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.
"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.
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