Star of Fantasy

by Jacky Qian

  "You're a fighting cockroach," said the exterminator with a sick smile.

  He rushed toward Nicholas, and the ground trembled under his power. The exterminator wouldn't spare any of his strength this time. Nicholas was again beaten senseless. The gladiator intended to apply a back throw that would break Nicholas' spine and kill him. Silverstar struggled to get up and grasp the electrical current launcher, but he found that a joint in his hand had been dislocated. Clenching his teeth, Silverstar jumped up and pressed the power button of the launcher when Exterminator turned his head toward Nicholas. He thrust the launcher into the blue gold, which was the hard stuff on the exterminator he had kicked accidently. In so doing he transferred a powerful current into the material. With one swift punch, Exterminator sent Silverstar flying. Exterminator pulled out the launcher. Clearly, he had no idea about it. He crushed it into bits with his bare hand, causing the parts to burst from the casing. Thus the device became a useless lump of metal that lay sparking and smoking upon the dirt.

  "Stupid kid," the exterminator said as he rotated his head. Nicholas had been beaten to the point that there was no sign of life. The gigantic thug picked up Silverstar by the neck and said, "You might be pretty cool for a kid, but that's not good enough." He turned slightly and yelled so that all could hear: "I, the exterminator, will be the invincible champion in this arena!"

  The proclamation brought cheers of delight from the audience which numbered more than twenty.

  Silverstar's closed eyes opened suddenly. He smiled in contempt. Exterminator stared at him and the crowd quieted down.

  Silverstar spoke to the exterminator in plain English: "You're an idiot. You've lost it. You will pay with your precious life." With a tremendous boom, the exterminator exploded at his waist, creating a splendid blue light. The shock wave threw the boy clear.

  Bernhardt was shocked. He could only stare at the blue fire dancing as it danced back and forth over the ground. The explosion had blown a hole in the exterminator's body, and from that wound there issued a cascade of melted metal parts. The broken wires released electrical current and sparks as if they were still very much alive. Exterminator wiped his burnt facial skin and inadvertently tore away half of his face, revealing a metal substructure. Steel balls shining red lights pivoted left and right within the eye sockets.

  "A robot!" said Silverstar with a surprise, "So, that's why he's invincible!"

  The exterminator rotated his head and asked Bernhardt, "Colonel, what shall I do now?" "It's a draw now," said Bernhardt loudly, "I promised to let you go if you defeated Veele, but ..." With a sly smile, he continued, "Have you defeated him? As you can see, boy, Veele is still standing."

  "You're a liar, just as I expected," said Silverstar as he held his hands over his wounds.

  "Ha!" shouted Bernhardt. He raised a hand and issued the order: "Veele! Finish them off!"

  The exterminator raised his fist and was ready to punch Silverstar, when suddenly ... Boom! Cannon fire shot through the robot's body. Boiling metal liquids splashed upon the ground, sizzling like wet vegetables being dropped into a wok of boiling oil. The robot erupted in fire and announced unemotionally, "The system is beyond repair. T800 is destroyed." With a bang, the fire broke out in his chest and he collapsed.

  A fire dragon swooped down through the sky, and Bernhardt sensed panic and mayhem. Malier, though, didn't make it. He was crushed.

  "Call me Captain Jack Sparrow if you like!" shouted Darwin with a proud smile, "Dear passengers, we will bring these war mongers to justice in their own den. Thank you for flying with Darwin Airlines."

  He gave the ropes a quick twitching motion. The fire dragon raised its head like a warhorse and gave a fiery howl into the sky. Darwin laughed boldly and shouted, "Yee-haw!" The second fire dragon rocketed downward through the air, whereupon the terrified Bernhardt sought his escape from the audience platform. Jack laughed over the phone in his cabin. "Boss! Do you see how scared those assholes are?"

  "Jack, go on with your task!" Darwin reminded him, "Go!"

  "Yes, sir!" Jack opened his cabin and slid along the wing of the fire dragon skillfully. Silverstar helped Nicholas to stand. Then, with a comical expression, Silverstar said to Jack, "Perfect timing! Just for acting cool!?"

  "Bad boy!" said Jack as he gave Silverstar a playful pat on the head. "Ha! I'm totally cool! It should be called Masters to the Rescue."

  "You call that a rescue!? Yeah, right! You interrupted our fight with the robot!"

  "Knock it off!" Nicholas said as he waved his aching arm in front of Silverstar. "Why are you guys arguing over this crap!? We need go and save Catherine!"

  "You're right!" cried Silverstar, smacking his forehead in a show of embarrassment. "It totally slipped my mind! Let's hurry! We have to save her!"

  Bernhardt struggled to drag Catherine along with him. Suddenly, a second fire dragon knocked down the wall and roared at Bernhardt. "Oh, my God!" said the coward, and he began to shake with fear. The fire dragon blew a puff of fire onto the seat of Bernhardt's pants.

  "You're too slow," said Catherine with arms akimbo. "Besides,..."

  Before she could say more, Jack grabbed her and said, "Come on! You're saying exactly what Silverstar did just a few minutes ago!"

  "Sorry we were late," said Nicholas. He bowed like a European aristocrat as she sauntered past him. He raised his head and dropped a hint at Silverstar to follow suit.

  "Oh, my lady! I am so very sorry!" said Silverstar doing the same as Nicholas did.

  "Hmm ..." she replied with a wry smile as she touched Silverstar's cheek with her forefinger.

  Nicholas coughed and said to Silverstar, "I'm trying to help you chase after her."

  "Okay, then." said Silverstar with a smile. "Thanks, bud."

  "Fire! Stop it with fire!" commanded Bernhardt in panic. Then another shock wave sent him flying. The fire dragons began bombing the arena when the whole place was deserted.

  "It's time to leave, Jack!" ordered Darwin over the phone, "We're done with the bombing mission."

  "Roger, boss!" answered Jack, "Hey, bad boys and ladies! It's time to go!"

  Two fire dragons took off rapidly, leaving the area as if it were a vanishing dream.

  The fire left Bernhardt looking like a beggar with nothing to cover his butt. He stamped the ground in anger, "Those bastards! They destroyed my base, my arena and my robot!"

  Attack

  Early in the morning, Hicks walked dreamily across a massive porch toward a room labeled "Lavatory." He cursed, "Damn, this place stinks!"

  A cover at the bottom of the toilet bowl opened suddenly to allow the shit to fall through into a hollow below ground.

  Hicks yawned and said, to no one in particular, "Last night, I visited senior members and saw their devices. Then we partied and drank a little wine. I'm exhausted."

  He stopped suddenly upon seeing a beautiful, bright-green mass in the sky.

  Hicks gazed at the spot. Judging from its outline, he thought it might be a huge meteorite. At any rate, Hicks was perplexed because he'd never seen such a thing. "It's weird, but I don't give a damn." Again, he yawned deeply. "We've been here several days now. Why do we have to stay here out in the middle of nowhere?"

  "Oh, my God! It's extremely urgent!" cried Runt as he watched the meteorite from an upper place in the tree, "It will bring us a disaster! It's a bad omen!" Trembling with a start, he realized that there was no time to be lazy or absent-minded. He needed to warn the rest of the group.

  Before long,

  "So, that's the situation! This unknown meteorite is headed toward Earth." said Runt excitedly. "Judging from its outline, it's at least ten square kilometers in size! Darwin! When could we launch that worm hole you mentioned before? We need to be quick!"

  "Oh, calm down!" suggested Darwin as he tried to comfort Runt. "You say it's an evil star. You even believe it's going to collide with the planet. Isn't that a bit of a stretch, though?"

  Ark said sarcastically, "T
his old guy must have breathed too much polluted air, and it damaged his brain." Run immediately replied with, "Nonsense!"

  "You said it!" said Rhode with a laugh. "Hah! We're in no hurry to go back! It's a lot of fun here!"

  Runt looked at Mandis, Nemo and Simons. They all shook their heads in disbelief.

  "But," said Runt worriedly as he snapped his finger, "that meteorite ..."

  Darren was impatient. "Well, doctor, stop bothering us. My wounds and head hurt too much for all this arguing."

  "I believe you!" Silverstar whispered. "They don't know much about what you said. We'll figure out how to deal with the problem."

  "Darwin Speicher," Nina stood up suddenly, "We have ten people here. I would like to say that I support Doctor's judgment as this kid did. I believe him."

  "What?" protested Jack, "What is wrong with you…"

  Sapling trees in the forest were snapped and shredded under the treads of gigantic tanks. Everything in the path of the vehicles ended up as a muddy mass of gunk in those cruel belts. Any large trees that blocked the path were put asunder by blue light from the muzzle of a tank's gun.

  "What's that sound!?" asked Darren as he looked down from the porch. His face appeared in a sighting telescope.

  A voice issued the command in German: "Fire!"

  Boom! The hall was hit by a laser beam, and its wooden wall disintegrated. Silverstar was overwhelmed by a mass of heat and the accompanying shockwave. He was blown backward across the space, and it felt as if he'd been run over by a train. He could hear nothing but the ringing that filled his ears. When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was hanging by the edge of the gigantic tree. Just as he was about to drop, Nicholas quickly reached over and grabbed his hand.

  "Hold tight!" Nicholas shouted. "We're under attack! Can you climb up?"

  Nicholas was badly wounded in the head.

  Silverstar attempted to climb but found that he lacked the strength.

  Nicholas couldn't use both hands to pull Silverstar up because he too was hanging and needed the other hand to grasp a pole.

  "Ahhh!" Silverstar cried. "I can't hold on anymore!" His grip gave out, and he plummeted.

  "Aaaah!" screamed the boy. Life was about to escape him. Then, just as Silverstar headed toward impact with a branch, Mandis caught hold of him from a window.

  "Are you okay?" asked Mandis. "Be careful!"

  Two bullets from a laser gun hit the room just beneath them.

  The shockwave sent Silverstar flying.

  "Be quick! Come up!" shouted Mandis as he pulled Silverstar up, "How is everyone?"

  "When the attack started, we were forced to hide in a room below," answered Simons. "Darwin and some of the others are still in a room above, but we have to get there soon. We have to save them!"

  "Look out!" Nemo cried. "Lie down!"

  Boom! Several hundred of Gatling bullets and two missiles hit their room.

  Nemo's pants caught fire, but luckily there was a wash basin full of water. He fell into it, going booty first.

  "Where do these sons of bitches come from!?" cursed Ark as he helped the wounded Darwin regain his footing.

  "Darren! Where's Darren? How is he?"

  "Sorry, boss," said Rhode as he drew near. "Darren was then standing at the porch, and that's where the missile exploded."

  "Damn it!" roared Darwin, "Rhode! Jack! You go to gun emplacement!

  Nina and Ark, take out all the gunpowder in stock and load the guns! I'll look for Hilton and Collinson."

  "Right, boss!"

  "We beat them by surprise," said Gioni with a smile. "Charge the main artillery with energy and then knock the hell out of them until they surrender."

  "This attack is just too fierce!" said Mandis as he coughed and wiped the dust off his face. "We need to get up top. They're still in danger!"

  "How?" Simons wondered. "The outside ladder has been destroyed. We're stuck here now!"

  "But we still have the lift inside the tree!" said the quick-thinking Silverstar. "Come on! We can still save them!"

  The top of the tree was electric with activity. "Boss!" shouted Jack. "Our firepower is ready! Machine guns and artillery guns are loaded!"

  "Perfect! Aim at those tanks! We're fighting back . . . right now!"

  "Darwin!" Runt hurried out of the lift "Darwin!" he said. "What has happened!?"

  "It's those Nazis! They've launched an attack on us. Don't worry, though. We have weapons too!"

  "Are you all right?" Silverstar asked Catherine in a whisper, "Your face has been cut."

  "It's okay, but thanks for asking," she said with a gentle smile. "Where's Hicks?"

  "Well," answered Nicholas, pointing at one room, "He's hiding inside. The poor guy is afraid of his own shadow, I think."

  "Kids and gentlemen," said Hilton, "Darwin has asked me to bring you to a safe place. So, let's go. Follow me!"

  "Hurry up, captain!" urged Mandis as he supported Simons.

  The roof was met by a volley of bullets from a Gatling gun. Instantly Silverstar and the others hit the floor. Nevertheless, the sparks that rained down felt like hot needles as they pelted his body. Catherine wrapped her arms around him, but in response he could only blush. Seeing that the shelter was dwindling, Mandis took his place at an artillery gun and lit it up. Immediately after, Silverstar dropped low and rushed over to man another one. The two guns blazed away at Gioni's tank, but even with that onslaught the tank was barely scratched. It simply paused for a moment and then proceeded. Gioni didn't expect this and was shocked about how solid the tank was. He spoke highly of Boss Ossien's tanks.

  "Charge the main artillery gun with energy and continue the attack! Damn it!"

  Darwin punched the ground with his fist.

  "Our firepower isn't in the same league as theirs! Jack, get the guns loaded with powder! We need to destroy at least one of those tanks!"

  "Okay, boss!" replied Jack. "Kids! Hide yourselves!"

  "But we want to join the fight!" Silverstar complained. "You could use our help against an enemy like that!"

  "I didn't ask you ... I ordered you!" Darwin replied. "Now, hide!"

  "Silverstar, we'll talk about this later." Nicholas whispered. "We won't hide all the time."

  "All right," said Silverstar pretending to give up his idea. He ran toward a wooden cabin together with Nicholas and Catherine.

  "Our heat sensor shows that they've gathered at the top of this tree. But it's too high for our Gatling guns to reach them," said a Nazi tank commander to Gioni. "Besides, they have many shelters there. We won't be able to shoot them accurately with our missiles and ionic guns."

  "Does their base have any other resource they could use?" Gioni asked.

  "No, sir," replied the commander. "The only thing they could use is their supply of petroleum."

  Gioni pondered the question momentarily. "In that case, let's move closer and attack. We'll show them no mercy."

  "They're approaching us!" said Rhode, "The guns are loaded, boss!"

  "Well done! Ready to fire!" commanded Darwin when another missile hit a target about 10 meters away from him.

  "It's a heat-sensor-guided missile!" whispered Nina as she rapidly sprinkled recovery medicine over his wounds.

  "Boss, are you okay?" Rhode asked breathlessly.

  "I'm fine!" answered Darwin. He coughed and struggled to get up, but then he shouted, "Fire!"

  Dozens of steel fire balls rocketed toward a tank far below.

  This time, they made it. The tank and its men were obliterated.

  Gioni clenched his teeth and made a few moves on the operation screen. The display responded with a message: "Fire plasma missile of hellish fire."

  The gun tube of the tank changed its shape and became a fork. In the middle of the fork, a gleaming missile head emerged. Then, with a blue light at the tail of the tube, the missile flew like lightning toward the top of the tree. Then, the cabin where Silverstar and other kids hid was lifted off its root. A st
rong gust sandblasted Silverstar's face, and the violent shaking made him dizzy. The fire crackled, snapped and hissed. Nina walked toward them alone, but Silverstar was about to pass out. Nina shook him hard and urged, "Don't sleep, Silverstar! There'll be more missiles!" Hicks too was about to fall asleep, so she gave his face a few good smacks.

  "Shoot! Damn it!" cursed Darwin as he woke up, "We're still alive!"

  He stood up, moved his legs and arms and swayed his hips.

  Jack said, "Boss! It's a miracle! We don't have any wounds!"

  "Incredible!" exclaimed Darwin, "Is everybody okay?"

  "I'm good," Rhode replied, "but what the hell is that?"

  "Beats me," said Ark. "I've never heard of a powerful missile like that."

  Boom! With a thunderous noise from the tree, Darwin looked down.

  "Those damned Nazis are attacking again!" shouted he, "Everybody! Back into position! We have to drive them off!"

  The Nazi tanks were hit by a dozen steel balls of fire. Gioni nervously looked at his drivers, who forged ahead despite the fires. Several tanks were hit hard. They halted and almost instantly blew up. Missiles were fired at Darwin's location, and their explosions sent several gunmen stationed there to flee. However, immediately after being sprinkled with rapid recovery medicine, they recovered and returned to their positions to fire artillery guns. Darwin could sense bleeding in his ears due to the impact of the explosions.

  "You're all morons!" cursed Gioni. "You couldn't beat a group of civilians!" He rolled his eyes and continued, seizing one of the guns: "Stand back, and give me a crack at this thing. Remember, we're supposed to bring them in alive."

  A dozen missiles hit Darwin's artillery guns with spot-on accuracy.

  Darwin and his gunmen were knocked unconscious by the explosion. Gioni stopped his tank and told his men, "Did you see that? You should play more of the game stored in Ossien's hard disk. What's it called ...? Oh, I remember! It's Angry Dummy Bird!"

  "No, sir!" said a commander. "I heard it was 'Dummy and Angry Pink Bird.'"

  "You got it wrong!" another soldier said, pretending to know up from down. "It should be Stupid and Angry Dummy Bird!"