Chapter 13: Myths and Legends

The sun beat down on the team as they walked through the barren desert. No.9 and L.G. trudged on with sweat beating down their faces. Luckily Mortimer was light, but the random shrubs and rocks jutting out from the soil made carrying their homemade stretcher difficult.

"Wake up, Mortimer," Genie Wiz repeated for the third time in ten minutes.

Mortimer's deep pink complexion was fading slightly. He blinked his large round eyes several times before giving Genie Wiz a small smile of thanks.

"Wait a second," Mr. Invent called out as if suddenly remembering something he had forgotten. He hurried over to Mortimer and the stretcher as he rifled through his bag. "Here we go," he exclaimed as he pulled out one of his homemade energy bars. "Try this, Mortimer."

Mortimer took the energy bar and plopped it into his mouth. He chewed the bar slowly and struggled to swallow it down, but once he did his eyelids became less heavy and he appeared to be more alert.

"What was that, sir?"

"Just something to keep you awake," Mr. Invent replied. "Do you feel more awake?"

"Yes, sir. Well, a little. I am so very tired you see."

'Mortimer," Bombshell cut in. "Why don't you tell us some more stories about Sacoy? Maybe talking will keep you awake. You know, if you're up to it."

"I think I can do that, miss," Mortimer replied. "That strange food is making me feel less tired by the minute. Now what story to tell...That is the question."

Mortimer lay there a moment contemplating. While he did so Blonde Bomb checked inside of her bag again to see if Setra was still breathing.

"Invent," she called out. "Do you have any of those bars left? Maybe just a few crumbs?"

Mr. Invent walked over to Blonde Bomb and peeked inside of her bag. His facial expression told everyone that what he saw was not good.

"You know," Mr. Invent said in a low voice. "I do have a few poison capsules...I always bring them in case I'm captured or being tortured...It might be more helpful to put him out of his misery Blonde."

"Invent!" Blonde Bomb replied back in disgust. "I want to keep him alive! Now, do you have any more of your energy bars or not?"

Mr. Invent pulled out another one of his bars, broke off a small chunk, and handed it over to Blonde Bomb.

"I'm sorry," he said as he dropped the chunk into her hand. "Only trying to help."

"Thank you," Blonde Bomb replied back coldly.

"Ahh," Mortimer suddenly replied after being deep in thought. "I have just the tale for you all."

"Let's hear it Mortimer," L.G. replied as he stepped over a jagged rock.

"This desert wasn't always a desert," Mortimer began. "It was once one of the largest villages in Sacoy with over 200,000 Ublegs and other creatures living together peaceably. I lived here myself when I was barely three feet high. Me, my father, and my mother. One morning, after the eating of the first meal, my father told me to go out into the meadow and pick Snickberries for Snickberry tea. The meadow was just over a large hill on the outskirts of the village and was always full of Snickberries at that time of the Cycle. So I did as me father said and went to the meadow and picked a bucketful of Snickberries like any normal day. Only that day something was different. There weren't a sound in the meadow at all. No Tribbit croaks, no buzzing about or swallow songs. I didn't think anything of that until much later..."

Mortimer stopped briefly and hung his head low. There seemed to be something troubling him and sadness was written all over his face.

"Are you alright Mortimer?" No.9 asked directly above Mortimer.

"Ah, sorry sir." he replied. "It's just looking back...I should have known."

"What happened next Mortimer?" Genie Wiz pressed gently.

"I started to walk back to the village," Mortimer went on. "When I reached the top of the hill I saw something I hope to never see again. People were screaming, young ones were crying, and the strong were trying to fend off one of the worst beasts in all of Sacoy: the Nolwelt."

Everyone walked on in silence as they listened to Mortimer describe the scene. A Nolwelt, he explained to them, was like a giant, green, flying troll. It's strength was unmatched by any other in the village as it swooped down to wreak havoc.

"They were believed to be extinct before that day," Mortimer continued. "We all believed that the Deltoids had driven them away forever. Now we know at least one of them survived."

Mortimer went on to explain the fight with the Norwelt. Ublegs were a peaceful people, he explained to them, and weren't known to be fierce in battle. The Norwelt was praying on the weak for no reason other than total annihilation. Fortunately, a warlocks guild was stationed in the village.

"After half of the men had fell," Mortimer breathed out, "the warlocks had managed to come to our aid. They hurled spell after spell at the Norwelt, but he continued to destroy the village. Eventually my dad found me on the hill and took me away to safety. But my mother..."

Mortimer trailed off again and stared down at his feet laying lamely on the stretcher.

"That sounds awful, Mortimer," Genie Wiz said, laying her hand gently on Mortimer's shoulder as she walked in time with the stretcher.

"I heard later," Mortimer said softly, choking back on tears, "that more than half of the warlocks died before they could drive the Norwelt away. Only four survived. They used their strongest fire spells to burn off his wings. But they burned everything for miles around in the process. Then they brought in a great frost to freeze the Norwelt's blood and slow him down. But they killed all of the plants and animals too."

"How did you and your father escape all of that?" L.G. cut in.

"Oh this was days later, sir," Mortimer replied. "The warlocks fought the Norwelts for an entire week, without rest, before they used devastating spells. I'm thankful for what they did, but not everyone feels the same way, you see. Some of those who survived the attack feel the warlocks went too far and that they destroyed an entire region for no reason. I say those people are fools if you ask me!"

"I'm with you Mortimer," No.9 agreed. "It's sad that the village and the meadow and all of this was turned into a desert...but what choice did they have?"

"Quite right, sir," Mortimer said, nodding his head in firm agreement. "That is the story of The Weeping Desert and the destruction of Baghdol my friends. Every Ubleg knows it or remembers the events themselves. It's sadness is only bested by the capture of the Deltoids."

"Thank you for sharing that with us, Mortimer," said No.9. "I'm sure it was difficult for you to talk about, but I'm glad we know more about you, your people, and Sacoy now."

Chapter 12: Setra

No.9 turned around to find himself face to face with what had to be Setra. He was the spitting image of a medieval dragon. His body was at least fifty feet long and slender and lizard-like, covered in scales that were a deep, blood red. His infamous head had four ivory tusks sticking out like a crown, two on either side. At that instant his nostrils were flaring from his protruding nose and his beetle-black eyes were narrowed in hatred.

No.9 glanced sideways at the rest of the team a few paces away. They were frozen in fear just like No.9, L.G. and Mortimer were in that instant. Suddenly, without hesitation, Genie Wiz rushed over to Setra with her flamethrower ready for action. Setra happened to notice this too and focused his attention to the tiny attacker.

"Quick," No.9 yelled to Genie Wiz, "go for his tail!"

Genie Wiz tried to edge by Setra to get to his tail, but he was too quick for her. In an instant he had whipped his body around and was facing her head on. His tail was whipping back and forth wildly near No.9, L.G. and Mortimer now and they just barely managed to escape to the rest of the group before the six ivory spikes along each of its sides impaled each of them.

"Invent," L.G. yelled out as he ran towards the group, "use your Confuser Grenades!"

Mr. Invent rummaged through his back pack and pulled out a cluster of three of the gas bombs. Genie Wiz was dodging Setra's snapping mouth a few feet away as Mr. Invent fumbled through his pockets for his lighter.

"Hurry up!" Genie Wiz yelled out as Setra's razor sharp teeth narrowly missed her leg.

Mr. Invent finally secured his lighter and quickly lit the fuses for the Confuser Grenades. As soon as he did so he threw the sizzling cluster near Setra's clawed feet.A second later there was a loud CRACK and neon green gas floated in the air around the beast. The noise distracted Setra and the sight of the gas itself was enough to direct his anger away from Genie Wiz.

Setra looked dumbfounded as the gas floated higher and higher towards his horned head. The team stood still and cautious a few feet away with their weapons ready. Suddenly, Setra took a deep sniff of the green gas and within a few seconds his eyes had closed shut and his enormous body collapsed on the ground, shaking all of the charred trees around them.

Genie Wiz took this opportunity and darted towards Setra's tail with her flamethrower at the ready.

"Careful," Mr. Invent called out, "this stuff was meant for humans. I don't know how long the effects will last!"

Genie Wiz pulled the flamethrower's trigger and an amazing burst of flame erupted from the barrel and engulfed Setra's tail. When the tank on Genie Wiz's back was empty the flames died down and the effects of the fiery assault could be seen by the whole team.

The tail was unharmed.

"We never catch a break, do we?" Bombshell blurted out in amazement.

"Never mind," No.9 replied to the whole group, "we got what we came for. Let's get out of here while the thing's still knocked out."

Everyone agreed with this plan wholeheartedly. They had all started to gather their weapons together when a loud beeping noise started coming from L.G.'s pocket.

"The danger meter," L.G. said with a worried expression as he took the black box from his pocket.

"Where are they?" No.9 asked hurriedly. It had to be Team 114 closing in.

"Theyre-"

"Right behind you."

No.9 turned towards the burnt forest behind him at the sound of the voice, which was quickly followed by the cock of a pistol. Six agents emerged from the trees with their weapons drawn.

"Give us the particle and no one gets hurt," said a burly man from Team 114.

No.9 turned his head to face his fellow team members. He had let them down. They were in no position to negotiate with these men and No.9 knew that they were unlikely to escape punishment from the agency if Team 114 didn't kill them first. He was just about to pull out the container housing the Satar particle when he noticed Genie Wiz holding something long and shiny behind her back.

"No," Blonde Bomb yelled back at the husky agent. "You can come get it over our dead bodies."

The agents from Team 114 laughed at Blonde Bomb's foolish courage.

"I suppose we'll have to take you up on that offer," the agent replied with a wicked smile. "You heard her boys. Over their dead bodies."

Team 114 aimed their pistols directly at Blonde Bomb's heart. Little did they know that 10 feet to her right, Genie Wiz had programmed her Booma-Bat to target all six of them.

Quick as a flash, Genie Wiz hurled the bat towards the six gunmen. The bat zoomed directly towards the husky agent and smacked his head with a loud crack. It whirled around to the knocked out point man's right and whacked another agent dead in the nose before he even knew what was happening. Suddenly, the four remaining agents turned on the bat with confusion as it continued to assault them. Three more of the agents had been knocked unconscious before the last man standing realized what was happening. He weaved from left to right to avoid the blows as the bat whooshed past him. The desperate survivor fired a shot at the bat as it came racing towards his head but he missed and hit Setra instead, who let out a loud, painful roar. The beast tried to get to his feet but was quickly back on the ground and unconscious again.

The agent lost his concentration at the sight of Setra and the bat finally managed to strike a blow. However, instead of hitting him in the head, the bat smacked him directly in his right arm. As it did so his muscles reacted, just like anyone's body would, and his fingers twitched, firing a single shot from the pistol.

BANG!

Time seemed to slow down as the bullet fired. No.9 could almost see the trajectory and he looked on in horror as the cold grey cylinder glided towards Mortimer standing a foot away from him.

In less than a second the bullet had hit Mortimer. In less than a second the bullet had broken the skin. In less than a second Mortimer had fallen to the ground, a green substance oozing out of his wound.

"Mortimer!!!" No.9 shouted as he knelt down to his fallen friend.

The Booma-Bat made another turn in midair and headed towards the remaining agent. He took aim and fired six times. Two of them made contact and the Booma-Bat fell to the ground.

"I think you dislocated my shoulder you little brats!" The agent was rubbing his arm where the bat had struck him as he snarled at No.9 and the rest of the team. "You'll pay for that dearly!"

The agent raised his weapon once more and pointed it at No.9. There was a small click as he pulled the trigger. He was out of ammo.

No.9 stood up consumed in anger. With one motion he ripped the Stun Sabre from his gym bag and swiped at the agent as he frantically tried to reload. The gun fell to the ground at No.9's feet as he swung wildly through the air at the last remaining member of Team 114, the last connection to the agency that had betrayed him. Through gritted teeth and angry tears No.9 slashed through the air. The agent tried desperately to get away but was unsuccessful. No.9 landed a heavy blow to the man's temple and he fell like a sack of bricks to the dirt floor.

No.9 dropped the Stun Sabre and ran over to Mortimer. Bombshell was cradling his head and Genie Wiz was throwing the contents of No.9's supply box through the air in search of medical supplies.

"Mortimer," No.9 let out with tears still streaming down his face, "It should have been me, Mortimer! I'm so sorry!"

No.9 knelt down next to his recent companion. This was what he had been afraid of: losing someone. And although he had just met this strange alien, they wouldn't be anywhere without him.

"Stop your crying over me, sir," Mortimer let out weakly. "I'm going to be just fine."

No.9 wiped away the tears and did his best to reply in a firm voice. "You've been shot, Mortimer," he replied. "What can we do to help?"

"My step mother," Mortimer replied. "She's a sorceress. Can make a missing leg seem like a scratch. You take me to her in my village, sir, and I know I'll be just fine." Mortimer lifted his pink hand and placed it lightly on No.9's shoulder. "A simple bullet isn't going to kill an Ubleg, sir. Not today."

No.9 gave Mortimer a quick smile before leaping into action.

"Alright," he directed the team, "we're getting out of here immediately. How far is your village from here Mortimer?" 

"About a mile west of here, sir," Mortimer replied.

"Right then. L.G., help me make a stretcher from some of these branches that aren't burnt. Genie Wiz, stay with Mortimer and keep him awake. Blonde Bomb, keep an eye on Setra. Bombshell, you make sure those agents don't wake up."

Everyone jumped into action immediately and within five minutes No.9 and L.G. had made a long enough stretcher for Mortimer to lay on. They lifted his body as carefully as possible and were surprised at how light he actually was. After they made sure Mortimer was comfortable, L.G. and No.9 lifted the stretcher up and began to walk down the path.

"Um, guys," said Blonde Bomb quietly. "You might want to see this."

No.9 and L.G. turned around to see what Blonde Bomb was talking about. Directly in front of her, Setra's sleeping body had begun to glow a bright orange.

"Everyone gear up," No.9 yelled out as he carefully put the stretcher down.

"No, sir," Mortimer replied, "don't!"

"What are you talking about?!" Mr. Invent yelled back in a panic as he pulled out more Confuser Grenades.

"He's changing, sir. He's so near death that he has to evolve into something else. Something harmless so he won't be attacked."

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Blonde Bomb cried back as the glow became brighter and brighter.

"Leave him be miss," Mortimer replied. "Anything you wish, but don't attack. He may be a beast, but he belongs to this garden just as we belong out of it."

"Stand down," No.9 ordered. "Let's make sure we've got nothing to worry about and then move on."

No.9 watched closely as the dragon-like beast began to shrink and morph. His scaly skin was shed in an instant and replaced with jet black fur. His once long and slender body had been compacted into a rough ball. His horns and claws that were once the size of elephant tusks had been shrunken down to the size of a bird's beak. Its once long and deadly tail had been replaced by two white and rubbery wings. If they had encountered this Setra moments ago they would have laughed at its harmlessness or been overwhelmed by its cuteness.

Blonde Bomb took a few paces towards the new Setra lying in the grass.

"There's no time, Blonde Bomb," No.9 called out as he and L.G. picked up Mortimer's stretcher again. "We've gotta move. Now."

"Hold on," she called back as she approached the ball of fur. "I think...I think its dying"

Blonde Bomb carefully lifted Setra into her arms. The bullet that had hit its once intimidating body was lodged into it's right side and the creature was struggling to take a breath.

"I think it was shot in the lung," Blonde Bomb cried out. "We have to help him, 9."

"We don't have time!" No.9 yelled impatiently at Blonde Bomb. "That thing would have killed all of us without a thought. We need to get Mortimer to his village!"

"Wait, sir," Mortimer called out. "She's right. If you help him maybe he will be in your debt. A creature like that is a strong ally to have, sir."

No.9 considered Mortimer's words before agreeing to help Setra.

"Alright," he said to Blonde Bomb. "But you keep an eye on it. If he tries to change again to catch us off guard we're killing it."

Blonde Bomb placed Setra into her shoulder bag softly and followed behind No.9 and L.G. The team reached the gate of the garden after a few minutes and they continued through it. They had made it back into the dessert again. Although Mortimer was injured, they had all made it out alive. A better outcome than No.9 had expected. They headed Westward through the dessert towards Mortimer's village. No.9 glanced down at Mortimer as his pink eyelids struggled to remain open.

"Wake up, Mort!" Genie Wiz yelled out. Mortimer opened his eyes wide and smiled back.

"Sorry, miss," he said. "I'm just so tired suddenly."

No.9 picked up the pace. Throughout his time at the agency he had never once failed a mission or directive, a streak that continues after rescuing the Satar particle.

Now he had a new mission: to make it back to Mortimer's village on time for him to be rescued.

No.9 was planning on keeping more than his perfect record alive today.

Chapter 11: The Garden of Sacoy

Mortimer led them on through the vast desert.

"What a sight, eh?" Mortimer offered after what must have been miles of dirt and shrubs.

"Yeah, great," No.9 responded, trying his best to hide his true opinions.

After what felt like hours of follow-the-leader, Mortimer stopped.

"Here we are at last," he exclaimed with a trembling voice.

No.9 stared at what looked to be the same desert they had walked through for miles in front of Mortimer. There wasn't a garden in sight. At that moment, No.9 seriously questioned if Mortimer was truly all there. Perhaps trusting him wasn't the right call after all...

"Um, I can't see anything," Blonde Bomb replied to Mortimer.

"Yeah," Mr. Invent cut in behind No.9, "come on Mortimer! You said you would take us there!"

Mortimer looked at everyone in confusion. "But I did! It's right in front of your eyes," he said, pointing at Blonde Bomb.

"Where?!" Everyone yelled back in frustration.

Mortimer glanced around nervously for a few moments before slapping his four fingered hand to his forehead.

"Of course," Mortimer replied. "The security system won't deactivate for outsiders!"

"Security system?" L.G. spoke up.

"Yes, sir. It's intended to keep any unwanted visitors away," Mortimer explained. "If any men from the continents were to wander here by accident all they would find is an endless desert. We started taking our security pretty seriously after the Deltoids."

Suddenly it all made sense in No.9's head. The picture they had seen shatter to a million pieces before landing, the blacker than black that took over the windows after they had landed. This was all meant to drive them away. It was just one big fence that they needed to climb over to reach their goal.

"How can we bypass the security system?" No.9 asked Mortimer.

"There's a special vocal recognition," Mortimer replied. "Each of you need to repeat exactly what I tell you. Afterwards, you'll be saved into the security system permanently. You'll be able to see everything as it really is."

"Great," No.9 replied enthusiastically. "Let's get started. We'll start with Blonde Bomb and go down through the line."

The team formed a straight line from the rough one they had been in while walking through the desert. Blonde Bomb stood alert at the front next to Mortimer, ready for instructions. Bringing up the rear was No.9 after he switched spots with Mr. Invent. Out of sight at the back of the line, he had unzipped his gym bag and quietly pulled out his Stun Sabre in case something should go wrong. He trusted Mortimer, but only as far as he could throw him.

"Alright," Mortimer motioned for Blonde Bomb to walk forward. She walked a few paces until Mortimer frantically waved his arms and yelled at her to stop. "Far enough! Far Enough!" Mortimer sighed in relief before continuing with his instructions. "Repeat these words exactly as I say em'," he directed Blonde Bomb. "Luthra," Mortimer called out this strange word in an unknown dialect. "Silconium. Gardius." He paused between each word and then nodded to Blonde Bomb to repeat them.

Blonde Bomb stared into thin air and repeated each strange word exactly as Mortimer had told her to. For a few seconds she looked around worried that she had said something wrong or couldn't mimic the alien accent just right. But suddenly her eyes opened wide and she stood dumbfounded on the spot. She slowly backed away with her mouth open wide.

"You guys are never going to believe this," Blonde Bomb finally let out in shock.

Soon they wouldn't have to take her word for it.

Genie Wiz followed Blonde Bomb in line and No.9 stuffed the Stun Sabre back into his gym bag without anyone noticing. After repeating the pass phrase her reaction was similar to Blonde Bomb's. The two girls walked slowly over and settled behind Mortimer. No.9 couldn't be sure if this was because they felt Mortimer was the only one who understood what they were both seeing, or if it was because they were afraid and Mortimer offered a tall pink shield to hide behind.

L.G. and Bombshell followed Genie Wiz. It took L.G. a minute or two to file out of the line because he was so interested in the once invisible garden. Finally, Mr. Invent successfully repeated the "magic words" and No.9 was all that was left. He repeated the words slowly and accurately and looked to Mortimer when he was done. Mortimer stared back and gave No.9 a small nod in approval. No.9 smiled and turned his head slowly in front of him, where the Garden of Saccoy was starting to appear in front of him.

Inches from No.9's face was a charred black iron gate at least thirty feet high, covered in green vines. A black fence connected to the gate and stretched left to right for at least a mile, but through the spaces between each jet black iron bar No.8 could make out the inside of the garden. There was a dirt path that lead from the gate and all around it were blue and red and white rosebushes that must have been six or seven feet high. Strange bugs, (or were they birds?), glided between each of the saucer sized flowers. In the distance No.9 could make out what must be the center of the garden. A huge stone fountain jutted out from a large circular pool around it.

"It's-it's-it's," No.9 stammered, "beautiful."

"Yes, sir," Mortimer replied, his voice still trembling. "Beautiful, and deadly."

Mortimer walked over to the gate and put his pink hand onto it before he turned around to face everyone. "Are you ready, sir?" Mortimer asked No.9.

"Let's go," No.9 replied with determination.

Mortimer pushed on the black gate. It swung open and squeaked loudly. The team walked into the garden behind Mortimer, each looking around nervously for any sign of Setra. When they had walked a few paces in the path split. One way leading left, the other right. No.9 scanned around for the pillars, but couldn't make them out. To the right was a sort of meadow that fed into the the fountain, with a small pond covered in lily pads and surrounded by tall grass. To the left was a group of tress, a sort of forested corner, but all of the trees had been burned black.  

Setra, No.9 thought as he gulped.

"Alright everyone," No.9 turned to face them all. "Our best bet is to stick together and follow the path around the garden. Gear up and be prepared for anything. Setra or human. Don't forget that we've got Cobbledhead's agents to worry about too."

Everyone fumbled through their backpacks and bags and pulled out their weapon of choice.

"Which way should we start?" Genie Wiz asked as she strapped her flamethrower to her back.

"The left's looking a little risky at this point," No. 9 replied, pointing out the burnt trees. "Best to follow from the right where it doesn't look like a volcano monster has been hanging around."

The team nodded in understanding, and probably relief, and followed No.9 as he walked on the path leading right with Mortimer at his side.

"You wouldn't happen to know where this Zeusi pillar is off the top of your head would you, Mortimer?" No.9 looked around them for anything pillar-shaped.

"No, sir," he replied apologetically. "I don't really come here if I can help it."

No.9 suddenly felt sorry for dragging Mortimer into this. They would have been stuck in an imaginary desert forever without his help, sure. But he shouldn't have to be in here risking his life for them.

After a few minutes the trail reached the small pond and curved left. As they came around the bend, grass on either side of the trail became as tall as Mortimer and formed a sort of grass tunnel. No.9 led everyone through the tunnel carefully and was relieved to reach the other side when a giant grey figure suddenly came into sight to the right of the trail.

No.9 stopped dead, his heart racing.

"Setra?" he asked Mortimer. The rest of the group stood silently behind them, trying not to move. Suddenly Mr. Invent started scratching all over his head and chest.

"Shhhh!" Blonde Bomb and Genie Wiz hissed at him.

"I can't help it," he replied desperately. "I'm allergic to grass!"

"Not to worry sirs," Mortimer replied. "This is just the first pillar."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Mr. Invent continued to scratch hectically all over.

"Believe me," Mortimer continued, "when Setra decides to show himself, we will know."

No.9 didn't like that Mortimer chose to say "when" instead of "if." Nevertheless he walked quickly over to the pillar and started inspecting every inch of it.

"Look for the symbol," No.9 instructed the others.

Everyone spent a few seconds running their hands around the stone pillar before Mr. Invent exclaimed, "Found it!"

Everyone in the group looked over to Mr. Invent's hand. It was covering a stone carving that looked like some sort of animal that a four year old might draw.

"Ah," said Mortimer above and behind everyone's heads, "that's Seti's symbol. Zeusi's will look like a bolt of light from the sky."

Lightning. Of course! Was it a coincidence that the gods of Saccoy were so similar to the gods of ancient Greece? How did No.9 not recognize Zeusi right away?

"Let's keep moving," No.9 said as he got back onto the dirt path.

They walked faster now, but still looking over their shoulder or in each direction in case of a hidden threat. Mortimer assured them that looking for Setra this way was a waste of time. Setra wouldn't bother to hide from them at all. Still, who knows what other dangers were in this garden, or if one of Team 114 was waiting to pounce...

They reached the second pillar shortly before the path curved to the left again. This time the pillar was easier to spot as it stood tall in a pit of tiny pebbles. Genie Wiz found the symbol of a sun ("Lorti," Mortimer told them) and they continued down the path again.

"Where do you learn about these stories and symbols and stuff, Mortimer?" L.G. questioned after they hurried away from the second pillar.

"Oh we all know the stories and myths in Saccoy, sir," Mortimer replied. "Every Ubleg is sent to Collag after they've learned to think and until they lose room to learn any more."

"Collag? That's like school then?" Bombshell offered.

"What is 'school' miss?" Mortimer replied with confusion.

"Never mind," Bombshell replied with a little laugh.

Trees were growing up all around them now, but not the burnt ones No.9 had noticed near the entrance. These were some sort of fruit trees, but No.9 couldn't name any of the strange shaped purple fruit he was looking at. The trees started to clump together the further they walked, and soon only a small patch of sky could be seen above them. Just ahead they could make out another pillar that was covered in moss.

Please let this be it, No. 9 thought as he searched around for a symbol.

"We should have started out to the left," Blonde Bomb called out. Her finger was pointing  at a crescent shape that must have been the moon.

"Nearly there, guys," No.9 offered as reassurance.

Suddenly a whirrling noise was coming from the sky above them. They all looked into the tiny patch of sky that wasn't covered in trees to see a black blotch in the sky lowering towards them. It was a helicopter.

"They're here," Bombshell said.

"Come on," L.G. ran down the path ahead of them, "what are we waiting for?!"

No.9 sprinted as fast as he could with L.G. leading the way. The helicopter was getting louder by the second. No doubt that Team 114 would be in the garden in less than a minute. Without having to worry about what could be hiding in the bushes and trees around them they made good time to the next pillar. The fact that the trees became darker and darker with soot the further they ran never crossed No.9's mind.

L.G. and No.9 outran everyone except Mortimer. As soon as they reached the pillar Mortimer pointed out the lightning bolt symbol. No.9 pulled a plastic container out of his gym bag to capture the Satar particle. L.G. gave him a look to ask if he was ready. No.9 nodded and L.G. pushed the lightning bolt symbol into the pillar as if it were a button. A circular patch of stone that had the carving on it disappeared into the pillar and was replaced by a glowing yellow ball of light. No.9 placed the container below the opening and the orb slithered out and landed safely inside.

No.9 clamped the lid on the container as quickly as he could. In the corner of his eye he could see L.G. looking behind him, frozen still.

Just before No.9 could turn around, a low, deafening growl echoed through the garden.

Chapter 10: Mortimer the Ubleg

Everyone froze inside of the hovercraft. Was that a voice they had just heard? No.9 stared at the black dome roof of the Alley Cat in disbelief. He had expected to encounter some sort of ferocious beast, but not whoever, or whatever, was outside banging on the roof.

"Who's out there?" No.9 called out cautiously.

"Ah, I knew you's was in there!" the voice replied. "I have come on behalf of the Ublegs."

No.9 looked around the cabin at everyone's dumbfounded faces.

"Ublegs?" No.9 replied with confusion.

"S'right, the Ublegs," the voice came again. "We saw your ship approach from the heavens."

No.9 had no idea how to respond to this. In a few seconds they had all learned that they had indeed landed on some mysterious place and that it was was inhabited by something called Ublegs.

"What do you think?" No.9 whispered to the group.

"It could be a trap," Mr. Invent whispered back, shaking his head. "Who knows where we are? We can't even see out of the windows!"

Mr. Invent was right of course. The view from the windows was solid black all around. But they were at least somewhere and not floating in space where they could be sucked out and frozen like popsicles in a split second if they opened the door.

"Are you friendly?" No.9 yelled at the dome. For some reason he didn't feel like taking Mr. Invent's advice. Playing it safe just wasn't what he was about.

"Friendly?" the Ubleg replied. "We're the kindest folk in all o' Sacoy."

Well, at least they knew they had made it to Sacoy. No.9 glanced at the others for their thoughts. They still looked unsure about trusting this voice.

"What's your name?" Mr. Invent called out.

"Mortimer, son of Tuplas the Wise. Can you all stop jawin' and let me in?!"

Mr. Invent hesitated for a second, looked around at the others, and pulled out the remote for the dome. Everyone held their breath as he pushed the button, not knowing if Mortimer was really some kind of evil beast in disguise, or if they'd be able to breathe at all once the door was open.

As the dome cracked open a bright burst of sunlight shone on everyone's faces. They all shielded their eyes and squinted towards the opening to get a look at Mortimer the Ubleg. Instead, all they could see was a deep blue sky.

No.9 walked towards the ladder leading to the outside. He had just put his foot on the first rung when he heard a galloping sound on the ramp of the Alley Cat. Seconds later something was in the air above the entrance. It flipped itself forward twice before landing with a thud in the main cabin a few feet from where No.9 was standing.

Everybody backed away in shock and Blonde Bomb and Genie Wiz both screamed.

Mortimer was definitely not a human. He was tall and slender with long arms and legs. His face was like an upside down triangle. His nose was squished almost flat and his ears were long and drooping down to his skinny neck. His entire body was pink and hairless and he had only four fingers and toes on his hands and feet. He was wearing some sort of fuzzy wool cloak that covered most of his body. It looked like he was wearing a large sock with arm and leg holes cut out. From far away this creature would look menacing, and No.9 was definitely afraid of him at first, until he noticed Mortimer's eyes. He had kind, brown eyes.

Mortimer stood there with a smile on his face and his arms outstretched as if he were waiting for applause. After a few seconds he put his arms down and scratched his bald head nervously.

"Uh, well," No.9 spoke behind Mortimer. "You wanted to speak with us?"

"Oh, right!" Mortimer replied, turning around to face No.9. "I was sent to ask why you's all came here on this ship."

No.9 looked around at his crew. They were all staring at Mortimer in disbelief and unable to speak.

"Well," No.9 replied nervously, "I guess I better start at the beginning." He walked from behind Mortimer and stood in front of the rest of his team. "First off, I'm No.9."

Mortimer stuck out his four fingered hand and said "Nice to meet you!"

No.9 shook the Ubleg's pink hand and went on. "This is L.G., Bombshell, Blonde Bomb, Mr, Invent, and Genie Wiz," he said, pointing to each of them as he said their name. "We're all secret agents."

"Oh, how exciting that must be!" Mortimer gasped. "I bet there's loads of danger in your line of work, eh?"

"Um, yes there is," No.9 replied. Like talking to giant pink aliens, he thought to himself. "But anyways, we all used to be members of an organization of agents, but one of our group leaders was some sort of spy or double agent for someone else. He was using us to steal parts for a weapon called the Fulton."

"Did you say Fulton?!" Mortimer suddenly cut in.

"Yeah, the Fulton device," L.G. replied. "We have it right over there." He pointed to the co-pilot seat of the Alley Cat.

Mortimer walked over to the Fulton and stopped dead in his tracks. "How can this be," he turned towards them frantically. "Is this the same Fulton that imprisoned the Deltoids?!"

No one understood what Mortimer was talking about. No.9 shrugged, "I'm not sure. All I know is that it's some sort of weapon."

"I believe it is," Mortimer replied, picking up the Fulton. "It's not much of a weapon though. More of a transporter."

"What are Deltoids?" Blonde Bomb asked Mortimer from the back of the cabin.

"The Deltoids were the peace keepers in Sacoy," Mortimer replied as if remembering an old story. "They traveled around the darkest parts of this land over a hundred years ago, turning hatred in some of the worst creatures' hearts to love. They stopped wars before they could even begin. Turned rivals into allies. They almost drove all evil away from here!"

"Almost?" Genie Wiz asked.

"Yes, almost," Mortimer replied hanging his head low. "They disappeared."

"What happened to them?" No.9 asked.

"According to the stories," Mortimer continued, "they had a massive ship called Sol-Ren. That's where they all lived, and they would travel from place to place stopping any sorts of evil or violence."

No.9 and the team listened silently, but closely. Not understanding everything Mortimer said was going to be a trend.

"One day they took off for the Kudeta region," Mortimer went on, "the last stronghold of all of the evil and darkness in Sacoy. A warlord had suddenly appeared there and was building an army. He was threatening to march over all of Sacoy. The story says that the Deltoids succeeded in stopping the warlord...but their ship disappeared."

Mortimer sat down holding onto the Fulton. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. His eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

"I'm sorry," Blonde Bomb replied in a comforting tone. "How exactly did they disappear?"

"The Fulton," Mr. Invent responded. Mortimer nodded his head.

"We've been visited by your people for hundreds of years now," Mortimer added. "Some made it here by mistake, but most of those that came were science men. They had never seen our rocks or minerals or elements before. They used them to make many things. The last of these was said to be the Fulton. Those men never came back when the Deltoids disappeared. Most of us here in Saccoy believe that these science men were the ones that took the Deltoids. They used the Fulton and put them who knows where. Ever since the Deltoids disappeared there's been war and killing and more evil than any of us have ever seen before..."

Mortimer put the Fulton down as if it was too heavy to hold onto anymore.

"I have to ask you," Mortimer said looking straight into No.9's eyes, "are you with those science men?"

No.9 stared back at Mortimer, making sure not to blink when he replied. "No, Mortimer. I promise you. And if there's anything we can do to bring the Deltoids back I swear that we will do it."

Mortimer stared into No.9 eyes for a few seconds more. Finally, he smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Nine," he said.

"Before we can help you though," No.9 said as he picked up the Fulton and put it back in the co-pilot's seat, "we need you to help us."

"You've got it, sir," Mortimer replied, standing up and shaking No.9's hand again.

"Do you know where we can find the Garden of Sacoy?" No.9 asked.

"Oh, yes," Mortimer replied with a serious tone. "I don't know why you'd want to go there though. That's where Setra lives..."

"So we've heard," No.9 said. "What can you tell us about the garden? We need to know more about four pillars inside; and anything you know about Setra or the Satar particle could come in handy, too."

"The Garden is famous in all of Sacoy," Mortimer replied. "It has been around for many generations. There is a legend about the garden and the Four Pillars of Sabri. The pillars are said to be the remains of four gods: Destri, Lorti, Seti, and Zeusi. Sabri was a farmer who had found the bodies of the four gods in a patch of land filled with weeds and thorn bushes. Sabri decided to make a memorial for the fallen gods and turned this land into a beautiful garden. He planted many exotic plants and fruit trees and burned all of the weeds and thorn bushes. He then cremated the bodies of the dead gods and used their ashes to make a strong clay to mold each pillar as a tribute to each god."

This was a lot of information for the team to take in. Gods, legends, Deltoids...where in the world were they?

"Setra," Mortimer continued with his story, "was meant to guard the garden after the Deltoids had disappeared. An army of warriors trapped him in chains inside of his volcano lair and marched him all the way to the Garden. They used the strongest chains ever made to bind him inside of the garden, but the chains did not hold. Setra killed the entire army minutes after he was brought inside the Garden, where he has stayed ever since."

"And what about his face and his eyes?" Mr. Invent asked shakily. "Can you tell us a little about those?"

"I am not sure, sir," Mortimer replied. "I have never seen Setra myself. But I believe it is best to stay away from both of them."

"And the Satar particle?" No.9 pressed. "Or Cryton? Have you heard of Cryton?"

"Oh, yes, the Satar," Mortimer nodded in understanding. "After the Deltoids disappeared there were rumors that the scientists had also made a way to destroy the Fulton forever. The Satar particle is the only way to ensure that the Deltoids never return. But," Mortimer put up a single pink finger and smiled, "someone stole it a long time ago." Mortimer suddenly fell silent and looked quickly at everyone in the cabin. "Why are these things important to you?" He backed up and sounded slightly defensive. "You told me you weren't with the science men, right?"

"Relax," said No.9, putting up a hand to calm Mortimer down. "I promise we don't have anything to do with them. When we formed our own team we started spying on our old organization to get a lead on what they were up to," No.9 explained. "They've been trying to get all of the pieces of the Fulton together, but we stopped them. Now they're coming after the Satar particle. They're trying to protect some secret," No. 9 went on. "Something called Cryton..."

"I am sorry, sir, but I do not know what Cryton is or what any of its secrets could be," Mortimer replied.

"Trust me," said L.G. "you've taught us more than enough today."

Everyone let out a small laugh except for Mortimer.

 No.9 went to the co-pilot seat and grabbed his gym bag. For a moment he debated whether or not he should bring the Fulton, but decided it would be safe enough inside of the Alley Cat. He wouldn't want to accidentally destroy it while capturing the Satar particle either.

As he walked back into the main cabin, No.9 looked up at Mortimer's brown eyes. Even though he was somewhat scary, No.9 was glad to have met Mortimer and learn about Sacoy. He decided that Mortimer would be considered a friend from here on out.

"Mortimer," said No.9, "can you take us to the garden?"

Mortimer looked a little frightened at the idea. No.9 couldn't blame him though. He was frightened of Setra after one day, he couldn't imagine how many stories there were about him after a hundred years.

"For the Deltoids?" No.9 offered as motivation.

At this Mortimer stood straight and tall. "It would be an honor, sir," he replied.

Everyone grabbed their gear and climbed out of the Alley Cat. They had landed in a dry, dusty dessert as far as they could see. The only life around them were small shrubs that poked out of the cracked dirt.

"Well, follow me," Mortimer motioned them all to walk on.

As they followed Mortimer in a single line, Mr. Invent closed the pod door of the Alley Cat and filed in towards the back behind No.9.

"You know," No.9 said to Mr. Invent, "I'm feeling pretty optomistic about our chances here."

"I think that's just one of the side effects of my energy bars," Mr. Invent replied gravely, following the rest of the team behind Mortimer the Ubleg, toward Setra and the Garden of Sacoy.

Chapter 9: Bars, Stars, and Hovercrafts

Exactly three-and-a-half hours later No.9's mental alarm clock went off. He sat upright in his bed, suddenly wide awake. He glanced over to the digital alarm clock on his nightstand. It was exactly 4 o'clock in the morning. The team had all decided to meet at Mr. Invent's garage at 5. Just before sunup. The earlier they left the better. It was going to be a long flight to the middle of the ocean.

No.9 got out of bed and tiptoed across the room to his chest of drawers. He put on a pair of bluejeans and a black long sleeved tee. He wondered if he should bring a jacket, but decided against it in the end. He'd have a lot more to worry about than the weather where they were heading.

After he finished dressing he pulled out a gym bag from underneath his bed that he had packed the night before. Inside was what he named the "Stun Sabre" (essentially an electrical baton that would stun almost anything) and his personal supply kit to help with any problems they might have with equipment, or if they needed to build a weapon in the field...or patch themselves together should they have a nasty bout with Setra.

After everything was in the gym bag No.9 ran through a mental checklist in his mind, decided he was ready to go, and then quietly headed down the stairs. He reached the front door and was just about to turn the handle when his stomach made a loud gurgle.

Better get a quick bite to eat, he thought. Who knows when I'll get another chance for some food.

When he made it into the kitchen No.9 opened the refrigerator door and looked all over the shelves to try to find a small snack. After a few seconds he cut off a chunk of  cheddar cheese and grabbed some saltine's from the pantry. He put his breakfast in a plastic sandwich bag and headed back towards the front door.


"TIMOTHY SHAWN BRYANT!"

No.9 nearly jumped up to the ceiling as he passed the foot of the stairs. His mother was standing at the top in her nightgown with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, hey mom," No.9 replied nervously. "I was just, uh, you know." He froze for a second and stood there doing mental gymnastics. "It's just, I heard the cat in our tree outside so, uh, I was gonna go get it. You know, make sure it was OK?"

"WE DON'T HAVE A CAT!" No.9's mother yelled back down the stairs at him.

"Oh," No.9 replied, realizing their cat had died several years ago. "Right."

No.9's mother made it half way down the stairs huffing and puffing when the phone in the upstairs hallway began to ring. She glared at him for a moment before turning around to take the call.

Saved by the bell, No.9 thought to himself.

"Hello?" No.9's mother's voice echoed down the stairs. "No Joyce, I haven't seen Brian."

Looks like L.G.'s already on his way.

"Well, no I don't know where he could be," No.9 could guess what L.G.'s mom was going to ask next. He walked as quietly as he could towards the door. "Hold on, let me ask Tim." As he got on his bike and pedaled down the driveway the last thing No.9 could remember hearing was his mother screaming his name from the hallway telephone.

*      *      *

When he arrived at the shack above Mr. Invent's garage the rest of the team was outside waiting for him.

"Where have you been?" L.G. asked shivering in his baseball tee-shirt.

"My mom caught me trying to sneak out," No.9 replied as he hid his bike behind a tree. "Your mom really helped me get away though."

"What?!"

Everyone laughed as No.9 joined the circle smiling.

"It's a long story," he said and patted L.G. on the shoulder. "Well, since we all made it let's get started."

"Here," Mr. Invent reached into his pocket and pulled out several plastic cards. "Genie Wiz said I should make them for you. Probably a good idea just in case you need to get out of the garage and I'm not...well, you know." He handed everyone a blue card the size of a credit card before swiping his own to open the garage elevator door.

What did he mean by that? No.9 thought as the cramped elevator headed down. Is he worried he might not make it back with us?

When the elevator doors opened again everyone spilled out into the garage. No.9 headed into the library while everyone checked their supplies by the Alley Cat. The Fulton was sitting on the desk, still turned on. The screen was blinking the word ACTIVATE Y/N? No.9 hit the N key and the screen went back to showing the map to Sacoy. He picked up the device and headed back to the main garage where everyone was huddled together.

"Alright," he addressed everyone as if this were a mission brief. "Our main objective is to reach this garden of Sacoy and recover the Satar particle.Now-" he started to walk back around the group, looking each one of his team members in the eye as he spoke to them "-I have no idea what this place is that we're going to...I don't know what this Satar particle is or what it does...And I don't know why the agency wants to retrieve it so badly." No.9 came to a stop back to where he began speaking and said, "But I do know this: We've proven ourselves yesterday. We can handle anything this place has waiting for us." Everyone started nodding their heads with excitement. "And I know that I don't trust our agency with this Satar particle no matter what it does. Jim proved to us that there are enemies in the least likely of places. They can't keep it safe!" Everyone was feeling the energy coming from No.9's speech. The adrenaline was flowing. Their hearts were racing with excitement. "WE can keep it safe."

"YEAH!" everyone responded back in unison.

"WE can make sure that device is never used to harm anyone we love!"

"That's right!"

"And we are going to save the world."

Everyone clapped and cheered as No.9 closed his speech. After Mr. Invent's comment at the elevator he knew that they would need the motivation and encouragement. He knew that they needed to be reassured. They needed to know they were going to make it home alive.

After everyone was feeling pumped No.9 decided it was a good time to address their major threat in the mission. "We were all here yesterday," he began again, "and we all know there's going to be some things we've never tackled before." Everyone got quiet again and looked at one another nervously. "Now, we know its name. We also know not to look at it directly, and to avoid its head. So, we have an advantage there. But we're going to need some decent weapons just in case. So, let's see what you've got." No.9 nodded his head at Blond Bomb. She always knew when to bring the best firepower.

"Okay," Blond Bomb replied, bending down to unzip a beige dry cleaning bag at her feet. "I brought my latest flamethrower." She pulled out a large Super Soaker water gun with a plastic backpack for what should have been for water. "The liquid's a mixture of my own making. Mostly lighter fluid and hairspray with a little extra here and there. Now this," she held up the side of the gun and pointed to a trigger on the second plastic handle that she had installed, "this is where you light the flame." She pulled the trigger. It made a small click sound and in front of the barrel a steady lighter flame appeared. "And when you're ready for a weenie roast, just give er' a few pumps and pull the other trigger."

"Perfect," No.9 replied as Blond Bomb packed away the flamethrower.

"I've packed a few stun bombs," Mr. Invent chimed in next to Blond Bomb. "I've got fifty of them ready to go. Basically you use them like you would any normal bomb, light the fuse and throw, but these let out a gas that will confuse the enemy and blur their vision."

"Nice," No.9 smiled at Mr. Invent with approval.

"I made us something when I got home last night," L.G. said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small black box the size of a tape recorder. "I call it a Danger Meter. It can hear footsteps up to 50 yards away and vibrate if it detects anything. Could helps us avoid some fighting maybe."

"That will definitely come in handy, L.G." No.9 said proudly to his friend before looking over to what Genie Wiz had pulled out of her backpack. "What in the world is that?"

She had pulled out what looked to be a metallic baseball bat covered in tiny black dots.

"This is my Boomer-Bat," she replied. "The black dots are sensors that pick up body heat. And inside-" she unscrewed the top of the hitting end of the bat, "-is a computer." She turned the bat so that everyone could see the tiny black screen. "When I turn it on, the screen shows any enemies nearby." She pressed a small button on the handle and the bat started to whir quietly. "Then I give it a throw. Anyone not on our side should get a good hit upside the head." She screwed the end of the bat back on and flipped the switch to tun it off.

"But what if it accidentally thinks one us is an enemy?" asked Mr. Invent shakily. "If it tracks by body heat then any one of us could be hit!"

"That's why I had you make those security cards," Genie Wiz replied. "It's programmed to ignore anyone with that security chip on them."

Mr. Invent looked relieved. He obviously did not want to be hit by a heat-seeking bat missile.

"One more thing," said Genie Wiz. "If there's a situation where one of you has to use the Boomer-Bat without me, make sure you take my glove." She took off one of her black leather biker gloves she was wearing and showed it to everyone. "It's the only way it'll come back to you. They're super strong magnets."

"Genius," said No.9. "You live up to your name!"

No.9 was impressed with what everyone had brought to the mission. So much so that even he was starting to believe that they had a chance.

"Alright then," No.9 said, "if every one's ready, let's get started." He picked up his gym bag and put the Fulton inside. He caught L.G. looking at him confused and said, "Better take this too...just in case."

The crew piled into the Alley Cat one by one. Everyone was excited and nervous. No.9 was just worried.

"Alright, let's get this thing flying!" said Bombshell, taking a seat.

No.9 took the copilot seat next to Mr. Invent as he punched in the coordinates for Sacoy on the Alley Cat's computer. "OK, here we go," Mr. Invent said after he entered the numbers and waited for the position to show up.

"Yo, Mr. Invent," L.G. called from his seat in the back, "you've gotta teach us how to drive this thing sometime!"

"Sure, L.G., anytime," Mr. Invent replied jokingly.

"L.G. you thought our coordinates were going somewhere underneath the earth yesterday," Blond Bomb laughed in the seat across from L.G.

"Yeah, so?" L.G. replied.

"So how are you going to fly a hovercraft if you can't read a map?"

Everyone laughed as L.G. tried to defend his sometimes spaciness mind.

Mr. Invent's computer beeped and whirred as a large spinning globe came onto the screen. After a few seconds it stopped spinning above the Pacific Ocean and zoomed in slowly. Finally it stopped and a small yellow dot appeared over what looked like nothing in the ocean.

"Could it be somewhere underwater?" No.9 asked looking at the screen.

"It's possible," Mr. Invent replied worried. "Or it could be an uncharted island. I guess we won't know until we get there." Mr. Invent hit a few keys on his computer and the Alley Cat rose off the ground. When they had flown out of the cave exit of the garage, Mr. Invent set the Alley Cat to auto-pilot. He hit a few more keys and a timer appeared on the computer screen that began counting down from 2 hours. "It's an alarm. So we can get some sleep," Mr. Invent explained as he laid back in the pilot seat and closed his eyes.

No.9 yawned and decided to take a nap as well, and within twenty minutes everyone aboard had drifted into an uneasy sleep.

*      *      *

Two hours later the crew was awakened by a loud beeping noise from the Alley Cat's computer screen.

"Morning," L.G. yawned out sleepily in the back cabin.

"Yeah, ditto," said Genie Wiz, annoyed.

"We're nearly there," Mr. Invent said to No.9 as he looked around the cabin and out of the Alley Cat's windshield. There was nothing but deep blue all around them.

"Did anyone bring any coffee?" L.G called out as he rubbed the sleep from his eye. "I am not a morning person."

"I've got something better," Mr. Invent replied. He got out of his seat and started sifting through his knapsack on the floor. "Here they are," he exclaimed, taking out a small metal box with miniature granola bars inside.

"Um, what are those?" Blond Bomb asked confused as she looked at the bars.

"They're my homemade, one-hundred percent guaranteed energy boosters," Mr. Invent replied enthusiastically. "You eat one or two of these things and your adrenaline will pump and your heart will race and you'll be wide awake." He took out one of the bars and popped it into his mouth.

"Slow down," said LG, "you're starting to sound like an infomercial." He grabbed one of the bars from the box. "Can't hurt to try I guess," he added before gulping it down. Everyone helped themselves to a few of Mr. Invent's energy bars and immediately felt focused and awake.

Mr. Invent put the bars away and checked the computer screen once more. "We're about thirty miles away from Sacoy," he called back to everyone. "But that can't be right..." he started talking to himself. No.9 walked back over to the pilot's seat to check in with Mr. Invent. "No, that's just not right," he was saying. "It's not possible..."

"What's the matter?" No.9 asked.

"This trip should have taken nearly all day," Mr. Invent replied, messing with the computer the whole time. "Suddenly we're thirty miles away after two hours? The Alley Cat is fast, but not that fast."

"Well, maybe it's a good thing," said No.9. "Maybe the computer made a glitch and it was really closer than we thought."

Mr. Invent stopped typing and looked at No.9 square in the eyes. "My computers do not make glitches." Suddenly the yellow dot on the screen became ten times larger. Mr. Invent took one look at the screen and gulped. "One mile away," he said.

"Look!" Blond Bomb cried from the back cabin. No.9 walked back to see everyone huddled around a side window. No.9 looked out and saw a bright white light shining straight out of the ocean. It was getting brighter and brighter as the Alley Cat flew towards it.

"What is that?" asked L.G.

"Some kind of reflection from the sun, maybe?" Genie Wiz said.

"Off what, the ocean?" L.G. replied.

"I don't know what it is," said Bombshell, "but we're heading right for it."

She was right. The Alley Cat turned into the white light until the whole cabin was nearly blinded by it.

"It's like we're inside of a star!" yelled Bombshell, covering her eyes.

"At least it isn't star," called Mr. Invent. "Or we'd all be burned alive!"

The Alley Cat had come to a stop in midair and began descending.

"It's not a star," said No.9. "It's Sacoy."

As the Alley Cat dropped lower the light started to fade little by little. When No.9 could finally open his eyes again he couldn't believe what he saw. Through the window of the Alley Cat No.9 could see a large canyon below them. Surrounding the canyon he could make out streams, flowers and fields just beyond the canyon and snowy mountains in the distance. The light had completely faded now and everyone was trying to define what they were seeing. Sacoy was a beautiful place. Surely not a place where any life threatening beast could live. For a moment, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

But suddenly tiny cracks started to appear from the mountain's peaks. They moved their way down to the forest and meadows like snakes.

"Wait," Mr. Invent backed away from the windshield worried. "What's happening?"

The picture they had laid their eyes on was cracking all over, piece by piece.

"Mr. Invent, should we be worried about shattering into a million pieces?" No.9 called out to Mr. Invent, who just stood there in silence starring out the window.

Suddenly there was a loud CRASH and the picture of Sacoy that they had hoped were real shattered and fell away like glass. All they could see now was blackness.A loud thud shook the Alley Cat. They had landed...on something. In the distance they could hear a loud whooshing sound coming from outside.

"What was that?!" Genie Wiz jumped away from the window in fear.

"Relax," said No.9, "It's probably just the wind. Who knows what kind of weather-"

BANG, BANG, BANG

No.9 stopped talking and looked around at everyone, trying to stay calm. The banging noise came back again.

BANG,BANG,BANG

It was coming from the dome of the Alley Cat. And it was getting louder.


BANG, BANG, BANG

L.G. looked at No.9 and mouthed, "What do we do?"

No.9 had no idea. He was trying to think of a plan when the banging came again, louder than the rest, followed by something they would have never expected to hear:

"Ello?" came a tiny voice from outside. "Ello? ELLO? Let me in! Please! ELLO?!"

BANG, BANG, BANG

Chapter 8: The Fulton

After a forty-five minute hover journey the crew had returned to Mr. Invent's secret garage quite tired. No.9 had several bruises on his arms and legs, not to mention the huge scrape that ran all the way up his right leg.

Mr. Invent wasn't interested in resting though. He was interested in examining the crystal. He took it to a back room in the garage which must have been his lab. After several minutes he came out of the lab and announced something very bad.

"The crystal is nuclear charged."

"So what?" L.G. yawned.

"So what?! That crystal is jeopardizing everyone's lives! If we try to destroy it an explosion bigger than the atom bomb will occur! It may blow the whole world to smithereens! And if we keep it eventually someone, somewhere, will try to get it back and use it. That weapon Jim made us retrieve needs this crystal to work. See?" Mr. Invent pushed the crystal into the large hole on the top of the Fulton. "And this slot here is a major part, too," he said, pointing at a thin slit on the side of the weapon. He walked over to the Shocklist and picked it up. "Do you get it now?"

He pushed the Shocklist into the slot and at that exact moment the screen of the Fulton turned on.

The words ENTER TARGET/LOCATION suddenly appeared in neon green letters.

L.G. walked over to the Fulton and typed "Washington D.C."

INCORRECT LOCATION

"Try your name," Mr. Invent said.

L.G. typed in his real name. Within an instant his photo and information from the agency records were on the screen. A set of numbers flashed underneath LAST KNOWN LOCATION below his picture.

"Should I try someone else?" L.G. gulped.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Okay," he said, sounding relieved as he placed the Fulton next to the laptop with the Infester's video feed.

"This weapon puts everyone here in danger," Mr Invent said. "It puts our families in danger. We shouldn't tamper with this, we better just give it to the main headquarters. The crystal too. Maybe they'll go easy on us for taking it."

"And have someone else steal it and use it?" said No.9. "What if Jim wasn't the only traitor? What if the whole agency is infiltrated?"

"But you heard what Mr. Invent said," Blonde Bomb piped in, "it can't be destroyed."

"But we can't handle this!" Genie Wiz said. "This is way too big for us."

No.9 started pacing back and forth in thought. He had no idea what to do next.

"Nice of you to join me again," said a very familiar voice.

Everyone looked over at L.G.'s laptop sitting on the desk next to the Fulton. Mr. Cobbledhead and the general had just walked in to Mr. Cobbledhead's office.

"Can I get you a glass of water?" Mr. Cobbledhead asked cheerfully as he closed the office door. The general said nothing. "Sit down, sit down."

"Well?" The general did not sound happy at all.

"Well what, General?"

"Do you have the crystal?"

"Unfortunately we do not have the crystal or the Fulton device in our possession at this time," said Mr. Cobbledhead smoothly.

At this the General stood up, his face red as blood.

"You said your agency would get it," he yelled, shaking with rage. "Don't worry you said! But now this mess about Cryton will be out and this entire planet will be destroyed! Do you know the seriousness of this situation, Cobbledhead?!"

"Now General, there is no reason to bring Cryton into this," Mr. Cobbledhead replied, still sitting calmly in his chair. "I doubt the persons in possession of the crystal or the Fulton will know how to actually use them, let alone what Cryton is. Or where Sacoy itself is even. This is merely a minor setback."

"A minor setback?!" The general's head looked like it could explode at any moment. "Do you have any idea how much time, how much energy and dollars and lives have been used to keep this from getting out?

"Calm down general," Mr. Cobbledhead replied tensely. "Of course I'm aware of all the measures we've taken to keep Cryton contained. I'm the one who makes sure it remains a secret. I'm the one who's sacrificed for that cause. Don't ever forget that."

"Be that as it may, we have to take severe measures now," the General replied angrily. "The only way to make up for this is to retrieve the Satar particle on Sacoy. I trust you'll remember to send your best this time."

"If you feel that that is necessary, then so be it," Mr. Cobbledhead replied. "As you know we've had...problems in the past concerning the Satar particle. Even my best men will have to deal with Setra."

"Just get it done," the General replied.

Mr. Cobbledhead pushed the button down on his desk's pager.

"Yes, sir?" came the secretary's dull voice.

"Bring me group 114 right away," said Mr. Cobbledhead.

No.9 was confused. He had no idea what the words "Cryton" "Sacoy" and "Setra" referred to, but he knew that whatever or whoever these words described he would be dealing with them soon enough. He grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper off of the desk next to the laptop and started writing everything he had heard. When he finished he concentrated hard on the screen, making sure not to miss a word

A knocking sound came from the monitor.

"Come in," said Mr. Cobbledhead.

The door opened and six muscular men in camo pants and black t-shirts strolled into the office and stood in a straight line in front of Cobbledhead and the general. Senior agents. The best of the best.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" one of the agents replied as he stood in the line.

"Yes," said Mr. Cobbledhead. "I have a mission for you and your team. It is going to be the most difficult task you've ever faced, and it is going to be extremely dangerous. Everything I am about to tell you is above Top Secret. Any sharing of this information is treason, especially with any of the other agents."

The team looked around at each other and the man on the far right of the line nodded his head in understanding.

"You may ask no questions," said Mr. Cobbledhead. "Your transportation will be arranged ahead of time with the location. I am not able to tell you where. When you arrive you will be just outside of a large garden. Inside of this garden are four stone pillars. Each of them will have a unique inscription: Seti, Destri, Lorti, and Zeusi. The Zeusi pillar is your target. Once you have located it, push the stone symbol carved under the inscription into the pillar. A small bright orb will fall out of the carving's opening. Do not let this touch the ground. You must capture the orb in this," Mr. Cobbledhead held up a small round metallic ball. "As soon as it is safely inside you must return it here immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" the six agents replied together.

"Very good," said Mr. Cobbledhead as he handed the metal orb to the soldier in the middle of the line. "However, I haven't mentioned the most dangerous part of this mission just yet."

The agents looked sideways at each other, not daring to let Mr. Cobbledhead see them worried.

"In the center of the Garden," Mr. Cobbledhead continued, "is a ferocious beast known as Setra. Describing him to you here would be a waste of time and energy. His appearance, by now, has most likely changed since our last encounter with him. It is unlike any creature you can imagine. As of now we don't know of any way of killing the thing either. All I can tell you is to avoid eye contact and stay away from his head, and teeth, if at all possible."

The six agents were all quietly sweating in their suits.

"You will leave in the morning, 6 a.m. on the dot" Mr. Cobbledhead finished. The six agents walked out of the room and No.9 walked over to a leather armchair across from the screen showing Mr. Cobbledhead's office. He laid the paper he had used to copy the meeting's information on his lap.

"I'm not so sure we should do this," he said, reading over the instructions Mr. Cobbledhead had said again. "This garden sounds pretty creepy, and I'm not too keen on meeting Setra whatever that is. But on the other hand, if we don't get this...this Satar particle," No.9 read from the paper, "who knows what will happen?"

The others stood around listening closely to No.9, though they all understood that he was really talking to himself. He was trying to decide how they would handle these strange instructions.

"What is this place they keep talking about anyway? Is it some kind of trap?"

No.9 sat in deep thought for a few moments before finally addressing everyone else in the room.

"Maybe we should examine the Fulton properly," he said, looking up at everyone else staring at him. "Yes, that's what we'll do."

No.9 looked over to L.G. and the Fulton laying on the desk next to him. He read through the conversation he had written down, trying to pick out anything that might help them.

"L.G., try entering 'Cryton' into the Fulton device," No.9 directed.

L.G. typed this into the Fulton, but all he received in return was another INCORRECT LOCATION message.

"No good," L.G. replied shaking his head.

"Alright," said No.9, moving his finger over to the next word that made no sense to him. "Try Sacoy."

The Fulton made tiny beeps as L.G. pressed each letter. There was a pause and suddenly the Fulton began to whir. The screen flickered slightly and the word SEARCHING blinked onto the screen. L.G. looked up at No.9 excitedly.

"It's working!" he exclaimed.

Everyone crowded around L.G. and No.9, looking at the Fulton's screen as it searched for...something.

After a few seconds the Fulton stopped searching. The screen was entirely blue with green lines spaced evenly apart going up and across the screen. In the center of the grid was a blinking red dot

"What does it mean?" Blonde Bomb asked what everyone was thinking.

No.9 didn't have a clue. He looked around at everyone discouraged. He was finding out that starting your very own agency was not as easy as he thought.

"Wait a minute," Genie Wiz said over L.G.'s shoulder. "I think-" she pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, looking at the screen. "I think it's a map." She came around behind L.G. and pointed to the top of the Fulton's tiny screen. "Look here. Numbers!" She moved her finger down the side of the screen. "And here too. Latitude and longitude lines!"

No.9 looked closely where Genie Wiz's fingers had pointed and could just barely make out tiny numbers. "Is there a map around here?" he asked Mr. Invent standing on the other side of the desk.

"Come with me," said Mr. Invent. He lead everyone into a tiny library across from his lab. On the only wall without a bookcase was a huge map of the the world which he walked over to, grabbing a Sharpie marker out of his pocket on the way. "Alright," he said, "give me the coordinates."

L.G. squinted at the tiny numbers on the top of the Fulton. "Okay, it looks like for the one going up and down-"

"The latitude," Mr. Invent corrected.

"Yeah, that one," said L.G. "Looks like it's 33."

Mr. Invent scanned the top of his map until he reached 33 degrees going North and South. "And the second number?" He sounded a little confused.

"Negative 179?" L.G. replied, a little unsure of himself.

Mr. Invent ran his finger down the North and South line of 33 degrees, trying to find the point where it would cross negative 179.

"Wait, how can that be right?" L.G. questioned. "Wouldn't that mean it's like, below the Earth if it's a negative number?"

Everyone in the room looked at him instantly except Mr. Invent.

"What?"

"You should have really payed more attention in Geography class," Blonde Bomb replied.

Everyone laughed. L.G. shook his head, still confused by it all.

Mr. Invent popped the cap off of his Sharpie and made a small black circle on the map with a few squeaks. He turned around to everyone a little worried. The black dot was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

"It's in the middle of the sea?" Bombshell asked, staring at the black dot in disbelief and then looking at Mr. Invent.

"In the middle of the Pacific Ocean," said Mr. Invent.

Everyone stood there quietly. No.9 went back into deep thought. He wasn't so sure if all of this was such a good idea anymore. When they were younger their missions with the agency had been easy. Keep a lookout on the corner, secure such and such perimeter, stuff like that. It wasn't until they stole the Fulton and the crystal that any of them had faced real danger. And after what just happened at Area 51, would they be able to handle this? Were they prepared to outsmart six senior agent, all while avoiding some unknown beast named Setra in a mysterious garden in the middle of the ocean?

No one wasn't saying a word. Everyone was waiting for him to make a call. After the past few days it was clear who their leader had become. He sat there in silence for another few seconds before making a decision. This was too important. Not just for them, but for the fate of the entire world.

"Can the Alley Cat make it that far?" he finally said, looking over towards Mr. Invent.

"It should," Mr. Invent replied, turning back to the map and tracing a route with his finger. "She runs on a combination of gasoline and solar power so, as long as it's not too cloudy on the way, we should be just fine."

"Alright," No.9 said decidedly. "I'm going. I don't expect all of you to join me. Especially after tonight. This is going to be dangerous. The most dangerous mission any one of us have ever been on. If you want to back out, say so now. I won't look down on you or make you leave this group. I'll understand."

No.9 stood in the doorway of the library as he gave his small speech. He half expected most of the group to back out of the mission, but no one said a word.

"We're all with you, Nine," L.G. replied to his friend. "Let's go save the world."

L.G., Blonde Bomb, Genie Wiz, Bombshell, and Mr. Invent gathered together in a half circle in front of No.9. The team was ready to follow him anywhere.

"Alright then," No.9 said, smiling at his teammates. "Let's all go home for the night and get some rest. We all deserve it and we're definitely going to need it for tomorrow. We'll meet back here before sunrise."

Everyone nodded in agreement with excited faces. They left Mr. Invent's garage and headed off to their homes. The anticipation kept most of them wake for hours until they finally nodded off into a half-sleep.

Everyone except No.9, who lay awake until the wee hours of the morning, worrying that he might have just cost everyone their lives.