by Lucas Flint
Beams tried to cry out for help, but he knew no one could hear him. He could only watch as his body drew closer and closer to the Avatar, despair rising within him at the thought that he was about to help bring back one of the most evil beings in the multiverse.
Then, without warning, someone came out of nowhere and tackled Beams to the floor. Beams and his mysterious assailant hit the floor and the impact sent the Rubber Ball flying out of Beams’ hands. The Rubber Ball flew through the air briefly before it clattered against the floor several feet away from both Beams and the Avatar. Beams could sense the shock and confusion emanating from the Rubber Ball at this sudden turn of events, but for the first time in a while, his own emotions took precedence over the Rubber Ball’s and he looked over his shoulder to see who had tackled him.
It was Mr. Space. Although his chest wound was still smoking slightly, he nonetheless looked ready to rumble. He was panting and sweating, his body shaking with each breath, yet somehow he had managed to summon enough strength to tackle Beams to the floor.
“Space?” said Beams, staring at Mr. Space in shock. “What … what are you doing here?”
“Got up as soon as I heard the Avatar appear,” said Mr. Space. He smiled. “Knew you didn’t shoot me on your own free will. Had to be the Rubber Ball. Shouldn’t have given it to you, but oh well. You live and learn.”
Beams opened his mouth to reply, but then the Avatar appeared over them. He grabbed Mr. Space by the back of his shirt and hurled him away at the wall. Mr. Space struck the wall hard enough to leave a dent shaped like himself. He fell down onto the floor and lay there very still.
“Foolish human,” said the Avatar, shaking his head. “He should have at least attempted to take me down while I was distracted. Perhaps then he would have been able to save you.”
The Avatar suddenly grabbed Beams by the collar of his suit and yanked him off the floor. Beams struggled to break free, but the Avatar slapped him upside the head, which made Beams’ head spin from the impact. His helmet kept his skull from being crushed by the blow, but he was still left dazed and confused.
“Sorry, but the Dread God prophesied you would aid in his resurrection,” said the Avatar. “Of course, in order to resurrect the Dread God, we’ll need his brain first.”
The Avatar stuck out his other hand toward the box. The box suddenly flew into the Avatar’s hand and he grasped it firmly. He began examining the box containing the Rubber Ball, a smile of satisfaction crossing the Avatar’s lips.
“Excellent,” said the Avatar. “I can feel the Dread God’s heart beating deep within. He is pleased.”
Though still dazed from the Avatar’s attack, Beams could sense the Dread God’s pleasure as well. But unlike the Avatar, Beams did not smile, because he did not want to see the Dread God rise again.
The Avatar turned around. A portal suddenly opened in front of him and he said, “Now come, human. We will return to Jinkopa, where we will begin the resurrection process. In less than an hour, the Dread God will rise again … and the entire multiverse shall tremble at his might.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Stepping through Hopper’s portal into Jinkopa, Bolt did not quite know what to expect. He had only ever left Earth once before, when he, Blizzard, and Nicknacks traveled to the Mother World in order to destroy it. Even then, Bolt had spent perhaps less than half an hour off Earth before going back home, so even then, he didn’t spend much time off world.
So when Bolt stepped through the portal and into Jinkopa, he found himself on a planet quite unlike Earth. It seemed to be night, but at the same time, there was a huge, blood red moon hanging above them, its dull crimson light bathing the landscape like a wave. The land was hard, rocky, and mountainous, with dead, black scraggly trees dotting the landscape like corpses left on a battlefield. The air was breathable, but there was a hint of soot in the air which made Bolt grimace. The land smelled of dust and death, and was strangely hot, again despite the fact that it was nighttime. Even odder, there were no other stars in the sky aside from the red moon, though whether the moon’s light was blocking out all other stars or there was some other explanation for the lack of stars in the night sky, Bolt could not say, though he did notice what seemed to be meteors shooting across the sky every now and then like bullets.
“This is Jinkopa?” said Shade, looking around with an unimpressed expression on her face. “Doesn’t seem like much to me.”
Captain Galaxy, however, was looking around as if she expected a monster to jump out of the dark and attack them any second now. “This is my first time to Jinkopa, too, but it looks like all of the pictures I saw of it. Only it’s a lot scarier in real life than in pictures.”
Hypno, on the other hand, seemed calm and at ease. He glanced up at the red moon and frowned. “What a strange moon. Why is it red?”
“Not sure,” said Captain Galaxy, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “Due to the rules against traveling to Jinkopa, IEA agents like myself don’t know very much about the planet itself. We do know that it used to be a much more beautiful place than it currently is before the Dread God came.”
“You mean the Dread God didn’t always rule over the Darzens?” said Bolt. “Where is he from?”
“No one knows,” said Captain Galaxy, shaking her head. “That knowledge is lost to history. All we know is that when the Dread God took over the Darzens, he completely reformed Darzen civilization to revolve around himself and turn his followers into an army capable of conquering the multiverse. Beyond that, his past is a mystery.”
Bolt punched his fist into his other hand. “Well, we don’t need to know his past anyway. We just need to get the Soul Crown back from his followers. Easy peasy.”
“Easy on paper, maybe,” said Shade, folding her arms across her chest, “but in practice, I think it’s going to be a lot harder than that. It’s a miracle that Hopper’s portal took us here, but Jinkopa is a planet. For all we know, the Soul Crown might be on the other side of the world completely.”
Bolt looked at Captain Galaxy. “You’re the expert here. Where on Jinkopa would Graalix have likely taken the Soul Crown?”
Captain Galaxy rubbed her arm. “Probably the capital city. Its name, like every other Darzen name, is unpronounceable on the human tongue, but it roughly translates to the Dread City. That’s where the Temple of Dread is located and where the Dread Priest conducts his evil rites to worship the Dread God.”
“The Darzens really like the word ‘dread,’ don’t they?” said Hypno. He chuckled. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. ‘Dread’ is a good word.”
“The Dread Priest?” Bolt repeated, looking at Captain Galaxy, puzzled. “Who is that?”
Captain Galaxy’s eyes darted across the mountainous landscape briefly before she looked at Bolt again. “Again, information on him is limited, but the Dread Priest is the head priest and leader of the Darzen religion. If I had to compare him to an earthly religious figure, I would make him a combination of the Pope and Mohammad, except unlike those two, he’s ageless. He’s about as old as the Dread God and has served the Dread God since the early days of the Dread God’s empire.”
“Is he powerful?” said Bolt. “A fighter?”
“Not as far as I know,” said Captain Galaxy with a shrug. “All I know for sure is that the Dread Priest is said to use the ‘black magic’ of the Dread God to punish the souls of those who oppose the Dread God’s will. They say that the Dread Priest can rip a person’s soul out of their body and subject it to pain beyond imaginable.”
“Can he really do that?” asked Shade. Her face became pale. “Please tell me he can’t.”
“It’s just a legend,” said Captain Galaxy, “but I suspect there’s more truth to it than we’d like to think.”
Shade shuddered. “Ugh. I hate talking about souls. Souls are like ghosts and ghosts are just creepy.”
Bolt smirked. “So the lady who is the literal embodiment of darkness is afraid of ghosts? Huh.”
S
hade punched Bolt’s shoulder. “Don’t tease. I bet you’re afraid of something silly, too.”
“Yeah, but I’m not going to say it out loud,” said Bolt. “You’ll just have to guess it yourself.”
Shade smiled. “Are you maybe afraid of me? Because I know you tend to avoid me. Afraid I might steal you away from Blizzard?”
Bolt immediately scowled, but then Hypno said, “Come on, guys. We have an important mission which Director Smith expects us to complete. The fate of the United States depends on it.”
“You mean the multiverse,” said Captain Galaxy.
Hypno shrugged in a care-free way. “Yeah, I guess that’s important, too. In any case, we need to figure out how to reach this Dread City you mentioned.”
Captain Galaxy looked down at her touch screen and frowned. “Whenever I go on a mission of some sort, I usually download a map of the local area onto my communicator before I head out. Unfortunately, I was unable to do that this time, so we’re basically on our own.”
“I know,” said Bolt. He pointed at the sky. “I’ll fly up into the sky and see if I can spot any nearby towns or cities. I’ll be back in a flash.”
Before anyone could respond, Bolt took off into the sky. He found the air heavier here for some reason, but he managed to fly high enough until he was above the nearest mountain peaks. Then he paused in midair and slowly began to rotate on the spot, his eyes roaming the area below.
The mountainous landscape upon which he and his friends had emerged spread out for miles in every direction. Even with the bright red light from the moon, there were still plenty of dark spots that he couldn’t make out. He didn’t see anything that he would call a city, much less a town or even a village. He did see strange, tower-like structures somewhere in the distance, but it was impossible to tell if they were parts of larger settlements or if they were lone outposts or something like that.
There’s nothing out here, Bolt thought. Maybe Jinkopa should be renamed Dead World, because that’s all it seems to be.
Then Bolt caught movement below. A mile or two off from where he had flown off from, he saw what seemed to be a small caravan of Darzens traveling along a narrow mountain road. There were about a dozen Darzens in all, walking around some kind of carriage that was being drawn along by a giant, lizard-like creature that looked almost like a wingless dragon. Two of the Darzens sat in the front of the carriage, evidently guiding the wingless dragon along. Not a single one of the Darzens seemed to notice Bolt, who hovered silently in the sky watching their progress.
Bolt had no idea who these Darzens were or where they came from. Perhaps they were locals who lived in this area, traveling to the nearest town or city to trade whatever they were transporting on the caravan.
I bet they could tell us where the Dread City is, Bolt thought with a smile. I’ll do the neighborly thing and ask.
Bolt flew over the Darzen caravan and landed behind a large boulder just off their road. He knew he probably should have gone back and told Captain Galaxy, Shade, and Hypno what he found, but he figured he could handle this on his own. He would capture one of the Darzens and bring it back to his friends.
As soon as the Darzens passed his rock, Bolt struck. He jumped out of his hiding place and, before any of the Darzens knew what happened, unleashed a wave of red electricity at the Darzens. The wave struck the entire caravan, blowing up the carriage and sending the individual Darzens flying away or falling to the ground. The wingless dragon was also knocked over from the blast, but when the blast snapped the ropes attaching it to the carriage, it quickly got to its feet and ran away down the road, roaring loudly all the while.
But Bolt paid no attention to that. He just rushed over to the nearest Darzen, which lay dazed on the road, and, picking it up, flew straight into the air back to the spot where his friends were. The Darzen he caught didn’t even try to fight back, probably because it was still dazed from the electric blast Bolt had unleashed upon it.
Soon, Bolt spotted his friends roughly where he left them. Captain Galaxy looked worried, while Shade looked amused and Hypno looked unconcerned as Bolt waved at them and came in for a landing. He landed in front of his allies, tossing the Darzen onto the ground between them and pinning it to the ground with one of his feet.
“Here we go,” said Bolt, gesturing at the dazed Darzen underneath his foot. “One Darzen prisoner, just as you ordered.”
“No one ordered a Darzen prisoner,” Captain Galaxy said, almost snapped. “What were you thinking? You could have been seen and killed.”
“But I wasn’t,” Bolt said. “I attacked a caravan of Darzens I spotted on a nearby road. Knocked out most of them and kidnapped this guy, because I figured that since he’s a Darzen, he has to know where the Dread City is.”
Captain Galaxy scowled, clearly still annoyed at Bolt’s recklessness, but then Hypno held up a hand and said, “We can argue about the wisdom of Bolt’s actions later. For now, let’s see if we can make this creature talk.”
Hypno knelt in front of the Darzen and tapped its head. “Hey, buddy, are you awake? Can you hear me?”
The Darzen raised its head, its glowing green eyes peering out from the glass eye holes of its helmet. It looked into Hypno’s eyes and immediately became very still, as though it were dead. Bolt guessed that Hypno’s powers of suggestion were at work.
“Good, good,” said Hypno. “Can you understand what I’m saying, my friend? I hope you can. It would make my job a lot easier.”
The Darzen nodded. “Yes. I understand the human tongue quite well.”
“Ah,” said Hypno, “may I ask why?”
“The Dread God demands it,” said the Darzen, its tone robotic. “All Darzens are taught the languages of our enemies. Language shapes thought, and by learning the enemy’s language, you learn the enemy’s thought processes, and therefore how to defeat them in battle.”
That was an oddly profound statement coming from a seemingly random Darzen soldier, but to Bolt, it sounded as though this was just something the Darzen had memorized from whoever had taught it English, not an actual original thought of its own.
“Very interesting, buddy,” said Hypno, stroking his chin. “I’ve always wanted to be multilingual myself, but—”
“Hypno,” said Shade in a warning voice not unlike that of Cadmus. “We don’t have much time. Get to the point.”
Hypno nodded quickly. “Sure thing, Shade, sure thing. Now, my Darzen friend, would you be willing to help us with a small problem we have?”
The Darzen nodded. “Yes. What do you need?”
“We need to reach a place called the Dread City,” said Hypno, gesturing at himself and the others. “It’s the capital city of Jinkopa. Would you mind giving us directions?”
“It is not far from here,” said the Darzen. He pointed over a nearby mountain peak. “Go over that mountain. There is a tunnel on the other side which will take you to the city, which is underneath these mountains.”
“An underground city,” Hypno remarked. “How interesting. Is it very deep beneath these mountains?”
The Darzen shook his head. “The first layer is not, no.”
“First layer?” Bolt repeated. “What do you mean?”
The Darzen kept its eyes focused on Hypno, though it addressed Bolt’s question. “The Dread City has three layers. Each layer is deeper in the crust of Jinkopa, with the Third Layer being the deepest and the First Layer being the closest to the surface. The First Layer is open to all Darzens, but the Second and Third Layers are open only to the Dread God’s Elect.”
“Why?” said Hypno. “Is there a reason for that?”
“Yes,” said the Darzen. “The Dread God’s body is on the Third Layer. It is also where the Temple of Dread is and the Dread Throne, where the Dread God was said to sit in his life.”
“Dread this, dread that,” Bolt muttered. “They like that word too much.”
“Is the Third Layer heavily guarded?” said Hypno. “Is it hard to get into?�
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“Yes,” said the Darzen. “Only the Dread God’s Elect are allowed to travel down there. Anyone else who tries to go down there will be executed on the spot by the Third Layer’s guards. It is not very wise to go down there without first receiving permission from the Dread Priest or the Avatar.”
“The Avatar,” Hypno repeated. “He sounds important.”
“He is,” said the Darzen. “The Dread God’s Avatar is his chosen emissary in this mortal realm. He is a Darzen like us, but ascended to a level that most Darzens can only dream of. He is currently off-world seeking the Dread God’s brain in order to complete the resurrection.”
Bolt breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that they may have been too late to stop the resurrection process, but it sounded like they were just in time.
“What would happen if we humans were to head down to the First Layer?” said Hypno. “Would we survive?”
“No,” said the Darzen. “You would be killed, unless you came as slaves. The Dread City is not open to visitors from off-world unless summoned personally by the Dread Priest. Otherwise, the law is that off-worlders are to be executed on the spot.”
Hypno tapped his chin. “Interesting. Thanks for the info, buddy. I think we have enough. Why don’t you take a nap? You look awfully tired.”
The Darzen didn’t even nod. Its head just fell to the ground with a loud clunk and it stopped moving underneath Bolt’s foot, though he kept his foot on it just in case this was a trick.
Hypno stood up and dusted off his pants. “What a fine and polite fellow this Darzen was. He was very informative.”
“Yeah, but the information he gave us wasn’t very useful,” said Captain Galaxy with a sigh. “Not only is the Dread City underground, but the Third Layer—which is probably where Graalix took the Soul Crown—is beyond our grasp. We can’t even get onto the First Layer without getting killed for trespassing.”
“It’s not all bad,” said Shade. She nodded in at the mountain peak which the Darzen had pointed at. “We at least know where the entrance is. With my powers, I think we could easily sneak into Dread City without being seen.”