by S. R. TABONE
“Wow! So, so cool” Ella yelled.
“What is that stuff…magic?” Mr. Stokes asked feeling his leg amazed at what had just occurred. The burning itching feeling he’d experienced had completely stopped. The Professor walked back to the cabinets, replaced the shovel and closed the drawer.
“There’s no magic here.” Jill said, “Only advanced science and the power of belief.” She concluded.
“But, isn’t magic based on belief?” Olivia asked. Jill didn’t respond.
“You won’t find any hocus pocus here.” The Professor stared. “Not in the true sense of its meaning. No, no, no, not here. If you want magic there’s—” Jill interrupted the Professor,
“-an extensive choice of once upon a time, fairy tail books in the kindle library you’re welcome to explore.”
“Thank you Jill, but I am—“Again, Jill interrupted the Professor.
“-capable of completing my own sentences.” The Professor gave the Creation-Machine a side-eye and there was a micro expression of agitation on his face. Olivia stood beside the Creation-Machine. Her hand was touching the warm rounded glass panel. Inside the Creation-Machine an aurora like swirl of purple, blue and green colours flowed within a smoke like mist.
“You created them for Rex so you’ll have to create something for us that can destroy them.” Olivia said directing her wish to the Professor.
“What do you want me to create?” The professor asked Olivia approaching the Creation-Machine. But what could possibly defeat the thousands of the fire breathing, flying dragons and ugly, horrible monsters? Olivia thought.
Suddenly a loud alert sounded that coincided with red flashing ceiling lights. ‘WARNING WARNING, EVACUATE GROUND LEVEL AND PROCEED TO LOWER GROUND. WARNING WARNING, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.’ The voice repeated.
"AAAWK" Bobibot squawked loudly.
“What’s happening?” Mr. Stokes asked the Professor.
“I’m not sure what’s going on but we should get out of here fast…follow me.” The Professor proceeded towards a door made of solid steel at the far side of the lab. The Professor pulled out a key from his pocket. His hand was shacking trying to hold the key steady to direct it into the lock. He dropped the key. “Blast.” The Professor said crouching to pick up the key.
“Here you are.” Charlie said having picked up the key from the floor to hand to the Professor who was now biting his bottom lip standing again trying to unlock the door. “Here let me. I can do it.” Charlie insisted moving forward. The Professor reluctantly allowed him to proceed. Charlie turned the lock, looked at the Professor stood aside and the Professor opened the door. There was a short hallway leading to some stairs.
“Come on everyone hurry.” The Professor said holding the door open gesturing for everyone to go through. Everyone entered except Bobibot and Annski who was still curled up like a ball shape. “Come on Bobibot hurry…Annski hurry-hurry!” Bobibot flapped his blue veined yellow robotic wings and flew towards the door. He reached the top of the door and looked back. Annski popped her head out to look around at what was going on. The warning alert was still sounding. The Professor starting to close the door. Bobibot flew back and clung onto Annski’s snake tail with its claws and lifted Annski.
Rex had sent some dragons after Olivia, Nathan and the unipegs. They had arrived. One of them picked up the carriage and swung it around and around let go so that it smashed onto the lab glass wall. The glass was made strong; it prevented the carriage from crashing into the lab.
Bobibot jumped dropping Annski. Charlie ran back to the steel door where the Professor stood to see what the load noise was. He run into the lab and picked up Bobibot and Annski and as he ran back to the steel door other dragons flew onto the lab glass wall trying to break through. He made it back and the Professor closed the door and locked it. The dragons continued trying to break into the lab. Other dragons explored the grounds of the lab looking for any signs of Olivia, the children, Stokes, Joe or the unipegs.
Hold up in the level ground level protected from the dragons above the hoped the dragons would leave so that they could leave. They wondered how many dragons where out there and was worried for the unipegs. The Professor hoped they didn’t destroy the Creation-Machine but if they did Rex wouldn’t be too happy.
“How can we defeat these creatures you’ve help to bring to life? See what they are doing…see they are even attacking their maker.” Olivia said.
“What can I do…his my brother?” The Professor said.
“You can stop him.” Nathan said.
“I can’t stop him, his too strong, and too powerful.” The Professor said shacking. “To stop him, to put an end to all what is going on, someone—someone strong, someone with courage and determination, someone who can get to the crystal sword and try to end it all.”
“I don’t want to get don't get involved in other people's problems or battles.” Stokes said as he sat rubbing his leg thinking of the monster’s bite “All I want to the gold I was promised.”
“I’ll be the one.” Olivia said. “I’m not scared anymore. I don’t care if I live or die but I’ll fight for anyone who needs my help. I’ll fight to find out where my parents are and I’ll fight to stop the evil that goes on there.”
“Go back to the island and search for the crystal sword.” The Professor said standing and imaging that he could see what he was saying. “Find the sword, hold it, take it to the sunlight and wait. It will let you know when it’s ready to do what it was made to do. You will not be alone. You’ll be supported with a strong army of created beings who’ll fight on your side.” The Professor said.
“The crystal sword?” Ella asked. “The crystal sword?” I’ve heard about it. It was taken to the tombs of monsters and dragons. No one can get to the sword. Rex has made sure of that.”
“If I get the sword what should I do with it?” Olivia asked.
“Get to the smallest of the dark bells. Strike it, it will explode into pieces and with it a small part of the castles power.” The Professor explained.
“I’ll smash all the bells. How many are there?” Olivia asked.
“There are seven.” Charlie answered.
“You’ll not be able to destroy all seven during one battle. The crystal sword will not withstand the force needed to do that. You must destroy a bell then wait for the sword to power itself. You might have to wait many moths before the sword is ready again. You’ll have to enter battle after battle. This is the only way. Only by using the crystal sword correctly can you stand a chance of defeating Rex and his Foundation.” The Professor said.
“What would happen if all of the bells are destroyed?” Nathan asked.
“Strike the main dark bell, the largest bell after the others using the crystal sword and the island and all that is in it will vanish forever. All that is there will be no more.” The Professor said.
“I hope I’ll get the treasure out of there long before that happens.” Stokes said.
“And I…what will happen to me?” Olivia asked the Professor.
“You too. You will be no more. But you would have freed the children. You would have saved them. You’d be giving them that chance, the possibility of escaping from Rex for good. It’s a price you’ll have to decide if you want to take. Your life to save theirs.” The Professor said.
“Is there any other way?” Nathan asked.
“No. There’s no other way.” The Professor replied.
“What are the chances of even succeeding to destroy the whole island?” Stokes asked.
“That depends on how determined the person who leads the battles is.” The Professor replied.
“And if that person doesn’t succeed. If Rex isn’t stopped what will he do? What are his goals?” Stokes asked.
“He wants to kill ¾ of the people in the world and control the rest of humanity.” Charlie said.
“You’ve made that up.” Ella replied.
“No, it’s true! I hacked into his project plans using the st
andby server on the VonB1 satellite. I read step by step what his aiming for.” Charlie replied.
“He must be stopped. I’ve got business back home. I’ve got relatives. And how will I get to enjoy the treasure if he gets his way.” Stoke said.
“Professor! Help us prepare for the first battle. We’ll strike the first blow while the iron is still hot” Olivia said.
“Yeah!” Charlie said.
“Way to go!” Ella said.
“Oh no”. Joe thought. “Does this mean I’ll never get back to see my cat Snobby?” He asked himself.
The noises from able had stopped. The group waited several hours before deciding to leave the safety of the lower level. The dragons had left. The unipegs couldn’t be found. The dragons had taken them back to the island so that Rex could punish them in any way he wanted. With her parents missing, the unipegs belonged to Olivia. They had saved her so she decided to return the favour and try to save them.
But before she could try, the Professor got to work to build an army that would be strong enough to try and win the seven battles.
Chapter 9: The Battle Plan
“I know the creatures that must be defeated. I know them well probably more than you do Professor. I’ve lived around them. I’ve spoken to them. They are not all bad. Most have been made bad by he they call their master, the headmaster. But most of them must be killed. They must be slaughtered. It’s impossible to reason with these beings. They do not fear death and there are so many of them – as you know – that one death is like one leaf picked from a tree, there will be many thousands that remain.” Nathan said.
“Then what do you suggest. How can we defeat them?” Olivia asked.
“Every creature fears something. And if there’s one thing a dragon fears it’s a knight on horseback with a lance.” Nathan said.
“Yes, yes, you’re right. We’ve seen effective the unipegs had been all on their own. I can imagine knights riding unipegs, knights with shields and lances and swords and bows and arrows and armed with all manner of dragons killing weapons.” Olivia said.
“Creating all those knights and horses or unipegs would take ages and if you are to stand a chance of winning you don’t have ages.” Professor said.
“You’re the Professor; you’ve got to come up with a solution.” Olivia said. “After all it’s your brother that’s caused all this. Clearly he isn’t going to stop until he gets what he wants.” The Professor gathered some crystals and put them in a lead box that was inside the Creation-Machine and covered the crystals with a lid and closed the machines door. He pressed some buttons on a control panel beside the machine. He sat at this computer and entered some coded instruction. He got up and took a visual ideas helmet from a cardboard.
“Olivia put this on and think about the knights you told us about.” She did and what she thought appeared on a screen that dropped down from the ceiling. When a clear image could be seen and the image of a knight moved the Professor pressed enter on his keyboard and the idea had been saved. Sometimes Olivia’s thoughts were muddled and she thought about clothes, shoes, designer bags. When she saw her parents she then saw weapons and how these would be used against the dragons, monsters and giants she’d remembered seeing at the castle.
When the Professor had all the information he needed he removed the device from Olivia’s head. He started up the Creation-Machine. Mist filled the machine. He sent the information he’d gathered from his computer to the machines input receptor. Bright coloured light glowed inside the machine. Sparks and bangs occurred. The machine calmed, the light glowed dimly, the mist dissipated. The Professor opened the machines door, removed the lip off of the box. He went to collect the small plastic container from a shelf. He unscrewed the lip off the container and reached into the lead box. He picked up a handful of tiny seeds the placed them into the plastic container. He asked some of the children to transfer every single seed from the box to the container and screw the lid on.
“When you return to the island scatter these seeds on the garden in the castle and pour sea water over them.” The Professor instructed.
“And then what?” Olivia asked.
“Then you carry on fighting, hold off the forces against you with the creatures you’ll go there with. When the seeds have reacted your knights will appear and all that you imagined for them shall appear too.” The Professor said.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Nathan asked.
“Yes I’m certain it will.” The Professor answered.
“And if it doesn’t?” Olivia asked.
“Do not fear. I’m very sure the seeds will transform. They will be and do just what you imagined.” The Professor replied.
“If you’re to be a successful leader you need to learn how to give orders and how to fight yourself. Follow me.” The Professor said to Olivia. The other followed too. He took them into a forest a few miles from the lab. He called his assistances based at the stables at the edge of the forest to prepare his horses with saddles and ride them into the forest battle training area.
The Professor and his assistance began teaching Olivia, Nathan and some of the children how to ride horses. Over the next few weeks Olivia was taught how to use weapons, how to defend against the same weapons being used against her. She was taught battle tactics that included how and when to order her forces to attack. The Professor and his team taught her many different aspects of battle strategy. Within a month she was battle ready. She could handle a horse, flight like a warrior, think tactics and plan like a general.
Someone was sending messages to Rex. That person was revealing the battle plans. Rex now knew who was going to be leading the battle against him and his castle. The Professor was getting himself deeper and deeper into trouble with his brother. He knew he’d have to face the ultimate punishment sooner or later unless Rex could be stopped.
The day had come to return to the island. Olivia asked the children to stay behind until the castle was no more. But they insisted on going with her. They wanted to play a part in the battle. Joe missed home a lot but offered to lend a hand when Stokes asked him to promise to stay with him until the end. Stokes had plans of his own, plans to get rich.
“How are we going to get there? The unipegs have not returned.” Charlie asked the Professor.
“I’ll show you.” The Professor replied. He took them to the lower level of the lab. Locked the door behind them and opened another door within the floor that led to a spiral staircase. They made there way down. It seemed like ages by the time they’d reached the last step. The Professor led them into a wide concrete room that had a low ceiling. As they followed the Professor and as they walked into the room the ceiling became higher and the painted yellow and white lines appeared on the floor. There was a large covered object in front of them. The Professor stopped.
“Here help me pull this cover off.” They all took hold of an area of the dark green camouflage canvas cover and pulled backwards. The cover came off and a spacecraft was exposed. Nathan, Charlie and Ella and the other children were familiar with space technology. It had been a subject they’d worked with for years back at the castle for Rex. But this machine was different. It was like nothing they’d ever seen before.
“What type is this Professor?” Charlie asked.
“Does this fly?” Olivia asked. Despite being covered to protect it from dust, the spacecraft was very dirty with mostly dried mud. The black and silver coloured craft was 60 feet in length and the wing span was narrow, too narrow Charlie thought to take off. It had four mesh burner vents at the rear and it didn’t have any wheels. The wing span seemed narrow, to narrow to hold it in the air. It looked heavy and hardly streamline but more like a mid 19th century steam iron that a spacecraft.
“This is a prototype. It’s more advanced than anything you’ve come across. Here I’ll show you.” The professor lifted his hand and the craft rose above a loading bay area. The Professor stepped on the loading bay. “Come board” the other joined him.
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br /> “How does the launch system function?” Charlie asked. The loading bay lifted into the craft. The craft was hovering above the floor. There were sets of leather chairs with arm rests inside.
“Take a seat.” The Professor said. As the children choose their seats the Professor explained how to operate the craft. He explained that while this machine could fly like no other aircraft in existence it didn’t have any weapons systems. He took two pairs of what looked like normal sunglasses from his pocket. He asked Charlie to put on one pair and Nathan to the other. He asked them to close their eyes tightly for three seconds and then open. When they did they couldn’t see anything inside the craft but what was outside. They felt a bit dizzy and uneasy. “Don’t worry you’ll get used of the experience but whatever you do don’t remove your glasses in mid-flight. At least not both of you.”
“So where are the controls to this spacecraft?” Olivia asked.
“Charlie?” The Professor said.
“Yee Professor.” Charlie answered.
“Think about moving forward very slowly.” He did and the craft moved forward though there others didn’t feel it move because it was super smooth. It continued to move through the room and when it reached a set of roller shutters they lifted as the craft got closer. “Increase your speed.” The Professor said.” Charlie thought about going faster and as he did the craft did as he thought. He took it high up, left, right, down, he shot off into the sky, through the clouds and faster he flew the craft out of the world into space. Nathan could see the route he was taking but still the others could hardly feel any movement as if they’d not even left the room. “Nathan, take over and bring us back.”
The two boys swapped places, Charlie watched as Nathan controlled the spacecraft. He flew it back to the lab landing in the car park. The Professor had arranged for supplies of food, water and other combat items to be loaded onto the craft. He instructed the group to lie low and wait for the day he’d be sending creatures he’d planned to form to assist in the battle. The spacecraft took off and the Professor returned to work.