The Master Programmer proved invaluable to me, transporting the three of us back to the mortal dimension. Without the power of the Amulet, more evils could not be taken from the Sixth Dimension, but I had confidence in my own powers.
"You may leave now, programmer," I told him. "I'll call on you when I want you."
He scuttled off, cowardly as always.
It is a personal shame to me, to be the creation of such a man, and the main reason why I strived to rid this world of such mortal weakness.
As I stood in the gloom, appreciating the look and feel of the mortal world—so much more detailed than the Sixth Dimension, not surprisingly as this was reality—wings beat through the night, and my Fred returned to me.
I felt like the mortal concept, home at last.
- -
"The amulet was shattered when we blasted it, but I've found three pieces so far," Mark said, standing in the middle of the Thunder Tower with Ace, Sparx, and Chuck.. "I've been going to the Carnival during the daytime, when there's too many people about for the evils to do anything. Nothing happened when I put them together. Are you the only Lightning Knights?"
"We're not. There've got to be others, from Lightning Knight training camp I think…" Sparx trailed off. "Give me a minute, I'll remember something."
"Don't worry, Sparx," Ace said. "We're the only ones from the ga—on your computer, right, Chuck?"
"Yeah. You're not allowed to get more than you and Sparx."
"The three of us can take on anything. Don't worry about it, kid," Sparx said reassuringly.
"Count that as four." A voice came from the door behind them, and Random Virus wheeled himself into the room.
"I'll fight beside you," he said. "For as long as I can trust myself."
Ace nodded.
"We need all the help we can get," he said. "Welcome back, Random."
- -
Sparx flew over the Carnival, searching.
There was a beep, and looking at the Flash's sensors she realised there was a piece of the amulet nearby.
She jumped down, looked around her, and blasted a target at the shooting booth, which burst open to reveal the glittering fragment.
"Yes! Another piece of the Amulet of Zoar!" She slammed her fist into her palm in jubilation.
"That would be mine," Kilobyte said, leisurely walking towards her. "My thanks."
She turned quickly and called up her sword, and was about to blast Kilobyte when she heard a rustle behind her.
The Rat laughed, and easily scooped up the piece in a paw.
Googler joined in the laughter.
"Bad luck, girlie! Now Googler's gonna make your day get even worse!"
"Not going to happen, clown." She aimed a short blast at him, but he quickly rolled himself into a ball to avoid the swordflame.
Sparx tried to slowly back away as the three evildoers surrounded her…
- -
I laughed.
This is almost too easy.
"One Lightning Knight down…" I said.
"And two to go," a voice said from behind me.
"Need backup, Sparx?" Random Virus asked.
From the sky, Ace aimed a blast at Googler, while I fought the Virus on his own terms, my fist meeting his claw.
Sparx raised her sword, and advanced towards the Rat, who did his best to dodge a series of blasts.
In a lucky blow, Random sent me flying into a nearby stall. As I got up to return to the fight, I heard the sound of the other Evils preparing to join in.
Anvil laughed.
"Today Anvil crush three Lightning Knights!" he said, and immediately attacked Random.
The smell of roasting meat filled the air, and I saw Sparx blasting Pigface before turning her attention to Anvil.
Ace fell out of the sky, and I instinctively looked up to see the Doom Wagon swooping down for another blast.
On his way down, I saw Fear grab the Rat, and snatch something from his paw, but Random had taken advantage of my momentary distraction, and I needed to concentrate on the fight.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Lightning leap up and return to the air, firing a fierce barrage at Lord Fear.
The Knight seems rather interested in this battle¸ I thought. I wonder just what's influenced this recent burst of vengeance…
Lady Illusion appeared on the top of the Haunted House roof, and launched a crystal ball in Random's direction.
There was nothing behind her eyes as she jumped down to stand beside me, throwing crystal balls and forcing Random to retreat.
She was wholly my creature now, programmed to be completely loyal.
Random fell back from the onslaught of explosions, and I saw Sparx fly into the air through Anvil's assistance. I heard a loud thud as she landed beside her fellow Knight, and saw him help her up.
The Flash whistled through the air, and Sparx climbed in, trying to strafe the ground as she flew past.
She saw her friend in free-fall after one of Lord Fear's blasts had hit its target, and she called to him.
"Ace! Let's move!"
The Flash sped into the air as on the ground Random Virus wheeled himself away. Anvil tried to stop the cyborg, but with one blow of his claw he sent the minion flying into the air and vanishing.
There was only one Lightning Knight left, Ace, and I watched with mild interest as he stared at Lady Illusion.
Excellent. This works out nicely.
A crystal ball exploded around him. He looked stunned, and quite possibly was.
"She would be under my control," I said, and smiled.
I noticed the despairing expression in his eyes, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly, but did not move.
It was only her loyalty I commanded.
- -
After I watched Ace leave the carnival, I turned my attention to Lord Fear.
"The last time we fought you ended up in the Sixth Dimension, along with her," he said. "But I'm prepared to negotiate with you, Kilobyte. I'll put this simply. I have a piece of the amulet. They have Random Virus. You have nothing. Work with me and we can win this battle and destroy Ace Lightning."
To a certain extent, he was right. I had my own powers, and the assistance of Fred and Lady Illusion—and this time I'd made sure she would be able to fight him should there be a need—but without the programmer's backup, I was not as powerful as before.
"Agreed," I told him. "We have similar goals, after all."
- -
It was the dead of night, and not one of the Carnival's freaks was stirring. Probably still regaining energy from the earlier battle.
"Hunt, my pet," I said, and Fred flew to a spot some ten metres from me and stopped next to a booth filled with human foods.
"There? Good."
With a tentacle, I ripped the wrapper off the strange mortal item, and then crushed it to reveal a piece of the amulet.
I noticed with disgust that there was a sticky substance remaining on my tentacle, but chose to ignore it for the time being.
I had Fred search the carnival until dawn, but I found no more pieces.
Random Virus was a formidable asset to the Knights, while within my Evils I knew I would have to eventually deal with Lord Fear. I needed to improve my chances.