by Adam Blade
“So — this is an actual skull — with special powers? And who in all the ocean was Thallos?”
Lia pulled a pendant out from her tunic. “Look.” She showed Max a chain on which hung a golden figure. Max realized it was the same as the statue in Thallos Square — the long-necked, finned creature with the sharp beak. “This is Thallos — the Father of the Ocean. Legend says he created all of the waters and everything in them, long, long ago. Only his skull remains — but that skull has great power over all the ocean. We kept it in the palace, in the King’s Great Hall —”
“That empty block with nothing on it!”
Lia nodded. “That is where the Professor stole it from. When he failed to harness its power, he split the skull into four pieces, so it would be almost impossible to get back. Now each piece is guarded by a mighty sea creature that he controls. One of them is Cephalox — the giant squid that took your father. I was tracking it when I met you.”
Max was about to ask more questions when electronic barking echoed in the corridor outside the cell.
He jumped to his feet.
“Rivet!” he shouted. “Rivet!”
The dogbot came paddling into view, propellers turning, tail wagging. “Max!” he barked. “Found Max!”
“Good dogbot!” Max reached through the bars of the cell and stroked Rivet’s iron ears. I’m so glad I installed that locator chip! he thought. “Look, Lia — this is Rivet — my dogbot! He must have escaped from the Professor —”
Lia was frowning as she stood up. “Escaped?” she said. “Don’t you think the Professor would have your dogbot chained up? If your dog got away, it’s because the Professor let him go. And why would he do that?”
“I don’t know,” Max said.
Lia groaned. “Isn’t it obvious? Because he must have guessed I’d bring you to Sumara, and he used the dog to track us! Our aqua powers only conceal the city from the minds of living creatures — not robots. Thanks to Rivet, the Professor knows where we are.”
There was a huge crash and the cell shook. In the distance, Max heard more crashes, and then screams.
He felt a cold weight in the pit of his stomach. Sumara was under attack — and it was his dogbot that had led the Professor to the city!
ONE THING’S FOR SURE, MAX THOUGHT. I’M NOT going to hide down here till the danger’s passed. Lia had saved his life and gotten thrown into jail as a reward. The least he could do was try to save her home.
First they had to get out of the cell.
“Rivet! Here, boy!”
Rivet moved closer, tail wagging, poking his metal snout through the bars. “Yes, Max! Here, Max!”
“Hold still — this won’t hurt.”
Max began to unscrew the control panel in Rivet’s neck.
“What are you doing?” Lia asked.
“Watch!”
Max picked apart the multicolored clump of wires beneath the control panel. He pulled a yellow wire free and sliced through it with the penknife he always carried. The special waterproof wiring technology was a favorite subject of Max’s father in Aquora, and he had taught Max some tricks about it. The wiring used thermoresin conductors, so they would work underwater. Rivet’s tail stopped wagging.
“No wag,” he said.
“That’s okay,” Max said. “Just for now, I’m diverting all the power that goes to your tail to your jaws, all right?”
He made a tiny nick in a red wire, then tied the yellow wire around it so that both thermoresin wires were in contact. He screwed the lid of the control panel back on.
“Right, Rivet — bite through these bars!” he ordered.
“Yes, Max! Yum!” The dogbot’s steel jaws clamped on to one of the bars. There was a grinding, tearing sound as Rivet ripped the bar clean away. He did the same with the bar next to it, leaving a gap big enough to squeeze through.
“Good job, Rivet,” Max told him. “You can stop now. Good boy!”
Rivet barked, obviously pleased with himself. With a section of iron bar still gripped in his jaws, he looked just like a real dog with a bone.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Lia said. “But if Spike had been here, I bet he could have sawed through those bars, too.”
The crashing and screaming continued.
“Come on!” Max said. “We’ve got to do something!”
Lia led them through the maze of tunnels. There were no guards around — they must have gone to defend against the attack, Max guessed. The floor gradually sloped upward until they emerged into the empty palace. Lia opened a side door and swam through. Max and Rivet followed.
They were above a side street, with crowds of terrified Merryn swimming past.
“What’s happening?” asked Lia.
“It’s Cephalox!” someone said. “He’s smashing up the city! Swim for your lives!”
Cephalox. Max’s heart leaped. If the giant squid still had his dad, Max might have a chance to rescue him.
“I’m going to destroy the Robobeast,” he said. “Will you help me?”
Rivet barked. “Yes, Max! Fight!”
“Fight Cephalox?” Lia said. “No. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’ll face it alone, then,” Max said. “If you’re too scared.”
Lia’s eyes narrowed. “Merryn are braver than humans! If you’re fighting, I’ll fight, too.”
They swam up the street, against the tide of fleeing Merryn. Around the corner they came out at the front of the palace, and swam through the Arch of Peace. Max saw the huge black shape of Cephalox in the distance, at the end of Treaty Avenue. His heartbeat quickened. The squid looked like a giant spider, its tentacles covering the whole of Thallos Square. The tip of its mantle was as high as the tallest buildings.
As they swam closer, Max saw that King Salinus and his guards were swimming around Cephalox, trying to stab it with spears. But their weapons bounced off the creature’s tough black skin. Cephalox swiped at the guards with its clawed tentacles, scattering them. Its energy cannons blasted, vaporizing sections of buildings. Large stones came free, falling in slow motion and floating down around the statue of Thallos.
Max looked for the glass bubble on the squid’s mantle, where his dad had been held. But he was no longer there. Cephalox must have already delivered his father to the Professor.
Max’s heart sank. There was no time to dwell on it now, though. The Robobeast had to be defeated. A direct attack would never work. It was too well-armored and had too many tentacles. Its weakness lay in the harness that was plugged into its mantle. Yes — that had to be how the Professor was controlling it. Unplug that somehow, and it would no longer be a raging Robobeast. Or at least, that was what Max hoped.
But how to get close?
The creature squirted out a jet of inky fluid, engulfing King Salinus and his guards in a black cloud.
“Enough!” the king shouted. “Retreat!”
The guards swam away as the ink cloud cleared. Cephalox had the square all to itself. It would spot Max right away if he swam straight up to it.
“Spike!” Lia cried. Her swordfish swam over to her and rubbed its head against her. Rivet sniffed at Spike curiously.
Suddenly, Max had an idea.
“Lia, can you and Spike distract Cephalox while I try something?”
“What are you going to do?”
“No time to explain,” Max said. “Just help me out.”
“Don’t give me orders!” Lia said. “I am a princess, don’t forget.”
Max didn’t stay to argue. “Come on, Rivet!” he said as he headed toward a tall building on one side of the square. Its upper windows were level with the squid’s head.
Heart pounding, Max swam around the square, keeping low so the squid wouldn’t see him. He glanced back and saw with relief that Lia and Spike were swimming toward the gigantic squid.
He and Rivet reached the building and swam inside. Cephalox wouldn’t see him in here. A grand staircase went up and up. He swam higher, Rivet by his side. A
s he rose through the building, he glimpsed Cephalox through open windows, its huge bulk blocking out everything else.
Finally, Max reached the top level. He approached the windowsill with Rivet. The top of the squid’s mantle was right in front of him — the head far below, about halfway down the building. He saw that Lia and Spike were attacking the squid’s eyes. That’s it, Max thought. Go for its weakest point.
Close up, Cephalox looked impossibly big. Attacking it seemed a hopeless task. But if Lia could do it, so could he. He took a deep breath, said, “Come on, Rivet,” and launched himself from the window, kicking off against the sill.
Before he reached the creature’s harness, one of its tentacles lashed out at Lia and Spike. It caught them with a glancing blow and sent them tumbling downward.
A second later, the terrifying force of the current it had created sent Max and Rivet flying. Another tentacle smashed against the wall of the building, dislodging huge blocks.
Max had to twist and turn to avoid being hit by the falling chunks of stone. He gasped in horror as one of them hit Rivet and bore him down to the ocean floor.
“Rivet!” Max shouted. He swam down after him. The dogbot was pinned down by the weight. He whimpered in distress.
Lia and Spike swooped to help. Together, they managed to pry the stone off Rivet. But his leg was flattened and twisted.
“Ouch, Max!” Rivet said.
“Don’t worry, boy,” Max said. “We’ll patch you up.” He patted the dogbot’s metal head.
“Look out!” shouted Lia.
Lia and Spike darted away and Max pulled Rivet to safety as one of Cephalox’s tentacles came thumping down again. The ocean bed shook and clouds of silt rose upward.
“We’ll never get close to it with all those tentacles!” Max said. “Unless …”
“Unless what?” Lia asked.
“Unless we can trap them,” Max said. “Come on. I think I’ve got a plan.”
ANOTHER TENTACLE CAME WHIPPING DOWN. Max, Lia, Rivet, and Spike scattered. A heat beam from one of Cephalox’s blaster cannons sizzled into the stonework, just missing Lia’s head.
“What’s the plan?” shouted Lia.
“Head for the palace!”
Lia looked confused. “Why? That will draw Cephalox there.”
“Exactly,” Max said, pointing to the Arch of Peace. Understanding dawned in Lia’s eyes.
“Come on, Spike!”
She and the swordfish rose through the water, avoiding the squid’s waving tentacles, until they reached the Robobeast’s platelike eyes. Its tentacles lashed toward them. Lia turned and swam toward the Arch of Peace, closely followed by Spike.
Cephalox blasted a jet of water and shot after them. The jet-propelled burst of speed almost brought it up to Lia, but she and Spike stayed just ahead, swimming for all they were worth.
It was time for Max to play his part. “Let’s go, Rivet!” he called.
Max swam after the giant squid, with Rivet beside him. The dogbot bravely ignored the pain signals which must have been coming from his injured leg.
Lia and Spike passed under the Arch of Peace and the squid shot after them with another jet-propelled burst.
There was a clunking, grinding noise.
“Yes!” shouted Max, clenching his fist.
The squid had gotten stuck under the arch. The top of its mantle poked through, but the wider part and the ten tentacles were just too big to fit. Cephalox wriggled wildly, but could not break free. It made a violent hissing sound.
Max swam up and landed on all fours on the creature’s mantle. It felt like wet, slippery rubber under his fingers. He reached for the harness and grabbed one of the struts.
Tentacles flew up, trying to knock Max off. He ducked.
There was an ominous crunching sound. The squid’s struggles were putting a huge strain on the rocky arch. Cracks appeared. Flakes of stone tumbled down to the ocean floor. Not much time … If Max didn’t get the harness off soon, Cephalox would break free.
And then there’d be no stopping the Robobeast.
A camera mounted on the harness swiveled and stared at Max, like an unblinking eye. I bet the Professor is watching me, Max thought. The idea sent a surge of anger through his body, and he raised his foot and kicked. The lens shattered.
In the center of the harness was a control panel — just like the one in Rivet’s neck but much larger. Max grabbed it, trying to get the metal cover off, as Cephalox bucked and squirmed beneath him. It wouldn’t budge.
“Hey, Rivet — can you help me out?”
“Yes, Max.”
The dogbot’s steel jaws crunched into the metal panel. Almost at once, it buckled and came off. Rivet shook his head, chewing the twisted piece of metal.
“Good boy!”
Underneath the cover was an array of dials, buttons, and touchpads. Max stabbed at them with his fingers. Nothing happened. A small screen said Enter Password.
That’s all I need, Max thought.
The cracks in the arch were widening. The squid’s struggles became more frantic as it sensed freedom.
Then Max saw a flash of white, just above the control panel. It looked like … a bone. Part of the Skull of Thallos! Max grabbed at it, but it wouldn’t come free. It was held in place by metal bands.
“Rivet,” he said. “Can you —”
There was an almighty crack as the Arch of Peace broke clean in two. Max watched helplessly as the two halves collapsed and fell toward the seabed in twin cascades of rubble.
Cephalox blasted a stream of water behind it and shot upward.
Max yelled out, clinging on to the bone as he was dragged through the water.
Cephalox’s tentacles swarmed around him like a nest of furious snakes. He dodged, letting go of the bone, as one swept toward him.
Immediately another came whipping his way. He darted clear. But he couldn’t go on dodging the vicious tentacles forever — they were too fast, and too many.
Wait — what if I don’t dodge?
Max positioned himself right above the control panel as the next blow came. This time, it was the steel-spiked tentacle. His stomach tingled with dread as the evil, glittering weapon whooshed toward him. He waited and waited — and then, at the last second, he threw himself to one side.
The spike smashed down into Cephalox’s control panel.
There was a bang and a flash of light. Max was blinded for a few moments. When he recovered his vision, he saw that the harness had broken in pieces and its struts had detached from the squid’s flesh.
Cephalox gave itself a shake, as if it was waking from a dream. As the last pieces of the harness fell away, a glow seemed to throb off the squid’s hide and it spiraled up in the water, brushing past Max and Lia. For a moment, it floated in the water face-to-face with Max. He could see what looked like a light of pleasure in the sea creature’s eyes. Then it jetted up and away from the city, a graceful creature, returned to its natural existence. Cephalox was no longer a Robobeast.
Max looked down at the wreckage of the harness and spotted the white bone, twisting and turning as it sank. He kicked his legs and swam after it, catching it easily. It was a jawbone, about twice the size of a human jaw, with sharp, serrated teeth set into it.
He spotted the shape of Lia and Spike in the distance and swam over. “Look! I did it!”
Lia put her hands on her hips. “We did it, you mean.”
“Oh, yeah,” Max said. “Sorry, Lia. We did it.”
Together, with Spike and Rivet, they swam to Thallos Square. Merryn were cautiously creeping back, emerging from hiding places in the ruined buildings.
“People of Sumara!” Lia shouted. “We have regained part of the Skull of Thallos!”
Max held the jawbone up.
There was a collective gasp, then a mighty cheer. All around, Max saw smiling, relieved faces. He smiled himself.
We did it! Together.
AT LAST THE CHEERING DIED DOWN. THE CROWD parted. Kin
g Salinus, flanked by his two personal guards, came into the square. He approached Max, his face expressionless. Max found he was holding his breath.
“You are a Breather, boy,” said the king. “From the race of our ancestral enemies, who tried to conquer us. Your people promised to leave us to our ocean realm and to keep to the surface. You are of the same race as the Professor, who broke that promise and who plots our destruction.”
“That’s true, Your Majesty, but —” Max began.
The king held up his hand. “Let me finish. Blinded by these facts, I misjudged you. My daughter was right. Not all Breathers are like the Professor. You, a human boy, have saved Sumara — and retrieved one piece of the precious Skull of Thallos! I owe you an apology, and all the Merryn should thank you.”
Lia ran forward and hugged her father. The Merryn were smiling and cheering all over again.
Max’s heart lightened with relief. He bowed and presented the jawbone to the king, who accepted it gravely.
“And now I have something I must ask,” King Salinus said. “Without the Skull of Thallos, our aqua powers are waning. But you have a power of your own: knowledge. You understand how to use technology. You were able to escape from prison and to defeat the mighty Cephalox. Would you possess the courage and daring to aid us in our struggle with the Professor?”
Max didn’t hesitate. “What can I do to help?” he asked.
“The remaining three pieces of the Skull of Thallos are still in the keeping of the Professor, guarded by the mighty creatures he has enslaved. With your knowledge and skills, you might be able to defeat those creatures, recover the parts of the skull, and so restore to the Merryn our aqua powers. We would be forever in your debt. It might go some way to repairing the rift between our people and yours. Will you accept the quest?”