*****
In the great hall where Mobius spent his days ruling the world, the evil king was sitting on his throne . . . and he was smiling. Try as he might, he just couldn’t keep a straight face. At least he was able to resist laughing out loud.
With the power of the Crystal Egg, he had finally found the meddlesome child from Earth. He had watched, duly impressed, as she had captured both the F’aeri and K’aos. Capturing B’ludd, however, didn’t count for much. The imbecile of a dragon was totally useless.
And now, the little girl with the foolish name was about to pay him a visit. Incredibly, she actually believed she could capture the most powerful person on the planet. It was such a deliciously naïve thought. But, what else could you expect from a friend of the former Princess.
He could have stopped her before she got to Q’umulus. But that would ruin all his fun.
And he so seldom had the opportunity to laugh.
But today would be different.
Today, he would laugh until he cried.
*****
“Dazzle, you look amazing.”
The Princess laughed. “After a thousand years of lying in that coffin, my hair is probably a fright. And you, Feminion, it is so good to see you through my own eyes.”
In a rush of emotion, Sylvia shyly asked, “Umm, would you mind if I gave you a hug?”
“I would like that very much,” and she opened her arms as the girl ran over and they shared a warm embrace. The two dragons could only gape at such a sight.
After a moment, the Princess asked, “Where is Egg now? Tell me what has happened.”
“I talked to her just a little while ago . . . while the Tree was putting you back together. She captured the Green F’aeri, K’aos and B’ludd. She said to tell you that they’re okay . . . she didn’t hurt them.”
“She has done what I could not. A truly amazing young woman, that Egg.”
“Yeah, she’s the best.”
“As are you and your sisters. As are the Shades of Night,” she said nodding to the two awestruck dragons. “Where is Egg now?”
“She was on her way to Q’umulus.”
“Then we shall meet her there.” But she had one other to thank before she left. “Tree . . . I thank you for your help.”
“You are most welcome, Princess. But I urge you to hurry to Q’umulus. Your young friend, as brave and resourceful as she may be, will require your help.”
“Tree . . . I would ask one last favor. I wish to return the Crystal Egg to you so that you may destroy it.”
“And when that happens, Queen Rose’Alynnia, the children of Aerianna will have become responsible adults.”
“I do not understand?”
“The Crystal Egg was one last test by the Old Ones.” They were the Alien race that had created Aerianna. “By deciding to voluntarily give up such power, you have proven your maturity as a people. I congratulate you.”
Still not fully understanding what the Tree was telling her, Dazzle said, “We will talk of this later.”
“As you wish, your Majesty.”
As she turned to leave, one other thought came to mind. “Tree, when will you fulfill your promise?”
“All that was, will be again . . . when Mobius leaves Aerianna.”
*****
They snuck into the great hall as quietly as mice. Since the room was so large and not very well lit, it wasn’t all that hard.
“So far, so good,” whispered Egg.
“Maybe too easy,” Sassi whispered back.
Egg peered around the corner and spotted Mobius sitting on his throne. He seemed to be studying something or maybe he was reading. Either way, he obviously didn’t know she and the rest of the Shades were there.
Then it hit her like a ton of bricks . . . she was in the same room as the evil king, the most powerful person in probably the whole universe. What the heck was she thinking? This wasn’t crazy . . . it was insane. And for a moment, Egg was just a scared little girl who would rather be anywhere but where she was.
The moment of doubt passed as quickly as it came. She was Flying Girl and she had been born for this moment . . . to fight this battle . . . to beat this very bad man.
She gave the Shades the pre-arranged hand signal and they all walked slowly from their hiding places and up toward the king. Egg and Sassi were in front, while the others formed ten rows behind them. They walked in a kind of a shuffle, like Mo’beyes usually did. They had their hoods up and their goo sticks in hand.
Mobius was still concentrating so hard at whatever he was doing, that he never looked up, apparently unaware that they were there.
The girls stopped about ten feet from the throne and with another hand signal, they all dropped their robes and stood there looking like a hundred Eggs. They raised their goo sticks and fired.
The goo sticks were Egg’s idea from her dream. She had dreamt that she had sprayed whip cream on a spider and trapped it. So she had K’ssss’s amazing father make these sticks that looked like Mo’beye weapons . . . only these fired gooey, gunky, sticky stuff. They wanted to capture Mobius . . . but not injure him. It wasn’t their job to punish the evil man.
Then everything went wrong . . . horribly, awfully, terribly wrong.
Just as the goo sticks fired, Mobius stood up . . .
. . . and pointed his finger. The goo from every stick froze in mid-air. Then the stuff turned around and landed on each of the girls that had fired it. And every one of them . . . Egg and Sassi included . . . was stuck fast to spot where they had been standing.
“Well, well, well . . . what have we here?”
No one answered. However, a hundred sets of eyes were wide open in fear.
“Hmmm . . . perhaps this is a surprise costume party. How thoughtful of all of you.” Still no one spoke.
“And what kind of costume is it . . . I wonder?” Actually, the mega-mean man was a little surprised. He had expected Egg to be wearing her Flying Girl outfit.
“No matter. Which of you is the real Egg of Earth?”
No answer.
“Shy, are we? I hope you are not afraid of me. There are some who would paint me as a cruel tyrant. Not true. You should think of me as your kindly uncle. Really and truly.” But he laughed such a horrid laugh that it made the girls’ blood run cold. “Perhaps you are the real Egg,” and he pointed to one of the girls in the back row. “No, I think not,” and he snapped his fingers . . . and the girl screamed then disappeared. The rest of the girls gasped in horror.
“How about you?”
“Or you?”
“Or you?”
And as he pointed then snapped his fingers, the girl would scream then disappear.
“Stop it. Stop it,” yelled Egg.
But Mobius was having way too much fun . . . and he kept pointing and snapping his fingers. And the girls kept screaming and disappearing.
“I’m the real Egg. It’s me. Stop doing that. Stop.”
But Mobius didn’t stop until only Egg and Sassi were left.
“And then there were two.”
. . . And he laughed and laughed until he cried.
*****
Aeri’elle was getting nervous; she had expected Egg to contact her by now. She knew she wasn’t supposed to call . . . but she decided to do it anyway.
“Egg,” she said softly.
No answer.
“Egg.”
No answer.
Something had gone wrong . . . she could feel it.
‘What should I do?’ she thought to herself. ‘What would Storm do?’ she wondered out loud.
*****
Mobius pointed at the two girls and snapped his fingers once again . . . but this time it was the goo that disappeared.
“See what a nice person I am.”
“What happened to the other girls? What did you do to them?” Egg should have been scared; instead she was just really, really mad.
“I sent them on a nice little vacation . . . to the seven
lands.”
“Bring them back.” She was getting angrier and angrier.
“My, my, my . . . aren’t you the feisty one.”
“Why do you have to be so mean? Why can’t you just be nice?” It was the perfect question . . . if you were nine years old.
However, Mobius was tired of being the good uncle. It was time to rid himself of this pesky little person. But perhaps first, he would have a little more fun.
“And you, little girl . . . have you nothing to say? Egg, shame on you for not introducing your friend.”
“My name is Sassi.”
“Ah, yes. You are one of the Hameggattic Sisters.”
“I am,” she answered proudly.
“I believe you were once lost in the Maze of Forever.”
“Yes,” she said defiantly.
“And I believe you met one of my friends there?” referring to a one-eyed monster that had chased the girls.
Sassi said nothing.
“Well, my friend is very lonely as you might expect. He walks through the Maze day after day with nothing to do . . . with no one to play with.”
The girls said nothing . . . but their hearts were beginning to beat faster.
“So, I think you should go back and keep him company.”
Sassi froze in fear . . . and Egg screamed, “DON’T YOU DARE.”
But Mobius wasn’t in the mood to listen. He raised his arm, pointed at Sassi and snapped his fingers . . . and the beautiful young girl changed into something unspeakable . . . a female version of the Maze Monster.
Egg screamed but Mobius could care less.
“Now go back to the Maze and play nice.” He laughed his ugly laugh then snapped his fingers.
Sassi disappeared.
“And now Egg of Earth . . . it is your turn.”
*****
“There is Q’umulus. Hurry, my sisters.”
And the two dragons carrying the Princess and Sylvia flapped their wings as fast as they could.
But time was running out.
*****
Aeri’elle flew out of the window and over to the west tower. She circled it until she found the room she wanted. She landed on a window ledge then hopped inside.
And there it was . . . the Crystal Egg.
She walked over to it, and did what Dazzle had instructed. She pricked herself with a pin and allowed a small drop of blood to fall onto the Egg.
Taking a deep breath . . . she reached out and picked up the glowing globe.
Happily, nothing happened. She had been afraid that when she touched it, she would somehow disappear or . . . or worse.
Cradling her precious cargo, she returned to window and flew out . . .
. . . and headed for the Valley of Sighing Whorl as fast as her wings could carry her.
And the dream that Sylvia had that first day on Aerianna . . . when she and Egg napped at Dazzle’s castle . . . had come to pass.
*****
Mobius walked down from the platform where his throne rested. As he approached Egg, she realized how big he was.
And how ugly.
She could actually feel his hatred . . . and it made her hair stand on-end.
“You have been a royal pain in my neck. But, I will admit that up till now you have been a worthy adversary. Much better than your precious princess. It’s a shame that you are not on my side.”
Egg said nothing. She knew he was about to do something really bad to her and she had to concentrate very hard to be brave.
“But it’s too late for that; much too late. What I intend to do is make an example out of you. So whenever someone else tries to help the princess . . . they will think twice before defying me.”
“You talk too much . . . like one of my mom’s girlfriends. Grammy always told me to . . .”
“Silence.” Mobius was infuriated that he wasn’t scaring this little girl. “Let me tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to change you into a statue of a large egg. It will sit on a pedestal right here where I can see it every day.”
“Not very creative,” mocked Flying Girl.
Mobius growled in hatred. He raised his arm, pointed at Egg, and snapped his fingers.”
*****
The dragons landed in front of the palace and Dazzle jumped off. She ran to the front doors, threw them open and rushed inside. Sylvia and the two Shades hurried to keep up.
As they made their way towards the throne, they could see Mobius. His arm was outstretched and he was pointing at someone.
It was Egg.
“Stop,” yelled Dazzle.
The evil king and the young girl turned toward the voice.
“It’s you,” screamed Mobius in boundless rage and limitless hatred.
“Oh my gosh, it is you,” cried Egg.
“Yes, my dear sister. I have returned.”
Chapter 12 – The Home Coming
A moment before Dazzle made her dramatic entrance; Mobius had pointed his finger at Egg. Calling on the Crystal Egg, he had commanded it to change her into a statue.
But nothing had happened.
He tried a second time.
But nothing happened.
What he didn’t realize was that the Crystal Egg now belonged to Aeri’elle. He could no longer command its unlimited power. Before he could rant and rave and curse . . . Dazzle had commanded him to stop.
When Egg realized who it was . . . she slapped away Mobius’ hand, which was just inches from her face and ran to her friend.
The Princess opened her arms and caught her young sister.
They hugged each other tightly. “Oh, Dazzle. It’s really and truly you.”
“Yes, my sister; thanks to you and the Sisterhood.”
But before they could continue enjoying each other’s company, Mobius interrupted.
“I was just about to punish your little friend, Princess. But now I believe I will punish both of you.” He raised his hand, pointed his finger and thought an evil thought. But, again, nothing happened. “Curses . . .,” he cried in frustration.
“I presume you no longer command the Crystal Egg,” said the Princess with a sly smile. She turned to Egg and asked, “Does Aeri’elle have it?”
“Oh my gosh. I was supposed to give her a signal but then he trapped me in the goo.”
“Call her now.”
“Aeri’elle, Aeri’elle . . . this is Egg. Can you hear me?”
“Hi, Egg. I’m sorry but I didn’t wait for your call. I thought something happened so I . . . so I asked my grandfather what he would do. He told me to take the Crystal Egg. Did I do the right thing?”
“Aeri’elle. You saved the day.”
“Is that you, your Majesty?”
“Yes. I am here with your sister. Have you reached the Myst Tree?”
“I’m almost there.”
“Excellent. Please meet us back on Q’umulus when you have completed your task. And, Aeri’elle . . . well done.”
“Thank you.”
“Bye, Aeri’elle. And thanks.”
“Bye, Egg. See you soon.”
Dazzle turned back to look at Mobius who was standing there with his hands on his hips looking mean and defiant.
“So . . . I no longer have the power of the Egg; but then again . . . neither do you.”
“Without its power, Mobius, you are nothing but an arrogant buffoon.”
“And I don’t mean to repeat myself, but you really are ugly.” Sylvia giggled at her friend’s remark.
“What a fool you must be to think that I would just stand here and surrender. Even without my powers, do you really think you can defeat me?”
“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly.
Mobius laughed and pulled out a sword. Without hesitation, he lunged at Egg and tried to stab her. The young girl backed away but fell down as she did.
Ignoring her, the cruel ex-king went after Dazzle. The Princess had her sword out . . . the one Storm had saved for her all these years. When Mobius swung down a heavy
blow, Dazzle blocked it. He swung again . . . and again she blocked it.
Unfortunately, this fight wasn’t about skill – something that the Princess had in abundance. This was about brute force.
And Mobius was too big a brute and much too strong for even a Warrior Princess.
He swung again with all his might.
Dazzle raised her sword one more time.
The sound of metal against crystal (Rose’s sword was made from serpents crystal) rang out . . . and the Princess’s weapon went flying out of her hands and landed with a loud clang on the marble floor.
She was now defenseless.
You might think that even an evil person like Mobius wouldn’t attack an unarmed woman.
But . . . evil is evil.
He brought his sword high over his head.
And he began to bring it down as hard as he could.
But then he froze.
. . . he had been goo-ed.
When Egg fell down, she rolled over to where her goo stick lay. She picked it up, took aim and fired at the unsuspecting villain.
And the silly thing actually worked the way she had planned.
A big splash of gunk flew out and covered the king.
And just like the dream spider in the whipped cream, he became stuck.
He struggled and thrashed about . . . but it didn’t matter.
Mobius, the former tyrant of Aerianna . . . the really big, ugly, mean man . . . had been defeated. With all the power in the world at his fingertips, he had lost everything. As Storm once suggested, his arrogance and conceit at his own superiority, and his scorn for those that opposed him, had led to his demise. And up till the very end, he completely underestimated the strength of will of the Hameggattic Sisterhood.
With a lot of help from her sisters and the Shades of Night . . . Egg of Earth had beaten him. A not-so-ordinary nine year old girl with boundless determination, an unwavering belief in her friends, and a maturity far beyond her years had won the biggest doge ball game of her life.
All it took was some great dreams, a bit of luck and a big blob of goo.
*****
Aeri’elle flew low over the valley of Sighing Whorl . . . and was shocked to see so many of the dragons that had gone with her father and Sylvia lying on the ground.
Ignoring her strict orders to go directly to the Myst Tree, she landed in the middle of where most of the Shades lay. She had to help them if she could.
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 82