michael.
"They're Draugr? How the hell is that possible? We set traps there; no Draugr could penetrate that facility," Heindrich barked, standing up.
"They're not Draugr, Commander... they look like something else... zoom in," Michael urged.
Heindrich paused the video and zoomed in. He saw Cole and Celes briefly stumble before Cole brought Celes inside.
"Hmm? No mistake about it," Heindrich muttered.
"Do you know who they are, Commander?" Michael asked.
Without answering Michael's question, Heindrich immediately picked up the phone on his desk, his eyes darting to the tablet beside him.
"Bradley, send a unit immediately to our research center in Sector 9A. Apprehend the two individuals inside, now, and move quickly. Don't delay," Heindrich snapped.
"Understood, Commander," Bradley replied from the other end of the line.
Heindrich hung up. He then sat back down, resting his elbows on the desk to support his chin, his face tense. Michael, observing him, immediately pressed for an answer.
"Do you know who they are?" Michael asked.
"Yes, but I hope my gut is wrong. I hope it's not them. Because if it is them, especially if that robot is there, it's going to be a catastrophe. We need to convince them to side with humanity in the war against the Draugr," Heindrich answered, his voice strained.
"Huh... so you mean, Commander... they're Chimaera? Our failed project from seventy years ago?" Michael asked.
"While it's not certain, the probability is high. No Draugr can enter that facility because we installed a frequency-wave weapon that scrambles their brains and knocks them out, and no ordinary human could ever find our facility, unless they knew exactly what happened there seventy years ago," Heindrich replied, his jaw tight.
"But isn't one of them here?" Michael asked.
"Yes, that's why we need to bring them here... do you understand what I mean?" Heindrich asked.
"Oh... I see. All right, I understand," Michael replied, smiling.
****
Meanwhile, after exiting the robot and passing back through the room full of tubes, the three returned to the lobby and took the adjacent corridor toward the operations room. There, they found an operating room, a briefing room, a room filled with ancient computer equipment, the commander's office, and an archive room next to the commander's office. They went inside and looked through the remaining files that had been simply left behind.
Cole, reading a research file on the Chimaera project, discovered information about himself: he had the DNA of a Frost Giant, and Celes had the DNA of a Salamander. He flipped the file over, seeing that Cyrus had the DNA of a Swamp Dryad, Calista had the DNA of a Thunderbird, Calvin had the DNA of a Kraken, and Charlotte had the DNA of a Gorgon. He also read that the tubes in the previous room were used to create super soldiers using the DNA of the six of them.
After finishing the read, Cole immediately transformed, lifting his yeti-like arms to examine them.
"So these are Frost Giant arms, huh... not a yeti," Cole mumbled to himself, studying his hands.
"Um... Cole, what are you doing?" Celes asked, seeing Cole transform.
"Oh... sorry, I was just curious. Here, wanna read?" Cole asked, transforming back into a human and handing his notes to Celes.
"Okay, pass it over, I'll read it," Celes said.
"Have you figured out where our meeting place is yet?" Cole asked.
"Not a chance, big brother," Cyrus replied, still reading something.
"Where could it be... we shouldn't have been able to forget it, right?" Celes countered.
"Exactly. That spot must have been interesting enough to all of us to make it our promised place to meet again," Cyrus said.
"So... where are Calvin and Charlotte? Are they already with Calista at the meeting place?" Celes asked.
"I don't know... we have to find them... let's hope Calvin and Charlotte are still alive," Cole replied.
"How about we head up? Let's look for clues in our old orphanage above. Besides, I haven't breathed the air up top in ages," Cyrus suggested.
"Alright, let's go," Cole invited.
"Okay," Celes agreed, putting down the file.
But as the three started to leave, their heads suddenly began to ache and spin. "gubrak," they stumbled, grabbing onto whatever was nearby. After that, all three fell to the floor and passed out cold.
****
"Bzzzzzzzzz," "kresssssssk,"
Six small children were inside the cockpit of the giant robot, which appeared to be walking across a military base currently under attack by invading Draugr. "Buaaak," the robot's left hand was seen clutching a thrashing, undead Tyrannosaurus that looked smaller than the robot itself. Then, "pyasss," the robot's grip snapped the dinosaur's neck.
"Damn, we can't run now. The Draugr are attacking the base," Cole said.
"Bad timing... what do we do? But if we don't run, big sister Calista will be taken away... I won't let that happen," Calvin panicked.
"We bust through. Humans and Draugr are all the same to me," Calista replied.
"Okay, let's go, everybody, move out!" Cole yelled.
"Yesss... I wanna get out of here... together! I don't want to be turned into a weapon for war and research!" Cyrus shrieked.
"Agreed. Once we're out, we'll be safe," Charlotte added.
"Come on, come on, move!" Celes yelled.
"Blam," the giant robot took a step, crushing the base and destroying everything, including the soldiers and Draugr who were attacking. "Psiuuu," "blaaar," missiles and rockets began firing at the giant robot as it kept moving toward the mountains. Suddenly, a tune could be heard, playing over speakers.
"La... la... la,"
"Ugh," Cole, Celes, Calista, Cyrus, Calvin, and Charlotte started swaying and staggering, but they didn't give up and pass out. "Buaaaak," Cole violently smashed his head against the flesh wrapping his arm.
"Come on, don't give up! We can escape! Don't let that lullaby beat us!" Cole shouted.
"Buaaaak," Calista, at the very back, copied Cole, smashing her head against the flesh wrapped around her arm.
"Co... Cole is right... we can't give up," Calista said.
But the lullaby's influence surged, attacking Cole and Calista again. "Aaaaaaaaaah," both screamed loudly. Hearing their screams, Celes, Calvin, Charlotte, and Cyrus also screamed loudly, and unknowingly, they channeled their power to fight the song's influence. Cole's body emitted a white aura, Celes a red aura, Calvin a dark blue aura, Cyrus a green aura, Charlotte a yellow aura, and Calista a deep purple aura.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaah," they all screamed together.
The robot stretched out its arms, and its body transformed into a blinding light. Then, "bwuuung," "blaaaar," the robot unleashed a powerful energy wave, like a gigantic, colorful white dome, which exploded, utterly devastating the surrounding area. All the soldiers, the attacking Draugr, the military base, and half of their orphanage building were completely annihilated, leaving behind a massive crater. After everything was demolished, "blung," the robot fell to one knee, drained of power. "psiiiuuu," the cockpit opened.
All six leaped out and gathered. They saw the remaining soldiers advancing toward them in the middle of the crater. Immediately, they all embraced one another and crouched down, forming a circle.
"Now we split up. After this, we'll meet at our guardian mama's secret villa, the one north of this mountain. Let's go," Cole commanded.
"Understood," Celes, Calista, Cyrus, Calvin, and Charlotte replied.
They immediately ran, splitting into pairs to escape from the remaining soldiers. "Bzzzzzzzz," "kressssssssk" suddenly everything went blurry and instantly turned dark in silence.
****
"Whuaaah,"
Cole, Celes, and Cyrus woke up simultaneously, sweating profusely, their hearts pounding. But before they could react, "ckrek," Cole, Celes, and Cyrus saw the muzzles of rifles pointed directly at their faces. They were surrounded by fully armed soldiers in black tactical gear, lined up inside the lobby.
One soldier stepped forward, took off his black mask, and pointed his rifle to the side. He then crouched down in front of the three of them.
"Sleep well? How about the three of you come with us now? Oh, my name is Lieutenant Bradley. Pleasure to meet you," Bradley said.
"Huh," Cole, Celes, and Cyrus said in unison, slowly raising their hands.
But then the bodies of all three immediately shifted into their combat forms and "bzzzzzzt," they were instantly hit by a strong electric shock and passed out again. Bradley stood up, then turned to the other soldiers.
"Take 'em away," he ordered.
"Yes, sir," the other soldiers replied.
Bradley turned and picked up his smartphone, then called someone. "They've been secured. Three total. We're heading back immediately," Bradley said.
"Good work," Heindrich replied.