“You’re going to hover right over him, keep close, on my signal, try to get it again, alright?”
“Roger,” I flew towards my destination.
Nero made another rocket launcher, and shot right at the emperor’s feet. The ground cracked and collapsed a few feet in – the emperor lost his footing and fell a little. Both his hands were on the ground. I stared intensely. Violet threw a giant black blanket over him. This blinded the emperor. Just as he was getting up, the funniest attack happened.
Nero was spawning anvils on top of the emperor – and I mean, he was raining them down. A new one every half a second kept dropping on top of him. They were loud, heavy and clunky, and they seemed to be weighing down on the emperor.
“Get behind him!!” Nero called out to me. I did just that.
The emperor launched the blanket off of himself in rage – anvils flying left and right. He swung his scepter for an attack, and just as he did, I grabbed onto it! Oh Jesus the adrenaline was going crazy in me.
His attack was stopped temporarily. Nero shot lasers at his legs, bringing him down to his knees. I prayed he wouldn’t shoot me accidently.
“Pull!” Violet yelled to me. I was atop the emperor’s shoulder, pulling on the scepter with all my might. His grip was too powerful for me to break. Violet came up right next to me and swung an oversized sledgehammer at the emperor’s knuckles. Nero kept shooting at the emperor’s chest and abdomen, keeping him down every time he saw the emperor move. A few shots of the sledgehammer later, and his fingers loosened up just for half a second. I fell off of him, the heavy scepter in my hands.
The emperor yelled, he yelled and he roared, and the walls around us began collapsing. Lava pooled around the edges of the floor. Amun Ra got up despite having dozens of holes in his body, and walked towards me with rage.
“Raymond!!” Violet yelled.
“RAYMOND!” Nero kept shooting at the emperor’s back, to no avail. Violet was to my side in the distance, I took a swing with all my might, and while lying on the floor with a menacing emperor charging at me, I threw the golden rod towards her.
The emperor stepped on my chest – his foot the size of half my body. My ribcage broke instantly and I coughed blood down my jawline. Amun Ra yelled in rage at my face, deafening me completely. With a few more violent stomps over my head, he killed me.
Chapter 15
My chest hurt, badly. I was awake in my living room, as usual, lying on the floor – and I just felt the worst kind of pain in my chest. I couldn’t move a muscle, I just had to endure the excruciating burn throughout my body for a while. While my body was recovering, I was trying to remember everything that happened just moments before I was stomped to death.
Ahh… I threw the scepter at Violet. Did she catch it? She had to have caught it… Amun Ra was busy killing me after I threw it. I hope they escaped safely.
My phone was vibrating on the table. I couldn’t tend to it, I was busy dying on the floor.
An hour later, my chest was off the ground.
I grabbed the phone. It was my editor. I warmed up my jaw to make sure I sounded normal before I talked.
“Hello?” I said.
“Raymond? Do you ever pick up? Damn you crazy son of a gun, good job!”
“Good job?” I asked, sitting atop my couch like I was shot. I could barely hold the phone to my ear.
“Yeah good job! Didn’t you see?”
“See what?”
“Holy cow, you really didn’t see? Get online right now, type in your name!”
“Uhh…” I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was in absolutely no state to get up right now.
“Uhh what? Come on! I’ll wait.”
“Hold on,” I put my phone on loudspeaker and typed my name through here instead. “Raymond… Smith.” I typed.
“So? What do you see?”
“The hell, I have news articles about me?”
“It’s great isn’t it?” the editor sounded ecstatic.
I clicked on one. Those Girl Scout cookies – their Save The Animals charity blew up, and my interview was a prime example of why we should help them. The two minute clip of me was right on the news cover, along with my name and title ‘Author’.
“I don’t believe it,” I said.
“Your page is blowing up! I swear you live in a cave sometimes, just check your email for once! Must be spammed to death by now. I didn’t know you love animals so much. Was the interview scripted?”
“No,” I said. “I just answered their questions, that’s all…” I was reading the rest of the article. Those guys got a world-wide charity launch, and somehow my name ended up being tied to them. That gave me a boost of publicity and now my editor was super happy about it.
“You sound like you just woke up,” he said.
“I did,” I nodded. “I definitely did. Had a dream about Amun Ra.”
“Well pinch yourself, cause you ain’t dreaming now. I can only congratulate you. Whenever you have a spare day just come over to Publishing House, I’ll meet you there. We haven’t talked in a while. Guess it pays to be a good person, huh?”
“Nah, I was just lucky. It’s all for the animals, you know?”
“Sure, sure!” he said with a laughter. “I’ll catch you later.” He hung up.
My arm dropped heavily. I needed a few more hours of just not doing anything.
About another hour later of pretending to be dead on the couch, I managed to get myself up. I didn’t want to check the internet or anything, I was more pressed about the scepter. A single cup of coffee later, and I was dialing those four numbers.
I went in, stabilized, pulled the portal towards me, and I was in. I walked into the lab. Everything was dark at first, but it was clearing quite steadily.
Nero man-hugged me. “YOU DID IT,” he yelled. “You did it you crazy son of a gun!” he laughed in victory.
“I did? We did?” I looked around.
“Splendid work, Raymond,” said Wilmort.
“Ah, Wilmort,” I said. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
I felt rather weak, and dropped on my knees.
“Woah!” Nero tried holding me up. Doug got my other side and they took me to the couch.
“You mustn’t travel so frequently,” said Regal, “it takes a big toll on you. At least not until you’ve built up enough resistance to it.”
“And not right after having been crushed to death,” Violet threw in a comment.
“Well yes,” Regal confirmed. “That would contribute to your overall mental health. Rest is all you need.”
“Can’t he rest here?” said Nero.
“Only mentally. I wouldn’t think his body would get much of a recovery here.
“So we got the scepter?” I mumbled, dizzy.
“Yes,” Nero confirmed excitedly. “Yes! We did it! Two failed attempts later, and with you, we somehow did it.”
“Good shooting,” I whispered.
“You have the look of a dying man,” said Wilmort. “It is almost poetic – death after victory, is it not?”
“Go back to the theatre Wilmort,” I said.
“This lab is the theatre, and your missions are the play,” he sang. “Oh sweet sweet home base, against the time we surely race. It is a burden that we must face, powerful items that we must chase. We return to our sacred place, under our comfort, under our grace. Oh sweet, sweet, home base.” He took a deeper tone. “Do not let our efforts, become a disgrace.” He walked away.
“Rest, Raymond,” said Regal. “You have to go back soon, we can’t let you go on the next mission like this.”
“Sorry, I had no idea,” I said.
“You’re good,” Doug pat me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’re good.”
I glanced over at the cylinders in the distance – three of them were filled. The scepter was right in the middle. It all felt worth it. I fell asleep.
When I next woke up, I was back in my living room again. I went throug
h the same aching pains and headaches and lying on the floor for hours. They must have killed me in my sleep – some friends they are, huh?
Oh well, at least I was back. When I was able to crawl, I crawled up to my bed, and let sleep take over again.
In the morning I was sitting outside, on the porch. It was pleasantly cool, and very cloudy. My mug was in my hand, a plate of Girl Scout cookies in the other, and I was enjoying the still atmosphere.
My timer had about a hundred and fifty hours left, that was well over six days to do as I pleased. I had an appointment with the doctor to make sure I was in good health. He commented on my blood pressure and stress levels again.
I met with my editor and we had coffee together and a long conversation. I told him I was in a strange mental place, it was hard to orient myself. He said midlife crisis was a common thing and that I shouldn’t stress about it. He got me a guy to help me handle the inquiries and upkeep the social presence online while I took care of myself.
I went over to Mrs. White, helped her with some stuff, helped Mr. White in his shed, and spent the rest of my days just waiting and resting. There was nothing eventful that happened. Sleep was amazing – when you’re tired and mentally drained, nothing quite resets you like sleep does.
All I needed was a cat on my lap to make those few days truly cozy. I mean, I did have one a bunch of months ago.
I leaned back on the couch in my living room. Some days have already passed. It was about time to go back to the base. I stretched a little and picked up the remote. A cat jumped on my couch, interrupting my thought. The cat got on my lap with its two front paws and meowed to me. I gave it a gentle pet, and it replied with its vibrant purrs.
“You’re a cute one, aren’t you?” I said to it. It kept cuddling into my hand. “Whose cat are you? You’re not Mrs. White’s cat, right?”
I pet it under its chin with my fingers and it responded sweetly. “Oh, that’s right. You’re just another illusion.”
The cat disappeared right before my eyes. I sighed a little. I think I was getting used to it by now. I keep forgetting to ask them about the girl though – Regal would be the perfect man to ask, in my opinion.
There was forty nine hours left on the timer. If I stayed beyond that, my heart would start to burn and I would feel like I was about to die. Fun fun.
Seven seven eight five.
I went through to the lab without much effort or thought.
“Good morning!” Regal walked right past me as I entered.
“Is it morning?” I narrowed my eyebrows.
“Good evening, then,” he shrugged his shoulders.
I quickly scanned the area. Nero was at the back where the makeshift lounge was – studying some sort of map it seemed. Regal was walking directly away from Nero, so I assumed he was with him a second ago.
Not… anyone else in sight.
“Hey,” I approached Nero.
“What’s up?” he mumbled while being very focused on the map. It had scribbles all over it.
“What’s the map?” I sat on the other couch not far from him.
“This was a catacomb shaped like a labyrinth. A bunch of competitors could enter at the same time once a year to obtain special treasures. I’ve been studying the labyrinth and pointing out all the traps and monster lairs but it’s been quite inconsistent.”
“Was that the movie… Umm…” I gave it a thought. I remember seeing that movie! Or well, the trailer of it. “I think it was called Catacomb Runners or something. The treasures weren’t just gold and stuff, right? There was like Poseidon’s Trident and the Book of Wishes or something there.”
“Yes,” he answered promptly. “Regal wanted me to get some stuff from there. Better get a trident from a labyrinth of death than actually fighting Poseidon at the bottom of the ocean.”
“Wouldn’t disagree.”
“Raymond,” Douglas came out of nowhere. “I see you here much more frequently, don’t I?”
“Mr. Douglas,” I exaggerated an army stance.
“Please, I was a mere Private First Class,” he sat beside me. “Are we ready to go?”
“Ask Violet, if you find her,” Nero replied. His eyes didn’t move away from the map for as far as I looked at him.
“Are you going with us?” I asked Doug.
“Yes,” he nodded his head. “Yes I am. This is the kind of job for me, I would imagine.”
“What’s the next item?”
“You know what?” said Doug, “Why don’t you go ask Dr. Regal and he’ll explain everything to you. I’m going to get Violet. Where is she?”
“Ice Volcano,” said Nero, still keeping his gaze down.
“Again? Okay. I’ll see you both soon.”
He stepped aside and went through a portal.
“Well… I’ll get to it then,” I told Nero, walking off towards Regal.
“Dr. Regal,” I said solemnly as I reached him. “I am at your presence to inquire about our next vital fated object.”
“Bemusing, Raymond. Your next item may or may not be simpler to get than the last one. Have a look.”
He typed some more stuff into his keyboard.
“What’s this? A halo?”
“Yes,” said Regal. “Wilmort took these pictures himself. It is encased in an indestructible crystal cube. The story goes that, once upon a time there was the battle of angels. In the process, the moon got destroyed, tipping the scale of balance of the world off – and thus assuring its imminent destruction. However! With the angel’s dying breath, he removed his halo and left it on Earth so that it may do what the moon does.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, all it needs to do is exist, and the world will be fine. However this villain ends up coming along, killing all the guardians, taking the halo and pissing off into space.”
“And then what?”
“Then the world collapsed. The End. The villain won.”
“…” I had a blank face. What the hell?
“Haha!” he burst with a brief laugh. “I’m just pulling your leg. He was defeated on Earth before escaping with it. But those details don’t matter I would say. All you need to do is get past the forty guardians and take the halo. Simple, no?”
“Extremely, simple as one two three,” I nodded with a sigh.
“They were trained to fight gods, do not engage with them.”
“What are we supposed to do then?!” I threw my hands in the air. These missions were getting more and more ridiculous.
“Relax now. Wilmort picked this place for a reason. Those guardians are humans in shiny armor. Douglas will provide support with guns blazing, and you three simply… go in and take it, I suppose?”
“I’d love to talk to Wilmort about that.”
“You can find him at…” he typed in some code. “Ah, Ice Volcano. I believe Violet is with him.”
“Doug went to go get her now.”
“Trust me, you four will handle it.”
“Was this attempted before I came along?” I put my hands in my pockets.
“No,” said Regal with melancholy in his tone. “After losing Norman we halted all operations until we properly recruited you. Mostly because of how Violet reacted.”
“All at the temple, huh…?”
“Yes, of all things. Well, either way, you may get some moral advice from Nero if you’d like, if he’s not too busy. Forty guardians, strong silvery armor, most of them use spears, can jump over buildings, lift boulders, stuff like that. The crystal is indestructible so you will have to bring the whole thing here.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
“Not much else to it. Those guardians got disposed of fairly early into their story hence there’s nothing too crazy about them.”
I nodded, turning back and walking away.
“Oh and,” Regal stopped me. “When the sky turns red, no matter what, you get out of there and try again later.”
“What happens when the sky turns red?”
“He… c
omes.”
“Oh…” I thought I understood and convincingly nodded.
“Raymond,” said Violet nonchalantly.
“Oh! That was quick.”
“I just fired a flare,” said Douglas.
“Really?!” I stared at him intently. “You just fired a flare,” I gestured quotations marks with my fingers.
“Yes?” he said, confused.
“You couldn’t just fire the flare before I got eaten or buried alive before?!”
“That would give away my position,” he said confidently.
“That’s the point!!” I threw a tantrum.
“Quiet now,” said Violet. “We’re off. Nero!” she called him.
“Yep,” he walked over to us while folding his map. He gave the map to Regal.
I briefly stared at the giant floating black cubical structure and spotted the red pulse going through it.
“Had your coffee?” Violet looked at me.
“I could use another one.”
“You might just have time,” Douglas had his large rifle ready. He pushed a few triggers on it, de-cocked it, locked and loaded it, did some other gun related stuff I didn’t quite understand and gave the signal that he’s ready. Nero opened the portal. Regal showed a hologram image of where we were supposed to go.
“The sky is always champagne gold, so make sure to imagine that. There’s pressed down grassy fields and the sea not too far. The temple looks like that…” he pointed at it. It looked like a small blocky pyramid. Definitely a large temple, but small compared to the real pyramids. “That temple is a single room with the halo inside in the center atop cubical rock. Your best bet is to teleport next to this tree.”
“A tree?” said Nero, immediately looking at me.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“Raymond might not end up in the right place,” said Violet. “Is there any better locations?”
“As far as I’m concerned,” said Regal, “for miles and miles it is nothing but fields and low mountains. The sea is towards West, the temple is towards North. If you imagine this single tree, the sky, the sea to the left and that specific temple in the distance in front, you should have no problems.” Regal smiled to me almost like an endearing father.
The Portal Page 18
