by Adam Blade
This was a dangerous game. If the sting had been a hair closer he’d have been paralyzed. But he couldn’t give up. This is my only hope, he thought.
Again he steered the aquabike toward Manak’s tail, keeping close to the Robobeast’s body. This time it seemed as if Manak had been expecting the move; the tail lashed at Max even faster than before. He swerved frantically. But he could see the deadly, metal-edged tail following him. He couldn’t escape. Lia screamed a warning. A blur of silver appeared at the corner of his eye.
Max heard metal clashing on metal, close to his head. For a second he had no idea what had happened. Then he saw Rivet somersaulting through the water. The dogbot’s eyes had gone blank and his propellers weren’t moving.
Max realized what had happened: Rivet had swam in between him and Manak’s sting and knocked it off course. The giant ray’s venom couldn’t hurt him — but the tail must have been electric as well as venomous. It had blown Rivet’s circuits. He had sacrificed himself to save Max.
Max felt sick.
But his own battle with Manak was not over yet.
MAX FORCED HIMSELF TO THINK CALMLY. THERE was nothing he could do about Rivet right now. First, he had to defeat Manak. The monster was one of the Professor’s Robobeasts — the steel-edged tail proved that. So the robotic control harness that held the piece of the Skull of Thallos must be on Manak somewhere. It had to be.
He pulled the handlebars of the aquabike toward him and roared upward, leaving Rivet’s still form to float down to rest on the ocean bed.
Lia rose and appeared beside him, on Spike.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Looking,” he told her. From this height, Max could see Manak in his entirety. At last he got a true sense of how enormous the Robobeast was. His dark, mottled shape seemed to cover half the ocean floor. But Max couldn’t see the glint of metal, or the white bone of the mask, anywhere. It was impossible that the robotic attachment could be fixed to one of Manak’s sides — the creature was so flat he barely had any sides. Which meant …
Of course! Max thought.
The robotics and the harness must be underneath Manak. On his underbelly. Tucked out of harm’s way. That made sense. And if Max could just get under the manta ray he’d have a chance of finding the equipment and detaching it.
Just get under the manta ray. Easier said than done….
Up ahead of Manak, Max saw a hollow in the ocean floor — a natural dip in the rock, just deep enough for a person or two to hide in. This looked like his chance.
“Lia, can you do something to distract Manak — keep him busy?”
“Why? What are you going to do?” she asked.
Max pointed at the hollow. “I’m going down there,” he said.
Lia nodded. “Leave it to us!” She patted Spike’s side. “Come on, Spike!”
Max pushed the handles of the aquabike down and dove at full throttle toward Manak. The creature’s dark, mottled hide seemed to rush up to meet him. He leveled out just above the Robobeast’s back. As he shot a glance behind him he saw that Lia and Spike had also descended. Spike was slashing at Manak’s back with his swordlike bill. Lia was scraping at the creature’s hide with a razor-clam shell she must have picked up.
Spike’s sword and Lia’s shell wouldn’t really injure a creature Manak’s size — but the attack was distracting him. He slowed down and his whole back vibrated. His tail came sweeping around at his attackers. Lia ducked, and Spike darted to one side. The tail just missed.
Max gunned the aquabike again and headed straight down the monster’s middle, toward the head. He shot between Manak’s eyes — two blank, pale bumps near the front end. Then he had overtaken the manta ray. He dove down into the hollow and slammed on the brakes.
The world grew dark as Max’s enemy passed above. Max flicked the aquabike’s lights on. Overhead, Manak’s underbelly, a white wall of solid muscle, slid by. Max stood on the bike, straining to see the telltale glint of the metal harness that held the robotic control panel in place.
Yes! There it was, plugged into Manak’s underbelly, rushing toward him.
He had one chance to get this — miss, and the Robobeast would be gone.
He put his hyperblade between his teeth, leaped, and grabbed the harness with both hands.
The jolt nearly pulled his arms out of their sockets. Instantly, he was being whipped along at breathtaking speed. He needed a free hand to reach the control panel. He held tight to the harness strut with one hand and let go with the other. The strain on his arm made him want to cry out. He bit tighter on the hyperblade, feeling it scrape against his teeth. With the other hand he scrabbled at the metal cover of the control panel. It wouldn’t budge.
Max took the hyperblade in his fist. He thrust the weapon into the gap at the edge of the cover.
Manak bucked violently. He must have felt the pressure of the blade. He kept on twisting, doing his best to shake Max off.
Max’s arm ached, and his fingers felt as if they were breaking. But he held fast. The Robobeast’s movements jogged the hyperblade out of position. Max gritted his teeth and tried again, stabbing the superfine blade into the narrow gap.
The Robobeast swam lower. Max felt the rocky ocean floor bumping against him. He cried out in pain as stones scraped at his knees. Manak was trying to knock him off. A sharp rock hit him in the back and he only just managed to hold on. He could feel his grip weakening….
A fierce determination burned in Max’s heart — he wouldn’t give in. He wouldn’t let the Professor beat him! He attacked the cover with new strength, and felt it give. At last it came loose, fell, and was left behind.
Max saw the control panel with its array of buttons, and just above it the white gleam of the Skull of Thallos, held by metal bands.
Up ahead, he saw a huge boulder rushing toward him. Any second now, he would smash into it with bone-crushing force. If he let go he could save himself — but he wouldn’t get another chance at the control panel.
He had to work fast.
He hacked at the panel with the hyperblade, blindly, madly, with every bit of strength he possessed.
Crunch!
He felt the panel splinter into fragments and saw the shard of white bone drift free from its moorings.
Manak swam on, just above the seabed. The boulder was right in front. Max braced himself for the impact. The monster suddenly rose up, as if he had woken from a dream. He seemed to have forgotten all about hurting Max. The manta ray is free of the Professor’s control, Max thought. He’d liberated another sea creature.
Max let go and tumbled to the ocean floor, skidding along, gradually losing speed. He came to rest against the boulder with a bump.
Shakily, Max got to his feet. The piece of the Skull of Thallos floated through the water toward him. He reached up and grabbed it. Max didn’t feel like celebrating, though. Instead, his first thought was of Rivet. Where’s my dogbot?
He swam back to his aquabike. It was still where he’d left it in the hollow. He jumped on and headed back the way he’d come. The headlamps lit up the dark fronds of seaweed. How was he ever going to find Rivet here?
I hope Lia’s all right, too, he thought. I hope Manak’s sting didn’t get her.
“Lia!” he called. But there was no answer.
Max nosed the aquabike slowly through the seaweed fronds, scanning the sand and rocks of the ocean floor. Suddenly, his heart jumped as he saw Rivet’s metal body lying on its side, half hidden by kelp.
He dismounted and crouched down by his dogbot. Rivet’s eyes were black and lifeless.
“Rivet!” Max said. The dogbot’s ears didn’t prick up as they were programmed to do. Max opened up the control panel on Rivet’s back and saw that the hyper-conductors inside were blackened and twisted. The manta ray’s tail had short-circuited Rivet. If he rewired him, Max could get the current flowing again and his dogbot would reawaken. But he had to act fast — Rivet’s memory would be deleted if he was ina
ctive for more than an hour.
Max cut the old hyper-conductors away with his hyperblade and began to search in Rivet’s storage compartment for new ones.
“Max!” he heard Lia shout, and felt a burst of relief. She was all right! Lia and Spike swam toward him. “We must go back.”
“Wait,” he said, grinning at her with relief. “I’m just working on Rivet here.”
Spike swam up and nuzzled against Rivet, as if trying to wake him.
“We can’t worry about him now!” Lia said.
“We have to,” Max said. “If I don’t fix him fast, it’ll be too late to bring him back to life as he was — all his memory will be wiped.”
“But we have to get Tusc’ol back to his people,” Lia said. “Otherwise it will be too late to cure him. He’ll die!”
MAX KNEW LIA WAS RIGHT. TUSC’OL HAD RISKED his life to bring them here, and he had family, a son…. However much Max cared about his dogbot, it was more important to save Tusc’ol than Rivet.
Max hoisted Rivet onto the aquabike, and he and Lia raced back to the place where they had first encountered Manak. Tusc’ol could be anywhere in this forest of seaweed.
“Let’s split up,” Lia said. “Better chance of finding him.” She and Spike darted into the thick of the forest.
Max cruised around and up and down on his aquabike. The headlamps shone on the seaweed as he passed, turning it from green to yellow.
“Come quick!” Lia shouted. “Spike found him!”
Max followed the sound of Lia’s voice and found her. Spike was pointing up with his sword. The paralyzed figure drifted among the seaweed fronds. Max and Lia rose up and each took hold of an arm, bearing him along between them, Lia on Spike, and Max on his aquabike.
Soon they were nearing the surface. The water became lighter.
Lia started to look concerned. “I can’t go back into the air; I threw the mask away,” she admitted.
Max reached into the compartment of the aquabike. “Is this what you’re looking for?” He handed her the Amphibio mask. “What would you do without me?”
Lia smiled and put the mask on.
They broke the surface near the pier. A crowd of the Kroy were waiting for them, and when they saw Max and Lia they started cheering. But the cheers died away as they saw the motionless figure of Tusc’ol.
Hands reached out to take hold of Tusc’ol and lift him onto the pier. An old Kroy, wearing a white robe, bent and examined him. He said something in a low voice, and four other Kroy quickly raised Tusc’ol and carried him away. The elder followed.
Max and Lia scrambled onto the Floating Island, helped by the Kroy. Max held Rivet’s unmoving body in his arms. Spike poked his head out of the water and watched as Rivet was taken onto the island. Max could have sworn the swordfish looked anxious.
“You encountered Manak, then,” Lang’onol said.
“Yes — he won’t trouble you ever again,” Max said. “But he got Tusc’ol. Will he — is he going to be all right?”
“Time will tell,” Lang’onol replied. “He has been taken to the healer’s hut. All we can do is wait — and hope.”
He turned and walked over to one of the larger green huts. An anxious crowd had gathered outside.
Max put Rivet down and knelt to open his storage compartment. He took out some hyper-conductors and quickly trimmed them to the right length. Then he opened Rivet’s control panel and fitted them into position, twisting them so they stayed in contact with the conductors. He pressed the RECHARGE button, closed the control panel, and sat back on his heels to wait, trying not to think about how he’d feel if this didn’t work.
“Will he wake?” Lia asked. She was leaning over his shoulder to watch.
“I hope so. He risked everything to save me,” Max said. He felt a lump in his throat. “Didn’t you, Rivet?”
There was a pause. Still Rivet didn’t move. That’s it, then, Max thought dully. He’s gone. The shock must have been too powerful.
Rivet’s tail wagged feebly. His eyes glowed. There was a whirring sound.
Relief flooded over Max. “You’re alive!”
“Max!” Rivet barked. “Alive, Max!” He rolled and stood upright on his four metal paws. His tail wagged strongly now.
Lia put her hand on Max’s shoulder. “I’m so glad.”
“Me, too,” Max said. If he’d lost Rivet, he wasn’t sure he could have gone on.
A shout went up from the Kroy. Max and Lia ran toward the healer’s hut. The crowd parted as the door of the hut opened. The healer came out in his long white robe — and with him was Tusc’ol, still unsteady on his feet but alive and well. Tusc’ol’s little boy ran to him and hugged him.
The Kroy cheered and raised their hands in the air. Max and Lia joined in. But as Max looked at Lia’s raised arms he saw that one of them had a long, bloody wound running up it. He felt as if someone had thrown ice water over him.
“What’s that?” he demanded.
Lia frowned. “It’s where Manak’s tail cut me,” she said. “When you were under the monster, and I was distracting him. Don’t worry — it’s just a scratch.”
It looked much worse than a scratch to Max. He felt terrible for not having noticed it earlier.
“You need to get that looked at,” Max said.
“It’s fine,” said Lia. “I’m not paralyzed, am I?”
Max ignored her and waved a hand to get the attention of the Kroy healer. “Excuse me? Could you take a look at this?”
The elder came over. He examined Lia’s wound carefully and wiped it with a sponge. “It does not seem infected. We must leave it to heal.”
“Can’t you use any of your medicines on it?” Max asked. “Just in case …?”
The old man shook his head. “Kroy medicine is not made for Merryn. The effects might be dangerous. Better to leave it. I do not think venom has entered the wound. You can see she is not paralyzed. How do you feel?” he asked Lia.
Max translated for his friend.
“Tell him I feel well,” she said. “We need to press on with our Quest.”
“I will bandage the wound,” the healer said, “in case the blood should attract sharks.”
He gently wrapped a pale green bandage, made of dried, softened seaweed, around Lia’s arm.
Lang’onol came up to them. “We cannot thank you enough for freeing us from the menace of Manak the Manta Ray. Now we can return to our home in the Forest of Souls, where we will hold a great feast to celebrate. We hope you will attend as our guests.”
Max quickly told Lia what Lang’onol had said, and a smile spread across her face.
“Thank you,” Max said to Lang’onol. “But we must go. Don’t worry, we’ll keep the legend that the Forest of Souls is haunted, so your people won’t be troubled by travelers.”
The elder smiled down at Max. “I know the word in Aquora for you,” he said, planting a hand on Max’s shoulder. “They call people like you ‘hero.’”
THE KROY STOOD AT THE EDGE OF THE FLOATING Island and waved farewell as Max and Lia slipped beneath the waves.
Underwater, Spike rubbed the end of his nose against Rivet’s square metal snout. Rivet wagged his tail.
They set off, descending to the Forest of Souls again. Once they were deep among the seaweed fronds, Max slowed his aquabike and took out the Skull of Thallos from Rivet’s back storage compartment. He fitted the third piece on, and it clicked into place as if attracted by a magnet. There was a flash of blue light, and then the skull gave off a steady glow. The beak was attached. Now there was just one gap left. Max released the skull. It turned in the water and pointed to one side, directing them out of the Forest of Souls.
“It’s working again, then,” Max said.
Lia nodded. ”Now that the influence of Manak is gone, the Skull of Thallos seeks its missing piece. The final part.”
They headed in the direction the skull pointed.
After a while, the seaweed forest began to thin out. The For
est of Souls had made Max feel trapped, and he looked forward to being back in open water again. They came out through the last few bits of seaweed. The wide ocean stretched before them.
Max drew in his breath. Ahead of them was a thin, pale figure, floating beyond the final bits of seaweed as if waiting for them. Max touched Lia’s arm.
“Watch out — there’s someone there,” he said. “Looks like they’re lying in wait.”
But to Max’s surprise, Lia’s eyes lit up. “Glave!” she called. She urged Spike on and moved swiftly toward the figure.
Max followed. Glave was a teenage Merryn, tall, slim, and bony, with dark, hollow eyes. Lia was already embracing him.
“This is my cousin!” she said.
Max and Glave nodded at each other.
“But, Glave, where have you been?” Lia demanded. “We thought you were gone for good. We thought the Professor had gotten you.”
“He did get me,” Glave said in a flat voice. As if he doesn’t want to think about it, Max thought. “I was out gathering food and had strayed farther from Sumara than usual. I was seized by the Professor’s aquadrones.”
“Aquadrones?” Max said. “What are they?”
“The Professor’s robot servants,” said Glave. “They took me and made me work in the Professor’s factories in the Black Caves.”
“Couldn’t you escape?” Lia asked.
Glave gave an empty laugh. “Escape? The Black Caves are guarded by aquadrones. Not to mention the most terrifying monster in all the ocean — Kraya the Blood Shark.”
“But you’re out now,” Max said.
“The Professor let me out,” Glave said. “He ordered me to deliver a message. He said that I would find you here, at the edge of the Forest of Souls. The message is for a Breather named Max.”
“That’s me,” Max said, revving his aquabike and moving closer to Glave. “What’s the message?”
“It’s here,” Glave said. “In this box.”
