Dimensions (The Young Neos Book 4)

by Lucas Flint

  All of a sudden, Moretta raised her good arm and snapped her fingers. Everything went silent once again and Treehugger, realizing what Moretta was trying to do this time, immediately ran toward the Venetian, but she was too slow, because Moretta snapped her fingers again and another sound bomb went off. The impact of the blast knocked Treehugger onto the floor, where she cracked her skull against the stone. The impact of the fall left her dizzy, but then she heard Moretta running toward her and she yanked the knife upwards.

  Moretta jumped backwards to avoid getting stabbed, giving Treehugger enough time to rise back to her feet and start slashing at the Venetian. But Moretta grabbed her wrist and the two of them started struggling over control of the knife. Treehugger was surprised at how strong Moretta was; even with only one good arm, Moretta was able to give Treehugger a hard time. But Treehugger didn’t let her surprise throw her off. She just kept struggling, using both hands to hold onto the knife as firmly as she could, knowing that if she lost control of the knife, then this fight would be her last.

  Abruptly, Moretta punched Treehugger with her bleeding arm. The blow came out of nowhere and caused Treehugger’s grip on the knife to loosen enough that Moretta was able to yank it out of her grasp and slash at her with it.

  The knife cut through Treehugger’s outstretched hands, causing Treehugger to yell in pain and stagger backwards, holding her hands close to her chest. Her hands were now bleeding, though the cuts were not very deep. Even so, Treehugger knew that she couldn’t fight well with wounded hands, but she had no time to heal them, because Moretta was advancing on her again, knife held out threateningly.

  Desperate, Treehugger once again looked around the chamber for anything, anything at all, that she could control with her powers. Once again, however, she didn’t see anything, but then she noticed that when Moretta took a step closer to her that something small fell off the sole of her boot. Another glance told Treehugger that the small thing was one of the leaves from the forest; it must have somehow stuck to the bottom of Moretta’s boot when she and the other Venetians were walking through the forest earlier. Even better, Moretta was so caught up in trying to kill Treehugger that she didn’t even seem to notice it.

  So Treehugger thrust her right hand forward. Moretta briefly stopped, a confused look visible in her eyes before the leaf flew off the ground and cut straight through her knife hand. Moretta dropped the knife and clutched her hand, but Treehugger wasn’t done yet. She slashed across Moretta’s chest with the razor leaf and then slashed her again, causing Moretta to stagger backwards, her robes now stained with her own blood. Seeing her opportunity, Treehugger ran forward and, with a yell, kicked Moretta in the head with a high kick.

  Moretta immediately collapsed onto the floor, where she lay so still that she looked like a corpse. But Treehugger knew that she wasn’t dead; merely unconscious, the kick having knocked her out completely. Hopefully, Moretta would not rise again anytime soon.

  Sighing, Treehugger winced when she felt her bloody hands. She looked down at her wounded hands and grimaced at how bloody they were. They looked a lot worse than they were, but Treehugger knew from study that even the smallest wounds could become big problems if the infection was not dealt with in a timely manner. That meant she’d need to find medical attention quickly.

  Space and Galaxy might be able to help me, Treehugger thought, looking toward the other side of the chamber where the two IEA agents had been battling Arlecchino and Pantalone.

  Unfortunately, it looked like their fight with Arlecchino and Pantalone was not going very well. Galaxy lay on the floor, apparently unconscious, while the two Venetians had managed to back Space into a corner. Space no longer had his sound blaster, which he must have dropped at some point; instead, he was slashing at them with his energy knife whenever either of them got too close, but it was pretty clear that they would get him sooner or later, and probably sooner unless Treehugger intervened.

  Taking control of the leaf once again, Treehugger sent it flying toward Arlecchino, the one closest to her. Right before it hit him, however, Arlecchino jumped out of the way, causing the leaf to fly harmlessly past him. Arlecchino whirled around, shouted, “Moretta!” and then ran toward Treehugger with surprising speed.

  Alarmed, Treehugger tried to regain control over the leaf, but it was no use. Arlecchino slammed into her like a pile driver and Treehugger was on the floor again. Then Arlecchino was straddling her, his large hands wrapped firmly around her throat, murder shining in his eyes as he panted and growled like a monster.

  “You stupid little girl,” Arlecchino hissed. “I don’t know if you killed Moretta or if you just knocked her out, but either way I am getting sick of the antics of you and your little friends. I don’t even care about the mission at this point. All I care about is squeezing the life out of your small, tiny little body and then dumping it on the shore of Hero Island so your friends will know what happens to those who cross our path.”

  Treehugger literally couldn’t breathe. Because she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t focus on regaining control of the leaf. The knife was not close enough for her to grab and she was not strong enough to throw Arlecchino off herself. She realized that she was going to die, with this huge man choking the life out of her. She beat her hands against his arms, but her blows were so weak that Arlecchino did not even seem to notice.

  Darkness appeared in the corners of her eyes, causing her vision to go in and out. Slowly but surely, her consciousness was fading away … and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Finally, the darkness came over her, but oddly, Treehugger could still feel herself being choked to death. Actually, the choking had lessened, making it easier for her to breathe, and she heard Arlecchino say, “What the hell happened? Where did all of this darkness come—”

  A howling of steel and wind—a sound unlike any that Treehugger had heard before—filled the room. The howling was loud enough to drown out the swearing of Pantalone and Arlecchino, but more than that, it was utterly terrifying. It sounded nothing like the voice of a living creature and more like the sounds of some primordial beast, older than the Earth itself, having risen from its slumber to destroy those who had disturbed its rest. The sound was so awful that Treehugger was sure that she was going to die with Arlecchino, that this vile avenger was going to slaughter every single person in the room without discrimination.

  Suddenly, Arlecchino’s grip on her throat vanished, allowing her to breathe air again. She heard Arlecchino fall to the floor nearby, followed by the clear sound of metal stabbing into flesh and Arlecchino’s own screams abruptly ending. Then she heard the flapping of wings—perhaps Pantalone taking flight—only for that to end nearly as abruptly, although she did not hear Pantalone fall to the floor or get stabbed like Arlecchino.

  All the while, Treehugger just lay there, breathing in and out hard, her throat aching from Arlecchino’s iron grip. She had no idea what was attacking the Venetians, but she believed that if she played dead, then maybe the thing would ignore her. It seemed like a foolish hope, given how obviously bestial the creature was, but it was the only hope that Treehugger had at the moment.

  And then, without warning, the darkness went away, allowing Treehugger to see the teal lights running along the ceiling, floor, and walls. She blinked several times, her vision obscured by the shadows, before a familiar shadow fell over her and she looked up.

  The Midnight Menace stood over her, a bloody sword in his grasp. He looked none the worse for having been cut up by the razor leaves of the forest, the only clues of his fate being that his cape was more tattered than usual and his armor and helmet were heavily scratched. Aside from that, he appeared to be as alive and well as always, which made Treehugger wonder if she was hallucinating his presence here.

  “The Midnight Menace?” said Treehugger. She blinked several more times, but his shadowy form did not disappear. “Is that really you?”

  “It is I,” said the Midnight Menace in his usual soft
but threatening voice. “You seem surprised to see me.”

  Treehugger sat upright, but winced, because her hands were still wounded. But she didn’t pay attention to that right now, because she was more interested in what the Midnight Menace was doing here than anything else. “But the Venetians said you were dead.”

  “I was,” said the Midnight Menace. “But the Shadowlands revived me, as they do to all of their warriors who fall in battle protecting them. My job here is not yet done and the Shadowlands will not release me until it is finished.”

  Treehugger blinked. “Really? It’s that simple?”

  “It isn’t that simple, no,” said the Midnight Menace, shaking his head. “But if I explained to you the true process of resurrection … well, it would be a waste of time for all of us, I think.”

  Treehugger didn’t think that learning the secret of resurrection would be a waste of time at all, even if she couldn’t use it herself, but before she could say that, she heard a painful groan and looked to her left. She nearly jumped when she saw what lay near her.

  Arlecchino lay on the floor, but he looked virtually unrecognizable. His stomach had been cut clean open and his robes were splattered with his own blood. His mask had been knocked off, revealing his hideous, smashed-in face. He was clutching his cut open stomach and breathing in and out hard, but it was obvious that he didn’t have much time left before he died. The stench of fresh blood came over his body, causing Treehugger to cover her mouth and nose with her hands to avoid smelling it.

  “He’s not dead yet,” said the Midnight Menace, showing virtually no concern for the dying supervillain near her. “But he will be. Even if we got him to a doctor, there’s no way that he will survive. I made sure of that.”

  “What about Pantalone?” said Treehugger, looking up at the Midnight Menace again. “Is he—”

  The Midnight Menace stepped aside, allowing Treehugger to see Pantalone. The Venetian lay against the far wall, panting hard, and the reason for that was obvious: His left wing had been pinned to the wall by another sword, making it impossible for him to get up. Space, meanwhile, was kneeling on the floor next to the unconscious Galaxy, trying to wake her up, though every now and then he would glance at the Midnight Menace with both fear and awe, as if he wasn’t sure if the Midnight Menace would come after him next.

  “He will probably survive,” said the Midnight Menace. “I intend to take him back to Earth and let the NHA and INJ have him. We will interrogate him to find out just what his master is planning to do. Of that, I can assure you.”

  Treehugger should have been happy to hear that, and she was, but at the same time, she found the brutality which the Midnight Menace displayed toward Pantalone and Arlecchino unnerving. It made her glad that the Midnight Menace was on the side of good. If he was on the other side … well, Treehugger didn’t want to think about it.

  “So it’s over?” said Treehugger. “They’re defeated?”

  “Yes,” said the Midnight Menace. “And before they could do whatever it was they were planning to do.” He held out a hand. “It’s time we get you back home, Treehugger. Your friends no doubt miss you.”

  Treehugger couldn’t help but smile, because despite how much her hands hurt, this was exactly what she had been waiting to hear for what seemed like an eternity. She reached out, but before she could grab the Midnight Menace’s hand, the sound of flesh tearing against metal, plus a cry of pain, caused Treehugger to pause and look back toward Pantalone. She wished that she hadn’t.

  Pantalone had torn his wing off the sword that had pinned it to the wall. What remained of his wing was a bloody, disgusting mess of feathers and flesh which made Treehugger’s stomach churn just by looking at it. Space stood up again and aimed his sound blaster at Pantalone, while the Midnight Menace turned to face the Venetian, holding up his bloody sword with both hands.

  “I thought you pinned him to the wall!” Space said to the Midnight Menace, his voice high with fear. “How did he do that?”

  “It’s just … pain …” said Pantalone. His voice was heavy and ragged and it sounded like he was struggling to speak every word. “It … doesn’t … matter …”

  “I agree,” said the Midnight Menace. “You couldn’t beat me when you had both wings. I doubt that you will be any luckier with just one.”

  Pantalone smiled, despite the severe pain that he had to be experiencing. “When … when did I say that I was going to beat you?”

  All of a sudden, Moretta dashed past the Midnight Menace. She ran over to Pantalone and, putting one hand on his shoulder, pressed a button on what looked like a smartphone in her hands.

  Immediately, a dimensional portal opened behind the two Venetians. Moretta quickly entered the portal, dragging the half-dead Pantalone with her, who smirked at the Midnight Menace all the while. The Midnight Menace rushed toward them, but he was too late. Once Moretta and Pantalone passed through the portal, it closed shut, leaving nothing behind but empty space and disturbed dust.

  The Midnight Menace came to a halt in front of the spot where their portal had just closed. He slammed his fist against the wall, though it seemed to be more out of anger than anything.

  “Huh,” said Space, lowering his sound blaster. “That’s, um, weird. I honestly didn’t see that coming.”

  “Neither did I,” said the Midnight Menace, though without turning around.

  A dark, weakened chuckle broke the silence suddenly, causing Treehugger to look at Arlecchino. Though obviously still in great pain, the Venetian was smiling as if he had just heard the greatest joke in the world. It was a very creepy smile, one which made Treehugger instinctively inch away from him.

  “Ha, ha,” said Arlecchino, his voice lower than normal. “You thought you were so close to capturing one of us, to getting the truth, but you failed. Always knew that Pantalone was a smug bastard. Expected nothing less of the guy, or of Moretta for that matter, even though they abandoned me like a dog.”

  The Midnight Menace moved swiftly across the floor and was upon Arlecchino in seconds. He pressed the tip of his sword against Arlecchino’s neck and whispered, “Where did they go? Tell me or else.”

  “Or else what?” said Arlecchino. He wheezed. “I’m dying anyway. There’s nothing you can do to scare me into ratting out my own teammates.”

  The Midnight Menace removed his sword from Arlecchino’s throat. “Perhaps I can’t. But the Shadowlands can.”

  Abruptly, shadowy tendrils rose from the floor underneath Arlecchino. The Venetian looked about wildly as the tendrils wrapped around his arms and legs and began pulling him into a puddle of shadow that had appeared under him. Arlecchino struggled to break free, but the injuries he had sustained from the Midnight Menace left him unable to put up much of a resistance. Treehugger also had the feeling that he wouldn’t have been able to break free even if he hadn’t been as badly injured as he was.

  In seconds, Arlecchino vanished beneath the pool of shadows, which then vanished itself.

  “Where … where did he go?” said Treehugger with a gulp.

  “You’ll find out eventually,” said the Midnight Menace. “For now, let me take you home, as well as help your allies. You need medical attention and you need it right away before those wounds on your hands become infected.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Three days later …

  Treehugger sat on a bench on the Academy grounds, watching as students made their way to and from classes. She sat by herself underneath a particularly nice oak tree that she had discovered not long after returning from the Shadowlands, which provided her with nice shade from the sun. A couple of birds in the branches above sang pretty songs which helped her to relax.

  But the presence of the tree did remind Treehugger of the trees of the Shadowlands, even though this tree did not have razor sharp leaves or skin-like bark. And thinking about the Shadowlands made Treehugger think about the events of the last few days, in particular, what happened after the Midnight Menace took her
back to Earth. She didn’t like to think about those memories due to how stressful they were, but she found herself thinking about them anyway.

  When Treehugger returned to Earth, she had emerged in the Academy grounds, near the auditorium. Coincidentally, Treehugger had run into Bolt there, who had quickly called together the whole team to come and see her. The Midnight Menace had stayed with Treehugger long enough for the rest of the Young Neos to arrive, but he didn’t stay after that. He vanished back into the shadows, most likely to return to the Shadowlands to get Arlecchino. She had not heard from him since, although she sometimes wondered whether he had managed to get Arlecchino to tell him anything about John Mann’s real plans. In the end, though, she didn’t mind not hearing from him, because the Midnight Menace reminded her far too much of the Shadowlands, a place that she was quite happy to never return to if she could help it.

  But the Midnight Menace was not the only person she had not seen since returning to Earth. She had not seen Space and Galaxy since her return, either. The last time she had seen them was back in the Shadowlands, shortly before she and the Midnight Menace went back to Earth. Space had explained to her that he and Galaxy had managed to escape the Servants of the Starborn and use the Adventure’s tracking system to locate the escape pod she had used, which was how they found her. They had also used their tech to locate her specifically via her suit-up watch; apparently, they had bugged her watch with a tracking signal to let them find her easier. That probably would have weirded out Treehugger under normal circumstances, but given how it had led to her life being saved, she didn’t mind it too much and hadn’t yet had the tracker removed, because she had been too busy over the last few days to think about that.