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Chapter Text

Impossible Creatures: Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Impossible Creatures, Rex Chance or any of its characters.

Summary: A strange dream unsettles the man known as Rex Chance, newly arrived in a place that no longer feels like home.

Animal voices echoed in the still air around him. At first he thought none of them were close, but a deep sixth sense warned him such a conclusion was incorrect.

He stiffened with fear as the creature appeared, moving towards him gracefully, fearlessly. He knew at once he was dreaming. The intelligent face of a wolf and the rangy body were instantly recognizable as canine, but the springy athletic legs, they were feline. They were covered in thick tawny fur, while the torso and head bore mottled-grey wolf fur.

This was certainly a strange dream.

The strange hybrid moved closer still and two more things become apparent. The first was the size. It stood as tall as a horse at the shoulder, powerful muscles rippling majestically under its fur. The wolf head was about the size of a tiger's and the jaws looked capable of crushing bone. The second thing was the eyes. Their were no pupils, and they glowed an eerie whitish-blue colour.

Closer and closer it prowled on silent feline feet, until it was inches away, terrifyingly real. The hairs along the neck bristled, the sound of it exhaling, the twitch of the whiskers. This was getting far too strange.

Wake up, Rex! Wake up!

Rex Chance sat bolt upright in bed, a sheen of sweat bathing him in a soft glow from the weak light cast by a stubby candle beside the bed. Outside the sky was still dark. It took him a second to get his bearings before he pushed aside the covers and headed for the bathroom, leaning heavily against the porcelain basin. That had been a vivid dream.

Rex was a tall man, all sinew and muscle, and it was quite obvious at a single glance at his tanned skin and calloused hands that he was used to a life outdoors. His hair was thick, medium brown, and had a slight wave. Long brows accented wide-set dark brown eyes, eyes that shone with a hint of compassion under the steely outer barrier. He had strong features, well-defined cheekbones, and a small cleft in his stubble-dusted chin. At the moment he look tense and frazzled, anxiously running a hand through his thick hair. He couldn't recall having a dream like this since he was a very young child.

Far too restless and keyed-up now to go back to bed, Rex instead went downstairs. He had returned home late the previous evening and stumbled straight to bed without even checking over his apartment. Being fired had proved oddly exhausting. Or perhaps it had been the visit to the local pub afterwards that had tired him out?

There was a layer of dust over everything, but otherwise it was the same old cramped apartment. The pot-plant his ex-girlfriend had given him the previous year was dead. This was unsurprising, since Rex had left on his latest - and last, it turned out - assignment the day after she'd given it to him. He didn't think he'd even watered it, and he felt a momentary touch of guilt looking at the withered skeleton of the plant that was all that remained in the dusty pot of earth and another failed relationship. This was the first night he'd spent in his apartment in five months. Sighing, his eye fell upon the stack of letters he must have stepped right over upon entering last night. He stooped to pick them up and thought about sitting down to sort through them. He'd been away for Christmas - perhaps there was a card or two among the various bills, photography magazines, and free samples.

A sudden bout of loneliness struck him as he stood in his hallway, which now seemed less familiar to him than the cabin he'd spent the previous four weeks in during the trip home. He bowed his head and dropped the pile of of mail on the table as he headed back to his room. Pushing the door closed against the sight of the empty, dusty, barren apartment that looked as if it had been abandoned by its owner, he heaved a sigh and lay back down on the bed.

The mail could wait until morning.

Chapter Text

From the diary of Rex Chance, dated June 8th, 1937

For years, I thought my father was dead. The infamous Erik Chanikov, who disappeared over thirty years ago after he was exiled from the scientific community. All I knew of him was what a handful of old newspaper clippings told me - and that's never been enough. Until today, when I received a letter that turned my world upside down.

My dear son,

At last I have found you. I have been hiding on these islands, working in exile - to protect both myself, and you, for many years. But I am growing old, and while I am sure I have many years left, I would like to look upon the face of my son... before it is too late. Upton Julius, the man who saved my life, found you at my request.

I want you to know the truth.

Your father,

Dr Erik Chanikov.

I traveled from New York to the coordinates in the letter, to a remote and frigid little rock in the Isla Variatas, a virtually unknown chain of islands over a thousand miles long, and owned by the wealthy industrialist, Upton Julius. My plane is about to land - and I find myself completely unsure of what I am supposed to be feeling.

In Rex's eyes the most logical place to start looking was the large metal lab framed by a small hill to one side, perched on a small area of snowy but flat land that then sloped down a steep rocky shore to the ocean.

Rex pushed the metal door hesitantly and was surprised when it yielded under his hand. Was his father so secure on these islands he never locked his doors?

"Hello? Father?"

His voice echoed down the corridor and repeated hollowly in his ears. With every step he took his tension expanded until he felt it raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

The lab was deserted. On some instinctive level Rex knew that his father was not here... but perhaps there was some clue as to where he had gone.

He pressed on, his boots making a hollow clunking sound as he made his way through the metal-floored rooms.

His anxiety only grew as he entered a large chamber. The windows were sparce and set above his head, and looked as if they hadn't been cleaned in years. The dim light they cast from the winter world outside filtered down onto empty, rounded tanks, stained with watermarks down the sides. Each tank had a bulky control console sitting beside it, the light bulbs and switches upon them dusty. Rex spied a pair of metal doors covering something up at the far end of the room, beside a set of stairs. Half-way there, he turned and glanced uneasily over his shoulder. He had the strongest feeling of being watched. Turning around, he eyed the chamber behind him wearily and backed up. He stopped when he bumped into the doors, and they shifted under his weight. Turning slowly, still cautious, Rex grasped the doors and pried them apart to see what was behind them.

The tank behind them was even larger and filled with a glowing blue fluid that cast a greenish light onto Rex's face. But that wasn't the only thing in it. Suspended, motionless, was a monstrous beast, a completely impossible creature. Rex knew a lot about the world of nature and immediately recognized the elongated body and legs of a praying mantis. As if it wasn't bad enough that long grass-green body wasn't easily half as tall again as he was, but the head attached to it was the unmistakable striped head of a tiger. A head with a gaping jaw that could have seized a man around the middle and cut him in half effortlessly. A similarly banded tail floated behind the monster.

Rex had never seen anything quite so unbelievable in his entire life.

Could be worse, He thought to himself, trying to get a grip on his amazement. You could have met it down a dark alley at night. At least the creature was safely imprisoned in this tank.

There was a clicking sound behind him, followed by a menacing growl. Rex had been so thunderstruck by the tiger-mantis that he'd completely forgotten to look out behind him. He spun around, cursing himself for letting his guard down.

A second monster stood barely a stone's throw away. Stood was perhaps an incorrect term for the snarling wolf's head that was perched incredibly on the six legs of a scorpion. Just as bad, the instantly recognizable stinging tail arched up over the monster's back. It resembled the tail of a normal scorpion in every way but one: it was easily the length of a small car. Rex couldn't take his eyes away from those that shone form the head of the wolf. Those eyes were an eerie, glowing white. With no pupils or irises.

The wolf snarled again and its ears laid back against the back of its head. Rex instantly knew it was going to attack him. He snatched a curved pipe off a partially-collapsed work bench beside him and threw it with all his strength. The pipe bounded off the armored scorpion hide as if it were no more threatening than a marshmallow, but it angered the beast, which reared up onto its back legs and waved its front legs threateningly. Rex didn't waste a second longer. He ran at the workbench, which was lower at one end where a rusted support had given way, raced up it like a ramp, and hurtled himself through at window above him. It was an amazing jump but Rex had little alternative with a monster like that blocking the way he'd come in. Shards of glass shattered around him as he burst through the window, landing heavily on his back. Wincing, he braced his palms against the snow to push himself back up.

And stared right into the white-eyed wolf face of yet another creature.

Sitting up slowly, Rex saw there were further two scorpion-bodied wolves at either flank. They had him surrounded. Stepping up beside the first monster came a man, quite unafraid of the growling animals. He had a bulky figure and was dressed in a crisp military uniform. His skin was pale, with thinning dark hair, cold, unforgiving eyes and an unnatural smile that was far too wide for his face. "Rather beautiful, aren't they?" He asked Rex, as if inquiring about the weather. He seemed to be waiting for a response. Wondering if he was trapped in some sort of bad dream, Rex climbed very slowly to his feet. "Unusual, ah... pets." He replied at length.

"They are products of the Sigma technology, the perfect blending of two separate creatures. Much superior to anything you'd find in nature." The man continued smoothly. There was the same coldness in his voice as their was in his gaze. Rex decided he'd never met a more unsavoury individual. "Look, obviously I'm in the wrong place," He said, trying to sound friendly. "I'm looking for a man."

"Yes." Agreed the stranger, as if he knew this already. "You're looking for your long-lost father, Dr Chanikov."

Rex was getting more uneasy about this situation by the second. "What's going on here? Who are you?" He demanded, dropping all pretenses.

The man preformed a short bow that was somehow mocking. "Upton Julius, at your service."

That pulled Rex up short. He knew that name. "Upton Julius - aren't you a friend of my father? Where is he?"

Julius smiled coolly at him. "You should be more concerned about yourself, Mr Chance." The threat in his voice was unmistakable, but Rex stayed calm. Obviously since the monsters hadn't attacked him yet they were under this man's control. He did notice that they were starting to shift and growl at him, though. Not a good sign. "Look, I've got no quarrel with you. So you can call of your cross-breeds."

"Cross-breeds!" Snapped Julius, his face contorting in anger. Obviously that hadn't ben the right thing to say. "So narrow-minded... the Sigma Technology does more that just cross breed, Mr Chance. It combines fears... compounds terrors. A fact you'll appreciate soon enough." He waved a hand at the beast beside him. The forth one, the one that had been about to attack him inside, emerged from the lab and all four of them started to advance on Rex, showing their teeth. "Collect him!" Ordered Julius. "He must be alive, but he needn't be... intact."

Rex lifted his hands, turning his head to try and keep an eye on all of them at once. "Easy... stay back..."

Julius had just moved back out of the way to allowed his pets to do their job when the sound of an engine filled the air. With a scowl, he turned.

As if the recent happenings weren't incredible enough, flying through the air towards them was a train with a pair of massive fans attached to either side. Leaving a trail of smoke behind it, the lab crested the rocky shore and landed, kicking up snow. Rex only got a glimpse of the amazing machine before the first creature pounced at him. With a yell, Rex grabbed it where its shoulders would be, falling on his back under the weight but managing to keep the snapping head from reaching him. The strength of the struggling animal was unbelievable. It was like trying to still a thrashing crocodile.

The door at the rear of the train was booted violently open, and onto the wooden platform built onto the back leaped a woman. Her chestnut hair flew out behind her and she gripped a long rifle in her hands. Expertly raising the weapon, she pulled the trigger and shot the wolf-scorpion about to pounce on Rex. "No!" Bellowed Julius furiously.

Taking aim a second time the woman hit the one he was wrestling with. Feeling it go limp, Rex rolled and tossed it over his head into the third one. It yelped with pain as he scrambled up and took off towards the train as fast as he could run, locking his eyes on the woman. She was nearly as tall as he was, dressed in sensible outdoor pants, a pale green blouse, and sturdy boots. Her long hair was tied up at the back, and she had a very pretty face. Behind him the last monster gave chase. The woman gestured frantically to Rex. "Get on! Hurry, I'm out of darts!"

He needed no encouragement. The monster was hot on his tail as he made a wild leap at the little platform on the back of the train. She made a grab at his outstretched hand, locking her grip firmly around his and hauling him forcefully up just in the nick of time.

"You'll pay for your interference and betrayal, Dr Willing!" Raged Upton Julius behind them, shaking a powerful fist at the train. "And I will capture Mr Chance!"

The woman however had not stood around to listen to these pleasantries. She raced inside the train, thrusting the rifle into Rex's hands. The wolf-scorpion reached the platform only seconds behind Rex, and he swung the rifle at the monster like a club. It yelped as the butt of the weapon collided with its head. Rex suddenly felt the entire train shudder, then lift off. The beast snarled with frustration and reared up to swipe at the machine, but managed only to claw at one of the large fans attached to the side before they were out of reach. Rex stared down at the island as it receded swiftly away under them, then turned and went inside, pulling the door closed behind him as they increased speed. The woman had gone straight to a console up a small flight of stairs, and was steering by the means of a gearstick, keeping an eye on several rows of gauges set in panels beside her.

"I don't know who you are, Miss - but thanks." He told her sincerely, only feeling a little shaky now the action was behind them. He leaned back against the wall, unused to the motion of the craft he had so eagerly leaped into. It was not as smooth as a plane, for sure. He could feel conflicting air currents buffering the outside, and felt much closer to the outside world.

She turned her head for a moment to look at him. She'd been navigating through a curved window, which showed the snow-and-ice landscape whizzing by at an alarming rate, considering how close to the ground they were. The little steering compartment looked to be a recent addition to the train, allowing her to see where she was going.

"I'm Dr Lucy Willing, a friend and colleague of your father." She told him. Despite her earlier quick reactions and her ease at steering the train, her voice was soft and gentle. Unlike his first impression of Julius, Rex knew he could trust Lucy right away.

"You know my father - where is he?"

"Yes, I-" Lucy was interrupted by a violent lurch of their hovercraft as it tilted alarmingly to one side. Completely unprepared, Rex was thrown away from the wall he'd been leaning on and slid helplessly down the now-sloping floor to crash into the opposite wall. Lucy managed to hang onto the gearstick, although she winced as her shoulder impacted the wall beside her.

"What was that?!" Rex pushed himself away form the wall and was promptly tossed in the other direction as Lucy fought to control the train. "Dammit, the fans have overheated! We must have thrown a rotor!" She exclaimed, quickly judging the distance to the nearby island and making a quick turn towards it. For the third time Rex was unbalanced, sliding this time towards where Lucy was steering as the nose of the train dipped earthwards. "What can I do?" He exclaimed, fighting to stay on his feet. Lucy spared him a grim glance, worry evident upon every part of her face. "Hold on!"

Rex lunged for the nearest solid object - a small table - and clung to it for dear life. There was a sudden jarring series of impacts that almost lifted his feet off the floor, accompanied by rapid-fire cracks that sounded like pistol shots from outside... followed by crackling that sounded horribly like flames. There were no windows at his level of the train, only the one up by Lucy, so Rex couldn't see what was around them. But he knew without a doubt they were coming in for a crash landing.

Isla Exsilium

"Was that a... typical landing?" Enquired Rex. The lab had come to a halt after crashing through a strand of trees and sliding several meters through the snow, while flames sparked up from the right-hand fan. Lucy and Rex were standing outside, none the worse for wear despite a few scrapes and bruises. This island appeared to be much like the last, blanketed in a thick layer of snow with small rocky hills rising on either side of them.

"Don't start with me, Mr Chance! Oh, my lab..." Lucy shook her head despairingly. "It's going to take forever to get all this damage fixed..."

"Look, I hate to be so much trouble, but I need to know what's going on here!" This whole thing was starting to get a little too baffling for Rex. And he still didn't know where his father was.

"I can explain everything, but first I need your help." Lucy had pulled open a compartment in the side of the train and withdrawn several tools. She then proceeded to quickly set up a large canvas cover over the back portion of the train. Rex took hold of a wooden pole for her while she ran a line from it which attached to a hook in the train's side, supporting the heavy canvas. "You saved my skin - I'll be happy to help in any way I can."

"Good. I'll need some time to repair the lab so we can get off this island, but Upton's goons are bound to be looking for us." Lucy wrinkled her nose, rather endearingly to Rex's eyes, despite her distasteful tone. "There's a village not far from here. They've no love for Julius and his men and may offer to help us. Also, you should scout the surrounding area for animals. Use the dart gun to collect some genetic samples from them, and we'll put together some creatures to defend ourselves with. Grab the dart gun and radio and let's get to work." It appeared Lucy was quite businesslike when there was work to be done, but Rex wondered if he'd heard right.

"Creatures? You mean like those monsters that attacked me?"

Lucy jumped on the statement at once. "Combined creatures are a scientific marvel, Rex, hardly monsters!" She protested passionately. Rex snorted.

"Poison tail, giant fangs... I don't have a dictionary handy, but 'monster' seems appropriate!" He retorted, but he did as she asked and picked up a radio and the rifle. She handed him another set of tranquilizer darts. They looked different to any dart Rex had seen before though. Noticing the way he was inspecting them, Lucy explained. "Those are duel purpose darts. They contain sedatives, but take a small blood sample when they hit as well. That's all we need. The effects of the sedatives wear off quickly, so don't waste any time in retrieving the dart from the animal."

He nodded, spying movement from the corner of his eye. Well, no time like the present. A small spiky creature was waddling through the rocks about two lengths of the lab away from them. Rex loaded a dart and raised the rifle.

It was a direct hit and the little animal jumped in surprise at the sting in his side, then slumped down into the snow. Rex jogged over, pleased with himself. It was a porcupine, a medium-sized rodent covered with protective spikes. He pulled out the dart and stored it in the pouch he had on his pelt.

"Good shot!" Called Lucy from where she was crouching over the damaged fan. "The village is up between those hills. My charts show this island is home to coyotes, cougars, and skunks to name a few, so keep your eyes peeled and collect as many samples as you can."

Rex nodded, moved the porcupine gingerly to a sheltered spot under a tree to recover, and set off to look for the village. There was really only one direction he could go, since the lab had only just made it onto the island, leaving them with the water at their backs. Which made their position easy to defend, anyway.

Rex collected a sample from both a cougar and a coyote in the short distance to the village. A cluster of five or six igloos were arranged in a circle. Rex eyed a skin stretched over a wooden frame nearby - a skin that began with the head and upper body of a bear and ended in tiger stripes. Worrying.

A short villager, dark-skinned and clad in thick furs saw him coming. Rex raised his hand in greeting, elongating his greeting exaggeratedly. "Heellllllloooo!"

The villager eyed Rex with annoyance. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"You speak English! Great! Me...friend. Me... need help."

"You don't say?" The sarcasm was heavy through the little man's thick accent.

"Uh... our magical, um, flying machine has... uh... broken." Rex pointed back along the snowy path he'd taken to get here.

"You mean that hovertrain your lady friend has been hiding here for the last week? We've been meaning to talk to you about that. Ever since she showed up, she's caused us nothing but grief. Two men are looking for her, and have been sending crazy beasts, which smash our igloos and eat our sled dogs!"

Rex was starting to get the picture these guys knew more about what was going on here that he did. The villager continued. "We had to build a fire in the pass just to stay alive, and keep the beasts back, but we are running out of wood! There's one creature up near our temple that's developed a real taste for sled dogs - and we're all out of sled dogs! So do us a favour and get out of here!"

"Believe me, we're trying. Look, you mentioned two men who were looking for the lady I'm with - if I help you fight off the creatures, will you tell me what you know about them?"

"I guess so. But hurry. We don't have much time." The villager gave Rex one last suspicious stare then hurried into a nearby igloo, emerging with an axe over his shoulder. Rex started towards the pass to asses the situation, reaching for his radio.

"Lucy, the villagers said you've been hiding out here for a while, and that men are looking for you. What have I gotten myself into?"

"Julius showed up last week and took your father. I was out on a survey mission and avoided capture. He's been looking for me ever since."

This wasn't making much sense to Rex. "Why?"

"I honestly don't know. All I know is that all this started shortly after your father sent a letter to you. That's how I knew you were coming. My hope was that you could help me find him. He means a great deal to me." Her voice softened on the last sentence and Rex sensed the truth of her words. She obviously looked up to his father.

"To me, too. I'll do what I can... but how are we going to fight off Upton's creatures?"

"With creatures of our own, of course. Combined Creatures are a product of the Sigma Technology, something Dr. Chanikov and I have been working on for several years. Come back to the lab and I'll show you how it works."

On the way back Rex spied a striped black and white animal sniffing around one of the village igloos. Staying well back and taking aim, Rex fired his dart. It was the forth animal he'd taken a sample from and he'd hit every one of them on his first try. He was starting to feel almost useful.

Lucy showed him how to run the samples through the small structure she'd set up beside the lab, the creature chamber. To Rex it looked like a small ray gun powered by a coal burner, but he trusted Lucy knew what she was doing.

Lucy gave him four information sheets, one for each animal he'd collected, and told him to select which creatures he wanted to combine with the console on the chamber. The sheets ran through general information on the animal and graded things like size, strength, speed, the radius of its eyesight, making mention of any special abilities it had. Rex studied the sheet for the coyote. He noted it had a medium defense rating, and had keen senses which according to Lucy's notes, meant it could detect camouflaged and digging units. Well, that sounded like a good idea. High defense meant it would stand up to battle. He flicked to the next page and studied the skunk. He almost laughed out loud when he saw that animal's special ability - a stink cloud! He had to try this. He selected both animals using the console. A little screen lit up above the controls and to Rex's amazement a picture appeared. It was the body of a coyote with the skunk's black and white head attached. There was a row of buttons on either side of the screen with little icons beside them. Rex looked closely at the right-hand side, which had a small picture of the skunk above it. The icons were in the shape of body parts - the head, the body, front and back legs, the tail. Rex selected the tail, and the main image on the screen changed to show the skunk's tail. Rex suddenly understood in a blinding flash - he was able to completely customize the combined animal! He could choose which parts of each one he wanted in the creature! He switched the legs back and forth and noticed that the statistics for speed and defense changedl. When he changed the head to the coyote's, the attack rating went up.

This is amazing, Rex thought wonderingly.

He quickly determined that the best combination of these two animals was the entire coyote body and head with the tail of the skunk. The stink cloud ability was connected to the skunk's tail, and the keen sense to the coyote's head. It had good defense and a bite attack. Pleased with the creature, Rex pressed the 'accept' button. The screen informed him his blueprint had been recorded and was now available to build. Going back to the selection screen, Rex tried out the cougar and the porcupine. He noticed two things about the porcupine: that the spines gave it really excellent defense and that it had a ranged attack, quill throw. That got Rex's attention. He immediately understood the tactical advantage of having a ranged attack if the enemy only had close-quarter combat creatures. He put the cougar's legs on the head and body of the porcupine. This creature had even higher defense than the 'Coyunk' had, with a quill throwing attack that had a range of sixteen meters. It also had a higher attack - the cougar's claws and the porcupine's bite and tail swipe all added to the attack score. This was quite fun.

"Rex, I don't think we have much time." Lucy pulled him back into the real world and he hastily turned to her. "I've got two blueprints - how do I create them?"

"There's a selection button right at the top. Just chose which one you want to make. We need to have enough resources, though. The Chamber runs on coal, so if we don't have enough, it doesn't generate enough electricity to creature the creatures."

"Gotcha. All right... let's get this party started." Rex pressed the button to creature a Coyunk.

A minute later there was the hissing sound form the chamber, like a heavy pneumatic door closing. With a flash of colour, out leaped a tough little beast with the body of a coyote and the tail of a skunk.

It was the size of a pony and it looked strong enough to toss a grown man over its shoulder. The eyes, the same as the scorpion-wolves that had attacked him, were a clear milky white. It glanced enquiringly at Rex and he felt himself freeze up for a moment. Standing right there in front of him, breathing, fur ruffling slightly in the snowy breeze, was a completely impossible creature.

"Ah... Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

"What stops our animals from, um... turning against us?"

"They're always under the control of the lab, and the chamber that creates them. The primary control fuses are in the lab, so even if our chamber happens to be destroyed, we always retain control. They respond to verbal cues, which have been recorded into my lab and into their genetic blueprint. So if, for example, Julius attempted to give our animals any directions, they wouldn't recognize his voice signature. Here, watch."

Lucy walked up to the Coyunk and pointed a little in front of the Chamber. "Go over there, guard our base."

The creature gave a little affirmative cough and trotted over to the place Lucy indicated. Rex was impressed. "Very nice... although I think the villagers might appreciate having some back-up." He quickly queued up three more Coyunks and four of the ranged-attack Cogines to build, sending each one to stand beside the first creature as it appeared out of the Chamber. The Cogines were taller than the Coyunks, with sleek feline legs in contrast to their stubby, spiked head and tails.

Standing with all eight animals around him, Rex suddenly felt powerful. Purposeful. He turned to wave at Lucy that he was ready, then addressed the creatures. "All right, follow me!" He set off at a run for the village, and around him the creatures all followed suit.

"The fires are dying out!" Screamed a villager as he passed by. Rex rounded the bend in time to see the last flames splutter into nothing, and four enemy creatures leaping over the smoking remains towards the village.

"Stop them! Attack!" Ordered Rex, and his creatures shot forwards to meet them. The Cogines were the first to attack, firing off quills at the advancing enemies. Yelping, the creatures (which were more wolves crossed with what appeared to be a rodent of some description, and a plain looking coyote-wolf cross) stumbled and raised forepaws to protect themselves, and were completely unprepared for the Coyunk's fierce snarling attacks. Rex's army finished off the enemy creatures very quickly.

Rex looked grimly up through the pass, remembering that the villager had told him of a very big beast by their temple. "Come on, guys. Let's finish this." He set off again with the animals running at his side. They followed the path up a gradual slope, and soon discovered what the villager meant. A massive beast charged down at them, a polar bear from the top half and an ox on the bottom half. Flanking him were four more wolf-coyote crosses. Rex quickly discovered the animals would attack whichever of the enemy beasts he told them too. He directed his Coyunks to hold off the polar-ox, while the Cogines swiftly took out the wolf-coyotes from a safe distance so they wouldn't overwhelm the Coyunks.

The polar-ox managed to claw through one of the Coyunks, although it swiftly fell when the Cogines joined the fight. Rex felt a momentary stab of regret as his combined creature died. Then he headed back to the village and found the same man he had spoken to previously. Lucy was already waiting for him there.

"Right. Now that those creatures are dealt with, tell me what you know about the two men."

"All right. They are on the next island over. The water between the two islands freezes most nights, which is when they send their creatures."

Rex nodded. "So we can probably expect some company by morning. Lucy, can we get the repairs done by then?"

"Yes, but we've got another problem. There was some damage to the fuel tanks when we crashed - we don't have enough to get the lab off the ground." Lucy admitted.

"Fuel?" Questioned the villager. "There's plenty of fuel on the other island."

"Great! Thanks!" Rex told him.

"Okay, bye-bye now. Anything to be rid of you troublesome people." The villager shook his head as Rex and Lucy headed back to the lab.

Chapter Text

From the Journal of Rex Chance, dated June 11th, 1937

It's only been a day since I arrived on these islands, but it feels like a week. I haven't slept at all, but somehow I'm not tired. Lucy and I have been working around the clock to repair the hovercraft. This thing is practically held together with chewing gum and bailing wire, with each repair causing two more problems. Our biggest issue remains fuel - there is a depot on the next island, but it's also a fairly obvious place for us to walk into a trap.

Isla Exsilium

"There's the fuel depot." Rex pointed out the tank on the next island over. It was a shadowy shape in the early morning light, but easy enough to make out against the snowy backdrop. Rex and Lucy were standing on the top of the small hill Rex had fought the Polar-ox upon the previous day.

"It should be easy enough to get there. The ice has bridged the straight." Lucy pointed out. Rex frowned suddenly, keenly appraising the straight. "I don't think it's going to be that easy - look!" A fresh set of enemy creatures were sniffing about at the far end of the ice bridge.

"Back to the lab! Pick up your feet!" Rex told Lucy urgently, and they took off at a sprint.

Although they were both panting when they reached the lab, the enemy creatures didn't seem to have followed them... yet. Lucy went to a nearby coal pile armed with a pick and two pails and started to gather more, so that Rex could create further creatures for defense. He had spied a wolf on their rushed journey back and paused to collect a sample, and soon noticed the colony of lemmings by the lab and added another creature to the genetic library. He set about flicking through the information sheets to discover if there were any useful combinations he could make.

"Perhaps we need to make some tougher, meaner animals to venture to the other island. I've been putting together some new research that will allow us to build more powerful creatures." Lucy told him over chipping the coal. Rex nodded, quickly learning what she meant. The combination of a wolf and a cougar was an impressive one. With the wolf's big bite and cougar's claws, it was a swift, dangerous creature with four special abilities. The wolf had keen senses and something called high endurance, which allowed it to recover faster from poison or sonic attacks and use special abilities at a higher frequency. It also had the wolf's pack hunting bonus, and the cougar's leap attack. The leap attack wasn't evident in the Cougine because it didn't work alongside ranged attacks.

Rex built an experimental Wolf-cougar cross, but somehow the name 'Wolfar' just seemed too odd for the creature when it popped out of the chamber. It was truly a beautiful animal, with the cougar's long legs on the strong lithe body of the wolf. There was something about the face of this creature that just caught Rex's eye. Despite the fact that the animal's eyes were as clear white as the rest, they seemed to shine. Rex had no doubt this was an intelligent animal. He decided suddenly he would only build one, and he named the beast Wolf. He stood quietly to one side, his ears perking in one direction then the other, guarding the base.

"Lucy?" He hoisted the two pails full of coal and left her two empty ones as she chipped at the coal.

"Hmm?"

"When a combined creature dies... what happens? I noticed the bodies of the enemy ones we killed yesterday weren't there anymore. Not even bones."

"It's part of the Sigma Technology , Rex. Your father and I agreed that some balance was needed for combined creatures, since we were making them from blueprints, not raising them traditionally. For starters, all combined creatures are sterile. They don't even have the urge to mate, that part of their physiology was left out on purpose. We agreed it would simply make things easier. Therefor when the combined creatures die it isn't the same as a regular animal. They essentially break down from the original blueprint and are absorbed back by their chamber."

Rex's head suddenly snapped up. The enemy creatures they'd seen from the hill were charging down the path towards their base. Calling Wolf and the seven remaining creatures, Rex defended them against the snarling, snapping enemy monsters, swiftly directing his army to methodically pick off the enemy animals one by one. While two of his Coyunks were injured, they were all still standing after the fight. Rex was impressed with Wolf. He had torn fearlessly into an ox-bear cross which must have weighed twice his size without batting an eyelid, and had moved with enough speed that the larger creature hadn't a hope of hitting him. Wolf trotted up to Rex with an inquiring glance, as if asking how well he'd done. Without thinking, Rex reached up to pat the rough hair on his head. The creature uttered a low growl of contentment.

"Good job, but that fuel's not getting here by itself." Lucy reminded him as she set a load of coal down beside the creature chamber. Rex pulled a comical face at Wolf when her back turned. "Gee, why don't I just go over there and ask nice?"

"Why don't you, Mr Chance?" She shot back as she started to chip another load of coal, sending him a cool glance. Hmm, typical. A woman who always wanted the last word. Rex winked at Wolf and flashed Lucy his most charming smile. "Please - just call me Rex."

After several more creatures had been created Rex felt he had sufficient enough numbers to face the depot. He called the small army to him and was pleased with the quick response. Telling Lucy he'd be as quick as he could, they set off.

He quickly realized that he was the slowest member of the team. The animals could move much faster than he could - well over twice his speed, in Wolf's case. He had to direct them to an area in front of them and have them wait while he caught up. He'd have to think about that little problem.

They crossed the bridge of ice, treading warily. Wolf led the way, and Rex noticed that the other animals seemed to follow him naturally, stepping in the same places he did. Interesting.

Rex inched up towards the depot, making sure to keep close to his creatures. Sure enough there were several enemy creatures waiting for them, lying or pacing around the depot. Rex and the animals crept as close as they could without detection. The head of an enemy wolf (rather crudely tacked onto the squat body of a lemming) swung towards them, sniffing the air suspiciously.

"Now! Attack!" Yelled Rex, leaping to his feet. Wolf sprang eagerly away from his side, leading the Coyunks into battle. The Cougines quickly formed a semi-circle and fired a barrage of quills into the enemy ranks at Rex's direction, once again distracting them and letting the close-range fighters in to finish the job. This time there were more enemy creatures and two of the Coyunks were defeated, but the rest of the animals were still healthy.

Wolf's savage snarls drew Rex's attention to a set of fuel drums, behind which a terrified henchman was cowering, shaking badly enough to start an earthquake. Rex wanted to laugh when Wolf glanced sideways at him. He was showing every pretense of aggression, with his neck fur standing up and his long teeth bared, but there was a laughing look in his pale, pupilless eyes. Rex strode up beside Wolf and laid a hand on his neck. The henchman cowered even further. "I surrender! Don't let your creature eat me!" He pleaded. Rex scowled unforgivably at the man, taking his cue from Wolf. "Give us some of your fuel and I won't let them hurt you!" He demanded with authority, as if he were in the business of ordering other people around.

"Sure, sure!" Agreed the henchman hastily, relieved beyond measure. "I'll even carry it for you! But you and your creatures will have to protect me. I don't like bein' eaten."

Rex nodded and the henchman picked up a drum over each shoulder. "Come on, this way!" Rex ordered the henchman, then turned to his creatures. "Follow us closely. Attack any enemy forces we encounter on the way."

As it turned out they only encountered four enemy animals just across the ice bridge. Knowing there was only one way to the lab and that his creatures were defending it, Rex and the henchman left the creatures in battle. Wolf led them well and when all four were defeated he tracked the humans trail back to the lab, picking up a run, and the rest of the army followed him. They all caught up and arrived at the lab at the same time.

"I gots gas!" Announced the henchman brightly, setting the drums down beside the lab. Rex laughed as he ruffled Wolf's neckfur by way of praise. "Do you ever!" He chuckled. Lucy rolled her eyes and showed the henchman where to fuel the lab up. "Charming." She commented dryly. "This should keep us flying for a while."

"I done good then?" Asked the henchman hopefully.

"Yeah." Rex nodded. "Look, I've got a proposition for you."

The henchman shuffled his feet awkwardly and looked at the ground. "Geez, I'm flattered Mr Chance, but I don't, uh, I'm not into... you know."

Rex laughed. "Look friend, it's nothing like that. You seem like a competent guy" - and here both Lucy and Wolf looked like they were about to laugh - "How would you like to work for us?" Rex finished.

"I don't like Julius one bit, but if I work for you, he'll send Whitey after me."

"What's a Whitey?" Asked Rex, puzzled. Lucy answered for him. "He's referring to Whitey Hooten, Julius's head thug who keeps all the men in line. Most of them hate Julius, but do what he says because they're afraid of the consequences."

Rex nodded in understanding. It made sense that Upton Julius would employ someone like that. He turned to the henchman. "Listen pal, if you help us out, I promise I'll protect you."

"Well, uh, they'd probably kill me for failing to capture youse anyway, so, all right. I'll help ya's. There's a structure at the base you might want to take a look at. It makes the beasts extra tough."

Rex exchanged glances with Lucy and nodded. "We should move closer to the enemy base. The depot should be perfect - let's go. Wolf, meet us there."

"I don't think it's a good idea to stick around, Rex." Lucy cautioned as the lab came to a stop on the flat land beside the depot. Looking rather green, the henchman climbed down to the ground from the wooden platform, unsteadily. Rex just jumped down, nodding approvingly as he saw Wolf leading the other creatures towards their new location. "Objection noted. But I don't want Whitey's goons attacking the villagers the moment we're gone, and I'm going to need you to take a look at this structure. The henchman can gather the coal, and we'll go spoil Whitey's fun!" He offered her a hand, which she ignored completely as she jumped down herself.

The henchman sighed heavily a Lucy showed him were the pick and pails were kept. "I shoulda stayed in school. I'm tired a chippin' coal." He grumbled as he set off towards the nearby pile.

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda, pal!" Rex replied unfeelingly as he helped Lucy set up a new creature chamber. They were going to need a bigger army if they were going to take down a whole base. When he had fifteen fierce Coyunks ready to go and ten tough Cougines to provide cover-fire - as well as Wolf - Rex and Lucy set off. There had been several small but frequent attacks while the extra creatures were being combined which served to underline to Rex that they needed such an impressive force to take down this base.

Impressive it was. Rex directed the army with precision and skill, and Wolf attacked like a madbeast. Lucy was quick to survey the rounded building with a tall spire right near the front of the base. "All right Rex, I have the plans for this genetic amplifier. It's a very impressive piece of work, so I doubt Whitey had anything to do with it. We'll know more when we build it."

Rex nodded an affirmative and directed his animals to take down the enemy building. "Right, then I want you to get back to base and build it. I have a feeling we're going to need every advantage we can get."

The creatures ripped effectively through the genetic amplifier, but it drew attrition from the main portion of the base. A dozen enemy creatures arrived on the scene as the building crumbled, and Rex quickly set up his attack formation again, flinching each time one of his army fell. After disposing of the enemies they moved further along and found the creature chamber, guarded by several powerful-looking ox-crosses. It was a brutal battle since Rex's creatures were already injured and tired. He urged them on every step of the way, sometimes no more than an arm's length away from a battle. It was rather brutal to observe up close. The Coyunks snarled and snapped and threw themselves at the much larger enemy beasts, which responded with powerful charges and blows with their battering-ram horns. Rex's tactics won out in the end, and his creatures started to take down the chamber. His radio crackled and Lucy's voice filtered through.

"The genetic amplifier lets us improve our creature designs in key areas. Dr. Chanikov only speculated about such technology. I'm going to keep tinkering with it and see if we can fine tune our own genetic designs. How are you doing?"

"Sounds great. We're fine, I think we'll be done before too long. There's a small lab and we've still got to finish off the chamber. I'll radio you soon."

Once the chamber and the lab had collapsed in ruins, Rex contacted Lucy to come and pick him up. The lab landed nearby, with the unhappy henchman sitting sadly on the wooden deck, holding tightly to a rung welded to the rear of the train. "I just don't like bein' inside that thing when its flyin'." He told Rex as he climbed up beside him, rubbing his stomach. Rex laughed, then turned back to look at the destruction. The creatures had done an admirable job, obeying his commands and pushing themselves to their limits, and they were exhausted. Having received no further directions from him, some of them had started to wander about, lick their injuries, or even lie down to sleep. Except for Wolf. The cougar-wolf hybrid was sitting patently, head tilted towards Rex, waiting for his next orders. Rex suddenly knew he couldn't let the most intelligent of his animals just be broken down and absorbed back into a blueprint like the rest of them would be. He patted his leg and without hesitation Wolf jumped up on the platform beside him, licking his hand like a very large dog. Rex laughed and gestured for Wolf to follow him inside, ignoring the wide-eyed stare from the henchman.

"Did that henchman sit outside the entire ride?" He asked Lucy. She was standing at the console checking several gauges before they took off again. "Well he seems quite queasy when he's inside, so I thought it'd be happiest for all concerned if he got some fresh - Rex, what on earth is that creature doing inside my lab?" Wolf looked up at Lucy and wagged his tail politely. Rex hit her with his best puppy-dog eyes. "Lucy, I couldn't just leave him back there. He's different from the rest of them. Please?"

"Oh, all right." Sighed Lucy, eying the animal who had sat down at Rex's side, for all the world like a pet dog. A pet dog the size of a large horse. "But if he makes a mess inside..!"

Rex laughed as the lab shuddered and rose into the air, and outside the henchman groaned. "We're out of here!"

"Where to?" Enquired Lucy as they steered away from the island. She handled the flying lab with an easy efficiency, the type that only came from long hours practice.

"Well I'm here for my father, so let's head back to his lab and see if we can find anything there."

"Whitey's men are sure to look for us there." Lucy cautioned. Rex ruffled Wolf's ears and smiled grimly. "I'm betting on it, Lucy."

Chapter Text

"I'll have my men cut ya to pieces and use ya as bait" - Whitey Hooten.

From the research diary of Dr. Lucy Willing, dated June 13th, 1937.

Case Profile: Whitey Hooten.

My charts indicate we're about to enter the territory of Whitey Hooten, one of Julius's right-hand men. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but his brute strength and quick temper make a big impression on the men, keeping them in line and on schedule with Julius's plans. It doesn't hurt that he's practically a legend in these parts. He's famous for being a notorious whaler, hunting down the poor things over the great south seas. I've heard stories of him breaking pack ice just by yelling at it, and catching whales with his bare hands. These can hardly be believed, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous.

Isla Undisonus

June 13th, 1937

They landed in a sheltered area with a cliff running around the south and west sides. A trail, frozen slick with ice, ran diagonally from the northeast up past their landing site. A small village was tucked against the cliff, looking much the same as on the last island they had left.

"I don't know, Mr Chance. Coming back to Dr Chanikov's lab seems like a pretty dangerous idea to me." Lucy cautioned Rex as they set up the rear cover on the lab.

"My father might have escaped Julius's attack. He might still be alive somewhere on this island." Rex replied stubbornly, leaning his shoulder against a support pole while Lucy fixed it in place. On the other side, Wolf lent against as well, helping take some of the weight off Rex.

"After three days in the bitter cold?" She protested.

"Don't you think we owe it to him to at least try?" responded Rex, a heated note entering his voice. Wolf's eyes went from one human to the other and he folded his ears and uttered a little canine sigh. Humans growled at one another too much. They never seemed to pay attention to body language at all.

Lucy looked a little ashamed and her tone was apologetic at her next words. "I'm sorry, you're right. Even if we don't find him we might find some clues to his whereabouts." She finished on a more positive note, checking the final rope. Rex indicated towards the nearby igloos. "Look, there's a villager."

"Welcome." The face of his man, although he could have been a twin to the last native they spoke to, was more serious. He barely flickered an eye at Wolf standing watchfully to one side. "The totem spirits indicated you were coming."

Much as Rex wanted to question that strange statement, he stuck to business. "I'm looking for my father. He used to work on this island."

"Was he the tall, white-haired fellow with the glasses? Lived in the big concrete building?"

"I haven't seen him in many years, but that sounds about right."

"He disappeared when the short man and the big man showed up a few days ago. If you plan to look for him, be careful. The big white bear has two structures with powerful magic that many creatures come out of, creatures like your one here. Many of our people have been hurt."

Rex's expression darkened. "Maybe I can help you out - I've had about enough of seeing innocent people get hurt."

"Rex, I don't know if we have time for this." protested Lucy, but Rex shook his head firmly. "We'll make time, Lucy."

"I will send a guide soon." The villager told them, nodding as he headed back to his igloo. Rex looked to Lucy. "Looks like we might run into a fight sooner than we'd like, so we'd best build up a base quickly."

"And we'll need more coal." Lucy pointed out as they went to set up a creature chamber. The henchman went to work on a nearby coal-pile, relieved to have his feet back on solid ground. Rex helped Lucy build the genetic amplifier, a smaller building that attached to the top of the lab and could be easily dismantled during travel. "So what, exactly, does this thing do?" Rex asked her. He turned to check on Wolf, who was scouting the borders of their new camp. The creature chamber was already starting to produce more Cougines and Coyunks.

"From what I've been able to discover, we'll be able to boost the strength of our animals in key areas - defense, attack, and so on."

"That sounds promising."

"It could make a vital difference to our creatures. The stronger any single creature is the less of them we'll need. It's a worthwhile strategy - and that makes me sure Whitey isn't involved. He's all brute strength, and very little brains."

"Well, he's the first step in finding my father, in any case. What type of animals live on this island, Lucy? We may need stronger blueprints."

"Let me see... Grizzly bears, Wolverines, Rams, and Musk Oxen. You should be able to combine something useful out of those."

They had finished the amplifier and Rex shoulder the dart gun grimly. "I'm going to take Wolf and see if I can find some more animals to collect samples. If the villager's scout is ready I'll get the lie of the land, too. Keep the creatures close, alright?"

Lucy gave him an appraising once-over. "Rex, I don't mean to pry, but you seem awfully good at this ordering and fighting. What did you do before you came here?" Her question was forthright, and born of honest curiosity instead of noisiness. He answered her with the same honesty. "I was a war correspondent until about a month ago."

"I always wondered why your father was so excited when we got newspapers here. Wait, what happened a month ago?"

Rex took a deep breath, but he was merely organizing his thoughts, not avoiding the question. Somehow he knew Lucy would understand.

"I was covering the Spanish civil war. The fascists attacked the village I was in, and... there was this wounded soldier. A kid. I guess something just snapped inside me. See, the first rule of journalism is, you don't interfere."

"And you interfered." She finished.

"Yeah. I was lucky to escape with my life. When I got back Stateside, I was fired, but that was fine. I hoped I'd seen my last war."

"And then you came here."

"I had to. A man has to know his past to know... who he is." Lucy was touched by this statement. "You seem like a good man to me, Rex." She told him gently. He adjusted the strap of the dart gun and sighted up the icy path.

"Let's hope I'm good enough."

Before he could set off, there was a growl from Wolf, which build quickly into an angry snarl. Almost directly above their base, just over the icy path, Rex caught movement up a gentle snowy slope. A call brought the half-dozen creatures to his side, and he and Wolf led the way over the path. Curious to see what had upset the formerly quiet Wolf, Lucy followed just behind them.

A group of four enemy creatures were guarding a large circular structure, and warning growls sounded as they assembled at its base. Rex signaled the Cougines and they fired a set of needlelike quills, then Wolf and the three Coyunks bounded forward. They were merely finishing the job, and escaped with only minor bloodshed.

Lucy examined a control panel on the outside of the building. "Now this is what I call a generator!" She exclaimed, tapping commands into the panel. "A pity it's so large, we'd never have the raw materials to build one ourselves. You know Rex, there's no reason I can't learn to dismantle enemy structures."

He was standing next to her, and his brow furrowed at her words. "Do you think that's wise? You'd be exposing yourself to some danger."

"Not so long as you or the creatures are nearby." she replied, already having developed faith in him where his tactics were concerned.

"Go right ahead, then. A little sabotage... I like the sound of that."

Lucy continued to enter commands, and only a few seconds later there was a sharp hum, then the building powered down, becoming silent and dark. Lucy smiled at Rex, picked up a rock, and cracked the face of the panel.

"Well, I can see where I'm not needed. I won't be long." Leaving the small group of creatures behind and taking only Wolf, he entered the village, where the scout was waiting, and they started down the ice trial. Rex stepped carefully, having been in winter environments before. Wolf matched his caution, extending his feline claws to give him purchase against the ice. 

The villager kept a nervous distance from Wolf, as if expecting the powerful wolf-cougar cross to spring at him at any moment. There was only one way to go along the trail, since one the right side a sheer cliff towered overhead, blocking out much of the light. The slope on the left was rougher and not as steep, with snow-dusted pines clinging to largest ledges. Rex thought he could have climbed it if he had to. The Wolverine was the first animal they came across. Rex knew something of the fierce, scrappy little animals and was pleased to take a sample, though he did't hang around for him to wake up afterwards.

As the sharp right-hand cliff gave way to an equally impassive wall of ice, the scout drew to a stop. "Go further to the waterfall - one structure is to the left, the other to the right." He instructed, then scurried back down the trial.

Rex glanced at Wolf and shrugged. "May as well keep going." He told his faithful shadow, and Wolf bounded ahead as if he'd understood the words. Only a minute or so along the trail, Wolf pulled up short with a warning growl. He backed up into Rex, then turned his head to give the man a firm nudge. Rex was confused until Wolf dropped into a crouch, the stalking pose used by big cats when hunting. He ducked down and they crept ahead carefully, utilizing the ground cover. He saw a tall, thin tripod structure ahead with some sort of conical device on top, like an oversized loudspeaker. He reached for the radio on his belt.

"Lucy, could you bring the creatures up here? I want you to take a look at this."

With a small army at their backs, Lucy peered at the unfamiliar structure with a pair of binoculars. Rex spied a ram leaping agiley over the low reaches of the left cliff, but was still close enough to hear Lucy. "That's interesting! I'll have to give Whitey a little more credit - looks like he's come up with a sonic weapon."

"Well, best not let it go to his head." Rex handed her the sample from the ram. "Stay here until the creatures draw it's fire - don't get close until then." Rex leaped to his feet and rallied their army with a battlecry.

The weapon was only guarded by a further four enemy creatures and with their usual tactics, they were soon defeated. Rex directed the creatures to attack the three posts of the weapon, which had started firing a barrage of sound waves. Two of the Coyunks had fallen and he noticed how tired his creatures seemed. Lucy waited until the tower was leaning precariously and its aiming failing, then slipped in for a closer look. As soon as she nodded at Rex, he let their army finish it off. The three legs collapsed, and Lucy shoved one aside to salvage the loudspeaker part. "If I study this, we should be able to make these ourselves."

"Good. Take it back to the base, and create a few more creatures for defense. I'll be back once I've found the ox and the bear, to create new blueprints."

With the tower out of the way, Rex, Wolf and the army of creatures continued further ahead. A sudden break in the left wall inspired exploration, and they found a virtually unguarded workstation that lasted a very short frame of time against their ferocity.

Rex shifted through the wreckage and wondered if it had been the first building the guide was talking about. He decided it must not been, merely an offshoot of a larger base. One workstation didn't constitute much of a threat to the village, since by itself it would produce no creatures.

They followed the left trail up over a hill, two of the injured Cougines labouring a little on the slope. At the base of the hill Rex could easily see another pair of soundbeam towers - he knew they would find the base beyond them. Throwing out his arm, he yelled a battlecry and charged with his creatures.

The fight was more brutal than previous ones. The base sent several waves of their creatures to defend it, and they had the advantage over Rex's of being fresh. But Rex's tactics won out in the end, and panting heavily he surveyed the results. The first soundbeam towers had been backed up by a second set beside the enemy lab, and the creature chamber had pumped out fresh foes until it had been torn down. Rex's Coyunks had all been decimated, first to draw the line of fire from the soundbeam towers. One remaining Cougine looked on its last legs, one a little battered and the last three seemed more or less unscathed. Rex himself had taken a bite on the ankle from a vicious coyote-lemming cross and was leaning on Wolf for support. Wearily, he directed his leftover creatures take down the lab, the nearby workshop and a few storage buildings.

The lab had just crumbled in a flaming ruin when the radio crackled and Lucy's voice rang out frantically. "Come quickly Rex! Enemy creatures are attacking the base!"

Rex cursed. This little base they'd just taken down couldn't have been the primary one, and in leaving the main trail he'd left it wide open for enemy creatures! Lucy had a small force of creatures herself but they couldn't be doing well from the panic in Lucy's voice. He whistled sharply to get the Cougines' attention and ordered them back to base, top speed. But with their swift pace and his own ankle injured, he'd never be able to keep up.

He wasn't sure where the idea came from. Perhaps it was Wolf itself, standing beside Rex so the man could lean on him. Rex felt the creature's white eyes turn and lock onto his own. His heart thudded. Did he dare?

Without thinking the matter though any further he threw his good leg over Wolf's side, grabbed his thick neckfur and heaved himself to his back. Wolf was the size of a large horse and for a moment he almost fell back, then Wolf turned his canine head and shoved him firmly and he was up. There was a moment of sheer triumph and freedom that this magnificent wild beast would allow a mere man to ride on his back, then Lucy's face flashed through his thoughts.

"Wolf, quickly!" It was all the signal the sharp creature needed. Like an arrow from a bow he sprang, long legs extending, claws biting into the ground, great flurries of snow kicked backwards. They overtook the slower Cougines in seconds.

Riding Wolf was not like riding a horse. Wolf moved so fast the ground looked lethal. His stride was smooth but so powerful each time his paws hit the ground in quick succession Rex felt he would be thrown clear over the hilltop. He crouched down over Wolf's neck, clutching his ruff and gripping grimly with his knees, brown hair and black-and-grey fur whipping backwards in the wind. It was the most thrilling, wild, exciting thing he'd ever done in his life.

Rex's eyes widened as Wolf led them towards their base. Lucy was out in front of the creature chamber, swinging her rifle at a lemming-coyote to drive it back. Rex nearly flew off Wolf's back altogether as he snarled a warning and pounced, landing with a jarring impact on the enemy creature. Rex uttered a shout of alarm when sharp coyote fangs snapped next to his ear. A moment later Wolf seized the smaller creature's neck, closing his powerful jaws and severing its spine.

Rex slid off the hybrid's back, anxiously calling to Lucy. "Are you alright?"

She was still standing in front of it, the blazing light of battle in her eyes replaced by disbelief. "Rex, were you just... riding Wolf?"

"It was the quickest way." He explained. "I can't keep up with the creatures' pace when they're on the move."

"Well, you got here just in time." The Cougines and Wolf had set to work finishing off the few stray enemy creatures around the border of the base. Rex checked over the chamber. Like Lucy, it has escaped harm. He queued up some more creatures while he was there. They had been lucky to get off uninjured.

"Are you sure they didn't hurt you?" He questioned Lucy, picturing her fighting off the enemy waves with the butt of her rifle. Next time he should take her with him - at least then he could keep an eye on her!

"I'm completely fine. They were trying to slip up that little hill, probably trying to see what became of their generator. A scouting party, no more."

"Well, just to be sure I'm leaving at a bigger force of creatures here to protect you." Rex promised, hobbling a step to the nearest rock. Lucy noticed his limp. "What have you done to yourself?"

"Oh, just a little bite wound. It's nothing." He assured her. She shook her head firmly. "Nonsense. Let me get the first aid kit."

Despite Rex's protests, she bound his ankle firmly, after smearing it with a salve to ward off infection. "You shouldn't really walk on that."

"No problem. Wolf will give me a lift - right fella?" He slapped Wolf's side affectionately. The oversized hybrid was sprawled next to him, head and ears raised watchfully. Lucy shook her head in wonder. "The things you do, Mr Chance..."

"Hey, we didn't start this. Now, I'm going to create some more designs. Our creatures are wearing out too quickly, we need something a little tougher."

With Wolf beside him letting the man use him as a prop, Rex made his way to the chamber and pulled up some blueprints.

He wanted the success of the porcupine's ranged attacked to remain the backbone of his army. Quickly scanning through his options, he combined it with the large, heavy musk ox. After changing a few body sections around he settled on the ox's body and legs with the porcpine's head and tail. The resulting Oxine had nearly three times as much health as the Cougine, and it's wider-ranged quill throw attack did more damage.

To back up the Coyunks in close combat Rex tried out the fierce little wolverine with the ox. The health stat nearly blew him away. He wanted Wolvoxes in his army. It also had something called 'frenzy' from the wolverine that allowed it to deal more damage in battle. Interesting.

Once he had several of the new Wolvox and Oxine added to his army, Rex looked down at Wolf. "We ready to go, big guy?"

Wolf growled his agreement and nudged Rex firmly, almost pushing him over. He crouched down so Rex could scramble onto his back with more ease.

"Lucy, have the lab prepped to go. I have a feeling we're not going to be long." Rex said grimly, and she nodded. "Be careful!"

Directly up the icy path, the new army tore down a final soundbeam tower as if it were made of origami. Please with their response, Wolf and Rex led them up up a slope and around a curve, where they were charged by some ram-wolverine crosses. The Oxine fired their quills, breaking up the eneny formation for the Wolvox to take care of. Rex felt like covering his eyes as Wolf sprang recklessly into battle and raked his claws down the side of a polar bear/ox hybrid. The tough creature swung around and tried to claw Wolf back, but even with Rex on his back he was too fast to be hit. He dodged the paw, which was around the size of a bike wheel, then darted around the beast and caught an ankle between his teeth. Hamstringing effectively halted the enraged bear/ox, and Rex and Wolf left him for their Oxine to finish off. The rest of the creatures had started on the enemy creature chamber, stopping every so often as it produce a fresh enemy for them to cut down.

As the chamber fell, a harsh, gravelly voice snarled at them. "You festering dogs! You'll wish you never set foot on MY island!"

Rex stared around him, baffled. "What the heck is that?"

"It's coming in over the radio. It's Whitey Hooten - half thug, half whale hunter, all angry, all the time." Lucy told him.

"I'll have my men cut ya's to pieces and use ya as bait!" Threatened Whitey, Rex raised an eyebrow.

"Friendly sort, ain't he?"

"A real gentleman." Lucy replied dryly.

Rex continued up the icy-slicked path on Wolf's back. They encountered one last workshop just as the path widened into a snow-covered plain. The few final enemy creatures left to guard it barely got near Rex's army, the Oxine cut them down so swiftly.

As the army set upon the workshop, Wolf's growled softly to get Rex's attention, then swung around. Rex recognized where they were at once. His father's silent lab towered over them.

"Hello? Father?" Called Rex. Lucy had instructed him to leave his radio channel open. As soon as she heard Rex's call to his father she flew the lab up to join him.

"Maybe he's inside?" She suggested once she'd arrived to find Rex investigating the door into the lab. He nodded.

"If I'm not out in five minutes, save yourself and leave the island. No wait, that's silly." Rex realized what he was saying. "If I'm not out in five minutes, come and make sure I haven't locked myself in or something!

A few minutes later he appeared in the doorway of the lab. "No sign of my father. I did find something interesting, though - neurotoxin darts! I think my father have had them for protection against these creatures. There were a few missing."

As he emerged, Wolf uttered the loudest snarl Rex had ever heard. Creeping towards them from around the corner of a lab was the tiger-mantis cross Rex had first seen inside his father's lab. Then it had been suspended in a tube of liquid. Now... now the tiger face bristled, teeth bared. Long, wicked praying mantis legs propelled it forward.

Wolf sprang and met it in midair. Four Oxine spikes buried themselves in its body as Wolf savaged the tiger head. It was dead before its horrible, mutated body hit the snow.

Rex grabbed the radio. If they could hear him, he reasoned he could hear them.

"Your men have been beaten! The gig's up, Hooten! Tell me where my father is or we're coming after you next!" Threatened Rex in a low, dangerous voice.

"Is that all you want?" Whitey's mocking tones came back over the radio. "Long lost daddy. I'll tell you where he is, all right, but you'll need a shovel if you want to see him. He's buried nearby!" The whaler broke off into a roar of laughter. Horrified, Lucy hugged herself, speechless.

Rex pounded a clenched fist into his open palm. "Shut that radio off!" He growled in a low, dangerous voice.

Wolf whined and padded a short distance away, lying down on his belly in the snow. Before him was a heap of rocks around half as long as he was. A crude wooden cross had been jammed at the head of the pile.

Rex slowly moved to stand in front of the grave. He bowed his head, his eyes closing. It had all been for nothing. His father... they'd killed his father.

Lucy had never felt so lost. As she had turned to Dr. Chanikov so many times in her life before, now she turned to his son.

"What now, Rex?"

Rex's head lifted, his eyes opened. His brows lowered a fraction, the only sign of his cold, deadly anger.

"Take me to Whitey Hooten."