by Patrick Hatt
Lester prepared to scold Dina as he jumped to his feet. He paused as Max hovered over her with tears filling his eyes while he tried to wake her. He then looked to Trudesile, each thinking they had somehow appeared where God and Bandaid had spoken to her.
“Are we back in a memory?” Lester whispered.
“It doesn’t feel like that. It feels more like we are in a place. A place with nothing.”
“If that elf shows up, screw me pot of gold, I’m dropping a castle on his head.” Lester spun in place, searching for any sign of danger.
“Guys, she won’t wake up.” Max shook Dina and then fell backwards, crawling to the others as her whole body began to shake before lighting up.
“I’m blind,” Lester mumbled.
The trio tried to regain their sight after the giant flash she gave off and when they did, Max hopped to his feet. They stood back to back as Atlantians surrounded them while they remained on a plot of land, floating in a giant ocean.
“How’d we get back here?”
“I don’t know, Lester. But they aren’t dumb like Dregg said,” Max replied.
“Let’s take them down.” Trudesile turned into a giant eel and began electrifying any Atlantian that came near her.
Lester created a pile of holy water devices and he and Max started heaving them at any Atlantian that neared, vaporizing each one they hit on contact. Max spotted an Atlantian hovering over Dina and instinctively brought forth a dragon from his imagination. It flew into the sky and used its ice breath on it. Max then smashed the statue. He helped Dina up and slung her over the back of his dragon after it landed, signaling for it to take to the sky.
“This is nuts.” Lester backed up into Max as King Yenny strolled toward them. “Now would be the time to let loose.”
“Did you really think you could end me like that? I always have a backup plan. And this time I take your knowledge.”
Trudesile tried to electrocute him but he grabbed her, strangling her and laughing. Lester dropped a pot of gold on him, smashing his water form and freeing Trudesile. Max picked her up while she gasped for air.
“No giant to save you this time.” King Yenny reformed three times the size of his usual self and towered over the group. “Now you all die.”
Max looked to the sky when his dragon squealed and then vaporized.
“No!” Dina shouted as she plummeted to the ground.
Max tried to run and catch her but then he started turning in circles. The world around them spun until everything was mashed into a pile of goop. The goop flew off in every direction in a blinding light and the trio rubbed their eyes again.
“Now I rectify the situation that you filthy humans and half breed caused me.”
“The elf!”
“For the last time, I’m a fairy, you stupid half breed.”
The trio opened their eyes, finding themselves on a beach with multiple clouds hovering over them. A giant flower grew from beneath the sand behind them and lightning bolts began crashing at their feet.
“Not this time.” Max made his cloak appear and covered the trio, holding it steady as lightning struck it and bounced off.
“It’s not working. He still has power. How?” Trudesile asked.
“How is any of this happening? How are we even here? This whole day has been how.” Lester ranted about the how of it all before listening for Puck’s voice.
“That won’t hold forever. I will have it back and I will have your heads. Then it is on to Oberon.”
“Screw it.” Lester rolled out from under the cloak and then quickly made a portal appear as he caught sight of Puck. He hopped through and appeared out of another behind him. He then used his imagination power and crushed Puck with a dump truck.
“That takes care of that elf.” Lester brushed his hands together as everything vanished but the sand beneath them.
“Not quite a castle.” Max grinned at him.
“It did the trick.” Lester pointed behind Max. “Your girlfriend is sinking.”
“Grab her.” Trudesile dove into the sand and reached out for Dina. Her fingers nicked hers, but she was too late, Dina sunk into the sand.
“We have to get her out.” Max fell to his knees and began digging.
A rainbow blast burst forth from the sand and tossed Max back into Trudesile. The pair toppled over and everything around them began to spin again while the pair scrunched up in pain.
Trudesile pushed herself up to her knees, checking on Max, finding him unconscious. She then tried to get up but fell to the clouds beneath her when Lester shoved her down. She glanced up to find a sword fly overhead.
“Are we?”
“Yes. And he is ticked off.” Lester helped her up before scurrying over to Max.
Trudesile turned into a giant hawk and took to the sky, avoiding any spears and swords that were being thrown her way.
“My plot may have failed, but with God being wiped out of the picture by Adam, now it is my time to rule. There will be no heir and that Cup of Kings will not give anyone claim to Heaven. This is my right and I am taking it.” Lucifer darted toward her with an army of angels behind him.
Trudesile flew directly at them, using her talons to clip the wings of many. A few hit her feathers, causing her speed to waver. She then cried out in pain after Lucifer chopped off her tail. She reverted to human form and plummeted to the clouds beneath her.
Lester made a pot of gold appear beneath her. He then made more appear around it, leaving Lucifer confused over which one she had fallen into.
“You have no purpose here. Die and be gone.” Lucifer pointed to Lester and the remaining army of angels swarmed him.
“Max, could really use some help now.” Lester grabbed Max and rolled them into a portal that he made appear. He tried to make it go to another realm, but failed to do so. He kept ahead of the angels, unable to stop long enough to strike without leaving Max open for attack.
Trudesile burst forth from a pot of gold that Lucifer hovered over, and coins hit him in the face. She then grabbed his head and slammed it into the pot, causing him to stumble backwards.
“I knew you were no good. Dad wanted to give you another chance. I know why now. He made the same mistake. He learned from his. You didn’t. So now, you die.” Trudesile turned one of her arms into a bear claw and another into a dinosaur’s. She struck Lucifer repeatedly, refusing to let him get away. She stopped herself as he sat bloody and beaten at her feet, realizing she had lost control.
“You haven’t the stomach. That’s why I’ll win.”
“You’re wrong. It’s because I won’t kill you that you will never win. Dad wanted you to have another chance and I’ll respect that. He will see you for what you truly are and then all the realms will be through with you.”
“Little help!” Lester shouted. He spotted a light in a nearby cloud and used a portal to get himself there.
The angel army surrounded him while he reached down and grabbed Dina. She slipped from his grasp and the angels swirled into blobs of goop along with the rest of the world. A light erupted from the cloud and nothing but screams filled the air around them as their eyesight came back into focus.
“What did I miss?” Max mumbled. He instantly awoke as he stared at the chaos of a memory that had haunted him for years.
“Max, stop this. You can. Just concentrate.” Trudesile picked him up and clasped her hand within his, ensuring him he could do it. Her eyes widened when even more foes appeared.
“How can this be? I have control. This isn’t...it can’t be...it’s not me,” Max whimpered.
“Move.” Lester created a portal and shoved them both through it.
“Dregg don’t like hiding.”
“Me either. Show yourselves, scallywags. I want you all to meet the end of my sword.”
“Make a wish. I promise it won’t kill you.” Torenie cackled and pointed toward a bunch of beings that scattered into the halls of Camelot.
“They never talked before. Ma
x, have you gotten even stronger?” Lester asked.
“No. It’s not possible to create an exact clone of anyone. Memories are made. They aren’t implanted with what I create. This is fake.” Max stopped shaking and stood tall before Torenie, Davy Jones, and Dregg. He cracked his knuckles and marched toward them. “You aren’t real and I’m going to prove it.”
Max smirked as the three refused to back down. He then concentrated and all three became trapped in a cube. They each pounded on the walls.
“Lester, do what you said you’d never do,” Max demanded.
“Max, I can’t do that.”
“They are fake.”
“I think he is on to something, Lester. Do it.”
Lester took a deep breath, still hesitant over what they were asking. He then made portals appear from his imagination. Three appeared around different parts of each of the three and chopped them into three pieces. Each of their parts then appeared in different areas of the courtyard.
“Max! You said they were fake.” Lester stood over the body parts of versions of their friends in shock.
“They have to be. None of this is real.” Max turned to find Merlin in the doorway. He wanted to run and hug him on first instinct, but Merlin’s devilish smile let him know he was also from his nightmare.
“My boy, you are so going to die today.”
“That’s right, dearies. Time you all died.”
“Excalibur will see to that,” King Arthur shouted from above. He flew on the back of Shimmer, crying out how they would be victorious while Shimmer breathed fire into the sky.
“Do you think we ended up in one of those alternate realities again?” Lester whispered while the three of them stood back to back.
“No. This is fake. No reality was like my nightmare. This all came from my head.”
“Maybe you drifted off into another reality like we did when we first arrived at Camelot,” Trudesile whispered.
“No. This is fake. It has to be. We killed the bad clones last time. We’ll do it again.” Max remained adamant that nothing before them was real and brought out his cloak. He then marched toward Merlin.
Trudesile turned into a dragon and took to the sky, going fire blow to fire blow against Shimmer. She twirled around as Shimmer neared, keeping out of reach of King Arthur.
Lester caused a huge boot to appear and dropped it over Bandaid. He smirked as Bandaid squirmed to break free. He then dashed toward him and scooped him up inside of it before placing his hand over top.
“Let me out, dearie.”
“Sorry evil talking Bandaid clone guy, you aren’t getting out.” Lester kept a tight grasp on the boot as tears flowed from his eyes and his hope began to dwindle away. “You aren’t going to pull your emotional stuff with me. By me pot of gold, life is so bad. I should...No. Not happening.”
“I don’t need imagination power to take you out.” Merlin grabbed a sword from a scattering being and swatted at Max.
“You sure aren’t my father.” Max dove between Merlin’s legs and kicked him in the backside.
Trudesile spotted King Arthur getting to his feet. “Don’t even try it.”
“I shall slay yet another dragon.”
“I wish I could have talked as a rat. How does she do that and sound normal? I’m so useless. Trudesile is the best. I should...” Lester cringed and then clasped the boot tighter. His emotional state soon turned to normal. He opened the boot to find Bandaid dead from suffocation. “Sorry, my friend. I didn’t want this.”
Trudesile dove toward the ground as King Arthur leaped from Shimmer’s back and plummeted toward her with Excalibur in hand. She let him near and then transformed into a hummingbird, zipping away and letting him smash into the stone floor of the courtyard.
“This isn’t over.” Merlin swatted at Max and then smirked after Max made a sword appear. “Think you can take your old man, do you? Maybe so. But not with him.”
Max spun around and then gasped for breath as Brozen went inside his mouth and nose, beginning to drown him with his water form. Max fell to his knees and peered off into the throne room, spotting Dina lying unconscious on top of the roundtable.
Lester chucked a holy water device at Max. He grabbed it, placed it against the last of Brozen’s form, and caused Brozen to instantly vanish.
“Dina. It’s Dina,” Max said between breaths.
“We know. She’s still knocked out.” Lester rolled his eyes. “Your lovey dovey woman is okay.”
“No. She’s the cause. She is doing this. We need to wake her.” Max pushed himself to his feet and stumbled toward the roundtable. He crawled up onto it, stroked his hand across her face, and kissed her.
“That classic trope?” Lester sighed.
“Allow me.” Trudesile turned back into herself as Shimmer roared in the courtyard. She landed on the roundtable and smacked Dina across the face, taking a little satisfaction in doing so.
“Max!” Dina sat up and stared at the three surrounding her. She then grabbed Max’s arm and crawled off the table with him as a fireball erupted into the room.
“Thanks,” Trudesile whispered, as she and Lester both remained hidden behind his pot of gold.
“My go to save.”
“And that hasn’t become a trope?” Max joked.
“Maxy, what is going on?” Dina asked.
“Dina, this is your doing. Somehow you are recreating worlds we have been to. You brought forth the nightmare that I caused years ago while sleeping.”
“New and improved version.” Lester plugged his ears as the screams of many beings echoed throughout Camelot due to Shimmer burning them.
“I can’t create worlds. This can’t be. I couldn’t have done this.”
“Wake up. It is you. Now stop it!” Trudesile shouted while another fireball filled the throne room.
“Dina, Honey, you have to concentrate. You can block this out. Put it in a cage and leave it there. I did years ago when my actions took lives. It is hard, but this isn’t real. Just remember that.” Max kissed Dina and then a rainbow glow erupted from her.
“I’m not sure...” Dina’s tension eased as Max wrapped his arms around her and then she felt the world around her shifting.
“She’s doing it. It was her. What is your sister?” Lester questioned.
“I have no idea. Dad never told me about this.” Trudesile feared what Dina and the other first beings could do. She knew if they learned to control it they would be a foe that would be nearly unbeatable.
The world around them spun and the group remained in place. It collided into a glob ball and then vanished from existence. Dina toppled into Max’s arms and the group stood in complete darkness, each trying to figure out where they were while their many questions continued to pile up.
Chapter 7
Tuning
Bazooka appeared in a sanctuary room and Mr. Lions popped out from behind the door. They each remained quiet until Mr. Lions turned on the sanctuary, hoping it would mask their location.
“This isn’t who we are. What is Oxom thinking?”
“When pinned in a corner, beings of any kind do stupid things. Fear is a killer, chap.”
“But the realms have changed. We wouldn’t be used as slaves again.”
“You know that, and I know that, but he’s lost in the past.”
“But maybe he can change. We just have to show him the truth,” Mr. Lions stated.
“Unlike you, who agreed to help when I appeared back here because you knew it was all hands on deck to beat Adam, you can’t get through to his kind. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
“You can’t get through because I speak the truth.” Oxom appeared between the pair and shoved Bazooka aside. He wrapped Mr. Lions in a rainbow beam and glared at him. “I can’t believe you’d betray me and side with this thing. He is a mistake. One I’ll use to my advantage, but still a mistake. I hoped I was wrong. You are a disgrace to our kind.”
Bazooka sprang to his feet and began choking Oxom.
A beam then came from Oxom’s head and grabbed Bazooka, picking him up and slamming him against the ceiling.
“You can’t win. Adam won’t stop, and he’ll kill us all.”
“When he sees we don’t care, he’ll leave us alone.” Oxom snapped Bazooka’s neck and then smirked as his energy floated away. “That will keep Adam busy for a while longer. As long as he’s here, those humans and leprechaun will remain. I can’t let them leave until they are dead. Wouldn’t know where to find them, would you?”
“Your mind is so clouded by the past. It is time to move into the present. We don’t have to hide any longer.”
“It’s no wonder you betrayed me. You are so gullible. I regarded you as a friend, Mr. Lions. I can’t believe you’d stray so far.” Oxom wrapped another beam around Mr. Lions’ neck and choked him until he was unconscious. He then engulfed the pair in a rainbow glow and vanished seconds before Adam and Trinny appeared, still following Bazooka’s trail.
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Dina hugged Max, refusing to let go, while Lester tried to create a portal and Trudesile searched for any sign of her father.
“You can’t let me go. I won’t survive,” Dina whispered.
“I have no intention of ever letting you go. What gave you a crazy idea like that?” Max wiped some tears from her cheeks.
“Don’t lie to me.” Dina shoved him away and glared at Trudesile. “You love my sister and not me. I can’t let that happen. I’ll be rid of her and then we’ll forever be together.”
“Human teenagers and their hormones,” Lester mumbled.
“He’s also a culprit. He has to go as well.”
“Adam didn’t just make her mushy. He made her psycho. Great.” Lester rolled his eyes.
“Dina, get a grip. This isn’t time for a fit. We have to get out of here.” Trudesile tried to ignore her spat.
“Admit it. You have feelings for my future husband.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Honey. Trudesile and I are just friends. And it is friends like Trudesile and Lester that have saved me time and time again. Together we will get out of here.” Max reached for Dina, but she backed away further.