Epic Zero: Tales of a Not-So-Super 6th Grader Books 1-3 (Epic Zero Box Set)

by R. L. Ullman

  I … did it?

  “Zodiac!” Scorpio yells. “Attack!”

  And then Scorpio’s tail turns bright orange, and he fires a laser blast straight through the heart of the Blood Bringer army!

  Yes! The Zodiac still have their powers! I did it!

  The Emperor turns to me, fuming with anger, “Take him to the ship!”

  But before they can move, I feel two hands grab me beneath my armpits, and lift me high into the air.

  “Grace!” I yell.

  “I figure I owed you one,” she says, winking.

  “Quick,” I say, “drop me by the near side of the pyramid. Siphon’s inside. I’ve got to stop him.”

  “Signed, sealed, and delivered,” she says, picking up speed, and depositing me at the exact spot. “Go get him!”

  But I don’t have time to respond. I’ve got to get to the Building Block! I start pushing the area of the wall I saw Siphon touching. There’s a secret door around here somewhere. Finally, I hear a CLICK, and a door swings inwards. I jump inside.

  It’s dark. So dark, that when my eyes adjust I can only see a few feet in front of my face. I don’t have the luxury to go back out and see if I can borrow a flashlight. So, I take off, spreading my arms and using the sides of the walls to guide me as I move forward. I’m running blind, but that’s the best I can do.

  The passageway ends abruptly, and I smack into a stone wall. Decision time. I can either go left or right. I follow my instincts, and turn right. This happens over and over again. Hit a dead end, pick a side, and just keep going.

  This whole process is taking too long. I feel like a rat in a maze, with no clue how to find the cheese—which, in this case, is the pharaoh’s tomb. Siphon told me he already found his way to the main chamber once, so I’ve got to assume he’s reached the Building Block by now.

  So why hasn’t the game ended already?

  I smash face-first into yet another wall, and then turn left. I hustle ten feet or so when, suddenly, everything opens up. Smooth, granite walls meet symmetrically overhead. Light streams through a small hole in the middle of the ceiling. Within the center of the chamber lies an open, granite sarcophagus.

  I’ve found it! But where’s—

  “I couldn’t do it,” comes a voice to my left.

  I spin to find Siphon sitting in the corner of the room. He looks sad.

  “A voice in my head kept telling me to grab it,” he says. “Just grab the Building Block, and then I’d be the ruler of my own world. But then I thought about what you said, and you were right. Deep down I knew exactly who my father was. And I’m not like him. I’m not a murderer. I could never kill billions of innocent people just to get what I want.”

  I can’t believe my ears. He actually listened to me!

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “Look, I know that was hard, but I’m glad you made the decision you did. You did the right thing. You know, that kind of makes you a hero now.”

  Siphon looks at me strangely and laughs. “Me? A hero? Who would’ve thought? Anyway, the Building Block’s in there. You take it. Let’s go home already.”

  I smile, and head over to the sarcophagus. I look inside, expecting to find a decrepit mummy, but instead there’s just a silver cube—the Building Block!

  Finally, this is all going to end.

  “I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” comes a high-pitched voice.

  I turn to see a tall man with purple skin floating down from above. His hair is white and wild, like a raging inferno. He’s wearing a black, leather jacket, and faded blue jeans, riddled with holes. He lowers his sunglasses, looking at me with contempt. There’s no need for introductions. I know him immediately—it’s Chaos!

  “Your side cheated,” he says. “So, I win.” Then he reaches inside and takes the Building Block.

  “Hey,” I exclaim. “You can’t do that!”

  Cheated? What’s he talking about. What’s going on?

  Suddenly, Order appears on the other side of the sarcophagus. “You lost fair and square, brother, and, as usual, you are having a difficult time accepting the fact.”

  “Enough of your drama,” Chaos says. “It exhausts me. You violated the rules by bringing participants into the contest who were not selected—which is also known as cheating.”

  Watching them argue is like watching two gods bicker over a game of chess. Except we’re the pawns!

  “I did no such thing,” Order continues. “These so-called ‘participants’ you are referring to happened upon Arena World by chance. I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Blah, blah, blah,” Chaos says, rolling his eyes. “You never have anything to do with it, do you? You have forfeited the match. The world is now rightfully mine to destroy. And destroy it I shall!”

  “Enough, Chaos!” Order thunders. “The only thing that will be destroyed is you!” Order points at his brother, and suddenly, the Building Block in Chaos’ hands starts glowing!

  “What are you doing?” Chaos exclaims.

  “You are so predictable, brother,” Order says. “By grabbing the Building Block, you are now locked to this place. Or have you forgotten?”

  ​Chaos’ expression changes to one of surprise. He looks down at the Building Block. “Release me at once!”

  “No, brother,” Order says. “You and I are the highest of all cosmic beings. And, as it is written in the stars, we are unable to do harm upon one another. But that does not mean we cannot be harmed.”

  “Are you mad, brother!” Chaos says.

  “Perhaps,” Order says. “But if I am, it is you who made me so. Just like the Orb of Oblivion, the Building Block is a cosmic entity—a parasite—that feeds off the desires of its host. But while the Orb of Oblivion brings out the darkness, the Building Block brings out the light. And, resting in your vile hands, it is reversing your powers, even as we speak. So, tell me brother. Do you feel your power slipping away? Do you feel yourself growing weaker and weaker by the second?”

  Wait? Order said the Building Block was a living entity, but he never said it was the opposite of the Orb—that it’s a cosmic force for good!

  Suddenly, Chaos starts shrinking! “S-stop … p-please!”

  “Like you and I,” Order continues, “the Building Block and Orb of Oblivion are opposite sides of the same coin. But while our purpose is to provide harmony, their purpose is to provide dissonance. And when they connect, the results can be rather … explosive.”

  O! M! G! This is what he meant when he said: When the appropriate moment arises, you will act. He’s going to use the Orb to blow Chaos sky high!

  “Now that you are sufficiently weakened, brother” Order says, “it is time to rid ourselves of the burden of Chaos! Come forth, Orb Master!” Order says looking at me, an evil grin spreading across his face. “Come forth and claim your prize!”

  Order snaps. But instead of me, it’s Siphon who lifts off the ground!

  “Hey!” Siphon exclaims.

  “What is this?” Order exclaims.

  What’s going on?

  Then it hits me! When Siphon absorbed my powers, he just didn’t take the Orb’s powers from me—he took the entire Orb of Oblivion! No wonder it wasn’t talking to me!

  Siphon flies towards Chaos, but Chaos uses whatever power he has left to push Siphon back, keeping him away.

  Siphon is now hovering between the cosmic brothers.

  “Epic Zero, run!” Siphon yells.

  “No!” I yell. “I’ll help you!”

  “Remember what you said,” Siphon says. “Remember me as a hero.”

  “Do not do this, fool,” Chaos says. “You need me!”

  “Do I?” Order chuckles. “I am Order, and Order needs no one!”

  “Want to know what I think?” Siphon interjects. “I think you guys deserve each other!”

  Suddenly, Siphon reaches out and grabs Order’s arm.

  “What are you doing?” Order yells.

  They both start glowing.

 
“Since I’ve got this Orb thing,” Siphon says. “I guess now you’re frozen, too!”

  “Unhand me, fool!” Order yells.

  I watch Siphon then reach out for Chaos’ arm.

  Order’s eyes grow wide. “Stop! What are you—”

  “NO!” Chaos yells.

  But before he clutches Chaos’ wrist, Siphon looks at me, and raises his eyebrows.

  And I’m swallowed up in a black rift.

  ***

  I fall out the other side into the desert sand.

  The explosion is other-worldly.

  A wave of pure white energy eclipses the sky.

  And then everything goes dark.

  When my eyes readjust, there’s no trace of the pyramid. Order, Chaos, and Siphon are gone—all in the blink of an eye.

  Siphon ported me out of there with one of Wind Walker’s rifts. Siphon sacrificed himself to save … me?

  Suddenly, the ground starts shaking violently.

  Then, it CRACKS open, sending a plume of hot lava shooting into the air.

  Arena World is falling apart!

  I lock eyes with the Emperor, who’s being helped to his feet by his henchmen. He stares at me, and then shouts, “Retreat!”

  I nod my thanks, and watch as he leads his men back to their ships.

  “To the Ghost Ship!” Gemini yells. “Hurry!”

  Taurus heaves Aries over her shoulder, while Scorpio lifts Wind Walker onto Sagittarius’ backside. Grace 2 swoops down and grabs me, right as another crack opens beneath my feet.

  “Thanks,” I say.

  “No problem” she says. “It’s what heroes do.”

  We all tumble into the Ghost Ship, taking off just before the ground disintegrates beneath it. I know we need to get as far away from here as possible, but there’s one thing we need to take care of first.

  I push my way to the cockpit, and find Scorpio. “We need to make a stop,” I say.

  Within seconds we’re there.

  The ground is shaking like mad, and buildings are collapsing around us, but we need to do this.

  The hatch lowers and Grace 2 flies out. Seconds later, she returns with her unconscious mom in her arms.

  Then, we blast off into outer space as Arena World bursts into a ball of fire and rubble.

  I PUT MY TRUST IN A MONKEY

  We’re all in our heads.

  Other than Pisces and Scorpio, who are navigating the Ghost Ship, no one’s talking. I know I’m still trying to process everything that happened, and I’ve got more questions than answers.

  Like, why did Siphon sacrifice himself for me? Believe me, I’m grateful, but I can’t help feeling partly responsible. I mean, I told him the truth about his father, but I suspect deep down he already knew. He had no family—no one to go back home to. I think he wanted to make up for his father’s mistakes, and this was his chance to rewrite his family’s legacy. So, he made the ultimate sacrifice, and for that, he’ll always be a hero in my book.

  And then, there’s the question of what happens now without Order and Chaos? When I met Order he told me that he and his brother were the fabric of the universe. So, what happens when that fabric is shredded to pieces? If Order managed structure, and Chaos managed randomness, what’s going to happen to the universe now that they’re gone—all of the universes?

  And then I get a more horrifying thought.

  Who’s going to control Ravager?

  Without Order and Chaos, there’s no longer a contest. And without a contest, there aren’t any restrictions as to what that planet-eating pest can do. So, does that mean the Earth we nearly died saving may be at risk again tomorrow?

  Suddenly, I feel nauseous.

  And then, of course, there’s the Orb of Oblivion. I keep trying to reach out to it, but there’s just no response. Did it truly die with Siphon? Or, is it somehow still inside of me, gathering it’s strength? Even though I can’t sense it’s presence, can I ever be entirely sure it’s gone?

  I rest my throbbing head against the hull of the ship.

  Grace 2 enters from the medi-wing. “Thanks again, Elliott. Saving my mom’s life was a really honorable thing to do.”

  “No problem,” I say. “You would have done the same for me. How’s she doing?”

  “She’s still unconscious,” Grace 2 says. “But Leo says she’s stable. He thinks she’s going to make a full recovery. Wind Walker and Aries are back on their feet.”

  “Yeah, I heard the cheers when Aries realized he was back on the Ghost Ship. Do you think you’re gonna be okay? You know, with your mom? I imagine that’s gonna be a tough thing to get over.”

  She looks at her feet. “I don’t know. She’s still my mom, you know? I hope she realizes how far gone she is, and can make her way back. I know I won’t ever forget, but maybe, one day, I’ll be able to forgive. How about you?”

  “I don’t know how I feel,” I say. “Everything that happened back there was so crazy. I just really want to get home, you know?”

  She reaches out and rubs my shoulder, a sharp pain shoots down my left arm. “Ow!” I cry.

  “You’re hurt,” she says. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “Honestly, neither did I,” I say, my arm still smarting. “It must have happened when everything blew up. I was running on so much adrenaline I didn’t even notice.”

  “Leo’s still in the medi-wing,” Grace 2 says. “Maybe he should look at it.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I say, pulling myself up. My arm is really sore, I hope nothing’s broken.

  When I enter the medi-wing, Mom 2 is lying on a table hooked up to a bunch of machines monitoring her vital signs. My favorite monkey is scrolling through a computer screen, a clipboard tucked under his hairy arm.

  “Hey, Leo,” I say. “Can you take a look at me? It’s my left arm.”

  The chimp turns, and hesitates for a moment, like he’s surprised to see me. Then he grins and pats the empty examination table. “Sure, I’d be happy to.”

  I hop up, careful not to bump my left arm on anything. Leo’s behind me, making a racket as he collects some equipment. Then I realize there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask him.

  “Hey, I know we didn’t get off on the right foot, but there’s something bothering me that I haven’t been able to piece together.”

  “Sure, what is it” he says, clanging behind me.

  “Scorpio told me the Zodiac only found me because of you. But, I have no idea how you did it. I mean, how did you even know about the Orb?”

  “Ah,” Leo says. “I see. Perhaps an explanation is in order. But first, I need to do this.”

  THWIP!

  Ouch! There’s a sharp pain in my left shoulder! I turn to find Leo standing beside me, holding a small gun.

  What the—? He tranquilized me!

  “You’ll soon be quite groggy,” Leo says, swinging around the table to the door. “But I’m sure you’re familiar with the feeling.” He turns the latch, locking it shut!

  What’s going on? Everything starts getting blurry. I’m trapped inside with a psychotic primate whose trying to kill me!

  Suddenly, he’s standing in front of me. “Perhaps this will help to explain things.” And then, before my eyes, he transforms from a chimpanzee into a boy—an alien boy with pale-yellow skin, and large, pointy ears. And then he reaches up and pinches his pupils, removing brown contact lenses to reveal a pair of neon-green eyes.

  He’s … he’s …

  “I can tell from your astonished expression that you realize I am a Skelton. My name is K’van Sollarr, younger brother of K’ami Sollarr. I think you knew her well before leading her to her death.”

  What? K’ami has a brother? She never mentioned a brother. By now, I’m struggling to stay conscious. I want to call for help, but I’m having trouble even holding myself upright. He must have drugged me twice as heavily as before.

  “Perhaps she never told you about me, but I am not surprised. We never did get along
. You see, I am the last of the Sollarr line, and the only one loyal to our Lord Emperor. As for how I found you … ”

  Now he’s loading a syringe with some kind of serum.

  “You may be aware that Skelton of the same blood lines share a psychic bond—a mind-link if you will. Once my sister touched the Orb of Oblivion, I was, by association, directly connected with you. As soon as I realized this wonderful development, I informed the Emperor. You can probably imagine that after the treasonous acts of my father and sister, it took quite a bit of convincing for the Emperor to believe me. But after I held true through all of his torture sessions, he was finally convinced.”

  Suddenly, my left arm is on fire! He’s rubbing something on it!

  “He sent me alone to Earth to track you down. Given how you destroyed an entire Blood Bringer squadron, he was reluctant to risk more resources until you were found. I admit it took me longer than I expected. Your satellite was not obvious, and I spent weeks fruitlessly searching your planet’s surface.”

  Leo grabs my left arm! The pain!

  “Unfortunately, my ship was out of fuel, and I needed a way back into space to reach you. Fortunately, Canada had a secret space launch planned. They were sending a chimpanzee into orbit. The night before the launch, I infiltrated their building, and took the place of their astronaut. After liftoff, I charted my own course, but your rockets are so primitive I quickly ran out of fuel. Fortunately, the Zodiac heeded my distress call. They are a ragtag band of misfits, so it was child’s play to convince them the Orb was the answer to their prayers to defeat the mighty Ravager, and avenge their worlds. Once aboard, I used the Ghost Ship’s capabilities to track you down and land undetected on your satellite. The rest, they say, is history.”

  Then everything clicks. That’s why he didn’t want to turn me over to the Overlord!

  “You … called the Skelton Emperor … on Watcher World,” I mutter.

  “Yes, I did,” he says. “And I thought that would be the end of it. I’d deliver you into the hands of the Emperor, clear my family’s name, and my people would rule the universe—with me, of course, in a dangerously close position to the Emperor. But now the Orb is gone, so I need a new plan. And, at this point, there is really no need for you to blow my cover. I do enjoy manipulating these kids, and I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. So, I guess you just came down with a serious case of heart attack.”