Holding my arms out defensively as Seth took turns shrieking futilely at both Hydras, I made effort to avoid tripping as I slowly backed out of the nest alongside Lucy, trying to reach one of the smaller tunnels nearer the far wall of the cave. Sid and Randy each had their focus fully maintained on their respective wyrms, though it didn't seem to matter too much; they were herding us all into the same place to trap us after all. Just as the two of us reached the side of the room, the Hydras rancorous presences had succeeded in pushed the bodyguards towards the same tunnel, with Lucy and I backing up first followed closely by Sid and Randy in front of us. Hardly even daring to turn away from the creatures as they slammed heads to decide who'd get the honour of chasing us first, my hopes shattered as my heel suddenly found no support, and I shone my flashlight behind me to reveal the titanic crevasse that had replaced the floor of the tunnel, descending downwards into midnight nothingness.
"What do we do now?" Lucy asked in panic, pushing back at the pair closer to the cryptids as their own retreat threatened to knock both her and I into the void.
"Rope. I can figure out... something, but only if I have rope." I replied quickly, trying to figure out any way for us to make it across the gap safely. With a nod, Lucy reached into Randy's backpack and retrieved a coil, whilst the Hydras turned to biting in their feud to devour us. Grabbing one end, I held the other up for Seth to grab before I pointed firmly at the other side of the crevasse. Diligently, he flew across with the rope trailing into the dark beneath him, his golden eyes searching the stone walls for any secure attachment point. Settling on a firm stalagmite, he flew around it a couple of times with the rope held tightly, landing atop and screeching back at me as I gathered the coil around my free hand until the line was taut.
"Hold this." I instructed, passing the coil back to Sid and Randy, whose eyes were still focused on the Hydras. The greyer of the pair was undoubtedly looking far more ragged now than the other; we were running out of time. Taking the rope and leaning back with all my strength, I notioned for Lucy to begin crossing, to which she stared back at me, dubious.
"Are you absolutely sure this is safe?"
"No." I replied, sarcastic. "I wasn't planning on covering knot-tying with Seth until next week. Just go, please, now."
Using her rifle as a support, Lucy wrapped her body around the rope, inching forwards across it as the three of us held it tight. As she reached the other side and waved across, I turned back to the others, the choice being obvious.
"Randy, you're next. You think you can hold his weight, Sid?"
"I'd already spent years carrying Randy on missions before you showed up." came Sid's dry response. "We've got this."
Taking one final look back, Randy held himself close to the rope and began to cross as Lucy had. Whether it was the lack of him helping, or his extra weight compared to Lucy, my arms strained as I held him and my legs threatened to buckle several times. Meanwhile, behind us, the grey Hydra was in the process of being finally shoved weakly to the side, with Randy reaching the other side just as the stronger draconid filled the corridor's entrance menacingly.
"Go." Sid ordered, taking the rope fully as the Hydra grew nearer. "I can hold your weight, you can't hold mine."
"But-" I tried to argue, as Sid quickly silenced me.
"I'll swing. Now go!"
Pocketing my phone and taking the rope as the others had, I tried to pull myself across equally quickly. But my arms still ached from supporting Randy, and I found myself struggling to move myself. As the Hydra loomed over Sid, he looked over at me apologetically as he clenched the coils tightly.
"Brace yourself."
Before I could even respond, never mind react, Sid jumped from the side of the pit as I was sent hurtling towards the other side. All I could do was prepare for the impact.
My elbows were the first thing to slam against the unyielding rock, followed closely by my knees as I did all I could not to fall. But even as my joints felt as though they'd cracked, and I could feel that my skin had been scraped and broken, I somehow kept my grip on the rope. Looking back towards the Hydra, clearly furious to have lost its next meals, I felt a slight jolt as the rope as it began to be slowly hoisted up by the two that made it. As the Hydra's mouth frothed with acid, I could only pray that they'd pull just a little quicker. As the rope shifted below me from Sid heaving himself closer, two pairs of hands finally grabbed onto my shoulders and started lifting me onto more solid foundations, and I rolled onto the rock breathlessly as Sid was also helped up.
"Alright, Michael, time to move!" Lucy informed, dragging me up to my feet as the Hydra's maddened roars sent acid showering around the room. Not wanting to take any chances of being melted, I coiled up the rope quickly, took Seth back onto my arm and led the team further down the corridor, towards whatever horrors we'd face deeper in the caves. As we moved, I tried to think up any way that we'd be able to actually capture either of the pair, since nothing we had on us seemed like it would be able to do anything against even the acid coating the Hydra's slick scales. Finally, ahead of us the tunnel opened up a little, curving around into a larger chamber. Taking the lead, I turned the corner, and screamed.
My scream continued on for a few seconds as I fell back against the wall, staring up at the monumental, fourteen headed shadow looming over us. The colour of old pottery, it seemed to shift menacingly in the dim light. It was only when I realised that I was still alive that I finally figured out that this Hydra has been dead for a long time. The rest of the team gathered, armed and ready for combat, as I stood awkwardly in front of the skeletal remains. But as I did so, looking across the huge, weathered ribs of the creature that Seth seemed to be investigating, an idea began to form in my head.
"Hey team, listen up!" I shouted, the group gathering around me as I climbed onto one of the Hydra's legs, still holding sturdy even after death. "I think I've figured out a way to transport at least one of these things."
As I slapped one of the skeleton's ribs, expressions from the team ranged from dubiousness to uncertainty.
"We'd still need a plan for the other one, and we'd probably need someone to go back to the Lab with this one." I continued, my eyes focused on Randy who nodded in agreement. "But if this works, it should make our job a little easier."
"How are you suggesting we secure it so the Hydra doesn't just, you know, go out the other side?" Lucy asked, as I looked quickly across the skeleton for answers.
"We can secure any dangerous gaps with the rest of the skeleton." I replied, no longer wholly confident in my own plan. The necks, the tails, that sort of thing. I know it's not a perfect plan... there's still risk of it firing acid at us from in there. But it's the best I can think of right now."
As more doubts began to cross my mind, Sid approached one of the necks and pulled at it; cream-coloured dust flaking from the bone as it moved with his hand.
"I can work with this. Hand me the rope."
Tossing the coil at his shoulder, I dismounted the remains and approached the entrance to the cavern, turning back to the rest of the group as Seth perched on my shoulder
"How long do you need?"
"I'd say give us ten minutes, minimum." Sid answered, more confident than I was. "We'll have your cage ready."
"Perfect." I replied. And then, leaving them behind, I delved back into the cave in search of one of the Hydras.
Traversing through dark passages in search of either of the terrors, my mind instinctively traveled as I walked back to the other encounters with dragons that I'd had. The Knucker was pretty bad, but the Wyvern was downright horrific. And even in comparison to them, the Leviathan was truly monstrous. Even so, it was far from the worst part of being at the Gallows; though my opinion on that matter may have shifted if I'd had to combat it directly instead of letting their forces deal with it. I was then snapped from my thoughts pretty quickly by Seth's talons digging into my shoulder, his shining eyes focused on the dark ahead as I illuminated a thick grey hide, riddled with fang marks. As soon as I recognised what I was seeing, I turned and ran back the way I came as the ground sizzled behind me. Darting around as many turns as I could without getting lost, as Seth did all he could to distract the Hydra further without getting injured, my heart soared upon seeing the glint of light in the distance from the cage's worksite. Shouting out a warning, I continued to run as fast as I was able, the Hydra barrelling closely behind me as I finally burst into the chamber and into the cage. Tunnel-visioned, the grey Hydra continued its pursuit, raising up to crush me as I dived to the side, between the ribs, and the rest of the team roped the entrance shut.
"It's almost definitely going to figure that rope out soon, so we need to move." Sid ordered, shielding himself with his pack as the Hydra flailed and slammed, sending acid flying around the cave. Bile flicked from the thrashing of its tail, scorching my arm slightly as I gritted my teeth in pain. As it charged up another viscous shot at one of us from one of several snapping mouths, Lucy was the one to leap into action and throw part of the crumbled cave wall inside, which seemed to stop the attack in its track.
"Keep hitting it!" Lucy ordered, grabbing more of the stone and throwing it towards the Hydra. I wasn't expecting it to do much through the creature's thick hide, but to my surprise not only did it seem like it was stopping the acid upon shattering on the scales, but the powdered stone was sticking like a slurry to them. Following her lead, I stabbed at the walls with my rifle, denting and scuffing the barrel but chipping off enough of the rock for me to throw it at the creature's back, creating another safe patch of silvery muck that refused to sizzle away. Randy quickly joined in, shortly followed by Sid, as we doused the creature in the grey until it tired, borderline harmless as it hissed in the cage.
"What even was that, Lucy?" I asked in disbelief, as Sid hurled another chunk of rock into the closest mouth of the Hydra as if tried to charge up another spitball.
"Something I noticed when the Hydras when they were attacking us was how the stone reacted to the acid." Lucy replied, composed as she spoke. "It melted away very quickly, leaving behind this gunk that stopped fizzing. And that's when I realised what it was, that this whole cave, it's all limestone."
"Which you used to neutralise the acid, right?" I asked, figuring out her intentions in real time as I rubbed my arm, wincing until Seth pressed his body against the wound and the pain dulled just slightly.
"Exactly!" Lucy replied with a smile. "See, even beneath that new clueless cryptozoologist facade, you're still mister top-of-the-class after all!"
As I tried to stop myself from going red, a deliberate cough sounded from beside the cage.
"Not to spoil this moment or anything," Randy began, casually swinging on the ribs outside of the Hydra's reach, "but I think I should probably get going, before this thing starts becoming melty again."
"Good call." I replied, turning back to the Hydra with focus. "You head back, make sure the containment's sorted, tell Eva there's another one on the way."
With a mock salute, Randy was engulfed in the return circuit's flash as both he and the impromptu cage disappeared. Even though we had a way to stop the other Hydra's most dangerous ways to kill us, we had far less recourse against the fangs, claws, and general turgid weight of the creature. But that was a problem to solve later. For now, it was time for us to prepare the cave for the other Hydra, and then finally put this mission to the end.
The plan, in essence was relatively simple. We'd begin by using our rifles to stab at the walls and cave ceiling to try and destabilise the stone. Then, when I hopefully returned safely to the room with the Hydra chasing viciously behind, the others would knock at the sides and dump a metric ton of moss, limestone and dust on top of both me and it. Then, Sid would jump in with the rope to tie it down, before Seth, Lucy and I would join in and help to wear it down and exhaust it, before heading back to the Lab successfully, where Randy and Eva could help us move it further. All in all I could only see about eleven ways in which this could go disastrously wrong- which for one of our plans was pretty good. As I finished stabbing at the silvery walls, concerned that the whole cave could collapse on us all at any moment, I stopped and wiped my brow. It had been considerably more exhausting than I had expected it to be, and I'd still got to run away from the Hydra after this. But I didn't have any time to wait around and rest; our work on the walls was already causing cracks and collapses at every movement. I needed to get the Hydra into this chamber now. So, with a flare in hand for emergencies and guided by Seth, I pressed on into the tunnels for the final time. I trusted that he knew where he was going, and that all I had to do was chase his erratic flight through the identical stone corridors. The distant sounds of draconic choking seemed to confirm my suspicions, as my feet began to move faster and faster. And then, all of a sudden, there was nothing beneath my feet. And I began to fall.
The impact against the ground came quicker than I expected, and it hit hard. Apparently, in my haste to follow my Phoenix companion, I hadn't realised that I'd circled back around to the pit, and this time I hadn't spotted it in time. Adjusting to the darkness, I rose to my feet, clutching my ribs as they stabbed with pain, and checked my phone for any new damage. Nothing catastrophic it would seem, to either me or the phone. Illuminating my surroundings, there didn't seem to be any clear way out, and it was far too high to climb. But what my phone caught seemed a far more chilling sight. Half-buried in dust and clearly acid-eaten, the resting bones of soldiers centuries old lay broken in their armour. Reaching down and lifting one of the chain shirts, covered in the undisturbed dust of a thousand years, I began to realise exactly what I had here. Maybe, the solution to my biggest problem. As I donned the mail and a helmet in similar condition, Seth's cry sounded from the head of the pit, clearly having finally realised that I was no longer following.
"Rope, please!" I shouted up, as Seth flew back the way we'd come with urgency. Meanwhile, I scoured the ground, finding a set of gauntlets to add to my arsenal, and a dagger that seemed in decent enough condition. It was the tumbling of rocks from above that signalled to me that I was no longer alone, and turning up towards the familiar snarling heads, I was pretty certain that it wasn't Sid up there. Already drooling vile saliva into the pit, it let out a choral roar, sending spittle flying that sizzled on the dusty helmet before growing still. Stabbing the dagger into the side of the pit, I tossed the resulting stones up at the Hydra's heads, which seemed to do little except anger it. Finally, Seth returned with rope in tow, tossing one end over the edge as I stabbed the dagger once again for a foothold. The Hydra withdrew as I climbed, but by the time I got to the top and dashed to the end of the passage it had reached my side, ready to cut me off. Hardly even thinking, I tossed the flare its way and threw myself between its viridescent necks, sliding over the back as the front of my chain shirt dissolved away. It turning and the flare gave me enough time to take the lead, and from the shaking, I didn't even have to turn back to know that it too was now charging. There was a Pad already set down on the ground as I dived back into the room, scrambling back as the Hydra entered, the ceiling was collapsed, and as I lay there choking from the debris, the last battle began.
The Hydra was stunned by the initial blow, though to be fair, so were the rest of us. Sid was the first to recover, though, and with a leap he managed to get all six of the necks tied together as the Hydra fought back. Full of rage, it reached down to snap at him as I finally recovered, throwing my gauntlet-shielded arm into its mouth as Sid yanked it to the side, pulling it closer to the Pad. It chewed down, seemingly unfamiliar with the concept of armour, as I did what I could to pull it towards the Pad too. Another yank from Sid brought it to within inches from the Pad, as Seth drew its attention and Lucy pushed with all her force against its side. Clenching my free hand, I delivered a solid punch to the side of its head, finally pushing it onto the Pad as light engulfed us and we appeared in the clean corridors of the Lab. Momentarily blinded, my heart sank as I found myself thrown to the side as the Hydra began to charge once more. I tried to stand and chase, but Sid held his arm out to stop me, and from around the corner came the sound of a sharp snap. By the time I'd reached the Hydra, hanging by one leg from the ceiling, Eva and Randy were already there.
"Good work, everybody!" Eva congratulated, looking up at the trapped beast. "I'll take this specimen to where we're keeping its sister, and get it reacquainted. Sid, would you mind helping me?"
"Well, if I'm not needed, I'll be off to the bathroom." Randy commented, casually. "Want to come, Exo?"
"I- huh?" I replied, not exactly sure if I'd heard him right.
"I said, I'm going to the bathroom." Randy repeated, staring me dead in the eyes. "Would you like to come?"
Uncertainly, I followed Randy out of the room, past the bathroom and towards a door that I'd never been through before. Crossing to the other side and closing it gently, Randy gave a deep sigh.
"I think they bought it."
"What is this place?" I asked, looking across the simulated field of red targets, cannons and a faux forest scene. "Is this... a shooting range?"
"Yep. Hardly used since we realised that our small, metal darts don't really do much to the targets. We won't be interrupted here."
"Randy, why are we here?" I asked, lowering my voice almost by instinct. Looking down at his feet to compose himself, Randy finally responded.
"It's Eva. I needed to tell someone and... well, Lucy's new, and I'm sure she's still not really over the whole 'kidnapping' thing. And Sid's, you know, Sid. You're the only one I can talk to about this, Exo."
Nodding, I drew closer, Randy's voice almost a whisper now.
"All day she's been carrying around this... card with her. I think it's a picture, you know, a polaroid or something. I've tried to see what it is but she hid it whenever she saw me. I don't know if you'd have better luck or anything, but-"
"I'll let you know." I reassured, resting a hand on his shoulder. "If I find anything out, you'll be first to know."
Nodding, we both left the room and wordlessly headed towards the elevator, each understanding what we had to do. As I stepped out into the pale moonlight, the feeling that something was amiss didn't leave my mind. Shaking my head, however, I turned for one last look towards the Lab, before I began the walk home.