The Battle for WondLa

by Tony DiTerlizzi

  “It is time you speak your truth,” Eva said. “Zin, are you in there?”

  One of the treowes perched in Loroc’s mouth spoke. “I am. At last I have reunited with both my sisters.”

  Loroc blinked at hearing his brother’s words come from his own mouth.

  “Zin, I am sorry I could not save you,” Eva said.

  “You did save me, Eva Nine,” the treowe said. “I now understand that of all the wondrous occurrences in the universe, nothing compares to the bond of a family and a home. The feeling of being wanted, appreciated, and forgiven.”

  “LIES!” Loroc growled. The treowes in his mouth ruffled their feathers but clung to his tongue and remained at their roost. Loroc glared at Eva with all four pairs of eyes.

  “The truth-birds do not lie, and you know it,” Eva said. “Arius, isn’t that so?”

  A second treowe spoke out. “This feast shall soon come to an end. Soon there shall be a reunion.”

  “A reunion of your family?” Eva asked.

  The bird spoke in Arius’s voice. “Yes, for even the most wicked has a family that loves them. But only if the wicked confesses their truth. Then love and compassion will bind that family.”

  Loroc reached toward his mouth to yank the birds out.

  A third treowe spoke as Darius. “We shall journey on together now as family, but the memory of our wicked brother will be struck from our minds and hearts.”

  “I will miss you all,” Eva said. “Your kindness and guidance will not be forgotten. Everyone present will remember your deeds for many generations to come. You shall be celebrated. You will become immortal.”

  “They cannot speak,” Loroc roared. “They are gone!” The treowes fluttered from his mouth.

  “They speak,” Eva said. “Your siblings will never be gone. There is much you may consume, Loroc, but you cannot devour the memory of them.”

  “I will devour them over and over again if I have to.” Loroc put several of his tentacles into his mouth and began to eat. “They will be forgotten, and my great strength and power shall endure!” He shoved more tentacles into his maw.

  “Thank you for re-establishing life here, Zin!” Eva spoke loudly and clearly. “Thank you, Arius, for guiding us all!”

  “SILENCE!” Loroc flung Eva across the room. She was caught in the air by several turnfins and laid on the ground next to the cells.

  Along with the captive representatives, Eva watched as Loroc’s writhing body was drawn into his enormous mouth. Soon his whole form was wrung tight, like a wet towel being twisted at either end. As this happened, he began to glow more and more brightly.

  With her hands Eva shielded her eyes from the piercing white light that now emanated out of Loroc. In its brilliant center she saw a tiny writhing shape. It appeared as the symbol of infinity before it extinguished completely.

  The turnfin holding the taxidermist’s remote landed on Eva’s shoulders and dropped it into her hands. Eva approached Queen Ojo’s cell with the remote. The queen pointed to the proper buttons, and Eva released the entire gathering of captured representatives from their confinements.

  Rovender rushed up and hugged her tight. “Eva, my Eva! You are okay!”

  “So are you!” She squeezed him back.

  “I don’t understand.” Rovender looked at the colorful treowes that fluttered around the room. “How was it that the truth-birds could work on Loroc? Soth said he was too powerful.”

  Eva smiled. “Soth was right.”

  Rovender turned his head slightly and gave Eva a puzzled look. Behind him Queen Ojo approached, followed by all the representatives. The crowd huddled close to hear Eva.

  “The treowes had no effect on Loroc at all,” she said. “Those were my words, my truths, coming from their mouths.” She looked up at Ojo and recited, “ ‘In the end all one is left with is the truth.’ ”

  Queen Ojo closed her eyes and bowed her head to Eva. “Much gratitude.”

  All the leaders of Orbona bowed their heads in unison and spoke. “Much gratitude.”

  Eva embraced Rovender at the center of the gathering.

  “Rovender of the Kitt clan of Faunas,” a Cærulean leader from another tribe spoke in a soft tone. In the leader’s thick arms he held the limp body of Antiquus. Rovender and Eva rushed to him.

  “Father.” Rovender brushed his hands over Antiquus’s aged face, closing the older Cærulean’s eyelids. He gripped his father’s limp hand and held it tight.

  “Your father was proud of you,” the Cærulean leader spoke softly. “He told me earlier today that he was certain peace would arrive because your heart saw no difference in your love of the hu-man, Eva Nine, and your own kind.”

  Tears trickled from Rovender’s eyes. Eva kept her arms wrapped around him.

  “He said all of Orbona could learn from you.” The Cærulean leader handed Antiquus’s body to Rovender.

  “May Antiquus’s spirit walk on within all of us,” said Queen Ojo.

  The light of the setting sun cast a golden glow over the entire banquet hall. Outside the palace, the pod of air-whales drifted away, but their song carried out across the landscape. As it traveled, other voices joined in celebrating another day of life on planet Orbona.

  CHAPTER 34: WONDLA

  Within several days’ time the war-ravaged streets of Solas were transformed into streets full of festivities and celebration. The city became a place of newfound happiness and hope. Around the royal palace large colorful tents were erected, each filled with amazing and exotic foods from all corners of the world. Aliens and humans alike shared in many meals and much merriment. They shared in the memories of those gone. Around these meals, stories were recounted of the monstrous Loroc and the one girl courageous enough to save all of the inhabitants of Orbona.

  Hailey and Huxley arrived from Faunas with a ship filled with humans, Halcyonus, and Cæruleans. Hailey had received Eva’s message in time and had been able to thwart Loroc’s warbot invasion of Faunas. They’d even enlisted the help of Eva’s pillar guard.

  The battle was over. Peace had arrived on Orbona.

  Eva Nine stood on the shore of Lake Concors while the breeze from the water danced with her white braids. Listening to the waves lap at the shore, she gazed out at the rebuilt towers of Lacus. Everywhere, humans and aliens were working together to mend what had been broken. A new tower was even being erected right off the shore to house the new human inhabitants from New Attica.

  Eva’s eyes followed a flock of turnfins calling to one another as they fished over the lake in the fiery light of a setting sun. A long-lost poem drifted into her thoughts,

  “O’er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,

  Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free.

  As far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,

  Survey our empire, and behold our home!”

  Eva remembered arriving at this great lake many months ago. It seemed like years to her now. She remembered how excited she’d been to explore the Halcyonus village. She remembered the hope of finding other humans like her. She remembered Muthr.

  “There you are.” Hailey’s sneakboots crunched on the gravelly shore of the lake. “Rovender said you might be here.”

  Eva smiled at Hailey, causing the sunburn on her cheeks to sting.

  “Are you okay?” He bent down and grabbed a stone. “You’re not at dinner.”

  “I’ll be there soon. I was just thinking.”

  Hailey skimmed the stone across the water’s surface. “Hard to believe it, huh? Humans and Halcyonus living together.” He grabbed a couple more stones from the shore.

  “It does almost feel like a dream. I still keep waiting for someone to somehow take it all away.” Eva watched Hailey skim more stones.

  “Naw.” He threw his last one. “People are settling down everywhere—Solas, Faunas, up north.”

  “That’s good.” Eva smiled.

  Hailey clasped her hand. “Eva . . . I feel the need to contin
ue searching for more humans. I think there may be more reboots out there.”

  “You’re leaving?”

  Hailey looked down and nodded. “Tomorrow.”

  Eva turned back to the water.

  “Come with me,” said Hailey.

  Eva shook her head. “I can’t. I need to be with Rovee.”

  “I understand.” Hailey put his hands in his pockets.

  They both watched the ripples on the lake dance in the orange light of the sun.

  “But, you know, you may be right.” Eva dug something out of her pocket. She placed a small glass cube in Hailey’s palm.

  He held it up to his eye. “Is this some sort of good luck charm?”

  Eva laughed. “You could call it that. Tomorrow hold it up in the sunlight, and a map will project from it. A map of all the known territories that the Royal Beamguide crew has mapped.”

  “A beamguide.” Hailey turned it over in his fingers.

  “One that has been marked with every known HRP Sanctuary that the crew has come across.”

  “Are there more?” Hailey held it up toward the diminishing rays of the sun.

  “A lot more.”

  “Rocket,” he said in awe.

  “Whatcha got there?” Van Turner crunched along the shore, followed by Huxley.

  “A beamguide.” Hailey presented it to his grandfather.

  “Oh, good!” Huxley plucked the guide up. “We could really use one of these.” His severed arm had almost completely regenerated, though it was much paler in comparison to the rest of his bluish-gray complexion.

  “This one is special.” Hailey looked over at Eva. “It has the locations of all the known human Sanctuaries on it.”

  “You don’t say.” Van Turner leaned close to get a better view of it in Huxley’s hand. “So we are going to be busy, then, huh? I guess I better prepare for more classes.”

  “What are we waiting for?” Huxley said. “Let’s grab a bite and fire up the ship. What do you say, Captain?”

  “Oh, you’re a captain now?” Eva nudged Hailey with her elbow in a playful manner. “No longer a hero?”

  “You’re the hero, Eva,” Hailey said. He gave her a quick hug. “And my friend. My best friend.” He hesitated before kissing her cheek.

  Van Turner gave her a hug, as did Huxley. They all embraced for a long moment.

  “I love you all,” Eva said. “So much.”

  “We love you, too.” Van Turner patted her on the head. “Keep Rovender occupied. Spend lots of time with him. That’ll make him feel good.”

  “And try to stay out of trouble while we’re gone, will you?” Huxley wagged a finger at her.

  “I will,” Eva said with a grin.

  Hailey squeezed Eva’s hand tight. “We’ll be back soon. I promise.”

  “Okay.” She sniffled.

  Hailey joined Vanpa and Huxley, and they walked down the shore toward the docked airship. Eva smiled when she looked at the gigantic aircraft. Gone were the graphics of the fierce toothy maw. Painted over it was a gold-and-black-checkered pattern that covered the ship. There were more than a thousand stickers of human silhouettes plastered on its nose, along with a name painted in scrolly lettering—Bijou II.

  Eva’s focus drifted down from the airship to a lone girl standing on the shore. Dressed in a drab utilitunic, the girl waved to Van Turner, Hailey, and Huxley as they passed her, but she did not seem familiar. She grabbed the long dark hair that blew about her pale face and wrapped it up as she approached. As she neared, Eva recognized her.

  “Gen?”

  “I guess I look a little different now without all my old adornments.”

  “And your eyes,” Eva said. “They dilate now.”

  Gen smiled. “Like a baby’s.”

  A few moments passed as the girls took in each other. Finally Eva spoke, “So have you figured out where you’re going to go?”

  “I think I’m going to go explore with Hailey. My father would have thought that . . . well, that is, I think it’s what I should do.” Gen looked down and kicked a stone. “And Hailey needs me.” She sighed.

  “Oh. I see.” Eva felt a measure of something new, something uneasy, at the thought of Gen traveling with Hailey. She pushed aside the feeling and instead focused on Hailey’s goal. “Well, be sure to bring this.” Eva pulled out Cadmus’s Omnipod and handed it to Gen.

  Gen took the tarnished device and turned it over in her hands.

  “You’re not him,” Eva said. “You’re you. You’re a smart girl who was very welcoming to this reboot when she first arrived in your city.”

  Gen looked out over the water. “A city that is gone.”

  “There will be more cities. Maybe they’ll even build a new Duds Factory,” Eva said with a laugh.

  Gen threw her arms around Eva. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I’ll see you soon?” Eva whispered back.

  “Till morrow’s destiny,” Gen replied. She smiled at Eva and walked off to join the rest of Hailey’s crew.

  You.

  Eva turned around. “Me?”

  Otto walked down the beach, hooting aloud. Rovender walked alongside him, holding hands with Hostia’s young son, Zoozi.

  “It’s suppertime, Eva. Will you be joining us?” Rovender asked.

  “We’re having blackened fish and voxfruit for dessert,” Zoozi added.

  “Yes,” Rovender continued. “Redimus caught quite a large haul of fish today.”

  “That sounds good.” Eva took Zoozi by the hand. “Can I sit next to you?”

  “Yes, but Mægden wants to sit next to us as well.” Zoozi held Eva’s hand tight.

  The group turned around and headed down the shore toward a large feast being prepared on the beach. The sun dipped below the horizon, and the Rings of Orbona shimmered brightly over the dusky landscape.

  Several years had passed since the Battle of Solas. Eva Nine, now in her late teens, tied up her long white hair and adjusted her brightly patterned clothing. She dashed past the marked-up maps and naturalistic drawings of plants and animals that hung on the walls of her home. Stepping out onto the planked walkway that connected her hut with all the rest in her tower at Lacus, she spotted Rovender adjusting the cable that stretched across the round bowl shape of the village. Fringed multicolored pennants and flags caught the light of the late-day sun as they hung from the cable.

  “Is it on there?” Eva asked.

  “It is.” Rovender pointed to the string of flags flapping about in the breeze. “See?”

  Eva’s eyes followed the cable. Among images and words sewn onto the flags was a familiar robotic face. “Hostia did a great job painting these. She got Muthr’s face just right.”

  “She did. I might like it better than the one she did of Arius.” Rovender smiled.

  “I’m glad Muthr is hanging next to your father.” Eva watched the flags. “I wish she could have met him. I think they would have had a lot to talk about.”

  “Who’s to say they haven’t met?” Rovender put his arm around Eva’s shoulder. “Who knows what the next journey holds?”

  Eva nodded in agreement, her mind filled with reflection.

  “You’ll have to let Hostia know how much you like it tonight at dinner.”

  “Of course I will.” Eva played with the frayed friendship bracelet on Rovender’s wrist while they strolled down the wooden walkway. Above them fledgling turnfins could be heard calling from their nests.

  “I can’t wait to see everyone again,” Eva said. “This was one of the farthest trips they’ve made yet.”

  “I am excited to hear of their adventures too,” said Rovender as they rounded the walk and went down a tier to the next level of huts. “It sounds like we’ll have plenty of time to do that now.”

  Eva beamed. “I know. I’m so glad we have room for everybody to stay at our house.”

  “Of course.” Rovender grinned. “Where else would family stay?”

  Eva and Rovender arrived at t
he Haveports’ home to find it filled with familiar faces. Zoozi grabbed Eva’s hand and led her through the house.

  Under the cluster of blown glass lanterns, Huxley and Fiscian took a drink from the family cask. Van Turner got up and hugged Rovender, and presented him with a newly carved walking stick. On the far side of the room, sitting on a bunch of brightly patterned pillow seats, was Gen Pryde with some of her friends and Mægden. Gen waved to Eva. Hostia and Redimus brought out several trays of delicious-smelling food and set them down for all to eat.

  “Look, I finished it.” Zoozi pointed up toward the ceiling. Next to the old mural of the Ojo family and their starship was a new iconographical painting. The royal palace was placed in the center, with pillar guards on one side and warbots on the other. In front of the palace, as depicted in the other mural, all manner of extraterrestrials were hand in hand, smiling. In the center of them was a human girl with white hair.

  “Oh, Zoozi,” Eva sighed. “It’s beautiful. And you got my hair just right.”

  “I’m glad you like it. I’m gonna show Rovee, okay?”

  “Okay.” Eva stepped out of the merriment for a moment and escaped to the walkway outside. She let out a long sigh.

  Van Turner strolled over. “Don’t worry. He’ll be here soon.”

  “I know. Thanks,” she whispered.

  “You need anything?”

  Eva shook her head.

  The old man kissed her forehead and shuffled back into the house.

  Eva leaned against the railing and gazed up at the brilliant Rings of Orbona. The stars twinkled in the vastness beyond. Eva searched the sky, waiting for a star to fall—an airship. But none did.

  “I’m late, aren’t I?” a voice echoed up from below.

  Eva peered over the rail to see a rugged pilot with a scruffy beard jogging up the walkway. She smiled. “Yes.”

  “Sorry, I forgot something back at the ship,” he said.

  “Really?” Eva watched him round the walk toward Hostia’s house. “What could be that important?”

  “This.” He handed her a container. While he bent over to catch his breath, he gestured to it. “Go ahead. Open it up.”