The Orion Project (Rewrite) (indefinite hiatus)

Chapter 47

"You could sound a little more optimistic." Rose grumbled.

"You try dealing with this shit, Rose!" Alyssa hissed.

Devon could only watch as every signal his HUD marked turned towards them. Their beady eyes shone like rubies even through his display. He instinctively tried to gather any form of power to his hand but quickly stopped after he reminded himself where he was.

"Alyssa..."

"I know! I know! I'm workin' on it!" She growled.

Devon glanced at her and, even in the depths of the ocean, he could see the water shift and flow around her. A column like tornado of water quickly whirled around them and pushed every creature further and further away from their position.

"Did....did it work?" Alyssa asked, her voice strained.

"Yeah, I think we're good." Devon sighed in relief.

He turned away scanned the area. His HUD blinked once, then twice clear before a new signal appeared on screen. The system in his HUD had limited range but it did detect something approaching them. And quickly at that.

"I've got one more ping. Anyone have a visual?" He asked.

"Nothin'." Lucas said.

"I don't see anything." Rose replied.

"Me neither." Eune said.

"Alyssa?"

"..."

"Alyssa? You good?" Eune asked.

"W-what? Hold on." She said.

"For what, exactly?" Lucas asked, annoyed.

"My bond keeps screaming at me to be 'let loose'. I have no idea why he's being so-AH! Will you knock it off?!"

"What is he saying?" Devon asked.

"He just keeps repeating to let him loose. I don't know what he even means at this point! Ack! For the love of- Stop it already!"

The ping on his HUD indicated that, whatever was out there was not only getting closer, but that it was big. Compared to the others, this one was easily ten times their size.

"Alyssa...."

"Gah! I don't know what to do! Quit looking to me for this!" She said as she held her head in pain.

"Ah screw this! I'll scare whatever it is away with a few rounds! I'm sick of relying on her!" Lucas groaned as he pulled his rifle off his back.

"And what are you gonna do with that?!" Rose asked. "We're under water, Lucas! Your rounds won't even get close enough to the thing, let alone get very far! So put that thing away!"

"And what do you expect me to do?! Sit here and become some damn fish's dinner?!"

"Enough! Alyssa, I know it's difficult but, just let your bond do what it wants to do." Devon said. "It's not like we have a choice right now."

"Gah! Fine! FINE! Do what you want you damn lizard!" She cried.

She suddenly, and violently, convulsed in place. She cried out in agony as something ripped itself free from her back. Devon looked up in awe and horror as six, long necks tore free from her and six reptilian heads roared in triumph. The water and darkness made it hard to see their features but, their eyes glowed a sinister sickly yellow.

The Hydra ignored the group and focused on something in the distance. A languid energy filled each mouth with a color matching its eyes. A deafening roar echoed around them as six beams of energy, a mix of electricity and water, fired off into the distance.

The light from the explosion lit up the ocean and Devon saw a monstrous amalgamation of a Chimera. It had probably fed on three different predators and took on different attributes of each. The longer snout was taken from a Leviathan, the knife shaped fins from a Kileta, and the multiple tails from a Krakenmar.

It roared in pain as the attack ripped a hole in its right flank. The Chimera turned a started to move farther and farther away until the ping on his HUD disappeared. He swore he heard the Hydra sticking out of Alyssa let out a deep, and vile chuckle before he dived back into Alyssa and she gasped and thrashed about. Eune had to grab her to calm her down.

"Alyssa! Alyssa, you need to calm down!" Eune pleaded.

"No! NO! Not again! I WONT!" She pleaded.

"Alyssa!"

"NO!" She started shivering as she hugged herself.

"What's wrong with her?" Rose asked concerned.

"I don't know! How would I?" Eune asked.

"Devon," Lucas said, grabbing his attention. "That thing is still out there. If she doesn't calm down, it could come back."

Devon nodded and got closer to Alyssa. He gently grabbed her shoulder and pushed her head up so she was looking at him.

"Alyssa, you need to calm down. We're right here. Take a breath." He calmly said.

She gulped in ten massive breaths before she let out a long, shaky breath. "Y-Yeah, thanks...Devon."

"Good." He checked the distance before they hit the ocean floor. The indicator said they were about to make contact. "We....we're almost there? How?" He muttered.

"How much longer?" Lucas asked.

"It's coming up fast! Brace for impact!" He called out.

Their impact kicked up a cloud of sand and dust, making the ocean even darker. They flipped on their helmet lights as the pressure system blared at them a warning as their sudden arrival to the floor accelerated the system's ability to keep them from getting crushed from the pressure.

"Go go! Make for the station!" Devon ordered as they moved through the water.

"Gah! I can't see shit down here!" Lucas complained. "You sure we're heading the right way?!"

"Less talking, more moving please!" Rose said.

They cleared the cloud of dust and were greeted to the sight of a massive network of underwater stations. Some were no larger than a small house, while others were as large as a ten story skyscraper laid down on its side. Devon pointed to a docking port on the side of the smaller building. It looked big enough to let a small craft inside, presumably for a single person.

"There! That's our entry point!"

The alert flashed red on his HUD and it began to countdown until a total system failure. Ten seconds began to quickly countdown and Devon swore he saw a crack appear on his visor.

"We're not gonna make it!" Eune said.

Alyssa groaned in pain and they were all thrown forward into the port. Devon saw a control panel next to Rose and shouted. "Hit the control!"

Rose slammed her fist against the button, as much as she could underwater, and the door behind them sealed shut and the water began to drain as the room pressurized around them. As soon as the water was drained they all sighed in relief.

"Hoh, ha, oh thank god we made it! Haha!" Lucas chuckled.

"Nice job Alyssa." Eune patted her back.

"Ugh....lets NEVER do this again." She groaned.

"Yes, I agree." Rose said.

"That was just the first part of our mission." Devon said as he pulled his rifle off his back.

"Let's complete the second part and lay waste to this operation."