The Secret War

by Matt Myklusch

  “What is it, then?” Hypnova asked.

  “This,” Glave gloated, “is psychological warfare at the highest level. I’m prepping the battlefield for the next invasion, sowing discord and confusion in the enemy’s ranks. You people are your own worst enemy. I’ve got you fighting among one another already, completely oblivious to the real threat. This goes far beyond the Mechas. The SmarterNet is spreading the spyware virus to every machine on Earth. Surveillance satellites, communications networks, missile silos … planes, trains, and automobiles—even power tools and vacuum cleaners! Everything will work against you when the empire returns. You’ll march with us on that glorious day, boy,” Glave said, pointing a finger in Jack’s direction. “Perhaps you’ll even lead the charge. The Magus will have his son returned, and he will have his victory.” Glave turned to the scrap-metal legion of Left-Behinds and gave the order to attack. “Take them.”

  The small army of Left-Behinds that had never stopped gathering behind Glave lurched forward, advancing on Hypnova’s ship. Hypnova released the anchor and ordered her crew to take the ship out, but the Left-Behinds opened fire on the hot air balloon. The vessel went crashing to the floor of the chamber. As Jack and Hypnova staggered to their feet, the Mysterrii leaped into action, trying to keep the Rüstov from boarding the ship.

  “He’s right,” Hypnova grunted as she snatched her sword up off the floor. “Smashing this machine won’t stop the virus. It’s already out there. It won’t stop what he’s done to us, either. Even if we cured the Mechas and the other machines … everything is suspect now. The trust is gone. He’s already succeeded.”

  Jack stopped listening halfway through Hypnova’s speech. He didn’t hear anything after the word “cured.” “Hypnova, that’s it,” he said. “That’s it!” Hypnova looked at Jack like he must have hit his head too hard in the crash. “The cure,” Jack explained. “I have the cure! I can’t do anything about the trust, but I can stop the virus.” Jack checked his watch. The ninety minutes were almost up. “Almost ready,” he said. “If it works, we can upload it here and broadcast it to every Mecha. We can broadcast it everywhere!”

  “Is it going to work?” Hypnova asked.

  “I think so,” Jack said, throwing up his hands. “I don’t know. It’s worth a shot, isn’t it? Midknight showed me Smart’s transmitter. It was advanced, but I got it. I understood that part of this thing.” Jack looked up at the near-invisible SmarterNet. “I can do this,” he said decidedly. “If I can use my powers, that is.”

  A Left-Behind jumped up at the ship’s railing, right next to Jack. Hypnova spun around with her sword, slicing across the creature’s chest, and then throwing an elbow into its jaw, knocking it off the ship. “Where is the cure now?” she asked without missing a beat.

  “Uh … in my lab,” Jack said, stepping back from the railing. “I ran it on the prototype. I can run it here, too. I just need the nullifiers shut down.”

  “Call your friends,” Hypnova said, taking Jack by the wrist and walking him back toward the rear of the ship. “We’ll take care of the nullifiers.”

  Hypnova started giving orders to the Mysterrii, and Jack called to Allegra on the wristband.

  “Jack, what the heck is going on?” Allegra demanded. “It’s getting bad out here. Midknight just called Stendeval…. He said they’re not going to make it in time. Stendeval’s going to have to EMP the Mechas.”

  “No,” Jack said. “Allegra, you’ve gotta tell Stendeval to wait. Hypnova and I are at the SmarterNet right now. I can use it to cure the Mechas. At least, I think I can, but I need you to go to my lab and get the prototype. The cure-code is loaded onto its CPU. I need you to bring it here so we can broadcast it out.”

  “Bring it where?” Allegra asked. “Where are you?”

  “Are you outside? Can you see Mount Nevertop?” Jack asked.

  “Yes,” said Allegra.

  “Look up,” Jack said, and he threw a heap of purple powder into the cauldron of purple flames. The bonfire flared up so fast it nearly burned his eyebrows off, but it lit up the night sky, illuminating the crystal surface of the mountain with a brilliance that was impossible to miss.

  “Up there? How am I supposed to …,” Allegra started to say. Jack could practically hear her shaking her head in frustration. “Jack, there’s no one here to help,” she said. “All the heroes are in Machina. It’s just me and the other students out here with Chi’s ninjas.”

  “The other students?” Jack asked. “Good, you’re going to need Trea to lead you to my lab.”

  “Jack, you’re not listening,” Allegra said.

  Before Jack could say anything in reply, a metal hand grabbed at his shoulder. “Ahhh!” Jack screamed. He hit the deck, slipping out of his jacket as he dropped to the floor. On his knees, he turned to see a Left-Behind climbing over the back railing of the ship. It threw his jacket away and kept coming at him. Jack looked around for something to defend himself with and grabbed the only thing he could reach. It was the same mop he’d tried to hold the Mysterrii back with. Thinking fast, he stuck the mop end into the fire and then rammed the flaming torch into the chest of the Left-Behind. The Rüstov screamed as the flammable oils and greases on its machine parts lit up instantly. More Left-Behinds came crawling up the side of the ship, but Hypnova swooped back in, slicing two of them away with one swing of her sword, and kicking a third off the railing. She settled into position over Jack, guarding him.

  “Allegra, I can’t talk now,” Jack said into his wrist. “The ship is crawling with Left-Behinds. I need your help. Please, go to my lab now. And listen … if we live through this, I’ll tell you everything. I mean it. And if I don’t make it … well, you already know how sorry I am.”

  There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. “I know,” Allegra said at last. “I’m coming.”

  “Hurry,” Jack said. “Please.” He turned off the wrist-band and looked up at Hypnova.

  “Well?” she asked him.

  Jack nodded. “She’s on her way.”

  “Good,” Hypnova said, handing Jack a sword. “Because so are they.” She motioned toward the forward end of the ship. A squad of Left-Behinds was closing in. Jack heard a most unwelcome ka-chuck noise as the Rüstov soldiers cocked their weapons. Seconds later he ducked down screaming as the world around him erupted in a hail of bullets and a million splintery explosions.

  CHAPTER

  27

  Melee at Mount Nevertop

  “Cease fire, you imbeciles!” Glave shouted. “CEASE FIRE! Do you mean to kill your prince along with his host?”

  The gunfire stopped. A few final shots rang out alone like the last lingering blasts on a string of firecrackers. Jack looked up, his ears ringing. Glave was still shouting.

  “Do you want to explain to the Magus that you killed his son minutes before we were about to reclaim him?” the Rüstov spy railed at his men. “After we spent thirteen years looking for him? He’s no good to us dead, you morons!”

  The Left-Behinds grumbled like unappreciated workers, and then marched forward toward Jack and Hypnova, ready to take them by hand.

  “They need to take you alive,” Hypnova said. “We have that much going for us.”

  “Right,” Jack agreed. “You know things are bad when that’s the good news.”

  “Take pleasure in the little victories, Jack,” Hypnova said. “Sometimes that’s all we have.” She threw open a hatch on the floor of the ship and pushed Jack toward it. “Get belowdecks.”

  “Not yet,” Jack replied. Using the broadsword Hypnova had just handed him, he cut away a rope holding several barrels of flammable powder in place.

  “What are you doing?” Hypnova asked.

  “Using my environment,” Jack replied as the heavy stores of fuel for the hot air balloon’s bonfire rolled into the Rüstov, knocking them down like bowling pins. Jack looked up at Hypnova. “Not bad, eh?”

  Hypnova didn’t say anything. She wasn’t even looking at Jac
k. She was looking at a trail of purple powder that had leaked out of one of the barrels as it rolled across the deck. Flames from the body of the Left-Behind that Jack had set on fire were inching ever closer to it. The powder ignited, and a thin line of fire blazed toward the barrels at the other end of the ship. “Get below,” Hypnova said at last. “Now.”

  Jack cringed and went for the hatch. Hypnova followed close behind, racing down the ladder after him. The explosion rocked the boat with a force strong enough to rattle Jack’s teeth and roll the ship onto its side. Hypnova and Jack were just fast enough to escape a burst of flames rushing over their heads, but went flying off the ladder on their way down to the lower decks.

  Once the ship settled into place, Hypnova got up and walked across the wall—which, given the ship’s current angle, was now the floor—and pushed the hatch open to see what was left of her ship. Half of it was blown apart. The other half was either on fire or soon to be on fire.

  “My ship,” was all she said.

  Jack poked his head out next to Hypnova. He didn’t know what to say to her. He was about to apologize, but decided this part wasn’t his fault. Not really. The ship had been lost the moment the Rüstov had downed it. That said, Jack couldn’t deny that he had left a decidedly negative impression on Hypnova’s life since having met her. Of course, his life wasn’t exactly smooth sailing as a result of having her in it either.

  “The whole ship is going to burn,” Jack said. “We can’t stay here.”

  Hypnova grunted and took a step back, pulling the hatch shut behind her. Jack jumped back to avoid getting hit by the door. “I wasn’t planning to,” she told him. “Follow me.”

  Hypnova led the way to the stern of the ship, where she took a chair and smashed out its ornate stained-glass rear window. Jack figured she didn’t see much point in trying to preserve the ship’s finer points now. He and Hypnova kicked away the remaining shards of glass that were sticking out of the windowsill, and then they jumped through it. The Mysterrii were waiting for them outside.

  Glave was shouting at his Left-Behinds to find Jack. He and Hypnova had a minute, maybe less, to figure out their next move under the cover of the flames and smoke. Jack got right down to business. “We have to shut down those nullifiers before Allegra gets here,” he said. “We can’t touch the SmarterNet, though…. We need it working for when they show up with the cure.”

  “If they show up with the cure,” Hypnova said. “Assuming your cure works.” She shook her head. “That won’t be easy. We can barely even see the SmarterNet.”

  “Here, I almost forgot,” Jack said, reaching into his bag to pull out two pairs of goggles. “Heat-vision goggles. I brought these to help spot Obscuro’s cloaked ship. When I thought it was Obscuro, that is. Try them on.” Jack handed one pair to Hypnova and pulled the other over his own eyes.

  Hypnova shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”

  Jack agreed that the goggles’ effect was far from perfect. He saw the SmarterNet glowing in clear shades of orange and red, but the cold crystal surface of the cavern registered as a deep indigo that blended seamlessly with the dark night. Getting around using heat-vision wasn’t going to be easy. The fire produced a bright red glare that didn’t help matters either. Jack tried flipping up one eye of his goggles, but the result was even more disorienting so he decided to press on with both eyes covered.

  “Like you said, sometimes you’ve gotta go with what you’ve got. I don’t have any more for these guys,” Jack said, motioning to the Mysterrii.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Hypnova replied. “The Mysterrii’s eyes work differently from ours.”

  “Good,” Jack said. “Let’s get to it. What do the nullifiers look like?”

  “You know I can’t tell you secrets,” Hypnova told Jack.

  Jack flipped up his goggles and glared at Hypnova. “You’ve gotta be kidding. You’re not even a Secreteer anymo—”

  “But I can smash any nullifiers I see,” Hypnova interrupted. “And if you happen to notice what they look like in the process … so be it.”

  Jack calmed down and watched as Hypnova pointed at a gang of Mysterrii that was climbing up the side of the SmarterNet. The Left-Behinds tried to stop them, but the nimble and cagey Mysterrii still made it to the top. Jack watched as one of them ran at a tall, thin pole that was sticking out of the front corner of the rig. The little guy grabbed it and swung around. Another Mysterrii grabbed on to his feet as he passed by, and they both kept right on swinging. A third Mysterrii jumped on after that, and the pole finally snapped off under their combined weight.

  The Mysterrii went flying through the air and into the arms of their comrades, who were hanging down from the catwalks like trapeze acrobats ready to receive their partners midflight. One of them was still holding the pole that they had broken off the SmarterNet. At the end of the pole was a metallic cylinder about the size of a coffee thermos, with a blinking red light at the top. The Mysterrii smashed it against the wall, and Jack felt a surge of power flood back into his body. It was invigorating, like a jolt of adrenaline snapping everything he saw into sharper focus.

  It felt good, but Jack’s powers weren’t all the way back. Not yet. He knew how to get them back now, though, and that felt great. There were three more poles on top of the SmarterNet, one posted at each corner. Each one had a metal cylinder at the top like the one the Mysterrii had just smashed. “One down, three to go,” Jack said. “Let’s do it.”

  A fortunate gust of wind blew the black smoke from the fire toward the SmarterNet, and Jack and Hypnova followed the cloud and a wave of Mysterrii toward Jonas Smart’s accidental doomsday device. Jack ran up a flight of stairs on one side, and Hypnova charged up a ramp on the other. He hadn’t even reached the first landing before his path was blocked by Rüstov Left-Behinds. Seen through heat-vision, their organic body parts gave off a sickly lime green glow that clashed with the yellow and orange hues of their mechanical parts. If Jack had been able to use his powers, those mechanical parts would have been the Achilles’ heel of every Rüstov on Mount Nevertop, but he had to take out the nullifiers before that would be the case. Still, Jack wasn’t completely over-matched. He might not have been able to use his powers, but the Left-Behinds couldn’t use their guns. They were both fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

  The Rüstov Para-Soldiers on the staircase lunged for Jack. He jumped back, and the lead Left-Behind fell face-first down the steps. It clutched at the banister to get up, and Jack thrust his sword into its heart. When that didn’t stop it, Jack grabbed the breathing tubes and wires that ran into a mechanized pack on its back. Sparks went flying everywhere as the creature dropped to its knees. Two more Left-Behinds closed in behind the fallen Para-Soldier, but a trio of Mysterrii hopped over Jack’s shoulders and landed on them. The Left-Behinds were still struggling to draw their guns when several more Mysterrii popped up over the exterior banister and held their arms fast. The Mysterrii raised their daggers and stabbed the Rüstov until they fell. It was so brutal that Jack had to turn away. When he looked up, the path was clear.

  “Thanks, guys,” Jack said, wincing at the sight of their handiwork.

  “Frezza frezza!” one of the Mysterrii shouted back. “Fez! Fez!” it said, pointing onward up the stairs.

  “Right,” Jack said. The small but deadly creature’s message was clear enough. Jack heard gunfire on the roof of the SmarterNet, and he followed the sound up in a hurry. The Mysterrii did the same, but they ignored the walkways and staircases, opting to crawl up through the guts of the great machine, climbing into vents, pipes, and any other openings they could squeeze themselves into. Jack kept going up a ramp that zigzagged its way up the SmarterNet’s exterior like a fire escape. More Left-Behinds blocked the way, but Jack cut through them with the help of the Mysterrii, who kept coming out of nowhere. The Left-Behinds outnumbered Jack and his allies, but the Rüstov’s numbers were no help to them fighting in such close quarters. Jack was starting
to feel more and more optimistic about their chances, which was perhaps why Khalix started piping up—Jack’s parasite wanted to take some of the wind out of his sails. At least Jack hoped that was what was behind Khalix’s sudden bold streak.

  “Just give up already,” the Rüstov prince said inside Jack’s head. “Every one of these Para-Soldiers will gladly die for me, and my father has a million more where they came from. You know we’ll never stop. Why prolong the inevitable?”

  Jack froze in place. Khalix’s words sent a chill up his spine. Not so much because of what he said, but rather because Jack could hear him in the first place. “Is this going to be a regular thing with you now?” Jack asked in as brave a voice as he could muster. “Chiming in with little comments all the time?”

  “You’ve only got yourself to blame,” Khalix replied. “You’re the one who let me back into your life.”

  Don’t let him get to you, Jack told himself.

  “Tough talk from someone who’s done less than nothing for the last thirteen years,” Jack said out loud. “What, you’re a big man now because Daddy’s coming to your rescue? I never had that. That’s why I’m stronger. That’s why I’m going to win.” Jack did his best to sound convincing. He could hear what Khalix said, but not what he thought. Jack hoped their connection worked the same way from the other side. Jack concentrated as hard as he could, trying to shut Khalix out. He hoped that willpower alone would be enough to do it without his powers. He didn’t have time to think about his parasite right now. He had a job to do, and there were too many Left-Behinds trying to stop him, not to mention the ruthless spy behind all this—Glave.

  Jack made it to the top of the SmarterNet and saw several Mysterrii lying on the ground, unconscious. He hoped they were just unconscious. Across the roof Glave was busy choking the life out of one of them, but he dropped him once he saw Jack. “There you are,” Glave said with a satisfied smirk on his face. “You should have run, boy. That would have been the smart thing to do.”