The air in the Nazi tunnels was thick with dust, gunpowder, and the faint metallic scent of blood. The hounds were gone, their bodies sprawled across the concrete, glowing eyes finally dim. Silence reigned—until Phoenix let out a dramatic exhalation so loud it echoed through the hall.
“I AM ALIVE!” he shouted, arms spread wide like a resurrected saint.
Immediately, Kraken and Wyvern rounded on him, followed by Griffin and Basilisk.
“YOU LITTLE BRAT!” they all roared in unison.
Phoenix flinched, raising his hands. “God save me from these guys! Honestly, those dogs were better company than you people!”
That sealed it. They descended on him, smacking him on the head, shoving his shoulders, and giving him kicks in passing. Phoenix curled into a ball, whining dramatically, his face turning black and blue.
Hydra ignored the scuffle, already moving deeper into the bunker with Cerberus at his side. The rest eventually followed, still throwing light punches at Phoenix as they regrouped.
The next chamber was wide and dimly lit. Rows of kennels lined the walls, some broken, others still locked. Hydra crouched, inspecting the collars left behind.
“They were stolen dogs,” he muttered. “Used for experiments.”
Nymph frowned. “But none of them look like dogs anymore.”
Sphinx tapped a terminal, scrolling through ancient records. “The Nazis rewired their genes, spliced something unnatural into them.”
Cerberus’s eyes narrowed. Something had struck her—an itch at the back of her mind. She turned sharply toward Nymph and Sphinx. “This many experiments… but why is every one of them altered beyond recognition? What were they building toward?”
They dug deeper into the files. Hydra’s hand stilled when he noticed one document marked “Classified – High Priority.” The name printed in bold letters was chilling.
BLONDI.
Hydra read it aloud. “Blondi? Why is this file secured separately?”
Phoenix, still holding his bruised cheek, piped up weakly. “Blondi… that’s Hitler’s German shepherd, don’t you guys know that?”
The entire squad froze.
Kraken gawked. “Wait… you? You know history?!”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9Y2TDX3Nj
Wyvern glared. “You sleep through every lecture!”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxzSQht5Pc
Griffin crossed his arms. “There’s no way you pulled that out of your own brain.”
Phoenix grinned through his swollen lip. “Valgrave covered it. We know dictators, okay? Hitler loved his dog, and that was Blondi. Cyanide poisoning, 1945. Basic trivia.”
Everyone exchanged bewildered looks. The loudmouth troublemaker who thought “Napoleon” was a pizza topping now lectured them on Hitler’s pet.
Hydra shook his head and pressed on. The tunnels led them to a pristine chamber—different from the decrepit halls they’d crossed. It was clean, organized, and disturbingly modern.
Pegasus pointed. “Uh… guys? Tell me that’s not a dog in a coffin.”
But it wasn’t just a coffin. In the center of the room stood a massive glass chamber, electricity humming softly around it. Inside lay the perfectly preserved body of a German shepherd. Its golden-brown fur was immaculate, its eyes closed as if merely sleeping.
Valkyrie stepped closer, awed. “This chamber’s still working. The preservation system is alive.”
Wyvern and Leviathan split off, following the cables that hummed across the room. They opened a secondary door—and their jaws dropped.
Rows upon rows of massive generators churned, their lights blinking. Some looked brand new, as if maintained.
Together, Wyvern and Leviathan shouted, “BLONDI!”
The rest of the Shades rushed over, shocked by the sheer number of machines keeping one dog alive for nearly a century.
Basilisk whistled. “I thought Blondi died from cyanide poisoning. Hitler himself killed her.”
Griffin flipped through the files, shaking his head. “Yeah, that’s what’s written here too. Died instantly. So why the hell is she still here?”
Raiden and Leviathan returned, looking grim. “Brooo… there are enough generators back there to power a small city. A hundred years, non-stop, just to keep this one thing alive dead.”
Hydra’s eyes narrowed. He stared at the shepherd in the glass chamber, doubt twisting in his mind. “This doesn’t make sense. Too much effort, too much energy for a dead pet. This isn’t just preservation. Someone used this dog for something.”
Cerberus stepped closer, scanning carefully. Her sharp eyes caught a faint shimmer of metal stitched beneath the fur, just behind Blondi’s left ear.
“Wait. There’s something there.”
The squad all turned to her. Hydra confirmed with a glance. “We need it out.”
As one, every finger in the room slowly pointed toward Phoenix, who was crouched in the corner, hugging his knees.
Phoenix’s eyes went wide. “Why me?!”
Wyvern snarled. “Because you almost gave us rabies, brat!”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnlPsVjEV9
Phoenix threw his hands up. “Not all of you! Just half of you!”
The room erupted in laughter. Even Hydra smirked as he handed Phoenix a knife.
“Do it.”
Phoenix stared at the blade like it was cursed. “I am mafia! Why am I suddenly the vet here?! Can anyone tell me why I hate Valgrave? Because he made me learn mechanics, and now apparently surgery except mafia!” He wailed dramatically. “I am not a vetnichian!”
Basilisk scowled, arms crossed. “Stop whining and cut.”
Phoenix tiptoed toward the glass chamber, muttering prayers. His hands shook as he positioned the blade near Blondi’s ear.
“Please don’t bite me, please don’t resurrect, please don’t…”
He closed his eyes, took a breath, and sliced carefully. The skin peeled back, and something metallic gleamed. With a trembling hand, Phoenix pulled it free.
It wasn’t a tag. It wasn’t a chip.
It was some kind of sleek, futuristic device—shaped like a pendrive but heavier, etched with symbols none of them recognized.
For a long moment, the Shades stared at it in stunned silence.
Sphinx finally whispered, “That… is not Nazi technology.”
Hydra’s jaw tightened. “We’ll discuss this later. We head back to the house in Germany.”
Phoenix stuffed the device into a pouch, his heart still racing. “Finally! Mission over, right? Please tell me no more zombie dogs…”
But none of them laughed this time. The air was heavier, every pair of eyes locked on the glass coffin where Blondi still rested.
And in the silence of the bunker, the hum of the generators sounded less like machines and more like a heartbeat.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.