“Bug, where did you get all these people?” Cal asked his sister.
“They surrendered, they want to be good people, but we can talk about that later. Gretel is on a truck with the capybaras. She didn’t complete her raid and wanted us to hit them hard in about twenty minutes, which should be about five minutes from now,” Bug said.
“I really wish you’d have told me that immediately, but we can discuss that later. Grab everyone, let’s go!” Cal ordered.
“Can do. Libby, can you watch my new friends?” Bug asked the robot.
“Of course, I’d be delighted,” they answered.
“Thank you,” Bug said as she exited the room behind Cal. He wondered just when she had become so polite.
“Does Bart know where Gretel is going?” Cal asked as they walked back to the gateway room.
“No, they are going to try to figure out where they are as soon as they reach their destination,” Bug answered.
“Does she have any kind of plan at all?” Cal didn’t think she did and couldn’t fault her. There was a good chance he’d have done exactly the same thing, but he didn’t want to lose her or the capybaras again when they were so close.
“Is Albert or Bill with her?” Alfred asked. He had caught up with Cal and Bug.
“She doesn’t know,” Bart said, popping into view, likely to make the conversation easier.
“Okay, here’s what I want her to do. Get all the crates open and see if she can find Bill or Albert, preferably both. If she can get them awake and ready to ready, she stands a real chance at handling wherever they are taking them,” Cal said. He had a feeling the prisoner moving was in response to their assaults.
“Alfred, I need you to stay here with me.” Harold had joined them. “I’ve got Glenn and his family in the dining hall. The second she stops, I need Bart to describe everything he sees. It’s possible Glenn knows the location. We will need to get there as quickly as we possibly can.”
“Dammit, we can’t all go on this raid. Frank, you’re with me. Everyone else needs to go back to the moon with Twonger and take his ship back here. Have it to teleport you to her exact location. Wreck everything you can,” Cal said, trying to form a plan as quickly as he could.
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“Don’t you think we should do that, and you can make a gateway and get them back here instead?” Stan argued.
“He can’t do that. The second he is seen there, all hell will break loose. At this point, they know Cal is by far the most dangerous of us, and if he attacks Gretel’s original location, that might just draw away attention to where she’s heading. Have I ever told you all before that I really wish you did more thinking before acting?” Harold asked after his explanation.
“Probably, but too late to worry about that now. Twonger, how long will it take your ship to grab me and get me over there after you’re down?” Cal asked. They needed to be on their way to see the frog as soon as possible.
“Ten minutes, five to recharge after dropping us, five more once it has you,” Twonger answered.
“I’m not sure just what Frank and I will end up facing, so Bart it’s critical you keep everyone up on the information needed. Fulginanis stay with Alfred and Harold and let me know anything I need to know. Good luck, everyone.” Cal received several nods in return as the group broke apart toward their separate destinations.
“Ready, big guy?” Cal asked Frank as they stepped in front of their gateway. Had he known he’d be heading right back into the fray Cal would have been a bit more conservative in mana use on the last trip, probably. The more he considered that the less he was actually sure of it. The imprisoned kids set him off in a way that made it hard to regulate his power usage.
“Frank is ready and willing to crush. Mother must be found!” the giant tree man said, and Cal entirely shared his sentiments. He was pretty sure the animals would destroy the planet if that were what it took to get her back, and as for how Frank would go, that was likely as far as needed, no matter the consequences.
“Good, remember this is essentially a total Cal and Frank smash job; that building is going down the moment we clear all the floors of our people or innocents,” Cal said before stepping through the gateway; sure, Frank would be right behind him.
Once through, Cal looked around at the situation. There were several large trucks still sitting in the parking lot; he hoped that meant there were more of his friends still here. “Frank let’s start by making sure none of these trucks have any cargo we want and making sure they can’t be used again,” Cal said as soon as Frank popped in behind him.
Frank didn’t even bother to confirm and charged forward towards the nearest one, ripping the rear door off in seconds. The inside was empty. The scene repeated itself several more times until on the second to last one, they found a few crates full of animals. “Frank is both happy and sad!” Frank yelled after finding them and realizing they weren’t any of their missing allies.
“I get it buddy, no capybaras here, but we should get these back through the gateway anyway. I don’t want to leave any living creature to the Agency after the shit I’ve seen. Go drop them off, and I’ll take care of the final truck,” Cal ordered.
Cal heard the giant man quietly whispering to crates of small animals about getting them to safety as he broke off towards the last truck. He didn’t have Frank’s brute strength, but luckily, the back door was unlocked. The truck wasn’t remotely empty, and what he found inside, he had no idea what to do with. They certainly didn’t have the resources to handle this new problem. There were dozens of chained-up Gryalth, all still alive in the space in front of him.