Chapter Four: Valtor's Prisioner
Tecna stood there, waving as Timothy rode off on Chicko's back, and when they vanished, she walked deep into the forest, where she met up with two woodland creatures.
"Oh, aren't you two cute." She replied.
"Who do you think you're calling cute, pixie!" One of them shouted, and then the two woodland creatures turned into Stormy and Darcy.
"I thought I sensed dark magic around here." Tecna thought out loud, then, a hand touched her face softly, yet it felt so unsettling that it shook her to the core.
"Tecna…" It was Valtor who had touched her, and he forced her to look his way.
"Oh no!" She gasped as he took her other hand and pulled her towards him.
"Tecna, my sweet, delicate flower, my… Teccy-pie." He whispered in her ear, she hated when he called her that, coming from him, it sounded so creepy, "I thought you were going to get the river beast to join me for the conquest of the magical dimension, and now here I am, without him."
"I tried, I really did." Tecna protested, "But he forced me to make an offer I couldn't take."
"Okay, then if you won't cooperate, I'll have to add two years to your imprisonment." Valtor told her.
"It wasn't my fault!" Tecna cried out, "It was this hero boy named Timothy who just happened to rescue me from the river beast's clutches."
"Timothy…" Darcy thought, "Why does that name ring a bell to me."
"I don't know." Stormy answered, "Maybe we own someone."
"What was that name again… Teccy-pie?" Valtor asked Tecna.
"Timothy." Tecna answered, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Wait a minute, wasn't Timothy the name of that baby we were supposed to… uh oh!" Stormy thought as both she and Darcy were being dragged by their collars towards Valtor.
"You took care of him." Valtor hissed, "You said he was dead, those were your exact words eighteen years ago!"
"This could be a different Timothy." Stormy told him.
"Yeah, I mean he's-" Darcy was cut off by Valtor choking her. Tecna watched the two witches get scolded and hoped that she wouldn't be next.
"I mean, a few years ago every other girl's name was Samantha, and the guys were named John." Stormy continued, only to be choked once again by Valtor.
"I'm about to take total control of the magical dimension in a couple of months, and the only one who can stop me… is still alive!" Valtor snapped.
"Whoa." Tecna gulped, standing a short distance away when Valtor irrupted with anger, she did not want to be part of this at all, and knew back when she made her deal with Valtor that it was a terrible mistake.
"We can still finish the job." Stormy reminded Valtor.
"True, I mean we made him human, that's still a good thing." Darcy added.
"Well, fortunately for you three we still have time to fix this major error in our plans." Valtor replied, pulling all three girls close to him, "And this time, there will be no mistakes."
Chicko, Timothy and Saladin had finally made it to Zenith, it was a big city with lots of lights and everyone was bustling from every which way.
"Wow, Saladin, is that all one city?" Timothy asked him.
"Yep, one city, a million problems, it's the one and only Zenith." Saladin answered, "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." And then the landed, and continued their journey through the city on foot. They were crossing the street with other pedestrians when suddenly a car nearly hit Saladin, but just missed him.
"Watch it, crazy!" The driver shouted.
"You watch it, people are walking here!" Saladin yelled back, and they reached the end of the crosswalk, "What did I tell you, these people are insane." Timothy and Saladin could hear people trying to sell things on the street, and a man jumped in front of them with his jacket opened.
"Want to buy the newest cellphone for real cheap?" He asked.
"No, the guy's not interested, okay." Saladin pushed the man aside, only to have another, really freaked out man come running towards then, grabbing on to Chicko.
"The machines are going to malfunction, I can feel it!" He shouted.
"Yeah, yeah, we'll keep that in mind for a while." Saladin replied irritably, then turned to Timothy, "Don't make eye contact, just stare at the sidewalk. People here are so paranoid, trust me, you're exactly what they need." A few blocks over from where Timothy, Saladin and Chicko where, a group of people were talking about the most recent activity in Zenith.
"It was so tragic, we lost every single thing in that electric fire." A woman began.
"Everything, that is except our cat." A man corrected, holding up a poor, scorched up cat that used to be white.
"Now was that before or after the malfunction of the street lights?" Another man asked.
"That was after the malfunctions." Another woman answered.
"But before the robot attack." The first woman added.
"And don't even get me started on the rising crime rate in this realm." A final, older man, stated as Timothy and Saladin walked up with Chicko and overheard the conversation.
"Yes, Zenith has definitely gone down hill this year." The second woman agreed.
"Tell me about it," The older man replied, "every time I turn around it seems there is another thing going on in this town just ruining it."
"All we need now is some kind of virus to take over." One of the younger men replied sarcastically when they all spotting an electronic cricket on their bench, and they all jumped in fright.
"That does it!" The old man shouted, "I'm moving to Melody!"
"Excuse me?" Timothy knew now was the time to step up, and then he went for it, "It seems that what Zenith needs right now, if anything, is a hero."
"Yeah, and who exactly are you?" The second man asked, and Saladin pushed Timothy forward for encouragement.
"I just happen to be what Zenith needs." Timothy continued, and the crowd began laughing at him.
"Have you ever saved a town before?" The second man asked him.
"No but-" Timothy began, however the man had more questions for him.
"Have you ever reversed a realm-wide disaster?" The man asked once more.
"No." Timothy answered honestly.
"I rest my case." The man replied, and they all began walking away.
"Don't you idiots get it, this guy is the real deal!" Saladin shouted.
"Hey," The first man though, "aren't you the goat man who trained Riven?"
"Watch your mouth, bub!" Saladin shouted.
"Yeah, you're right." The second man agreed, "Nice work with his heal!"
"I give you a heal, right here!" Saladin shouted, attacking the second man
"Saladin, don't!" Timothy called, pulling the goat man off of him as Saladin tore the man's pants.
"Young man, we need an experience hero, not someone who just stepped out of training." The first woman told him as they all walked off.
"No, wait, I can prove it to you!" Timothy called after them, but they were gone. He learned against a wall, then sat down beside Saladin.
"How exactly can I prove that I'm a hero if no one will give me a chance?" He asked.
"All you need is some kind of big event that everyone is going to watch for." Saladin told him, suddenly they heard panting in the distance as people were pushed aside to reveal Tecna running towards him.
"Please, I need somebody's help!" She cried out, "There's been an accident!"
"Tecna?" Timothy gasped as he got up and ran right for her.
"Timmy, thank goodness I found you." Tecna breathed.
"What's the matter?" Timothy asked her.
"Two kids were playing on the outskirts of town." Tecna began, out of breath, "And there was this rockslide, a huge rockslide. They're trapped!"
"This is great news, Saladin!" Timothy shouted as Saladin hopped back on Chicko.
"I don't think you understand." Tecna began.
"No time to explain, Tecna, just come on." Timothy grabbed her hand, and help her on the back of Chicko.
"Wait, I have… a really bad fear… of hights!" Tecna screamed as Chicko took off in a fast paced motion, and Tecna held on to Timothy for dear life.
They reached the outskirts of the city of Zenith, and Chicko landed on the ground as Timothy just off and looked at Tecna who was looking a little green.
"Are you okay?" Timothy asked her.
"I'll be all right, just get me down before I get sick." She told him as she fell weakly off Chicko and into Timothy's arms. Just then they heard cries for help coming from a short distance away. Timothy set Tecna down gently on a rock and went to investigate.
"Help, we can't breath in here!" One kid yelled.
"We're going to suffocate!" The other added in a panic. Timothy ran other to them and looked down underneath the rock they were under.
"It'll be okay girls." He told the two children, "I'll get you out."
"We won't last long, get us out before the rocks cave again!" The one girl cried out. Timothy grabbed on to the bottom of the huge rock as citizens of Zenith came to watch him do this heroic deed. Then, he used all his strength and lifted up the rock with everything he had. Once he lifted it up, the kids ran out through his legs, and Tecna smiled, impressed, as was the rest of Zenith.
"How are you two now?" Timothy asked the two girls.
"We'll be okay." The first girl told him.
"Wow, mister, you are super strong!" The second one replied gleefully.
"Just try to be more careful of where you play next time, okay girls." Timothy advised.
"We definitely will, thank you!" The first one called out as they ran away. Timothy just threw the rock away in a corner so that it wouldn't bring harm to anyone else. The two girls ran up the mountain, and met up with none other then Valtor.
"Excellent performance, ladies," He told them, "I was truly convinced."
"Wow mister?" The first girl asked the second, transforming back into Darcy.
"I was trying to look innocent, Darcy!" The second one protested, turning into Stormy.
"And least we forget, two thumbs up for our star actress." Valtor laughed. Tecna looked up to see them hiding up in the rocks watching the entire thing.
"Get out of there while you still can, Valtor." She hissed. Meanwhile, Timothy walked back toward Saladin with a proud smile on his face.
"Saladin, I did so good!" He cheered, "They even applauded for me!" Suddenly the heard a low grumbling sound coming from the shadows.
"I really hate to rain on your parade, Timothy, but that's no applause." Saladin replied worriedly. And suddenly, eyes came from the shadows, and a huge monster came out of the rocks. It was like a snake with legs, sharp teeth and horns, however it was mechanical, as was everything else in Zenith.
"Um… S… Saladin, what is that thing?" Timothy stuttered, backing up fearfully.
"Five words! Let's get out of here!" Saladin shouted as the rest of Zenith's population screamed in fear. The creature walked forward as Timothy stepped back, he swung his phantonblade, and the creature tried hard to get him in his massive teeth. Saladin instructed him through the battle, and when the creature was close to getting Timothy, he dodged its teeth and tumbled away, however his phantonblade flung a distance away from him and he had to retrieve it. So he threw a rock into the creature's mouth for a distraction, but it instantly spit it out. Timothy just ran out to get his phantonblade, but when he tried, the creature attacked, but he fought it as it tried to eat him. Lightning flashed as he nailed the head of the creature to the ground momentarily as he finally was able to grab his phantonblade. When he did, the creature wrapped its metal tongue around his leg, and then pulled him into its mouth and swallowed him whole with a big gulp. Saladin just stared blankly at the battlefield, and Tecna buried her face in her hands worriedly, she couldn't even watch. Moments passed, and the creature was still, suddenly Timothy's phantonblade sliced through the beast's metallic stomach. The head flew a short distance away, and the body fell to the ground as Timothy stumbled out. All the people of Zenith applauded Timothy.
"You did it, buddy!" Saladin cheered.
"Hey Saladin?" Timothy replied hazily, "That wasn't too hard." And then he collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
"Timothy, how many horns of mine do you see?" Saladin asked.
"Um…" Timothy thought, "Six?"
"Good enough," Saladin told him, helping him to his feet, "Now let's get you rested up." Valtor and the two witches watched everything that was happening, Darcy breathing heavily, and Stormy twiddling her thumbs.
"Relax, ladies, the party's just getting started." He told them. While Saladin and Timothy were walking away, they heard another sound coming from the monster.
"That does not sound very good." Saladin replied as they turned around to see the creature come alive again, this time with multiple heads.