Chapter Four. The Death of Dale Arden - Gordon
Rick managed to escape Ming's clutches, but his mother Dale, your aunt, was not so lucky as she was taken to the Hall of Inquisition, interrogated by Ming.
"Either you will tell me where your husband Flash Gordon is hiding," Ming told Dale who was strapped to a chair, "or I will activate the inquistor and drain you of the information I want, and your life as well."
"I do not know where my husband is," Dale spoke up, "but even if I did, I would die before I reveal where he was hiding!"
"How prophetic are your words." Ming replied, "For die you shall! Mongor, activate the inquisitor! Now you will tell me everything."
"You do not frighten me, Ming!" Dale exclaimed.
"Foolish female." Ming replied, "Ming does not frighten, Ming destroys!"
Mongor, Ming's pet serpent, proceeded to turn on the switch which would activate the inquisitor that would drain Dale of her life as her son Rick was watching in horror. Dale screamed in pain as she was resisting, refusing to give the tyrant what he wanted. Within minutes, Dale Gordon was dead.
"No." Rick cried as he grabbed the pistol, "No! Mother!"
He stepped forward out of his hiding spot and prepared to fire at Ming, "Stop! Release her! Now!"
"It is too late Rick Gordon!" Ming exclaimed.
"No!"
He fired a few shots which included one at the ceiling which turned off the inquisitor. Rick then hurried to free his mother, unaware that she was already dead.
"After him, Mongor!" Ming ordered his pet serpent. Mongor went after Rick who then said, "I'll be back."
Then he ran to evade the serpent. Ming heard the alarms.
"The invasion alarm!" Ming exclaimed, "We are under attack! Octon report!"
Octon appeared and announced, "Only one attack vehicle sighted."
"As I expected." Ming replied, "Flash Gordon is returning for his wife and son but neither he or his family will leave Mongo alive. By my command, destroy him!"
"We made it!" Flash exclaimed as they were on Mongo's atmosphere, "Now the danger really begins!"
"What are those objects up ahead?" Mandrake asked.
"Space ships." the Phantom answered, "An entire fleet of them!"
"They're coming closer!" Lothar exclaimed.
"Ming knows we're here! They're after us!" Flash exclaimed, "Hang on! They may be faster than we are, but I can still outmaneuver them!"
Flash managed to get the ships into range.
"There!" Flash exclaimed, "I got them into range, and now..."
"There are still too many of them!" Mandrake exclaimed.
"Good as you are," Lothar stated, "you need some help!"
"But there is no Earth ship within light years of here!" Flash objected.
"That is not what Mandrake meant!" the Phantom replied.
"Then what?" Flash asked.
"Keep flying!" Mandrake answered, "I will show you!"
He lifted his hands and prepared to perform yet another illusion, "A little illusion may help to even the odds."
And that it did. I used my illusions to make it where there was more than one of our ships that Ming's forces were facing.
"More enemy ships!" Garax exclaimed, "They appeared from nowhere! Their speed is incalculable! Their target is the palace of the supreme one himself!"
"They are confused," Mandrake told his teammates, particularly Flash, "They do know where the ships came from!"
"That was just phase one!" Lothar exclaimed, "Now to take advantage of their confusion!"
The ships made by my illusion caused our enemies to destroy Ming's own palace, which would bring the tyrant to retaliate.
"Garax has been tricked by Gordon!" Ming exclaimed, "The Earthling shall pay dearly for that! Now shall attack his planet even sooner I planned!"
Garax's Mongo ships continued to fire at our illusions, giving us a chance to land unseen.
"So this is Mongo!" Lothar exclaimed, "What a cold and barren world it is!"
"No colder than Ming's heart, Lothar." Flash replied, "Be on guard every second."
"Now we must find where Ming's captives are hidden!" Mandrake told the group.
"That is the Phantom's task!" the Phantom replied, "If any trace exists, the Ghost who walks will find it!"
Minutes later, the Phantom managed to detect a new human scent, at least one human scent.
"There!" the Phantom exclaimed as he pointed at a figure being cornered, "I see him!"
"It is my son, Rick!" Flash exclaimed, "He is in trouble, but he is too far away!"
"Not for the Phantom!" the Phantom declared before making a move to get to Rick faster, "By jungle law, the Ghost who walks calls forth the power of ten tigers!"
The power was given to him and he obtained the aforementioned power to get to Rick, who was facing off against the robot soldiers after him, "I must reach the parapet! There will be no second chances!"
The Phantom arrived at the parapet and knocked down the robot soldiers, "Made it!"
Rick looked at his savior in surprise, "You saved me, but who...wait! I have seen your picture! You are..."
"A friend." the Phantom replied.
Minutes later, Flash, Mandrake and Lothar arrived and they met up with Rick and the Phantom.
"Dad," Rick told his father, "I...I thought I was going to be history!"
"No way, son!" Flash assured his son, "We are not in this alone anymore!"
Lothar helped his friend make it to the parapet, "Ah, Mandrake, too bad you could not will yourself up here."
"I never waste my powers old friend." Mandrake replied, "Speaking of powers, Phantom, your ten tiger leap was truly amazing! Perhaps we might someday share our secrets!"
"Mine cannot be shared, Mandrake." the Phantom replied, "They are more than secrets. They are the Phantom's heritage."
"What of your mother Rick?" Flash asked, "Where is she?"
"Mother?" Rick asked, "That's right! How could you know?"
"Know what?" Flash demanded, "Tell me son! Tell me!"
Before your heartsick cousin could answer, Ming was taking off from the planet Mongo, preparing his conquest from Earth.
"Listen!" Mandrake exclaimed, "The sound of mighty engines!"
"It can only be Ming, escaping from his crumbling palace," Lothar stated before asking, "Where can he be heading?"
"My jungle instincts tells me his destination is Earth!" the Phantom answered.
Flash was oblivious to Ming's flight as he was wanting to know Dale's whereabouts.
"Your mother, Rick!" Flash demanded, "Tell me where she is!"
"I can't, Dad. I...I can't." Rick's voice started to crack as he started to cry, "He left her in the palace!"
"Take me there." Flash replied.
Rick led us to the palace, to where Dale's lifeless body was at. We realized that we came too late to save her. She was dead when we found her.
"I fear we are too late." Mandrake announced as he took off his hat.
"I tried to save her Dad!" Rick tearfully told his father, "I tried. I really did."
"I know it, son." Flash replied as tears was falling down his face as well, "I know you did."
"With all our powers," the Phantom stated, "With all our skills..."
"Even such as we must sometimes fail." Mandrake replied.
"What manner of fiend is Ming...to slay a wife and mother?" Lothar bowed down sadly.
A grief stricken Flash held Dale in his arms and exclaimed with anger in his voice, "Hear me, Ming! Where ever you go, I will find you!"
"All of us!" Mandrake added.
"Forever." Lothar
"We will search every planet, every galaxy, even if it takes forever." Flash continued his vow, "We will never stop, until you are stopped once and for all!"
"For you, Mom." Rick tearfully added.
"The empty mouthings of a hapless Earthling mean nothing to the monarch of Mongo!"
The group saw a holographic image of Ming.
"Ming!" Mandrake exclaimed, "He is projecting a holographic image of himself!"
"Today you have only felt a rudimentary of my might!" Ming continued with his message.
"Today Flash Gordon," Ming finished his message, "I have robbed you of your wife. Tomorrow, Ming shall rob you of your world!"
With that, the holographic image of Ming vanished.
"It was an empty threat, Flash Gordon." the Phantom tried assuring the distraught man.
"No," Flash replied, "The demon incarnate meant every word! Leave me, my friends. I would like to be alone for awhile."
We were unaware at the time that Zuffy found a mysterious gleaming crystal shard, which would be a discovery that would change the lives for all of us.