Maximojo and the Wand of Light

by Julianne Bien

  “Sometimes they hide between planets disrupting the orbital spin, and some have managed to get inside and occupy them,” the Council continued. “The inspectors have been notified and are on alert for that troubled coin. It must be captured. If it believes it can carry on into eternity in newly forming galaxies, it has another thing coming!

  There was a pause in the transmission.

  “Your agenda has been changed slightly, Maximojo. We have assigned additional members to your team as backup. Meet them in the cornfield. Afterward, you will rendezvous with an interesting society at the McFee Estate, the Starrings. They are an important part of your mission. You can’t complete it without them. Afterward, go directly to the palace, in the Kingdom of Kavalon, the Ruler, Captain Daltoid Swaggelot, awaits your presence there. Council out.”

  Maximojo was confused. “Backup? That’s a first! We’ve never let the Council down on any mission, in any galaxy before! Backup! Hmm … There must be something serious lurking under my nose. I wonder if it has to do with that vanishing mountain.” He put the PolyMatrixor into his pack, resigned to his new instructions.

  “The phase-in of timekeepers is a fragile task in the universe,” Glitta flickered, “Time must be accounted for everywhere. If a timepiece slipped out of harmony, it would be disastrous.” She dimmed at the thought, and peered over the misty haze under the now-blue skies, then zoomed off to inspect the supporting magnetic field around the planet, and locate the center point of Zalturn’s orbital spin. When Glitta returned, she couldn’t stop sparking.

  “We need to proceed with caution, Mojo. There are unidentified activities and strange noises coming from below the planet’s surface. They might be what is creating the glitch in the planet’s stability.”

  The ground rumbled under Maximojo’s feet, and turned parched. A sudden charge surged under his coat, singeing his hair, and throwing him into some thorny shrubbery nearby.

  “Don’t move!” Glitta beamed, and swiftly lifted him into a pond. After he cooled down, Maximojo crawled out and sat beside the water looking at his shimmery image covered in thorns. He looked up at Glitta, knowing what was next.

  She began pulling the prickles from his coat. “Glittols!” Maximojo said. “That last one stung.”

  He stood up on his hind legs, adjusted his stance, shouldered his pack and carried on. With each step he took, the landscape continued unveiling itself in breathtaking colors, blossoming at an incredible rate. Impressed, Maximojo pranced over and sat against a tree.

  "When my nose twitches, the mission is always full of surprises," he said. Maximojo closed his eyes beneath the towering branches that had sprouted into a canopy above him. He began to dream. Flashbacks of heroic adventures and quantum quests came rushing to him, and he felt that he and Glitta could accomplish anything together – being the cosmic duo and all.

  “Everyone in the universe can make their dreams come true, especially after they meet me,” his dream-self said to him. Maximojo drifted deeper. “Oh yes and Glitta of course. All it takes is a little imagination.”

  “Wake up!” Glitta bonked him. Her glow balls flew everywhere, but Maximojo didn’t stir. Glitta sighed and prepared for the inevitable. Maximojo’s memories were materializing into real escapades and traveling fast toward present time, headed directly at the tree.

  “Not now, Mojo!” she sparkled, bursting color everywhere. She zoomed beyond the atmosphere to blast the incoming memory of a past adventure, back where it came from, then swerved off the time warp back onto Zalturn, and landed beside her Mojo, flickering.

  “Wake up!” she glittered brightly and waved her wings in his face.

  Maximojo awoke with such a start he jumped up and hung from a branch. “Just stellar, Glitta, simply stellar. I was holding up a spinning planet in one paw before you woke me up! Everyone needs to reminisce now and then. A little reflection on the past is always a good thing. A little space surfing is good for a dog like me. Did the Council really say, backup?” He jumped out of the tree.

  “Ready?” Glitta twinkled in relief.

  Chapter 2

  Maximojo soon found himself on a moss-covered walkway that had begun to lay itself down in the direction of a distant field. “Looks like we will be going this way,” he said, admiring the path that was rolled out in their honor. Glitta flickered excitedly and ran solar waves through her to rev up her wand-like body.

  “We need to be one cosmic leap ahead and charged for the unexpected,” Glitta sparked. Maximojo knew she was usually right.

  He curled his lips and attempted to whistle sounds. “Are those howls?” Glitta giggled. Even though, the duo had the ability to speak the language of everyone in the universe, with any necessary dialects thrown in for good measure, Maximojo hadn’t quite mastered this planet’s woof.

  “I hope you are off the Council’s radar right now,” Glitta teased him. “It’s easy. Now round your mouth into a black hole!” She twisted herself into a doughnut. “Like this. Now blow out sounds, it’s just like a solar-wind whistle!”

  Maximojo’s floppy ears perked up – a familiar scent – and he quit trying to whistle. “This must be dealt with right away, urgent matter! Is that my favorite snack awaiting me?” he asked. “Yes indeed!” He began to drool like any canine. When it came to food, Maximojo was always on it.

  “Now, where are those spacecakes filled with lava-cream filling?” he asked. He bounded around in search of the temptations that filled the air with their aroma. “I know they’re close by. They smell just like the ones my mother use to bake when I learned to slide between dimensions.

  “Glittols! There were right under my nose,” Maximojo said, as he came upon a stack of cakes beside the path. “I knew they were close by.” Pictures of certain animals popped into focus all around him, then disappeared. He looked around, but saw no one. “Someone is playing a trick on me,” he thought. Another message came in from the PolyMatrixor.

  “When the news flash came about your arrival, one of your new team members, baked treats.”

  “So, not only are we going to get some help, but also spacecakes,” Maximojo said, smacking his lips. “I think I can get accustomed to backup. I’ve already had an influence on them. Mojo out.”

  “These cakes are not good for you, Glitta,” he said, clutching them to his chest. “They can make you bloat. They’re made of different types of gelatinous plasma, cosmic dust and the gooiest gunk that can be harvested in the cosmos. Then they are baked to a crisp in solar ovens with secret ingredients that only can be harvested from certain galaxies. Not good for your figure at all. You should stick to lighter snacks!”

  “I’d like to try one from this galaxy!” Glitta said, throwing glow balls everywhere to distract him. She swooped under his nose, homed in on the stack of steamy treats and soared away with the stash. Maximojo ran after her on all fours.

  “Getting a little planetary exercise, Mojo?” Glitta teased. Maximojo puffed, lengthening his stride until his breathing was normal again.

  “You don’t even like spacecakes,” he protested. “You always say they are not airy enough for you and they inflate you into a balloon. Remember the time you almost burst?”

  Glitta swerved and accidently spilled the liquid filling, dripping it all over him. “You did it again!” he hollered. “Show off!” She zoomed past him. “Wait up!” he said, wiping his coat. “Okay, you know I can never catch you when you play this game!” He panted. She giggled, swerved around and put the leftovers in his pack.

  “Let’s go.” Maximojo crouched low, ready to spring into the air. Glitta latched on to his pack, ignited, and together they launched into the air and flew across the land to find their first stop, the cornfield. His ears flapped in the breeze, thinking, “Someone knows how to make the best spacecakes I’ve ever tasted. Glad they’re on my team.”

  Glitta left a trail of colorful bubbles across the skies as they soared over mountains and waterways, and through valleys. Maximojo’s tail wagged excitedly,
flipping Glitta over, but she caught hold of his collar for a front-seat landing.

  “Coordinates confirmed,” he noted. The pair descended into the vast cornfield. Maximojo landed on his ears.

  “Stariola Mojoooo!” Glitta lost her grip and somersaulted over his head, ending up stuck in a corn stalk. In distress, she sent out fireworks. “You need to brush up on your landings.”

  Maximojo lifted himself up and freed Glitta. “Just dust off your wings with a little shimmer. It works every time we happen to crash,” he said, and climbed atop a podium-like boulder, and got a glimpse of the Kingdom in the distance. They were now on the outskirts of Kavalon. Light poured back into her wandlike body, as Glitta’s face shone with a twinkle in her eye, smiling wing-to-wing, “That’s my Mojo!”

  Tucking back his ears, Maximojo began to munch on a stalk. “Perhaps they were considered a treat on Zalturn,” he thought. “Glitta, I think I like it here, and I don’t mean just because of the treats. Watch this!” He chomped on a corn husk. “See? Cosmolicious!” He was trying to dissuade Glitta from taking the remaining spacecakes stashed in his pack, but she knew that nothing tasted better to him than the cakes, except perhaps, cosmic cuisine from home.

  He took a last bite, and his sensor flashed, letting him know that the moment to meet with their backup team was fast approaching. Glitta plucked a blade of grass and offered it to him to free a few corn bits from between his teeth. “I should have packed our own celestial cuisine,” she sparked. Maximojo began filing his nails on the rock when his nose twitched.

  He flipped open the PolyMatrixor and activated the global line to request the presence of the animals of this world.

  As the sun peered over the mountain range the horizon radiated its golden tones accented with silvery hues. Relentlessly challenged by lightning storms and other natural occurrences, the sun applied its brilliance to change the weather conditions.

  “What do you have in mind?” Maximojo said, teasing the sun, though he already knew their routines inside–out from his many adventures in other solar systems.

  The sun, surprised at Maximojo’s words, emitted a secondary shaft of light that ignited the stalks around the perimeter of the cornfield, turning them into torches. “Ooops!” it apologized. The torches blazed, firing kernels into the skies in a popping salute. “Watch this!” The sun emitted solar flares that stretched from one end of the planet to the other in order to light the way for the travelers.

  All the animals were given directions to the gathering, and packed only the essentials. The three chosen for the team were ready to serve their Alliances for a bigger purpose – Maximojo and Glitta’s mission. Each Alliance oversaw the animals’ activities and evolution of its specie.

  ***

  From the time they were small, animals all over the universe knew of Maximojo and Glitta, the wand of light, and their adventures. Their favorite books, Fa-Hairy Tail Stories, were passed down from galaxy to galaxy. The animals fantasized about the invincible ones, as the duo were sometimes called, and the stories had encouraged them all to be the best they could be. As a result, each had an inner wish to make a difference in the world.

  Now the undefeated pair were in their own backyard! Their dream was about to become a reality. Animals of all sizes and shapes strapped on their travel sacks overflowing with treats, and made their way to the cornfield. Some walked, scurried or galloped across valleys and deserts. Some leapt over mountains and canyons, or soared over vast bodies of water. One animal, a cat from the future, was transported back through time in a capsule for her arrival into this world.

  Then there were the sleek, streamlined wonders that ruled the deep seas. With a wave of a fin, a water pond appeared in the field and called their names. The dolphins and the whale now had a getaway to splash around in.

  “I’ve just picked up some distress signals,” Maximojo said. The PolyMatrixor screen came into focus with those who needed assistance.

  “I’m on it!” Glitta said. She twirled, creating ribbons of sunshine that weaved into comfy travel cubicles, which made their way to those who were air-drifted in by clouds. The last to arrive, they floated over and were gently placed upon haystacks in the field. “We couldn’t have made it without you, thank you!” the last arrivals waved to the clouds, which had already begun to dissipate.

  Standing upright on the rock, Maximojo counted the assembled animals and began to update the global species files. The attendance far exceeded expectations. Numbers were recorded on the mission report.

  “The Council will be impressed,” Glitta radiated.

  “According to my list, everyone made it,” Maximojo said.

  All chattering stopped as Maximojo raised his paws and welcomed everyone. Glitta spun, stirring up energy that surged toward the boulder. She charged herself fully, ignited and flashed color streams over the crowd. The field lit up with spectacular brilliance. Morsels of corn sizzled and popped, while a breeze swept the air and raised everyone into a state of ecstasy.

  “Thank you, Glitta,” Maximojo whispered. “I’ll take charge now, since this is my podium. Remember our Mojo pact.”

  But Glitta found it challenging to contain herself. “That’s my Mojo!” she announced to all those assembled, almost bursting her photonic seams, and setting off fireworks that lit the clouds with spectacular shades of color.

  “That’s Glitta, the wand of light,” said Maximojo, motioning toward her proudly. “Everyone should have a friend like Glitta!” The sun sent out solar flares of approval. “We have been assigned by our Council to come here, and seek your assistance for our mission. As you have discovered the ‘Mojo Effect’ enables you to speak the same language with anyone on this planet. It is universal practice on all missions for everyone to be able to communicate,” he continued.

  “What is now occurring in your galaxy is not a Fa-Hairy Tail Story from time gone by, but something happening now. We need to take action in order for your planet to survive. Time is of the essence, as the old timepiece will be retiring soon, and a faster more efficient clock will be installed in your galaxy for the rest of the universe.” Maximojo projected a big picture of the incoming timekeeper, Kalapsis, above them in a shimmering hologram.

  “The switchover to a faster, more efficient existence is soon to be phased in with the arrival of this universal timepiece,” Maximojo said. “We are here to ensure that Zalturn is securely suspended on its axis when the planet switches poles and flips over.

  “Before the last phase-in of the present timekeeper, Zalturn had been home to two civilizations, one on the surface of the planet’s largest continent, and one beneath the planet’s crust. But when the timepiece had integrated in Zalturn’s section of the universe, something went wrong. The planet flipped its axis, wobbled in its orbit, and slowed its rotation so much that now only one side of the planet, the one with the continent, remained facing the sun.

  “The surface Kingdom vanished. In its place, a new Kingdom came into being, Kavalon, a beautiful oasis with breathtaking gardens, surrounded by a dark forest and rocky hillsides. Massive bodies of waters lay outside its borders where few dared to venture. This is where we are headed.”

  “Ooowwwww,” everyone said in unison, looking up. “But what can we do?”

  Pictures of the agenda shimmered into the hologram. He had mastered the art of airbrushing with breath and he enjoyed demonstrating this forte. Glitta touched up his artistry with glitter spray.

  “We understand that three of you have been chosen to accompany us to the other side of the Golden Gates into the Kingdom,” he said. “Looks like we might need a backup team after all to keep the spacecakes coming. These chosen animals will discover a lot about themselves by being part of our team. I’ll help them find their own courage, and show them how to use their smarts to achieve success in everything they do. I’ll get their mojo going!”

  Everyone marveled as buckets of opalescent raindrops bathed them in a shower of light – a refreshing welcome after the c
haotic rush of travel. Glitta spiraled beside Maximojo.

  Maximojo took the first step on the journey to the Golden Gates, the mystical gateway into The Kingdom of Kavalon. A dog, cat and horse appointed by their Alliances knowingly positioned themselves close behind Maximojo, and the others followed. Glitta lit up into a halo and twinkled, serving as the guiding light through the valleys that stretched out ahead of them. They were destined to arrive in Kavalon at a time when the sun totters on its recline over the horizon.

  “MOJO ... MOJO-O-O-O!” The sound echoed from behind them. They turned and got a glimpse of the coin they had seen earlier that appeared to be watching the ceremony. Then it shot up out of sight as they marched on. “Hopefully it will get carried away in the solar wind, or to those stoneheads waiting for our return!” Glitta shook a wing at it.