Chapter 7
Maya lay on her bed, one arm flung across her eyes, the young woman feeling thoroughly wretched and sore from her fight against the e-teens. Her side still hurt, but it had been treated with bandages soaked in a potent healing salve master Boddai had guaranteed would help mend her rib, which had been fractured in the battle. Her bruises had also been treated with the salve, and after two days they had healed completely. She shifted to her side, taking care not to apply pressure on her injured side.
A great dizziness washed over the young woman all of a sudden, and images flashed through her mind. She could not make any sense of most of the images, for they formed and dissolved at furious speed, but there were a few she could make sense of. She saw people with bent backs toiling away in a vast cavern, working the stone with crude tools. They did not seem to enjoy life very much. She could see one of the workers strike a stone with his pickaxe and a crack appeared in the stone, and through it came gray kairu, enveloping the man and all the other people working in the cavern.
She could see a vast underground city, very much like the one she and her friends had discovered a short while back, but this one was not in ruins, far from it, for its polished white stone seemed to shine, despite being deep underground, as though possessed of its own inner glow. The place was not deserted either, for she could see people walking through the streets, going about their business with looks of contentment on their faces. They were all of them wearing colorful robes with voluminous sleeves, and she thought she recognized one man, and indeed, it was the man who had released the gray kairu. These people were the dactyls, Maya reasoned, and she was witnessing the golden age of the race, before their civilization had been destroyed by the little monsters she and her friends had encountered in the ruins of the city.
Then she saw that same man lying sick in bed, his skin pale and drawn and covered with pearls of sweat. Maya realized then that he was not the only sick person, for he lay in a long line of what appeared to be hospital beds, with another one of the people lying on each, looking equally wretched. Then the image disappeared, to be replaced by a hideous face with a pointed chin and a long thin nose, with a fanged mouth dripping saliva, and yellow-green eyes that seemed to be possessed of their own inner glow.
The sudden appearance of the hideous thing shocked Maya from the vision, and she sat bolt upright, panting with pearls of sweat beading on her forehead. What had the vision been trying to tell her? Had some terrible plague found its way to the city beneath Ida, and left its inhabitants vulnerable to the attack of the monsters? Then the truth of the matter, or at least what she now believed to be the truth, hit her, and the blood drained from her face as she pondered the implications. ''So that's what happened,'' she muttered under her breath as she worked to gather herself. ''Or maybe I'm simply letting fancies take me. I won't be sure until I get proof.''
xxxxx
''This is outrageous,'' Boomer roared, his nostrils wide with unbridled fury, a piece of paper crumpled together in one fist. He had just returned from the dentist, who had replaced the molar the Battacor had knocked out, and he was clutching the receipt in his large hand. Any gratitude the stocky man might have felt toward the dentist had melted away in the instant it had taken him to fully register the prize tag put on such an operation. He shoved the piece of paper into Ky's face, who was sitting on a stool in front of his friend, patiently listening to his tirade. ''Look at this and tell me these blood suckers at the dental office don't charge way too much for their services.''
Ky looked at the numbers on the parchment and could not suppress a wince, for indeed the prize was head and shoulders above what should rightly be legal, not to mention humane. Boomer opened his mouth again, as though he meant to continue his rant, but the words died in his mouth before they got out, for Maya ambled into the room, wearing a very shaken expression on her face.
''You okay there, Maya,'' Ky asked. ''You seem troubled.''
''Indeed I am,'' she conceded. ''And for good reason too, or at least I believe it to be a good reason. I may have discovered what became of the dactyls, and where the monsters we encountered came from. I think that gray kairu...'' The words trailed off as master Boddai appeared off to the side of the trio, the white plastered wall behind him visible through his astrally projected form.
''What's shaking, master?'' Ky said.
''Nothing is shaking, Ky,'' the old man said in a perplexed tone, raising an astrally projected eyebrow at the young man. He smoothed his features then, assuming a posture that declared there was serious business to be discussed. ''I have sensed a kairu deposit, somewhere nearby'' he said. ''You are to depart at once to retrieve the energy.''
''We're on it, master B,'' Ky said. ''What were you saying, Maya?''
''It's nothing,'' the young woman said. ''It can wait. And besides, I have no proof other than what my vision showed me, and that wasn't much. Now let us begone. We've got kairu to collect, and I have little desire to meet Zylus and the Battacor again until my side is fully healed. '' That said the three rushed off, and the X-caper sped into the air within a few minutes.
xxxxx
Finding the relic proved an easy task, for it lay atop a grass covered hill, and its blue-white glow could be seen from a long distance. The object was nothing spectacular in itself, only a rock jutting through the turf, but the glow of the kairu made it appear much more amazing than it actually was. Team Stax gathered around the relic and collected the energy inside, before holstering the devices, and looking all about.
''Well, that was easy,'' Boomer remarked.
''The kairu in hand and no e-teens to spoil the fun,'' Ky said.
''Consider your fun spoiled,'' said a nasal voice.
The three friends gave a start, then turned to regard Zane as he swaggered up the incline to join them beside the relic. The hill was surrounded by tall grass, and while the relic was easily visible from a distance, someone in the grass would be very difficult to spot. Ky barely managed to stifle a snicker as he saw the nose of the e-teen leader, broken as it was, flattened against his face. Zair and Techris walked up to flank their leader, and to the dismay and surprise of Team Stax, the Imperiaz ambled over as well. Ky looked all about, sky blue eyes searching.
''The Battacor are not here,'' Zane said.
''You're too late,'' Maya said. ''We have already collected the kairu. There's nothing for you here, unless you're looking to battle.''
''The kairu isn't why we came,'' Zane said. ''We lured you here with the kairu that we might offer you a proposal.''
''And why should we listen to your proposal?'' Boomer asked.
''Because the gain will be mutual,'' the Radikor leader said. ''Lokar has decided to expose the rest of us to gray kairu, after witnessing what it did to the Battacor. We do not like that prospect very much, and would like to prevent it from happening. That means trashing the Battacor, and we were wondering if...'' The words were choked off as his pride, which forbade him from seeking aid from his hated enemies, warred with his pragmatism, which declared the Battacor would have to be put down, if he were to achieve the destiny he so very much desired.
Zane barked a curse, and strode down the incline.
''What my brother's trying to say,'' Zair sighed. ''Is that we're wondering if you could maybe help us defeat the Battacor.''
''That doesn't mean we are friends,'' Zane roared as he strode over, then he kicked the stone sticking from the turf, bellowing another curse as he stubbed his toe, then hobbled down the incline once more, disappearing into the grass.
''Why wouldn't you want to get exposed to the gray kairu?'' Ky asked. ''I mean, it's done wonders for the Battacor.''
''Kidnapping our parents is bad enough, but turning me into a nerd...'' the princess whined, shaking her head disgustedly, and the move was accentuated by the swing of her elaborately curled golden tresses. ''If Lokar thinks nerdy is the new black this season, then he has gotten senile.''
Team Stax went off to the side a short way, going into a group huddle.
''Well I'm convinced,'' Boomer said.
''Fighting the Battacor imbued with gray kairu would be difficult enough,'' Maya said. ''But fighting all nine of them that way would be madness. I'm ready to take the chance of this being a trap, if it means we may be able to put an end to this gray kairu business. What do you think, Ky?''
''I think we should go for it,'' the young Stax said. ''This may be the only chance we get to defeat the Battacor. They were very strong before they found the gray kairu, but then they lacked the brains to properly utilize that strength to its fullest potential. And now that they've gotten smarter, there's no way we'll be able to compeat with them for the kairu.''
''So it's decided,'' Maya said. ''We'll work with the e-teens.''
They broke off from the huddle and walked over to where the aliens were waiting for their response.
''Well...'' Zane asked impatiently. ''Do you accept or not?''
''We accept,'' Ky said.
xxxxx
Zylus looked at the blinking dot on his x-reader and grinned, motioning for his two team mates to join him. Rynoh and Bash broke off from their work, putting together the machine Lokar had been working on, and walked up beside their leader.
''It would appear another kairu deposit has surfaced,'' the e-teen leader said. ''At the same mountain where we came upon the gray kairu.''
''More of the gray substance, perhaps?'' Rynoh asked.
''There is only one way to find out,'' Zylus said. ''We are going to Ida.''
''I really do hope Team Stax will grace us with their presence,'' Bash said, punching his over sized fist into his over sized palm, grinning wickedly as he spoke the words. ''I would so enjoy springing our new surprise on them.''
Then the e-teens were off.
xxxxx
Ky looked down at the kairu relic he and his team mates had fashioned from a rock they had picked up on their way up the mountain trail that led to the peak of mount Ida, and the kairu energy they had collected from the trap set by the Radikor and Imperiaz e-teens. This relic was naught but a ruse, of course, designed to lure the Battacor to the mountain top, where a force would wait in ambush.
Maya would not be part of that initial first strike, for she had insisted she would go down into the underground city to fetch evidence of some sort or other. Ky did not know what good evidence would do in this scenario, but he trusted his friend, and had thus not questioned her further.
He peered at the horizon, where three dots where just beginning to form, and he knew without doubt that it were the Battacor. He broke off from the approach of their quarry, and rushed into hiding behind a rocky outcropping of stone. Boomer was also in place behind the outcropping of stone, as were the Radikor and Imperiaz.
The dots on the horizon grew larger.
xxxxx
Maya snuck up to the wall of a white stone house, then peeked around the corner to see the two wiry shapes walking along the paved street, at a scrambling, low to the ground gait. The creatures went along their way, their guttural voices receding into the darkness, as did their silhouettes.
Maya rounded the corner and sprinted across the street, dashing through the door frame of the library where she and her companions had first encountered the new and improved Battacor. She was looking for proof that her theory concerning the relationship between the deposed dactyls and these little monsters was correct, and her answers would surely be found in there.
No sooner had she entered the lobby of the building when she ran smack into one of the little creatures, its eyes wide with surprise at finding a human down here. It opened its fanged mouth as if to call out to its kin, but Maya jabbed her hand into its throat, though she made sure the punch was pulled, for she did not wish to kill the creature. It did stun it, though, and kept it silent long enough for the young woman to charge at in and lay it low with a knee to the face. Maya dragged the creature away, stuffing the unconscious thing into a side room, where she left it.
Then she was off again, searching for her proof.
xxxxx
Ky watched from concealement as the Battacor swooped down to land lightly in front of the makeshift kairu relic. Zylus glanced around with his light gray eyes, and the young man ducked even lower behind the outcropping, disappearing completely from view. He peeked over a short while later, to see Rynoh and Bash draw forth their x-readers, and point them at the relic, but Zylus stopped them with an upraised hand.
The Battacor leader stabbed his hand out to the side, suddenly, and a beam of gray energy blasted apart the rocky outcropping, hurling Ky and the others back, and sending a cloud of dust into the air. Zylus turned to regard them, a cocky grin widening across his face. ''Why am I not surprised to find you here, consorting with the enemy, Zane?''
The green skinned warrior climbed back to his feet and squared his shoulders defiantly against his enemy, black eyes burning with hate. ''If you think you can just subject yourselves to gray kairu and take my place at the top, then you better get ready for a serious Radikor take down.'' Zane brought his hands up together before him, dipping a bow that contained not an ounce of respect in it. ''We challenge you to a kairu battle.''
''The three of us against the eight of you,'' Zylus remarked, tapping a thick finger against his chin, apparently deep in thought. ''Or nine, if Maya decides to show up. I am afraid that even in that event, these odds can hardly be accounted fair for the lot of you.'' A wry grin spread across his face, and he brought his hands together before him, reciprocating the bow, as did his cohorts. ''But then again, if we destroy you, then we will be uncontested in our hunt for kairu. Challenge accepted.''
Lightning streaked the sky overhead, and the wind picked up, whipping the clouds into a spinning motion, and all was bathed in a bluish glow. Ky drew forth his x-reader and called upon the power of Metanoid, before falling into a defensive crouch. Boomer and their Radikor and Imperiaz allies also stacked up, each calling upon the power of their respective signature monsters.
''TRAP SHADOW!'' Rynoh exclaimed, holding his x-reader out before him, and his entire body was promptly enveloped in buzzing purple energy. His silhouette began to change shape then, growing taller and more sinewy, and as suddenly as it had enveloped him, the energy dissipated. He was now a strange hybrid between a dog and a cat, a strange blend of canine and feline traits. His sleek muscles strained tightly against a shining coat of bluish-black fur, and his yellow-green eyes were slitted. A pair of sabre like teeth jutted down over his lower jaw, and his dagger like claws appeared sharp enough to rend stone.
''INFOR KNIGHT!'' Bash exclaimed, and purple energy emanated from his x-reader, going up his arm, and enveloping the whole of his body. When the energy dissipated an instant later, he was over twelve feet tall, and resembled a heavy suit of black and bronze plate mail, with sulfurous smoke wafting from the joints, and veritably pouring between the bars of his face guard.
''Zapps!'' Zylus roared, and he began to change shape, growing until he stood at about nine feet tall, with a slender and lithe build. His thin limbs were long and ended in extremities tipped with scythe like talons, and a sinuous tail snaked from his backside. He was covered from head to toe by bluish white scales, and its light bluish eyes were slitted, staring out of a lizard-like face. White smoke wafted from his nostrils, and every now and then, a jolt of blue lightning shot out from the beast.
''Looks like the Battacor got themselves an upgrade,'' Boomer remarked.
''Indeed,'' Zylus said, his voice a grating buzz. ''We ourselves created these monsters, using equipment Lokar was kind enough to lend us. Working on one of his projects in his laboratory provided us with ample time to crack the secrets of the x-drives, and fabricate our very own. I am afraid you will find these monsters formidable beyond anything you might ever have thought possible, so a surrender on your part would be in order.''
''Never,'' Zane retorted, and then he and his allies charged the Battacor.
xxxxx
Maya stared down at the pair of unconscious monsters lying at her feet, creatures she had just overwhelmed. She was standing in the chamber where she had first met the Battacor after they had been imbued with gray kairu. In the center of the room was a gaping hole, where Zylus had blasted the floor out from under them.
Many bookshelves had fallen down through that hole, but a few still remained in the room, and laden with scrolls and scroll tubes. She approached one such shelf and pulled a scroll from it, then propped herself down against a wall and turned on her flashlight. The text was in an ancient dialect of Greece, but she, with her knowledge of languages, was able to make some sense of what was written there. The scroll contained nothing of use, and so she replaced it in the shelf and fetched another and started to read. That one too was useless, as was the next after that, and the next after that.
As it turned out, she found nothing of any value, and discouraged, she left the room, plodding along a corridor with sagging shoulders. But then a dizzy sensation washed over her, and she fell down on all fours as images flashed through her mind. The images sparked hope in the young woman, and she followed their direction to a small side room, where she found a skeleton hanging from a noose affixed to the ceiling, and wearing the same kind of robes as the dactyls from her earlier vision. But this skeleton was obviously not human, for the skull was more angular, with a chin that protruded many inches from the face, and with teeth that were more pointed than those of a human, though they had still not turned completely into fangs. Beside the skeleton there lay a scroll tube, which she promptly retrieved and started to read the scroll inside.
I have barricaded myself in here, but know that it will do me little good. The others have already fallen victim to the sickness, caused by what we had originally thought to be the instrument of our salvation, but now realize to have been that of our destruction. I can hear them prowling outside my door, speaking in guttural voices, and I know I will soon become one of them, for I carry the sickness within my bones. This gray energy we found may have granted us the insight necessary to build our civilization, but it has a terrible price. I am changing, and not only in body, for while my skin has turned the color of chalk, and my chin and nose have grown long and pointed, I can also feel my mind disintegrating. I can feel the bestial croaks and cries gathering in my throat, and have to force myself to think as a rational human being. Writing this is therefore very difficult. There is rope in this small chamber that will become my tomb, and I will use it to put an end to my wretched existence, for better death than life as such an abomination. I pray that no one else will come upon this wretched energy, for while it may at first seem a blessing, it will eventually turn into a curse, as twisted an irony as there has ever been. This journal entry will be my last, for as of this day I shall be no more.
Maya rolled the scroll up with trembling hands, then replaced it in its tube and tied it securely to her belt. She started for the door, but then glanced back at the skeleton, and she undid the knot and lowered the corpse to the floor, where it could lie with some dignity. She tapped the scroll at her side, then snuck out of the room with all haste. She would have to get back to the surface and tell the others about her discovery.
xxxxx
Boomer fell heavily to the ground, a dozen new bruises flaring angrily across his body, and he could feel the molar he had just had replaced come loose. He mouthed a curse, as silver slivers and gruesome images of expensive dental bills dashed across his vision. He propped himself up on one elbow and shook his head, forcing his vision to clear up.
Boomer glanced around to see Techris lying some distance away, and Zair that distance again, seeming senseless. Koz sat propped against a rocky outcropping, clutching his broken leg, and Teeny and Diara lay unconscious not far away. He stubbornly climbed back to his feet, and glanced at the towering shape of Metanoid, who was facing the Battacor straight up, and Bruticon was right there beside him. Boomer could still barely believe just how powerful the Battacor had become.
''FROZTOK!'' he roared, and was enveloped by green energy, and when it dissipated, he was a towering man shape of blue-white ice. ''FREEZE RAY!'' he exclaimed, extending his arms out toward Zylus, and a beam of blue energy shot from his hands. Bash leaped into the path of the attack, arms held gloriously out wide in challenge. The beam hit him in the chest, enveloping him in ice and freezing him solid.
But then Bash began to glow bright orange, fires leaping through the joints of his armor and between the bars of his face guard. The ice hissed and melted away, a cloud of steam rising into the air to be whipped away by the wind. ''Fire beats ice, Boomer,'' Bash said in a metallic voice, then the fires behind his helmet burned brighter. ''HEAT BLAST!'' he roared, and a beam of red energy shot from his visor, hurling Boomer backwards.
Ky faced off against Rynoh, the two circling slowly, mechanical eyes staring into slitted, yellow-green eyes. ''INVISIBILITY!'' Rynoh exclaimed, and he melted into his surroundings, disappearing completely from sight. Ky fell into a defensive posture, glancing all around, but then he felt a rush of air above him. Rynoh dropped on top of him, sabre-like teeth burying themselves in his shoulder. Ky retained the presence of mind to throw himself sidelong into a rocky outcropping, sandwiching into the beast and holding it against the hard stone.
Rynoh twisted and squirmed free his forelegs, then raked his claws across the chest of his opponent, scoring deep grooves in the metal. Ky screamed and fell back, then swung a fist at the beast, even as it pounced for him. His punch connected solidly on its chest, but even as it was knocked away it hooked its claws into his forearm, just below the elbow, raking deep lines as it fell away. Ky grabbed at his forearm, then looked around to see Zane getting pummeled by Zylus. He was about to help the green skinned e-teen, but Rynoh crashed into him then, bearing him to the ground.
''You really ought to have gotten down with the program, Zane'' Zylus said, then smashed his fist into his opponent's belly, creasing the metal there, and sending a jolt of electricity into him. ''Then you would at least have been able to live your life.'' He pivoted, his tail taking his opponent squarely across the chest, and throwing him down. ''But now I am afraid I am going to have to kill you.'' Zylus smiled wickedly, right before he kicked Zane hard in the side, sending another jolt of electricity through him. Zylus reached down then, and lifted Zane up by the neck, then raising his other hand, clawed fingers rigid. ''I bid you farewell.''
''Stop!'' cried a voice then, and Zylus turned to regard Maya, who stood at the top of the mountain trail. ''I have news concerning the gray kairu that you must hear, for your own good,'' she said. ''I know what became of the dactyls, who ruled the city beneath this mountain. They found the gray kairu, which made them very intelligent and enabled them to build their great civilization, but the energy has a darker side as well. Their minds were later destroyed by the substance, and they were turned into the same monsters that now haunt the city. You will turn into monsters as well, unless we drain you off the gray kairu.''
Zylus barked a laugh. ''You are desperate, my dear,'' he said. ''Do you really expect us to fall for such an obvious ruse? The gray kairu made us superior to regular warriors, it made us dominant. And those beasts in the underground city are nothing more than simple freaks of nature, or perhaps aliens, who invaded the city and drove the dactyls away. They were not created by the gray kairu.''
''I found a skeleton of a man who hanged himself in the city,'' Maya said. ''He was caught somewhere between being a human and a monster, and beside him I found a journal entry, written by him, where he explains that he would rather die than be turned into one of those monsters.'' She took the scroll tube from her belt and threw it over to Zylus, who caught it in a clawed hand.
Zylus dropped Zane to the ground, then opened the tube and pulled out the scroll, deftly unrolling and reading it. As he read, an expression of shock and horror crossed his reptilian features, and as Rynoh and Bash walked over, he showed them the scroll.
''I do not fancy being turned into one of those beasts,'' Bash said in his tinny voice.
''I would rather not,'' said Rynoh, the words distorted by the hisses and snarls of some rabid animal. ''I do dare say.''
''We will find a way to avoid that fate,'' Zylus remarked. ''Right after we rid ourselves of these intellectual degenerates.'' The Battacor leader turned his attention back to Zane, or rather back to the spot where he had dropped him, for he was no longer there. He noticed then that Zane and all the others had gathered in a circle around them, x-readers pointed their way. ''No!'' he roared, leaping for the green skinned e-teen, claws slicing through the air. Then a thin beam of energy shot from the x-reader and hit Zylus squarely in the chest, halting his momentum and keeping him at bay. The beams hit Rynoh and Bash as well, and then the gray kairu was ripped out of them. Zylus reached desperately for the departing energy, but it was promptly absorbed by the x-readers.
For several long moments they all just stood there, Team Stax, the Radikor and the Imperiaz gathered in a circle around the Battacor. Zylus, Rynoh and Bash blinked quizzically at the others, and a stupid look crossed their features. ''What in tarnation just happened,'' Zylus asked his cohorts, who promptly shrugged.
''You are no longer infused with the gray kairu,'' Maya said. ''The wind flows freely between your ears once more.''
Zylus tapped his chin with a clawed finger, obviously having difficulty understanding that last comment. ''We still have our new monsters,'' he said at length, and, after nodding to his comrades, he fell into a fighting crouch. ''We are still strong enough to trash all nine of you!'' He lifted his arms out wide, wisps of white smoke wafting from his nostrils. ''Rynoh!'' he cried out, and the half canine, half feline creature took up a position beside him. ''Bash!'' the walking suit of armor took up a position at his other side, then the three charged like crazed bulls seeing red.
Zane, who was directly in their path, casually bent down and touched the ground, sending his inner kairu into it, then raising it. A wall of solid stone rose from the rocky ground, blocking the path of the charge. Zane grinned evilly as there came a loud thunk, and a crack ran down the center of the wall, which was barely able to withstand the impact with the hard heads of the Battacor. The wall sank back into the ground, melting into the stone as though it had never been, and the Battacor, in their normal forms, became visible, lying sprawled in a heap, heads lolling about on their shoulders.
The others, recognizing that the battle was over, transformed back into their normal forms and gathered around the Battacor.
''So what do we do now?'' Ky asked.
''If we take the gray kairu back to Lokar then he will subject us to it,'' said Zane. ''It would be best if the three of you took it.'' The e-teens took up their x-readers and pointed them at the three members of Team Stax, and the gray energy swirled from them, spinning in graceful pirouettes in the air before finally being absorbed by the gadgets wielded by the three friends. ''Now take it,'' said Zane. ''And hide it where Lokar will never find it. Bury it or drop it in the ocean, I do not care where you put it as long as Lokar does not get his hands on the stuff.''
''What about the Battacor?'' Boomer asked.
''Just get out of here,'' said Zane, then a cruel smile widened across his face. ''And leave the Battacor to us.''
Ky glanced at the Battacor, then nodded to Zane and the other e-teens, before leading his friends down the trail that had taken them to the top of the mountain. They had not gone far when they heard Zylus and his friends cry out, followed by the sounds of punches and kicks, and the laughter of Zane and the Radikor.
xxxxx
Later that very day, the X-caper rocked to and fro as the waves of the Mediterranean Sea pushed against the sides of its sturdy hull. Ky stood with his friends on the deck of the craft, holding a ball of lead, no larger than his clenched fist, which emanated a grayish glow. The young man handed the ball to Boomer, who tucked it in close to the side of his neck, then he pivoted and hurled it out into the ocean with all his strength.
The makeshift relic containing the gray kairu disappeared beneath the waters with a plop, and sank down into the deepest recesses of the world, where it would hopefully never be found again. That done, the three went back inside, and before long the X-caper lifted from the water and shot into the sky, leaving streaks of white in its wake.
The end