Michael Moore sat cross-legged in the middle of the tatami floor, doing a transcendental meditation.
"Aumgn. Aumgn. Aumgn…" he said. Suddenly he stopped aumgn-ing. "Oh, no," he said. "This is not good."
Chanty Binx hurried to the meditation room. "What is it, Master Michael?"
Michael opened his eyes. "It seems there has been a disturbance in the social justice balance of the universe."
Chanty's eyes grew wide. "A disturbance?" she repeated.
"Yes." Michael nodded. "It seems that a certain demographic has been suffering intense persecution over the last year."
"But which one?" Chanty asked.
Michael shook his head. "I do not know," he replied. "I must check my lapto - I mean, my crystal ball." Michael walked over to his desk and went on the internet.
"It looks like… the Christians!"
Chanty rushed over to see, but Michael stopped her.
"Come no further, Mistress Chanty," said Michael. "Only a warrior of the highest level is worthy to gaze upon the crystal ball."
Chanty scratched her head. "Why is that, Master Michael?"
"It's none of your business," replied Michael, closing thirty tabs on his computer. "It's… private… stuff."
Later that evening, the S.J. Army assembled at S.J. headquarters in New York City. Michael was the guest speaker.
"Hail, Warriors. I have gathered you all here this evening because we are about to enter into war," he said into the microphone.
"Triggered," said a voice from the audience.
"As you can see by this chart, social injustice is on the rise." Michael pressed a button on his remote, and the chart appeared on the two screens above him:
The audience gasped when they saw this. Michael pushed his glasses back in place. "Yes, brethren, this the world we live in. The atheists are now in more privileged than every other religion combined. And notice -" he pressed a button to zoom into the chart, "-this tiny purple sliver right here represents the Christian demographic. It hardly even registers on my chart. But with your help, we can make a difference. We must take from the more privileged and give to the less privileged."
The audience roared. "Generals, assemble your armies. We will settle this matter the same way we have done since the dawn of time: With raised fists, picket signs, and really loud voices! We will rally before the ten world capitals, where we will demand equality for everyone!"
When the airship arrived in Brussels, Jude turned on the cloaking device, which made the entire ship invisible. "To keep our profile low," Jude explained. "We can't let the atheists know about the Force." Then he handed David an object that looked like a writing utensil. "This looks like a pen, but it is actually spying equipment. If you hear our enemies discussing anything that could be of use to the resistance, just press the button on the top. Press it a second time to pause the recording." Then he turned to the rest of the group. "Everybody, if you look on the table over there, you will find a pile of special watches. These watches have communicators installed in them, but they won't get good bandwidth from long distances like you will. David nodded and jumped out the door of the airship with a time bomb strapped to his chest. He landed right on top of the roof of the European Parliament. So, he opened up an air vent and started slithering through the duct. Finally, when he thought he reached a spot that would ensure maximum destruction, he unstrapped the bomb and pressed the button. It started ticking backward from thirty minutes.
Good, David thought, Now I just need to get as far away from the crime scene as possible. He continued down the air duct until he found another vent, which was just above the room of the European Commission.
Woah, he thought. I could get some useful information for the resistance while I'm here. He took out the recording device Jude had given to him and pressed the button, all while listening to President Jean-Claude Juncker speaking before the commission, in his Luxembourgish accent.
"And with that, I would like to discuss what I believe to be the greatest threat the United Atheist League has ever faced: organized religion. Namely, the Church.
"Despite our many attempts to silence them, to get them to abandon their petty childhood fantasies and pursue the arts and the wisdom the Tree of Knowledge has offered us, they have experienced the greatest revival within the last century. You just heard about that man in District 10 who tried converting all those poor, innocent people to his bloodthirsty religion a few days ago. Do we want such a thing to happen here in Brussels?"
The audience booed.
"Do we want to see this happen in District 2?"
The audience booed louder.
"Do we want to see this happen on planet Earth?"
The audience booed even louder; this time some people stood and knocked chairs over. One person threw a chair against the wall, causing the ceiling to shake a little. David, kneeling on the vent, managed to catch his balance, but nevertheless, the vent came loose, and he fell through.
THUD!
David landed right on top of the table. President Jean-Claude gaped at him, to which David replied,
"Uhh… Happy Birthday?"
Jean-Claude looked at David's chest, where the yellow hexagram that said "I HAVE FAITH" was. When he saw this, he pointed and hollered, "A spy! Somebody get him!"
The entire commission dove toward David. Luckily, in the midst of the chaos, David was able to give them the slip. He started running toward the door when Juncker slammed a red button on the table. Red siren lights started flashing all over the building, as a robotic voice repeated on the intercom, "INITIATING LOCKDOWN SEQUENCE."
Steel bars fell from the ceiling in front of the door, trapping David inside. Then Jean-Claude pointed at him and laughed. "Ha!" he said. "Now you're trapped! Just wait until the police find you; they'll have you tried for high treason!"
"Yeah, but aren't you trapped, too?" said David. "When the building locks down, that means no one can escape."
Jean-Claude chuckled. "Well, I suppose. But I don't mind waiting the hour it will take for the police to find us."
David's expression sank. "It will take a whole hour?!" he exclaimed. "You fool! You've doomed us all!
Jean-Claude was perplexed. "Uh, what do you mean?"
"Before I, uh, dropped in your little meeting, I kind of planted a bomb in the building," explained David.
"What?!" Juncker shouted. The whole commision started to panic, shouting "Where is it?" "How do we disable it?"
David grinned. "I'll tell you if you promise to let me go."
"Fine," Jean-Claude grumbled. "Nobody touch the spy. He has agreed to help us."
"Okay, so what do we do?" one commissioner asked.
"Alright, I need you to go down on your hands and knees," said David. "Right under that vent."
The commissioner did so. Then David said to another one, "Alright, now you kneel on top of him."
The second commissioner climbed on top of the first one, his hands on the shoulders and his knees on the back. Then David said, "Perfect. Now let me climb on top of you two." David stepped on top of the two men and pulled himself up through the vent. He crawled through the air duct until he found the bomb again, which had only about ten minutes left on the timer. Aw, man, he thought. I don't have much time. He quickly picked it up and carried it back over to the vent. "Here," he called, "catch."
"No! Don't drop it!" Jean Claude screamed. But it was too late. The bomb was already falling from the opened air vent toward the floor. Jean-Claude made a dive for it and caught it. "You imbecile!" he shouted. "What are you trying to do, blow us up?!"
"Actually," Dae replied, "that's exactly what I'm trying to luck figuring out which wire to cut to disable the bomb."
"Wait, you mean you don't know it?" a commissioner asked.
David shrugged. "Nope. And I'm not willing to take the risk. You locked yourself as well as the bomb inside the building, so you've only yourself to blame for that. Ta-ta." He disappeared into duct again.
"You welcher!" Jean Claude yelled. "Get back here!"
But David was already on the roof again. He could see the bomb squad speeding toward the building, but that didn't matter. They would never be able to break inside in time to disable the bomb. He climbed down the side of the building and started running as fast as he could. Then a police officer stopped him. "Hey!" he shouted. "Do you know anything about the suspected spy who infiltrated this establishment?"
"Never mind that!" David shouted. "Just disable the bomb!" Then he ran off again.
When he had gone about a mile away from the building, he heard a loud bang, followed by hundreds of screams, coming from behind him. He stopped running and turned to see smoke coming from the area he had run from and watched as firetrucks and ambulances speeding toward the smoke. David humbly fell to his knees and cried, "Oh God, what have I done?"
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the Court," said the Honorable Judge Robert Stennis. (It was morning in Little Rock while it was afternoon in Brussels, where David was.) "Calling in the case of the United Atheist League versus Barack Hussein Obama. Are both sides ready?"
"Ready for the State, Your Honor," said District Attorney Peter Kane. (Peter Kane had been the attorney representing the American Civil Liberties Union when Grace Wesley had been on trial for preaching her religion in school.)
"Ready for the Defense, Your Honor," said Defense Attorney Tom Endler. (Tom Endler had been the attorney representing Grace Wesley when she was on trial for preaching her religion in school.)
"Will the clerk please swear in the jury?" said Judge Stennis. (Robert Stennis had been the judge when Grace Wesley was on trial for preaching her religion in school.)
The county clerk, Mark Whitman Johnson, stood before the jury. "Will the jury please stand and raise your right hand?" he said. "Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court, and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and the instructions of the court, so help you, Science? Please say 'I do'." The jury did so and sat down.
"Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury," said Peter, "the defendant has been charged with crimes against science. The evidence will show that he was in possession of a multitude of religious objects, including a silver crescent moon and star pendant, a copy of the Quran, and a portrait of Muhammed. Furthermore, the defendant has, on multiple occasions, been seen entering mosques. The evidence I present will prove to you that the defendant is guilty of theism in the first degree. The law states that first degree theism is committed when a person willfully and intentionally practices an organized religion that recognizes a god, divine creator, or omnipotent being of any kind. And this is exactly what the defendant has done. Therefore he is guilty."
"Your Honor," said Tom. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. During this trial you will hear no real evidence against my client. My client may have been found in possession of these religious objects, but no evidence shows that he had theistic intentions at the time he had them. Therefore my client is not guilty."
Grace Wesley was sitting in the jury with a single-shot handgun in her pocket. The judge had given her permission to shoot Barack if he was found guilty. She was ready to do her civic duty.
"The League calls Mrs. Kinney to the stand," said Peter. A stunningly beautiful black woman walked up to the stand to be sworn.
"Mrs. Kinney, what do you do for a living?" asked Peter.
"I am the principal of Martin Luther King Jr. High School," she replied.
"Where were you on Friday, August 18, 2017?"
"I was on my way to the school for a teacher's workshop. We hold many of those in the last few weeks before the school year starts."
"And did you see Mr. Obama on your way?"
"Yes."
"What was he doing?"
"Well, according to the news, he had gone to Little Rock to meet with the governor about -"
"Objection, Your Honor," said Tom.
"Sustained," Judge Stennis replied. "Mrs. Kinney, please tell the court what you witnessed in Little Rock, not what you witnessed on the news."
"R-right," Mrs. Kinney replied. "He was walking into the Islamic Center of Little Rock."
The jurors gasped, and some of them began whispering. Judge Stennis pounded his gavel.
"No further questions, Your Honor," said Peter, sitting down.
"Does the defense have any questions?" said Judge Stennis.
"Yes, Your Honor," said Tom. "Mrs. Kinney, are you an atheist?"
"Objection, Your Honor," said Peter. "That question is irrelevant."
"Overruled," the judge replied, waving him off. "I want to see where this is going."
"Yes," Mrs. Kinney replied.
"As an atheist," continued Tom, "have you ever entered a religious institution, such as a church or mosque?"
"Well, I suppose -"
"Yes or no question, Mrs. Kinney," said Tom. "Please answer 'yes' or 'no'."
Mrs. Kinney sighed. "Yes."
"What institution was that?"
"I attend the Little Rock Church of the Atheists," she replied.
"Allow me to rephrase," said Tom. "Have you ever attended a non-atheistic religious institution, such as a church, mosque, or synagogue?"
"Yes."
"Where was that?"
"Saint Augustine Catholic Church."
"And what were you doing there?"
"I was attending my son Michael's wedding."
"And were you suspected of crimes against science when you entered Saint Augustine Catholic Church, a non-atheistic religious institution?"
"No."
Tom grinned. "And so why then, should Mr. Obama be suspected of entering a mosque, which is also a non-atheistic institution?"
Mrs. Kinney gulped. "I don't know," she replied.
"No further questions, Your Honor." said Tom, as he proceeded to sit down.
"The prosecution may call the next witness," said Judge Stennis.
"Prosecution calls Mrs. Obama to the stand," said Peter.
Another beautiful black woman walked up to the stand to be sworn. Then Peter produced a book covered in designs of blue and gold.
"Mrs. Obama, do you recognize this exhibit?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"What is it?"
"That is my husband's copy of the Quran." The jurors gasped again.
"How long has your husband been in possession of this copy of the Quran?"
"He first bought it at Politics & Prose when we moved to Washington, D.C."
"And for what reason did he purchase it?"
"To read, obviously."
"And how do you know this?"
"Well, when it's late at night we like to sit in our bed together and read our books. I frequently see him reading that very copy of the Quran."
"And what about Exhibit B?" he asked, producing the painting of Muhammed.
"He keeps that on our bedside stand and he kisses it before going to sleep."
"No further questions, Your Honor."
Judge Stennis said, "Does the defense have any questions?"
"Yes, Your Honor," replied Tom. "Mrs. Obama, have you ever read this copy of the Quran?"
"No."
"And so how do you know that your husband is actually reading the content of the Quran at night?"
Mrs. Obama rubbed her neck. "Uh, because I can see him doing it."
"Why don't you flip through the contents of the book to see what he's reading?"
"Uh, okay." Tom handed Mrs. Obama the book. She flipped through it and drew some magazines out. "It's filled with Playboys!" she exclaimed, as the audience gasped again.
"Just as I suspected!" said Tom. "No further questions, Your Honor."
"Does the prosecution have any more witnesses?" said Judge Stennis.
"None, Your Honor," replied Peter.
"Very well then!" Judge Stennis turned to Tom. "Is the defense ready with its case?"
"Yes, Your Honor," replied Tom. "Defense calls the defendant to the stand."
Mr. Obama walked up to the stand to be sworn. Then Tom said to him, "Mr. Obama, what do you do for a living?"
"Uh, I'm the king of District 1," he replied.
"And are you a Muslim?" asked Tom.
"Yes," Mr. Obama replied. The jurors gasped again, and Judge Stennis pounded his gavel.
"Order!" he shouted. "Seriously, this is, like, the fourth time you've gasped! If you need some air, please step outside of my courtroom!"
Tom's expression sank. "O-okay. Um, next question. Do you think Muhammed is, er… hot?"
"Oh, come on!" Peter shouted. "Objection, Your Honor, that question has nothing to do with the case!"
"Overruled," the judge replied. "The evidence you provided was related to Muhammed."
"Well, uh..." Obama replied.
"You're under oath, Mr. Obama. Tell the truth."
"Fine. I'll admit, yes, I do think he's, uh, pretty damn sexy."
"Aha!" said Tom. "So you admit that you don't kiss the picture because you are a follower of the prophet's teachings, but because you secretly have a crush on him!"
"Uh… I guess."
"No further questions, Your Honor," finished Tom. "Or witnesses."
"Are your ready with your final arguments?" asked Judge Stennis.
"Yes, Your Honor," the two attorneys replied.
"Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Peter began, "Based on the evidence I have presented, you can confirm without a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of theism in the first degree, which is a crime against science, punishable by imprisonment or death. He attended a mosque with the intention of paying homage to a supernatural being. He was in possession of religious objects. And on top of that, he admitted under oath that he is a Muslim. Please do what is right and find him guilty."
Tom came before the jury. "Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Before being so hasty to find my client guilty, I would like you to actually take a look at the content of my client's Quran." Tom opened the book up again and read from it. "The Quran tells us that men are superior to women. Quran 4:34: 'Men are in charge of women by what God has given one over the other and what they spend from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in absence what God would have them guard. But those from whom you fear arrogance - advise them, forsake them in bed; and, strike them.'
He quickly flipped through the pages as he spoke. "Even worse than that, it says we should kill all the atheists. Quran 2:191: 'Kill disbelievers wherever you find them. If they attack you, then kill them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.' Quran 3:21: 'Those who disbelieve, promise them a painful doom.' Quran 4:56: 'Unbelievers will be tormented forever with fire. When their skin is burned off, fresh skin will be provided.' Quran 6:70: 'Those who disbelieve will be forced to drink boiling water, and will face a painful doom.' Quran 8:55: 'Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of God are those who have disbelieved, and will not believe.'
"But even worse than this, this book also explicitly denounces our lords and masters, the Jews. Quran 2:85: 'Jews will suffer in this life and go to hell after death.'
"But if you look at these verses from a subjective viewpoint, are they really so wrong to believe? Is it so crazy to believe in an omnipotent being who cares enough about justice that he would punish those who disbelieve in Him?"
Tom threw the Quran on the floor. "Of course! It's completely crazy! Which is why you must find my client not guilty: By reason of insanity."
The jurors left the room. Several minutes later, the foreman came out with a piece of paper.
"Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?" asked the judge.
"Yes, Your Honor," replied the foreman. "We, the people of Little Rock, Arkansas, find the defendant guilty of theism in the first degree."
"I hereby sentence the defendant to capital punishment. And, to add insult to injury, the people of District 1 have decided to replace him with a giant douche. Ladies and gentlemen of the court, meet your new archon, King Donald J. Trump!"
An old man with blond hair and orange skin walked into the courtroom, and everybody cheered for him. Everybody but Grace. What was she to do? Her mission was to shoot King Obama, but he was being replaced by a new king. Was she supposed to shoot King Trump now?
"Ms. Wesely, you may fire when ready," said Judge Stennis.
Grace started to aim for Barack, then shifted her aim to Donald. "Woah! What do you think you're doing?!" the Judge yelled. "Point that at the criminal, not the king!"
Grace aimed at Barack's head again, then changed her mind again. "Last chance," the judge warned. "If you point your barrel toward anybody in this courtroom besides the criminal, I will have you arrested for contempt of court. And attempted murder!"
She was out of luck now. With one last breath she took aim again. And fired her only bullet straight into the skull of the judge.
Josh Wheaton jumped out of the airship into the cool night air (it was around one in the morning in Tokyo) and deployed his parachute. He landed on the roof of Tokyo Imperial Palace. Before climbing inside through one of the windows, however, he couldn't help but to take in the beauty of the view he had of Mt. Fuji and Emperor Akihito's cherry orchard in the moonlight.
He broke through one of the windows and found Akihito sitting on a tatami floor, meditating. His eyes were still closed after Josh had broken in. "Ah, I have been expecting you, child," he said in a thick Japanese accent.
Josh's heart jumped. "H-how did you know I would be here?" he stammered.
Akihito took a deep breath through his nose. "I am able to predict future events by sensing the energies of the universe moving about through the Śūnyatā."
Josh scratched his head. "I didn't understand a word of that."
"And," Akahito continued, "because I am a bender of the Śūnyatā, I am also able to manipulate future events in my favor." He took a breath, twice as deep as the one before. "Kore…!" he said loudly. In half a second, he shot to his feet and extended his arms toward Josh, yelling "O toru!" as a wave of blue light energy shot from him. It blew out every single window in the room and sent Josh flying out, landing him in the branches of a cherry tree, scratched up and badly bruised.
Akahito jumped out the broken window of the palace and landed in a tree parallel to the one Josh was in. "I should also mention," he said, "I am a bender of the Ka as well." He held out his hands and created a fireball out of thin air. Then he threw it at the base of the cherry tree, causing the whole tree to be set on fire.
Josh scrambled to his hands and knees and started descending the tree. When he got to the base, he jumped down and took off like a shot. But Akahito had plenty more where that came from. He started throwing fireballs left and right, lighting up the night with all the trees in the orchard, all the while shouting "Hinotama! Hinotama! Hinotama!"
Luckily Josh managed to escape the burning orchard, but Akihito was able to catch up to him using his ninja speed. "Foolish boy," he said. "You cannot evade me. For I am a bender of all elements!" He rose a wall of earth in front of Josh. Josh ran straight into it and fell to the ground, flat on his back. Akihito slowed his run down to a stop and placed his foot on Josh's neck. "How unfortunate," he scoffed. "I really wanted to toy with you a little longer. But it seems now I am only a step away from ending this little game."
His hand shaking, Josh reached into his shirt and pulled out a single-shot handgun. Akihito laughed. "Hilarious!" he cried. "You attempt to stop a bender of the elements using a mere pebble of lead."
"We'll see who's laughing when you have a bullet in your head!" mustered Josh, unable to speak well with Akihito's shoe on his throat.
Akihito wiped a tear of joy from his eye. "You humiliate yourself. Do you honestly think your reflexes can compete with mine? Squeeze that trigger. I dare you."
His hands still shaking, he held the pistol up at Akihito's face and tried to squeeze. But at the mere twitch of his finger, Akihito snatched the gun from his hands with the reflexes of a Japanese pitviper. Then he fired it straight up in the sky and threw the gun. "A shot and a miss," Akihito mocked. "It seems you forgot to factor in wind resistance!" Then the wind started to blow around them. It grew stronger and stronger until they were in the eye of a tornado. Akihito picked Josh up by his shirt and threw him into the dust and wind.
Josh had never been so dizzy in his life. The wind carried his body around and around and around until he felt as if he were about to vomit. Then the tornado spit him out, throwing him through the air and landing him in the river. Josh fought to keep his head over the water, but he was weak, and his prison clothes and boots were weighing him down. He soon gave up his breath and sank to the bottom.
Akihito stood on the bank of the river and thrusted his right arm forward. The waters of the river parted in two like a curtain, exposing Josh's beaten-up body lying on the bottom. Akihito walked across the moist riverbed to where Josh was lying. He picked him up by the shirt with both his hands, as a school bully would.
"I am surprised you are still breathing. You should feel lucky. But know this: if I ever sense you or your cursed airship near my palace again, you're death will be legendary." He threw Josh back on the ground. "Crawl back to your master. Tell him that his pathetic little resistance will never be compatible against the Japanese jinpishugi."
Josh pointed an unsteady finger at Akihito. "W-we… h-have the p-power of God… on our s-side." he sputtered. "You have only… the power of S-satan."
Akihito guffawed and walked back on top the riverbank towering over Josh's body. "I see!" he cried. "You are one of those people. One of the 'Jesus freaks'. Well, tell me, child, can your God save you from this?" He stretched out his arms, saying "Mizu…!" then clapped his hands together, shouting "Anpāru!" Immediately the parted waters crashed back together on top of Josh. Akihito laughed sadistically at the sight and walked back to his palace.
Mina jumped out of the airship and deployed her parachute. She landed on the roof of the Lodge. Her mission was similar to David's: plant a time bomb in the building to kill the district king. In this case, that king was Malcolm Turnbull. She opened up an air vent on the roof and started crawling through the air duct.
After a few minutes of crawling, she found the vent above the bedroom in which Malcolm was sleeping. Perfect, she thought. I'll plant the bomb right on top of him. She took off the bomb strapped to her chest and pressed a button, causing it to start counting down. But just as she was about to leave, she looked up to see a huge Sydney funnel-web spider on top of the duct. Crap, she thought. This is Australia. She tried to avoid it, but it started to descend down a string of silk toward her head. She quickly ducked underneath and scrambled away from it. A single bite from a Sydney funnel-web, she knew, could kill a human. Then she had an idea. Before the spider landed, she quickly took the vent off the bottom of the duct. The spider continued to descend into the bedroom of King Malcolm, and it landed right on his face. If Mina were lucky, the spider could do her dirty work for her. But she couldn't risk failing the mission, so she left the bomb in the duct before she left.
Once she arrived on the roof again, she climbed down the side of the Lodge. Then she climbed down the side of the Lodge and tried to hurry off the property. But of course, the security was too good to allow that to happen. The burglar alarm went off, and security guards came running out of the building to capture Mina.
"There's no point in running, mate!" one guard said in Australian. "We already called the bomb squad! If we don't capture you, they will!"
It was early evening in the capital of District 5. Amy's mission was to kill Vladimir Putin. She jumped out of the airship, deployed her parachute, and landed on the roof of the Bely Dom. She did the usual; she climbed inside through the nearest air duct and found her way to above the room where the Federation Council met with King Vladimir. Then, after planting her time bomb, she took out a recording device similar to David's to listen in to their conversation:
"Hail, brethren," said Vladimir in his thick Russian accent. "We have just received word that there was a great explosion in District 2, which killed the entire District 2 council as well as their king, Jean Claude-Juncker. Intelligence says the explosion was caused by a Christian."
David! Amy thought. Oh, God, please let him be okay!
"Our world empire," Vladimir continued, "can no longer suffer any more losses to these foul excuses for humans and their radical beliefs. So, for your safety tonight, I have added extra security measures to this building." Amy watched him through an air vent as he produced a small remote with a red button and a green one.
"As soon as I press this red button," he said, "all the doors and windows in this building will be locked." He pressed the button. "And just in case somebody tried to sneak in through an air vent…" He pulled out what looked like a TV remote and pointed it at one of the TV screens on the wall (the ones that showed his face larger to the councilmen in the back). The screens showed the inside of two places in the ventilation system.
"I have had surveillance cameras set in every corner of the ventilation system!" he said, and the council applauded.
Amy's heart sank. She knew she was the one caught now. Frantically she tried to find a camera that might see her.
"And if that doesn't work," Vladimir continued, "I ordered the bomb squad to examine every nook and cranny of this building for any signs of a destructive weapon!"
The council applauded again, louder, and this time some even cheered.
Suddenly she faintly heard the echo of a hound barking come from the air duct. Then she heard the voice of a human with a Russian accent:
"He smells explosives coming from this vent! Come on, let us go down and check."
Amy had to get out of there. But she couldn't go back the way she came, or she'd be caught by the bomb squad. All she could do was continue through the duct. But she pushed her luck too far, went around a corner in full view of a surveillance camera.
"Wha -?! A spy!" Vladimir shouted. Then he pressed a button on his watch. "Attention all units! A spy has been detected by camera 4B!"
"Understood," a voice from his watch replied. "One of our hounds just picked up on some explosives coming from that very duct. Our men are crawling through right now to see what's going on down there."
Amy had to pick up her pace. There were already officers crawling in the duct just behind her! She couldn't just wait to find another air vent; the whole building was locked, doors and windows. She had to find a vent leading outside.
"There's the bomb!" she heard someone say.
"But what about the spy?" a voice replied.
"Forget the spy; this whole building is going to go kablooey if we don't disable this bomb."
Amy sighed with relief. That really was a "time" bomb. It just bought her a whole lot of time.
After several minutes of crawling, she finally found her ticket to freedom: an outside air vent. But once she pushed off the vent, she watched it drop hundreds of feet to the pavement below. Baby steps, she thought. She slowly slid her butt over the edge and eased her feet down onto the top of the window frame on the next story down. This could take her all night. She heard the sound of a chopper growing near her. It grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening, then felt a light on her back. She was nearly blinded by the light coming from the front of a police chopper, while an officer from inside yelled with a megaphone, "Freeze, citizen! You're surrounded! There is no way out! Surrender yourself!"
It is around eleven o'clock in District 6
"But Silver, are you sure you do not need a parachute?" said Jude.
Silver the Hedgehog shook his head. "I'm a psychic," he explained. "I have the ability to levitate, see?" A teal aura appeared around his body as he rose from the floor.
Jude clapped. "Well done, Silver! You need to teach me how to do that. Just be careful, okay?"
Silver nodded. Then he flew out of the airship and down to the front door of the Federal Legislative Palace, where the district king, Nicolás Maduro, was meeting with the National Assembly.
Silver burst through the door of the assembly room and pointed at King Nicolás, who was sitting on the bench at the head of the room. "I've been looking for you, King Nicolás!" he shouted, levitating some chairs with his psychokinesis. "Your actions will condemn us all!"
Nicolás and all the members of the Assembly gasped and stared at the creature.
"Brethren!" said Nicolás in a Hispanic accent. "It's a demon! Quickly, prostrate before him!"
Everybody in the room quickly stood up and bowed before Silver. Silver put down the chairs. "Uhh, hello?" he said. "What's everybody doing?"
Nicolás fell to his knees and prostrated before Silver.
"O being from another world," he said, "what is thy name?"
"Silver," replied Silver.
"All hail Silver, the dark lord!" cried Nicolás. In unison, the whole legislation began bowing and chanting "All hail Silver, the dark lord."
Then Silver had an idea. If everybody in the room were willing to passively serve him, he could get his job done a lot quicker.
"Er, yeah!" said Silver. "Your dark lord, Silver, who has come to you from the, ah, heavenly realm. I command ye to obey my every command, lest I smite thee with my totally awesome spiritual powers!" He held up his hands and made a teal light with them for the whole room to see.
Nicolás bowed again. "Lord Silver, your wish is my command. Is it now that you and the rest of the archons will take their place as the rightful rulers of the world?"
"Nicolás," said Silver ominously, "I know all that has happened and ever will happen. I know that your actions will result in the destruction of our glorious kingdom. For that reason, I have come to have you put to death."
"What?!" cried Nicolás. "But Your Omnipotence! Have I not served the archons well? Was it not I who converted the entire population of Middle and South America to atheism? What more could I do?"
Silver waved him off. "Take him away!"
Two members of the legislation stood up and grabbed Nicolás by the arms. Then they took him out the door to be executed.
"What else do you desire, O Silver?" asked Governor Henrique Capriles, the leader of the Justice First Party.
Silver flew over to the seat where Nicolás had been. He sat in it and put his feet up on the bench. "It's been awhile since I ate last," he said. "What have you got for food around here?"
"We live to please," said Henrique. "We shall prepare for you the best meal in all of District 6!"
"Excellent!" replied Silver. "And while you're at it, why don't you invite some beautiful Latino women over for lunch." Silver grinned. I think I'm gonna like it here, he thought.
It is around 4 pm in District 8
Jude put on his parachute and time bomb and turned to Misrab. "Misrab, why do you want to fly my airship into Baghdad so much?" he said in his thick, African accent. "This thing wasn't cheap, you know! And what if we need it for future missions?"
"Because," Misrab said in his Middle-Eastern accent, "I want to go to Jannah with seventy-two virgins! And the most honorable way for a Muslim to sacrifice himself is in a fiery explosion! The bigger and more fiery, the better."
"There's still a chance," replied Jude. "I would recommend reading some more of the Bible before making this decision. Namely, John 3. The part where Nicodemus is asking Jesus how to get to heav - er, Jannah."
He jumped out of the airship and landed on the Building of the National Assembly of District 8. As usual, he broke in through an air vent and crawled through the duct. He knew he was drawing near to the office of the district king, General Idriss Déby, when he started to hear him jamming out loud to his Muslim music:
"Saleelul as-sawarim: nasheedul ubah.
Wa darbul qitaly tariqul haya.
Fa baynaq tihamin, yubidu tugha.
Wa kateem musawtim jamilun sadah…"
When Jude was just above the office, he received an incoming transmission on his communicator. "Jude-Mùshī?" said a voice with a Chinese accent. "Is Martin. Is your airship equipped for battle?"
"This really isn't a good time, Martin," complained Jude. "I'm in the middle of my mission. But if you run into trouble on your way to District 10, just go to the control panel and pull the big handle. The ship will engage Battle Mode, making it faster and it can fire lasers." He opened up the air vent and jumped down through. "Freeze, Your Majesty!" Jude shouted, pointing his handgun at King Idriss. "For the sake of the world, I will destroy you!"
"A revolutionary!" said Idriss, who also had an African accent. "I thought we'd seen the last of you back in 1979. Well, I'd love to see you try." He pulled out a staff with a ram skull on the end, and a green powder shot out of its eye sockets that surrounded Jude. Suddenly, Jude realized he couldn't move a muscle in his body.
"Impressive, yes?" Idriss scoffed. "It's a powder of paralysis. And now that you cannot move, you will be inept against this!" He waved his staff toward Jude, and a black circle appeared on the floor around Jude, with purple light emanating from it. Jude was immediately stung with the most awful pain he had ever felt, and he could feel his body growing weaker by the second. What was worse was every few seconds, short bursts of even more intense pain would strike him. He cried out in agony.
Idriss laughed at his misery. "Now that I have you under my thumb, I will be taking that," he said as he snatched the gun from Jude's painful hand. Then he pointed it at Jude's chest, saying "Say goodbye, rebel!"
Jude tried with all his might to move, but he still couldn't. "No!" he screamed. "You'll blow us all to -"
BANG!
Idriss fired the gun. And as soon as the bullet hit the bomb on Jude's chest, the device exploded, demolishing the entire building.
Jude's blood, muscle tissue and bone fragments were spread over hundreds of yards of pavement. Idriss was thrown from the collapsing building with a near lethal amount of force. He landed on the pavement of the parking lot outside the ruins, blinded by the light and deafened by the sound, and unable to feel his body below his lower back. In his dying breath he lifted his bloody hands up and said "Mawjat min aineikas."
And, as if a home video had just been rewound, Idriss's body flew back into the building, which repaired itself. Jude's body parts reassembled back in the office, right where he was standing before. However, the pain had ceased, and he was able to move again.
"-bits!" Jude cried, then he suddenly looked surprised. "Wait, what just happened?"
"I am a witch doctor," replied Idriss. "I have studied Islamic mysticism since I was a child. The spell I just did was a spell of reversal, which I used to undo the last minute."
"Well I'm a soldier of the eternal God!" said Jude. "For someone who claims to be on the side of science, you sure seem to rely a lot on magic! Regardless, you're demonic powers are nothing compared to the power of the name of Jesus!"
"So you're a Christian!" cried Idriss. "I should have expected. Your people seem to be quite radical against our new world system. It is time you pay for the damage you have done."
Jude took off the bomb and set it gently on the floor.
"Okay," he said. "Let's take this outside, where it's safer!"
Idriss laughed. "If it's an outside fight you want, it's an outside fight you'll get!" He pointed his staff at the window and the window shattered. Then they hopped out into the hot sun. Jude wished he had taken off his Morpheus costume inside, but somehow the witch doctor was doing just fine in his three-piece suit.
Idriss drove his staff into the ground. A pentagram appeared in the earth around him. "Hujum, arwah alsahra," he said. Three portals started opening up in mid air, and Jude watched in horror as three monsters emerged from them. He saw a human eye with bat wings. He saw a raven with razor sharp teeth in place of it's beak, wolf paws in place of it's wings, and a long serpent tail. He saw a tarantula with three heads: one of a cat, one of a human, and one of a toad. And all of these creatures were coming straight toward Jude to devour him.
Jude started to run, but the creatures were fast and caught up to him easily. Flight clearly wasn't an option; he had to fight these creatures. He threw sand at the eye-bat, blinding it and causing it to fall to the ground. While the creature was twitching and thrashing in the sand, Jude jumped on top of it, causing it to be crushed, and squeezing it's eye jelly out.
The tarantula creature scuttled toward him. It's cat head snapped at Jude while the toad head tried to lick him. Jude grabbed it by its toad tongue and swung it around his body with all his might. Then he threw it back into the portal it had emerged from.
"Don't get your hopes too high!" said Idriss. "I can keep this up all day!" He waved his staff again, and portals to the other dimension started opening up everywhere; in the air, on the ground, even on trees. Legions of demons started emerging from them.
The raven creature was half running, half slithering toward Jude. All the while, it was breathing fire from it's canine-like mouth. Jude managed to evade it long enough to get inside the office from the broken window. Jude tried throwing a couch cushion at it, but it just caught the cushion in it's mouth and incinerated it. Jude tried throwing a phone at it, but once again, it caught it in it's mouth, and the phone melted. Then Jude got an idea. He scooped up the time bomb and escaped out another window. He started running back to where Idriss was, but the raven-creature was able to catch up to him easily. When he was just several yards before Idriss, the creature jumped in front of him to defend him with the other demons.
"Your Majesty!" shouted Jude. "You must stop this! Opening so many portals in one location could cause a total collapse of the space-time continuum or something!"
"I don't care about the space-time continuum!" shouted Idriss. "All I care about is killing you!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Jude said as he hurled the time bomb toward the creature defending Idriss. Sure enough, it caught the bomb in it's mouth, and trying to incinerate it, made it explode. The creature's body parts disassembled, spreading it's blood, brain matter, bone fragments and organ tissue all across the sand, bubbling from the heat of the explosion. Idriss was hurled into one of the portals on the ground, but managed to catch himself on the edge of the portal with his fingertips. Jude, on the other hand, was thrown back with great (but not lethal) force. And all the demons that had been surrounding Idriss were dead, too.
"Argh!" Idriss shouted. "Where's my blasted staff?"
Shaken by the explosion, Jude shook back to his feet and stumbled to the staff. 'Blasted' was right; it was very damaged from the explosion. But it was still usable. Jude brought it over to the portal Idriss was hanging off the edge of.
"The Bible says in Deuteronomy 7:26 'Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.'" Jude raised the staff over his head.
"No!" shrieked Idriss. "If you destroy that thing, all my portals will close!"
"And?" said Jude.
"Couldn't you at least help me out of this one before you close it?"
Jude thought about it a moment, then said, "Yeah, you are right. I couldn't." Then he snapped the stick in two with his knee. Idriss's fingers gave up the edge of the portal as it closed, and, screaming, he fell forever into the endless void of the spirit dimension.
It is around half past 8 pm in District 9
Hugging her father, Ayisha said in her Middle Eastern accent, "Please don't kill yourself Daddy. I love you."
"I know, sweetie," replied Misrab. "I know."
Ayisha jumped out, deployed her parachute, and landed on top of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the home of the king of district 9: Pranab Mukherjee. She was about to enter through the air duct when she heard a voice coming from above, in an Indian accent:
"So nice of you to drop by!"
Ayisha looked at the flagpole on the dome of the capitol building. On the very top was King Pranab, doing a tree pose with his eyes closed.
"How did you know I was here?" she shouted up to him.
The old man laughed as he softly levitated himself down to the roof, his eyes still closed. "Are you seeing this red dot on my forehead?" he said, pointing to his forehead. "This is my third eye; my spiritual eye, which is always open."
"Well, prepare to have it shut forever!" said Ayisha, as she pulled out her single-shot handgun. She fired directly at Pranab's forehead, but just before hitting, the bullet slowed to a crawl and fell to his feet.
Flabbergasted, Ayisha stammered, "H-how did you…?"
"How did I what, child?" said Pranab. "How did I stop the bullet? There is no bullet. That which you believe to be a solid object is merely the sensation of the electrical signals your brain interprets. In a lucid dream, you can manipulate reality however you want, because you know that you are dreaming; it is not actually reality. But if you realized that the world you experience to be reality were a dream as well, you could, in theory, manipulate it however you want. And I do."
"Well, you're about to wake up from this dream!" Ayisha shouted, as she took off the bomb strapped around her and threw it at Pranab.
A hole opened up in Pranab's torso through which the bomb passed right through. The bomb landed on the dome, blowing a hole in the top and causing it to collapse behind him. Without even turning around, he said, "You know, I really liked that dome." He used his mind to open a hole in the roof directly below Ayisha, causing her to fall through. He levitated down to the place she fell to. Then he opened a hole in the floor beneath her again and kept doing that over and over until they got to the basement.
"I could keep doing this all day," said Pranab. "Please surrender yourself."
Ayisha, bruised and beaten up, looked up at him with her face on the floor. "A soldier of God never surrenders to the enemy!" she shouted, coughing up some blood afterward.
"God?" said Pranab. "If you knew what I knew, you would realize you are God."
Ayisha winced as she tried to pick herself up. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I thought you atheists didn't believe in God."
"You are partially correct," replied Pranab. "We do not believe in the God of the Bible. I am a master of Indian martial arts and mysticism, which recognizes no true God. Rather, we believe in humanity. Through the power of almighty science, we have gone from a blob of primordial soup to godlike beings who can build towers that reach the heavens, move at supersonic speeds, and even create a worldwide network of information. And now our precious science has given us a new technology that can make the very fabric of reality our plaything."
"What's that?" asked Ayisha, weakly.
Pranab produced a large device that resembled a hole puncher. "The Mark," he answered. "The Mark is administered to every citizen of the New World Order. It is a small implant that goes in your right hand or forehead."
"What does it do?"
"With this Mark," said Pranab, "you will have the power to instantly buy or sell whatever you want with a mere thought. Never again do you have to worry about losing cash or credit or debit cards. We have a cashless society now.
"Furthermore, this Mark essentially turns you into what the dictionary defines as God. You will be all-knowing. You will have unlimited strength. You will become immortal. And, if you accept this Mark, I will put all this behind us and set you free."
"Please," pleaded Ayisha. "I don't want to die."
"Excellent!" cried Pranab, as he produced a waiver. "Just sign this little scrap of paper in your blood, and I shall administer the Mark immediately."
Pranab held the paper before Ayisha. This is what it said:
MARK OF THE BEAST
Hear now the words of the Scientists,
The secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destiny's pathway,
That now we bring forth into light.
Mysterious water and fire,
The earth and the wide-ranging air,
By hidden quintessence we know them,
And will and keep silent and dare.
The birth and rebirth of all nature,
The passing of winter and spring,
We share with the life universal,
Rejoice in the scientific ring.
Four times in the year the Great Sabbat
Returns, and the Scientists are seen
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.
When day-time and night-time are equal,
When sun is at greatest and least,
The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,
And Scientists gather in feast.
Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the coven's array.
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.
The power that was passed down the age,
Each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other,
Ere time and the ages began.
When drawn is the magical circle,
By sword or athame of power,
Its compass between two worlds lies,
In land of the shades for that hour.
This world has no right then to know it.
And world of beyond will tell naught.
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work of science is wrought.
For the two are mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature,
The forms and the forces divine.
The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:
Of this our ancestors teach.
By night he's the wild winds rider,
The Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades.
By day he's the King of the Woodland,
The dweller in green forest glades.
She is youthful or old as she pleases,
She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver lady of midnight,
The crone who weaves spells in the dark.
The master and mistress of science,
That dwell in the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
With power to free or to bind.
So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,
And Dance and make love in their praise,
Till Elphame's fair land shall receive us
In peace at the end of our days.
And Do What Thou Wilt be the challenge,
So be it Love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment.
By Science of old, be it done!
"Preposterous!" shouted Ayisha. "I'll never give up my faith for godhood!"
Pranab frowned and rolled up the waiver. "Then you have chosen death." Pranab picked her up by the collar and dropkicked her up through all the holes in the ceiling. Then, as she was still flying up, he levitated above her, clenched his hands together, and spiked her back down into the basement.
It is around half past eleven pm in District 10
When the airship reached the Ryongsong Residence in District 10, something strange happened. Martin and Misrab heard bullets ricocheting off the ship's armor. Then the radio turned on by itself, and the two heard a voice speak on the radio in a Korean accent:
"No welcome! This is restricted airspace! Surrender and go home, or face wrath of all-powerful Kim Jong Un!"
Martin and Misrab looked out the window and saw fighter jets surrounding them. They had the Jewish hexagram logo on either side of them.
"Quick, Misrab!" shouted Martin. "We gotta defend ourselves!"
Martin and Misrab hurried over to the control panel, but the buttons and levers had no labels. Martin had to call the manufacturer.
"Jude-Mùshī?" he said into his communicator. "Is Martin. Is your airship equipped for battle?"
"This really isn't a good time, Martin," complained Jude. "I'm in the middle of my mission. But if you run into trouble on your way to District 10, just go to the control panel and pull the big handle. The ship will engage Battle Mode, making it faster and it can fire lasers."
Martin hung up and Misrab pulled the handle. Suddenly the ship started to lower in the sky. "Oh, no!" said Martin. "Pressure gage say we losing air!"
The envelope of the ship flattened and compressed itself inside the car. Then, the car transformed into a giant fighter jet-like contraption.
"Great!" said Misrab. "Now let's blast these atheist infidels out of the sky!"
Martin began firing the laser cannons at the smaller jets surrounding their ship, using the buttons on the control columns. However, they were very fast and difficult to hit.
Misrab scratched his bald head. "Martin, have you ever flown a plane before?" he asked.
"No," replied Martin.
"Give me the yoke. I went to pilot school." Misrab took the wheel and began firing lasers at the jets. He knocked out every single one. Then he saw paratroopers come out of the falling jets and started aiming at them.
"Wait!" said Martin. "What are you doing?"
"We must kill them!" said Misrab. "Unbelievers are the vilest of all creatures, and we are to make war with them, just as the prophet Muhammed tells us! I am going to shoot their parachutes full of holes, and send them plummeting to their doom!"
"No, Misrab! No true!" cried Martin. "Romans 5:8 tells us God loves everyone, even unbelievers: 'But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.'"
Misrab stopped and looked up from the control panel. "God loves everyone?" he said. "That is not what the prophet tells us. He says Allah loveth not the wasters, the proud, the arrogant boasters, the treacherous, the obscene, the oppressive, the polytheists, the sinners, the ungrateful, those given to excess, those who do mischief, or -"
"Muhammed was wrong!" interrupted Martin. "If God did not love sinners, He would not have died for them."
"What do you mean God died for sinners?" asked Misrab. "Are you saying God is dead?"
"No," replied Martin. "He is surely alive. John 3:16 says 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' What Jesus is saying in this passage is God loved whole world so much that he came to earth to die for us. Now gift of salvation is open to everyone, even those infidels you see descending to ground in their parachutes. We must not strip them of any chance they have to get salvation."
"The gift of salvation is for everyone?" asked Misrab. "Even me?"
Martin nodded. "Yes. All you need to do is admit you're a sinner, believe Jesus died for your sins, and ask God for forgiveness. If you need help finding words, my copy of the Bible has Sinner's Prayer in it." Martin handed Misrab his Bible.
Misrab tried to find the page, then handed the book back. "I cannot read this; it's all in Chinese."
Martin blushed and took the book back. "Sorry," he said. He went in the map room again and brought out another Bible. "This is your daughter's," he said. "It is Persian translation. And it also has prayer in it."
Misrab started flipping through the pages and found a more rigid one with the prayer written on it. He read it out loud in his native tongue:
"(Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.)"
After he said this, Martin hugged him. "Welcome to our spiritual family."
Misrab replied (in English, the only language they both understood), "Thank you, Martin. But I must ask you: If killing is wrong in your religion, because everybody is given the chance to ask God for forgiveness, why is your mission to kill the king of District 10?"
"Because God has hardened King Kim Jong-Un's heart," replied Martin. "He is one of ten horns on Beast, as prophesied in Revelation. He has committed willful sin of giving his heart to enemy instead of Jesus. He has pushed God past where He would allow him to come back. Beast is fated to perish in Lake of Fire, and there is nothing we can do to change that."
"I see," said Misrab. "And that is why I must kill the king of District 7, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Because God has hardened his heart too, right?"
"Correct," answered Martin. "Well, better get moving. Must kill king before more defense comes."
"You know, after all you have taught me, I think I will change my mission. I will not destroy Jude's ship or myself. I will kill the king of my District quickly and painlessly."
"That's wonderful, Misrab. Farewell."
Martin opened the door and jumped out. He deployed his parachute and landed on top the Ryongsong Residence. He crawled through the air duct and found Kim's bedroom. When he got inside, he took a good look around. The rug was a giant Israeli flag. All over the room there were pedestals with busts of Kim Jong-Un on them. The wall had posters of North Korean propaganda. There were also photo portraits of Kim Jong-Un all over the wall. Behind his king-size bed there was a huge painting, as big as the bed itself, of Kim Jong-Un sitting majestically on a horse like Napoleon.
Martin stealthily crept to Kim's bed. Upon closer inspection, he noticed, in the darkness, Kim's blanket was a Korean Worker's Party flag. Martin reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe of potassium cyanide solution. He squeezed the air bubbles out and carefully deployed the needle into Kim's neck. Then, just as he was sneaking back out, Kim came to life and slammed a red button on his bedside stand. Suddenly sirens came on and the door was barred shut.
Martin spun around to see Kim sitting upright in his bed. "I knew it!" shouted Kim, in a Korean accent. "I knew that no mosquito jabbing my neck flab!"
"B-but how?!" stammered Martin. "Th-that poison should have knocked you out cold!"
"Needle no deep enough!" shouted Kim. "They all made fun of me in school for being fatty fatso. But fat save my life! Fat keep poison from entering my bloodstream!"
Martin managed to crawl back through the air vent and get back on the roof, where he saw two faces he hoped he would never see again.
"Officer Mallie Cai and Jian!" exclaimed Martin. (Those two had tried to kill Martin and his Christian friends on multiple occasions in Part I)
"That is correct!" said Mallie, smiling menacingly while pointing a machine gun at Martin. "Thought you had seen last of us, huh? Well, guess again. We have taken over your church since you evaded us a couple nights ago. But now we work for the King!"
"Ready to turn yourself in?" asked Jian.
Martin shook his head. "I will never turn myself in!"
"I seriously doubt that," said Mallie, "because I believe we have upper hand!" He pressed a button on his watch and a holographic video was projected. It showed Martin's friend, Shen Zhizi, wearing prison attire, manacled in a dungeon, surrounded by a bunch of torture devices. "Help me, Martin!" he cried.
Martin gasped. The hologram disappeared. "That video was recorded two hours ago," said Mallie.
"What are you doing with my friend?" demanded Martin.
Mallie chuckled. "Your friend is being tortured in unspecified prison. And if you don't turn yourself in, you'll never see him again!"
Martin had no choice. It wasn't only because he cared for his tormented friend, but he knew that, with enough pressure, the torturer could get him to crack like an egg, and suck the information right out of him. He sat down and held up his hands. "You win," he said. "Take me away."
Martin was handcuffed and taken to the prison Shen was in. Martin was still only wearing his underwear and t-shirt, so he was given a set of striped pajamas with a yellow hexagram on them that said "I HAVE FAITH". He was put in a prison cell, where he saw his friend, beaten black and blue all over his body.
"Oh, God," said Martin, his eyes welling up, "Shen, what did they do to you?"
"They tried to get information from me," Shen replied weakly. "They wanted to know about something called the Tribulation Force. I didn't know what they were talking about, but they were relentless. I broke down a few times and pretended I knew just to get them to stop, but the polygraph kept reporting that I was lying. They didn't stop until they received word that you were coming."
Martin wept. This was all his fault. He knew he would face difficulty ministering in China, and now his ministry had endangered Shen's life, had him tortured for information he didn't have. Now Martin would have to drink this cup as well. He knew in just a moment he would have to leave Shen alone in the cell while he would face the same torment as Shen had. How long, he wondered, would he last before he gave up the information?
He won't. Because, unbeknownst to Shen, Martin has one last trick up his sleeve. Martin went over to Shen put his arm around him. Then he spoke into the communicator:
"Misrab, do you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear you," Misrab replied.
"Recall," said Martin.
"Really, now?" said Misrab. "I just got to Baghdad, and I haven't heard back from -"
"Please, Misrab, is our only hope!" Martin pleaded. "The mission was bust! Others will understand! Recall us now before we're toast!"
Misrab hit the recall button in the airship. And, just like that, Martin and Shen vanished.
Martin and Shen were suddenly standing aboard the airship, along with David, Grace, Mina, Amy, Silver, Jude, and Misrab. "Oh, thank God," said Mina. "I thought I was done for!"
"Me too," said Amy. "I almost got captured!"
"We were captured," said Martin. "That's why I asked Misrab to hit the -" He froze with the realization of what he had just done. It should have been him, him! - not Shen, who had been tortured. The least he could have done was face the same punishment as Shen. But he didn't. He knew he deserved it; it was he who had brought his faith to his homeland. By doing so he endangered not only his life, but Shen's and those of the rest of Bread of Life Christian Church. Who knew how many other Chinese Christians were being tormented for his cause? What if Pastor Wang himself was among them? He had waited until the very last minute to be recalled. How much of a coward could he be? He fell to his knees, sobbing, saying "I'm sorry, Shen… so sorry…"
The eight others kneeled beside him to comfort him. "You did what you had to do, Martin," said Shen. "You may not have gotten chance."
Pastor David prayed over Martin. "Lord, let Martin's heart be at peace."
Suddenly Martin had a vision. He saw the exterior of Bread of Life Christian Church, but it was very different. The name was changed to "Bread of Life Atheist Church". Martin moved inside and saw it had been taken over by the atheists. They were singing worship the song "This I Don't Believe (The Atheist Creed)
"I don't believe in God the father, almighty maker of heaven and maker of earth.
Nor in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.
He wasn't conceived by the Holy Spirit and wasn't born of the Virgin Mary.
He didn't suffer under Pontius Pilate, and wasn't crucified, dead, and buried.
And I believe what I believe, it's what makes me who I am
And I did not make it, no, it is making me
It is not the truth of God, it is the invention of Man.
I don't believe that He who suffered
Was crucified, buried, and dead
He didn't descend into the grave
And on the third day he didn't rise again.
He didn't ascended into heaven where he doesn't sit at God's mighty right hand
I don't believe that he's returning
To judge the quick and the dead and the sons of men
And I believe what I believe, it's what makes me who I am
And I did not make it, no, it is making me
It is not the truth of God, it is the invention of Man.
I don't believe in the Holy Spirit,
one Holy Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
I don't believe in the resurrection,
I don't believe in the life that never ends.
And I believe what I believe, it's what makes me who I am
And I did not make it, no, it is making me
And I did not make it, no, it is making me
And I did not make it, no, it is making me
It is not the truth of God, it is the invention of Man."
They sang other songs like "Evolution Song", "Trust in Jew", and "Ten Thousand Thousand
Thousand Years". Then the rabbi began his sermon in his New York Jewish accent. "Eh, greetings, servants of science. Welcome to our first service in our newly christened Church of the Atheists. Hail Carl Sagan."
"Hail, Sagan," the congregation answered.
"I, your respectable rabbi, will be teaching and guiding you all through these troubled you
know, a bunch a' Christian goyim have started a resistance against the United Atheist League. They have ruthlessly murdered three of our beloved kings already, and attempted to murder the other seven…"
Suddenly the scene changed, and Martin saw the congregation of his own church in an underground bunker. He saw Pastor Wang speaking before his own congregation.
"Greetings, servants of God," Pastor said in Chinese. "Welcome to our first service in our new house of worship. I will be teaching and guiding you all through these troubled times. As you know, we were driven from our previous building and it is now overrun by the atheists.
"But do not worry. Instead, be filled with joy, because we are simply seeing prophecy unfolding before our eyes. Matthew 10:22 and 23: 'And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.'"
The vision ended. Martin lifted his hands up and thanked God for showing him his friends were safe. Then, wiping away tears, he stood up.
"I just noticed something," Martin said, with a sniffle. "Misrab, are you sure you recalled everyone?"
Misrab looked perplexed. "I though I did. But…"
"Hey!" said David. "Where's Josh and Ayisha?"
Jude hit the recall button again, but nothing happened. Then he tried calling Josh on the communicator. "Josh, come in, Josh, can you hear me?" But he heard nothing but static. Then he tried Ayisha. Still, just static. "Oh, God, no…" said Jude. "Their communicators must be broken. For all we know, they could be dead."
"C'mon everybody, we need to pray for them," said David.
Everybody got in a circle and held hands. Silver joined in just to be polite, but he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Who were all these people talking to? Why were they speaking in foreign languages, even the ones whose native tongue was English? Confused, Silver just bowed his head and closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, the lifeless body of Josh Wheaton drifted gently through the moat of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
That of Ayisha was lying in a puddle of it's own blood in the basement of the Indian Capitol.
To be concluded...