It was thirty to forty feet long and about seven tons in weight. Brownish in color, the dino was covered in coarse scales, and sprouted, feathers, from around its tail.
“I know I should be scared out of my wits, right now,” Riley stammered, “but since when did T. Rexes have feathers?” “Scientist have found evidence-“ Mr. Spencer was interrupted by the dinosaur’s growl. The beast eyed the group hungrily, right before making a dash for an afternoon snack. Several pterodactyls circled above, hoping for leftovers. “RUN!” Charlotte screamed, grabbing Riley and pulling her along.
The ground shook once more, and a tree sprouted up out of the ground. “Oh-no.” Charlotte sighed. The ground continued to shake as the T. Rex looked around. Trees and plants sprouted up, here and there. A giant Sigillaria grew up from beneath the dinosaur, lifting it up into the sky. They watched as houses crumbled and trees and plants took over. Moss covered the ground and crawled up trees and cars, and the ruins of buildings. “What can we do?” King Albert pondered, slashing down a vine that was trying to scale his leg. “There’s nothing we can do!” Charlotte yelled, watching the Plant Kingdom take over her world.
“Where is my son?!” Charlie’s father demanded to know when Paul walked in. “He did what he had to do.” Paul grinned, “Don’t get too comfortable, because we are going back to Death!” Betty stood up. “Gregory Myers! You have disappointed me! I told him wonderful things about you!”
Greg opened his mouth to start talking when the ground shook and a roar echoed through New York City. The house shook and the floorboards creaked. Everyone backed up, and the floor cracked. A small vine twisted its way up and touched the ceiling. Another vine creeped through the crack, splitting off into three smaller vines. Betty backed up against the wall and screamed. Vines invaded her house, twisting and turning here and there. “Betty!” Paul shouted as vines shot through the wall and wrapped around her, tightly holding her in place.
Paul tried to run over, but his feet were fastened to the floor by a thick layer of moss. “Seems like someone built a house on my home while I was gone!” a woman hissed, walking in the living room, “Well, one of them anyway! I’ve always liked to think of the whole world as my home. After all, they don’t call me Mother Nature for nothing!”
Dear Mother
Many, many years ago, there lived a woman with superior powers. Although her real name was Arcanala Pandemoni, they called her Mother Nature, and she had the power to control nature.
Mother Nature, as you may have known, was a beautiful maiden with long red hair, fair skin, sea blue eyes, and a gleaming bright smile.
It was around 1500 B.C., in the middle of the ages of the Babylonian and Ancient Egyptian Civilizations. The Hittites, a race of giants, were thriving, the Barra were falling, and Mitanni, the Kassites, and the Olmec were beginning, simultaneously across the globe. All the while, Mother Nature was deep inside the Earth, more or less happily monitoring the weather and taking requests from around the world.
“How are you doing, Mother?” a sixteen-year-old boy asked the busy Mother Nature, walking in the globe room, “May I be of assistance to you today?” The shaggy-haired boy brushed his auburn hair away from his big forest-green eyes, which also had a swirl of sea-blue, giving the appearance of teal.
“I’m fine, Arcane, thank you for your concern.” Mother Nature assured, stepping away from her work, “How are you adjusting? I know growing into your powers are hard, especially since they are stronger than mine.”
“I’m okay, Mother.” Arcane smiled, “And I already know my powers are stronger because you can’t create storms, and I can, blah, blah, blah.” Arcane loved his mother dearly, but she was always stressing about his nascikinesis, the ability to control nature. They were the only two who had that power, and with it came a lot of, responsibility. Well, if you call it that. People, giants, and everything in between reached out to his mother daily to request weather changes, livestock help, and gardening prosperity. It was clearly taking a toll on her.
“Hittites need rain! Kassites demand a plentiful harvest!” she yelped, “Sometimes I wished I didn’t have this power! But other times I wish I could squash them all like the bugs they are!”
“What are you saying?” Arcane asked, frightened. “What I’m saying is that I am sick and tired of dealing with the weather.” Mother Nature explained, clenching her fists, “I am sick and tired of calming lions, and finding dogs! It’s time to put these powers to the test, and take back what is rightfully ours! It’s time to take back Planet Earth.”
“Here’s the plan, my son.” Mother Nature began, “We shall first bring upon the Earth a terrible snow storm, freezing over the oceans and lands alike! Then, we welcome the heat, and flood every nook and cranny of the world, to further the cleaning. The last phase of our attack is the return of the plants! We shall rule over the whole Earth! Just you and I controlling everything!”
Arcane still wasn’t convinced that this was a good idea. Wiping out nearly every race on Earth definitely didn’t sound like something Mother Nature should do. It didn’t sound like something anyone should do! He had to stop her, and there was only one way to do it. Arcane had to kill Mother Nature. Arcane had to kill his mom.
“I gotta go get something, Mother, okay.” Arcane stammered, stepping towards the door, “Be right back!” “Sure dear, just be back soon!” Mother Nature smiled as her son ran up to the surface, “Now what is he up to?”
Arcane waved his hand, summoning a small cloud to carry him to the surface. He had to hurry. He had to find a weapon powerful enough to kill anything, even his immortal mother.
Being immortal himself, he knew that there was nothing that powerful. But what he did know was that there was a blacksmith sorcerer who could create such a weapon. His name was Temujin. Temujin lived high above everyone else in the world, atop of a tall mountain in what is now called Mongolia. His talent has long been sought out by kings, emperors, and dictators alike for him to create the ultimate weapon; he had always refused, no matter the circumstances.
But this time was different. This time, Temujin was directly involved. “What you seek is hard indeed, but not impossible.” the blacksmith assured, walking up to Arcane, “In order to make a weapon powerful enough to kill Arcanala, a sacrifice is needed. An immortal soul must be forged into a dagger, counteracting any soul with the fatal blow.”
Arcane watched the very hairy man as he circled the cave-like room. He wore a sheep-skin robe and simple leather sandals. The man had a devilish demeanor, which was probably just in Arcane’s imagination.
“I would love to help you, but I need an immortal soul to create the weapon, and I just used my last one yesterday.” Temujin explained, “So unless you have one-“ “I do.” Arcane blurted, “Take my immortality and make the dagger. Death as a mortal is better than eternal loneliness as an immortal.”
Temujin grinned a minatory grin. This boy had no idea what he was doing! But it didn’t matter, anyhow. If Temujin was going to shirk this upcoming apocalypse, the boy must concede his immortality.
“If you say so.” Temujin sighed, grabbing his metal tongs, “Here we go!” The sorcerer plunged the grabber into Arcane’s chest and hummed a song that was probably a combination of Silent Night and Happy Birthday.
Arcane tried to focus, but the tool in his chest blurred and swirled his vision. Temujin smiled as the tool glowed bright red and pulled out a grey, no, silver shadow-like substance that drifted together like a ghost. Arcane looked around and saw Temujin set the silver shadow down on an anvil and picked up a giant hammer. The wizard-smith slammed the hammer down on the soul, and Arcane felt his heart jump. The hammer slammed down again and Arcane’s head tightened. Each bang blended together in Arcane’s young mind; the room darkened, and Arcane fell forward and blacked out.
After waking up and being sent along on his way, Arcane looked down in his hand. In it was a pitch black handle with a 9-inch silver blade sprouting from the black. So this is it. This
is the weapon that can kill anything; the weapon that can, and will kill Mother Nature before the sun rises the next morning.
Arcane swirled his hand and hopped on the cloud he just created. The temperature was rapidly dropping, and Arcane knew he had to hurry before the entrance to his home froze over. His mother must be onto him somehow; the Ice Age wasn’t supposed to start until tomorrow. Arcane shut his eyes as tight as they would go, and raised his hand. A lightning bolt shot down from the clear blue sky and shocked Arcane all the way back to his home.
When Arcane arrived to his front door, vines shot up from around the doorway and wrapped around him. The boy took a deep breath, and the vines retreated, and even opened the door for him.
Arcane walked in the room just as he had before and smiled, “How are you doing, Mother?” Mother Nature whipped around and yelped, “How did you get back?!”
“I really needed to see you.” Arcane grinned. His hands were completely empty. “I’m so happy we are doing this.” he lied, “These people really don’t deserve to live here.”
“Really?” Mother Nature asked, surprised, “I sensed you were, troubled, with the plan, when you ran off.” “I was, before.” Arcane admitted, “But then one of them took my immortality, and kept it for themselves!”
Mother Nature walked over to her son and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Who was it?” she asked, “Tell me and we will get it back.” Arcane shook his head. “It’s no use, Mother.” He sighed, “I love you.”
“No!” Mother Nature cried out, her eyes nearly popping out of her head, “You didn’t!” She jolted forward, and fell to the ground. The bloody Silver Shadow hung from a vine coming down from the ceiling, right behind the spot where Arcanala had stood. “How could you do this?” she demanded to know, gasping for breath, “How could you kill your own mother!”
Arcane looked down at his mother, crying. “I couldn’t let you kill the whole population of Earth.” he whispered. His mother looked up and warned, “They haven’t seen the last of me. And neither have you!”
“Well done, Arcane.” an old man congratulated, “You did it.” Arcane turned and saw Temujin, holding the Silver Shadow. “What are you doing here?” Arcane asked. The blacksmith grinned and sliced through the air with the Silver Shadow, cutting through the fabric of time. “The Earth isn’t ready for your type yet.” he hissed, “How does 2016 A.D. sound?!”
Arcane tried backing up, but the Time Cut drew him in. “How could you betray me? I saved you!” Arcane shouted, as he was pulled in the crack. “You killed your own mother,” Temujin taunted, “and you think what I’m doing is betrayal?!” A bright flash burst out in the room, and when Temujin could see again, Arcane Pandemoni was gone.
Death
“CHARLIE?!” Cassie yelped, “What are you doing here?! How did you get here?! What happened?!” Cassie ran over to Charlie and added, “Thank you.”
“Well,” Charlie began, “to answer your questions: I didn’t want you to face this alone, I called Electra, and it turns out my parents aren’t like my grandma described. Especially my father.” “Electra?” Cassie questioned, “Really?”
“Not being able to wheel and deal was killing her, so I decided to promise her you would destroy the contract if she helped me.” Charlie admitted, “Are you mad?”
Cassie didn’t know what to say. If she was completely honest with herself, she was ecstatic that Charlie chose to be with her over his dead family; he really loves her! But it also bugged Cassie that he promised Electra she’d destroy the contract. Electra would be allowed to make more deals! Who knows where that would lead! Sure she was good now, but maybe that was just a facade. Electra was probably using this pretext, while secretly plotting a malevolent plan to get the contract destroyed and her free will restored!
“No.” Cassie asserted, making Charlie perk up, “I will not destroy the contract. I can’t believe you would promise that without consulting me!” Cassie had no idea what she was saying.
Charlie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He thought she’d be happy to see him! But all she can do is chastise him! How could she act like this? He just saved her!
“What did you want me to do?” Charlie asked, “Stay behind and wait? I wanted to help!” “I don’t care.” Cassie snapped, “We need to move on. Now.”
Cassie whisked her hand over the door, and the passage was yanked from its hinges and thrown into the sky. “Who first?” Chrissy asked, “Who knows what’s in there?”
“I do.” Braddock piped up in the sassiest voice ever, “I am dead, remember?” Braddock walked over and looked down at the darkness. “Nothing.” Braddock answered finally, “Nothing except an empty Death Realm. Now let’s go.”
Arthur closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped in the doorway. One by one, everybody entered Death, and the one step closer to sealing it.
Charlie passed through the doorway and looked around. “Whoa.” Charlie gasped, “It’s so, familiar!”
The group stood right directly inside the Death Realm, about three feet in front of the entrance. The doorway they entered was nowhere to be seen. Dark black clouds loomed overhead, just covering the massive hole in the blood red sky where the Scarrcedenhogg broke out. Below the broken sky laid an almost endless landscape surrounded by a massive wall, and two large, open gates. On the edge of the Realm was a gigantic, menacing castle with tall towers of different time periods sprouting in every direction. The center tower was the tallest, touching the shell of the Realm, and had a single window, sparkling faintly.
There was an eerie feeling in the air; two tall modern towers sprouted from the inside of a decaying castle. Beyond that were more buildings, charred and desolate houses, and structures rising out from the shadows of forests that once were. The ground was littered with billions of lost items such as dolls, change, and keys. In the far right, were mountains of thick, broken chains. It was like a nightmare that was just too real.
“Come on, let’s go.” Will ordered, “We really need to hurry. Who knows what’s happening back home!” Will walked forward, signaling for the others to follow.
Cassie, Charlie, Stella, Will, Chrissy, Susan, James, Vander, and Vanessa all walked through Death. Mac the Idyll bot was following a few feet behind, nervously scanning the area. “My scans suggest trouble is ahead.” it beeped, “Either that or my NeRVouS Chip is acting up.”
“Relax!” Braddock ordered, “Everyone left the Death Realm once the gates opened! There is absolutely, positively, nothing at all to worry about!”
Several yards away, hidden in the rubble of old townhouses, a small group watched the heroes progress through Death. “Finally!” a young black haired girl whispered, “Cassie and Company are here! Time to make a move Team Cassandra!”
Reflection Cassandra turned around to face her minions she had collected along the way. “Let’s do this.”
Kingdom Plantae Part One
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, King Albert, Mayor Sanders, and Riley Alicia made their way through the thick New York forests. Maybe they were in Central Park, or maybe they were under the Empire State Building. No one could tell. Every now and then they would run into a lost tourist, or a local in a tree, but for the most part, there was no one to be seen.
“Look!” Riley called, pointing beside a large oak, “A sign!” Sure enough, a green street name sign stood up against the tree. Before they could see what it said, however, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the woods. “It came from that way!” Albert determined, hastily making his way towards the source, “Let’s go!”
“Many years ago, this was the entrance to my humble home, down in the center of the Earth.” Mother Nature explained, walking around the room, “It was amazing until people, giants, trolls, and everything else in between started asking me for what they want! I couldn’t heed every single request! I wasn’t strong enough! But now I am.”
Arcanala walked up to Betty. “I know you don’t know the whole story, but you should be familiar w
ith a little dagger I picked up from a kind, old couple and their witch friend when they returned home.” she explained, nonchalantly pulling the Silver Shadow out from the folds of her weed dress, “This knife has killed many. It has hurt even more. But now it is the hands of its first victim, the one it was made to kill. It was forged from the immortal soul of my son by an expert blacksmith named Temujin. Now I can use it to make myself unstoppable!” Mother Nature raised her hand, and the house shook violently as she clenched her fist.
Outside the Myers home, Miss Teacher’s bunch made their way to the door step. A fierce wind was blowing through the jungle, toppling trees, and shaking buildings. Albert grabbed the moss-covered doorknob but lost his grip as the wind yanked it from the door. They backed up as the shingles from the tree-infested house blew off the roof and flew up and away. The vinyl siding curled up, and followed the shingles into the air. Boards and insulation left next, exposing the scene inside.
“Betty!” Mrs. Spencer shouted, catching Mother Nature’s attention. “Looks like we have a larger audience than I once thought!” she chirped, extending her arm out toward the group. Vines shot up and wrapped around everyone. Mayor Sanders tried to run, but the vines caught him. Crack! The mayor felt a slimy liquid leak out onto his coat pocket. “Miracle Hair!” he whispered, remembering the sample he stole for his own head. The goo dropped on the vine, and was quickly absorbed.
Sealing Death Page 17
