As we walked, my mind kept returning to the Chalet. Seeing it gone didn’t exactly bother me, as I’d watched plenty of other buildings enter varying cycles of rapid decay over the last two days. But the destruction here felt different. Intentional.

My mind wanted to know why. And without answers, it spun continuously in on itself.

Where could I take the others for the night? Back to the hotel where I’d cleared out the mermantas? Or the ruins of Prometheus’s old building? The second one had probably fallen apart even more since I’d left, though, and the first was probably hosting new monsters...

So then maybe one of the nearby buildings. If everything here was an unknown, closer was better, and once the initial threats were dealt with, we could set up the safe zone same as normal.

Unless there were humans nearby. Humans who had started the fire at the Chalet. Would they have already cleared out the nearby monsters like I had down south? Would they take affront to an unknown dog laying claim to their territory? I didn’t know if we should look for further signs of life tonight, or wait until full day tomorrow. And that was assuming these hypothetical humans were even friendly.

If I had led Riley all this way just to find the human equivalent of Crunch... No. I wouldn’t even allow myself to think like that. Not for a single moment.

[Hey, Boss, where we going?] Zapper asked.

[I’m not sure, Zapper. Now leave me be, I’m trying to think.]

[Okay, Boss. I only ask because we’re getting deeper into the city, and I don’t like the look of some of these buildings.]

I blinked and glanced up. Sure enough, we were now several streets into downtown. The shells of skyscrapers rose about us, many as burned out as the Chalet, and a few still actively smoking. The streets around us were strewn with rubble, those that weren’t blocked entirely.

[You’re right. We shouldn’t be here. Not with sunset coming on.]

I turned, studying our potential escape routes. However, this deep in, even the building entrances and windows had been plugged with debris. It was even worse than the last time, as if we were being funneled straight towards...

Oh.

My paws were carrying me forward even before I realized what I was doing. Behind me Zapper said something, but it was lost to the noise in my head. Riley’s hands tugged painfully on my fur as I dragged her forward, but that too was barely noticeable.

All that mattered was the wordless, soundless call. Beckoning me forward.

I followed it down the street, the way ahead clear. To either side everything was sealed away with broken cars, empty shipping containers, and chunks of crumbled buildings. But the way ahead was clear. Clear. Clear for me to follow, closer and closer to those silent notes, whispering to come just a little bit closer, a bit closer, a bit more...

[BOSS!] Pain flared down my backside.

Turning, I snarled at Zapper, whose jaws released their hold on my tail with a guilty expression. [What? What?]

[Sorry, Boss, but you had a scary look on your face. And you didn’t respond!! It was like you were sleepwalking.]

Had I been? I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that had seized me. That’s right. The call had grown louder, or stronger, or something like that. Even now I could still feel it pulsing in the back of my mind. If I gave in even a little, I knew it would suck me under, draw me back down that path.

But where had it taken me already?

I looked around. Before us was an immense structure of steel and glass. While it might not have been the tallest in the city before everything hapened, it was now simply by the grace of not having been smashed and burned like so many of the skyscrapers about it. There was a graceful curve to the building, so that it wasn’t perfectly rectangular, but slowly pivoted the further up you looked.

And there, halfway up its side, glowing brightly when most of the other lights in Oakland had gone dim, was a sign.

Cainox Global Industries

Oakland Headquarters

[Oh no,] I moaned, a sudden fear seizing me. I took a step back.

[What is it, Boss?]

[The call. It’s not friendly, Zapper. Whatever it is, it is NOT friendly!]

Just at that moment, a message appeared in my vision.

Generating Instance Zone, please wait. Time to completion: 1 minute.

I knew that message. Zapper and I had encountered an instance zone back under the Foodmaxx. This one was assembling itself much faster, though. Hopefully that was a good sign.

About thirty feet in front of me, the air began to swirl about. Riley let out a shriek of terror as it quickly grew into a miniature tornado. As I watched, the tornado turned from white to gray to black. Streaks of lightning arced inside of it, casting shadows all about us.

And in those brief flashes, I caught sight of something huddled in the tornado’s center.

Zapper must have seen it too. [What is that, Boss?]

[I don’t know, but we’re not waiting here to find out!]

Turning, I dragged Riley back the way we had come, the girl not resisting at all anymore. We made it about ten steps before I ran smack dab into an invisible wall.

[Owww...] Glancing up, my heart turned to ice. Golden light shimmered in the air in front of me before fading, the effect rippling out to either direction in a wide arc, encircling us.

The boundary of the instance zone. Only we were inside of it this time.

[It’s okay,] I called out, before Zapper could say anything. [Once the timer hits zero, we should be able to leave.]

[Are you sure about that, Boss?]

[Yes,] I lied, turning back around. I glanced in the direction of the tornado. It had gotten bigger. The timer in the corner of my vision said thirty seconds remained.

[Okay! I’m glad you know what you’re doing, Boss.] Zapper wagged his tail. Then it drooped. [But if—]

[—If we can’t leave, then protect Riley.] The girl was holding on to me so tightly I thought my fur might rip out. I bumped her with my head, and her eyes found mine.

“I’m scared, Doggy. I don’t think we should be here.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

[It’s okay, kid.] I tried to project a sense of ease through my eyes. Dogs are good at calming humans, right? Well, those specially trained emotional support ones are. This probably wasn’t a skill I’d picked up while living on the streets. Still, I tried my best. [Just be brave.]

Riley sniffled, and I wasn’t sure if I’d honestly done any good or not. Then my timer reached zero, and it didn’t really matter any longer.

The barrier behind us flashed golden again. I backed up a step and felt it press against me. Alright, we were still trapped inside. We’d dealt with worse... probably.

With a mighty roar, the tornado expanded in all directions, breaking up into little more than puffs of wind by the time it reached us. Still, it cast up a cloud of dust and debris, forcing me to squint for a second to keep my eyes clear.

When I opened them again, I finally got a good look at the thing at the tornado’s center.

It was a dog.

Alright, not exactly a dog. More like a toy dog someone had constructed out of cables and shiny silver gears, assuming you like your toys ten feet tall and made to crush a mid-sized family sedan.

The dog’s head turned from side to side slowly via a series of sudden spasms. It was so... unnatural. Completely different from how a real dog would move. Gave me an uneasy feeling just staring at it.

I tensed, waiting for the system to provide me with its usual informational box, but the one I got at first was not at all what I was expecting.

You’ve encountered your first unique entity! Would you like to view a tutorial about uniques?

Uh, I would very much not right now. Especially with the fact that the giant metal dog was now looking directly at us. It took a single step forward, the ground quivering a bit from the force of it.

Nope, nope, nope. I’m sure whatever Craig had to say in this particular tutorial was hilarious and not at all unhelpful, but now wasn’t the time. I dismissed the tutorial.

Then, at last, the usual description appeared in my vision.

Argyr the Mecha-Dog, Guardian of the Threshold (Advanced)

Level 10

Boss, Unique

Every home needs a faithful guard dog, and Cainox headquarters is no exception. It just so happens that the techs who were assigned to this particular challenge decided to take the idea a bit more... literally. Sort of.

They say dogs are man’s best friend, but who wants a friend that pees on your carpet and occasionally digs through the garbage can? Or barks incessantly whenever guests come over? So here at CGI, we decided to take all the best parts about dogs and remove all the troublesome ones.

And also give it a flamethrower. Because flamethrowers are cool.

But don’t go thinking this is a one-trick pup! He’s got way more going on than just flames shooting out of his mouth. What, exactly, are those features you might ask?

That’s for you to find out! Right now. Because in the time it took you to read this, old Argyr has finished locking onto your location and is about to teach you the meaning of ‘his bark is worse than his bite’.

Good luck!

Warning: This entity is a boss-class monster. It is recommended you engage with a party of at least four members. CGI is not responsible for any negative experiences resulting from disregarding this advice.

I was really getting tired of seeing that warning message. It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried to join a larger group...

Wait, that’s not what I should be focusing on right now! The mecha-dog’s eyes had started to glow red, and taking that as a bad sign, I instinctively leapt away.

And not a moment too soon. A gout of flames erupted from the mechanical monster’s mouth, scorching the ground I’d just been standing on. I glanced back as my arc carried me to a piece of rubble nearby. That fire was not going to make my approach easy.

[Boss!] Zapper’s call came from somewhere on the other side of the beast. I couldn’t see him or Riley, so I could only hope they were safe. [Boss! Are you okay?]

[I’m fine! Just worry about getting Riley out of here—or barring that, somewhere out of sight.]

[Okay, Boss! We’ll hunker down!]

I saw mecha-dog glance in Zapper’s direction. Could he detect our conversation? If so, I couldn’t give him a chance to attack.

Time to go on the offensive.

Launching off my rock, I dashed forward, taking stock of my resources as I went. After the battle in Alameda, I’d never re-equipped my stun bracelet, but I doubted stun would have much effect on this robot anyway. What I did have was my fully recharged static field generator and a Claw Slash specifically upgraded to deal with steel defenses.

The beast loomed in front of me. It opened its mouth for another blast of flames. I ducked to one side, felt the kiss of the heat across my back, then swung back towards the monster.

Claws tore through metal like it was made of putty. The mecha-dog lurched as some of its shoulder fell away, then righted itself. Turning, it dashed away.

I stopped, confused. Was it retreating already? I’d barely scored it.

When it was about a hundred feet away, the monster turned back towards me. It stretched its front legs out, leaving its back end elevated, its tail pointed lazily in my direction. I tensed, unsure what was coming.

With a loud *poom*, something launched from the monster’s tail and landed unceremoniously at my feet. I glanced down at it.

It was a round ball, about a foot across.

A light on the ball blinked once. I tilted my head and reached down to sniff it. Did... did this thing watch to play fetch? Mechanical or not, I suppose it was a dog...

The light blinked again. I blinked at the ball. It blinked at me.

Blink.

Blink, blink.

Blink, blink, blink—

My brain finally pieced together what was happening about the same moment as the ball exploded.

I activated my replication bracelet only just in time, hurling me backwards. Even so, a blast of frigid air interrupted my retreat, ending the effect prematurely and dropping me with a surprised yelp to the ground.

Shards of ice tore into my face, and I felt something push against me that was more than the simple physical effect of the blast.

Warning: you have been inflicted with Knockback.

Knockback’s effect is negated by Indomitable Choke Chain.

I shuddered, frost riming my muzzle, as I dug in my feet. Just as quickly as it began, the effect of the explosion faded, giving me a view of the ice-covered section of road about fifteen feet away. It seemed I had been dropped at the very edge of it, which probably minimized the damage. I might not be here if I’d stayed at the epicenter.

Okay, so flamethrower and ice bombs. What else did this monster have in store for me?

Another bomb landed near the center of the ice. I realized I could see a hazy version of myself standing where I’d been a moment ago. My bracelet-created illusion.

And it appeared that the mechanical dog couldn’t tell the difference between that and the real deal.

I started running. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I activated the bracelet, but the spell only held for twenty seconds. Any of that time I could use closing the distance was time I wouldn’t be receiving potshots.

Mecha-dog was still bent down, tail aimed at my apparition. Behind me came the concussive blast of the bomb letting off another freeze blast, but I didn’t glance back.

Instead, I leapt, bringing my claws to bear on the monster machine’s face.

With a rending screech, my Claw Slash ripped through metal, severing cables and emancipating the beast’s left eye from its body. The artificial ocular dropped to the ground, letting out a sizzling noise as it hit.

The mecha-dog reared back silently. That was probably the creepiest part of this whole fight: how quiet it was. Beyond the bomb blasts and the occasional growl from me, there was hardly a sound. No roars, no battle cries. Just the low hum of whirring gears and my own ragged breathing.

Slamming back down, the monster turned to flee. I didn’t intend to let it put any distance between us again, running after it so close I almost brushed its flank.

My Claw Slash was on cooldown for another thirty seconds, but I wasn’t without resources.

Activating my static field generator, I dropped a pair of fields directly in front of the beast. Mecha-dog hit them at full speed, and I watched with glee as he stumbled from the sudden reduction to his speed.

Then he pushed through, energy crackling down his back, throwing arcs of blue lightning in his wake. I dashed through the fields myself to little effect, dropping another once I was past.

Once again, lightning raced across the machine’s back, some of it hanging around after the mecha-dog pushed through. However, I could tell he was weakening. I used one more field, all in a bid to slow him down just long enough for my Claw Slash to recharge.

The monster slowed to a stop and turned back towards me. Lightning crackled further along its back. Its singular eye studied me. Was it preparing to try and cook me with more flames?

I prepared to jump if it opened its mouth.

It didn’t. The lightning coursing across its back grew brighter, its blue more brilliant. Suddenly, it occurred to me that it probably wasn’t the result of my static fields.

Aw, doggy doo.

I tried to flee, but it was no use. The blue lightning blasted from the monster’s back, spearing me with its power. I felt every muscle in my body lock up, spasm, then burn away.

Fire, ice, and lightning. Makes sense, was my last thought before everything went black.

Triple Chance Dog Tag has activated automatically. Remaining uses = 1. This ability will reset at midnight.