Copyright © 1996 - Ryan A. Myers
[I wrote this story when I was 11 years old.]
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Chapter 1
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One sunny morning, two archaeologists (Bill Solidade and Tom Kraftan) were digging in a archaeological dig, when they hit something hard. Bill and Tom were just-starting archaeologists. They each had brown hair, and blue eyes, and were best friends. Bill was an electronic genius, creating hundreds of useful lab equipment. Tom was negative, usually, and didn't have a specialty like Bill. Anyway, they dug and dug and finally uncovered a huge rock. It was the size of a blackboard and twice as long!
"Whoa!" Bill exclaimed as it toppled over on one side.
Tom said, "Let's get this thing back to the lab!"
But no matter how hard they tried, the archaeologists couldn't budge the huge boulder. Exhausted, they leaned against its surface. All at once, the rock fell over, and started to roll. The archaeologists stood wide-eyed as the rock came to a screeching halt. They ran over to it.
"Not a solitary scratch!" Tom remarked.
Bill and Tom watched in awe as the rock moved again. This time, it didn't start to roll. Instead, it began to sink into the ground, just as the sun began to set. The archaeologists decided to stay there for the night, so they wouldn't miss the rock the next morning.
At 6:00 am the next morning (Bill was wearing a watch), the ground shifted. Tom woke up with a start, just in time to see the humongous rock rise up from the sands like a submarine in water. It was even bigger than before!
Bill said, "We can't bring this thing back to the lab, but we can bring some of the lab here!"
Tom agreed, and the two set out for the lab. As they left, the rock began to glow.
A few minutes later, Bill and Tom returned with most of the portable equipment from the lab. Bill found the Porta-Scanner, and activated it.
"Whoever hid this was no fool," he said solemnly. "There is something under that rock layer!"
Tom gasped out loud. He said,
"Are you sure, Bill?"
As the two were talking, they didn't notice the rock chipping behind them. All at once, Bill heard a huge tearing sound. He turned around, and nearly fainted. For what seemed like forever to Bill's fellow archaeologist, Bill stood paralyzed, looking straight at the boulder. But when Tom turned around, he didn't see the rock. He saw a huge gold nugget the size of a bathtub, in the place of the boulder. Bill and Tom now both stood transfixed, staring at the nugget as if they were lifeless dummies. Then, Bill snapped back into the real world.
"Come on," he said to Tom. "This is smaller than the rock. We may be able to lift it!"
Tom agreed, and together, they managed to carry the nugget back to the laboratory. After a computer analyzation, Bill announced,
"This is Incan gold, from about 1390 A.D. It has been hidden since the Spanish takeover in 1500. Apparently, it was their most prized possession."
Tom, however, was not so easy to believe such things.
"Let me see." he said.
But, as Tom discovered, what Bill had reported was quite true. Tom was still reluctant to believe.
"How did it last this long, then?" Tom inquired.
Suddenly, Bill remembered something that happened out in the burial grounds.
"Remember last night? Where did the rock go? Did it roll down the hill? No! It sunk into the ground! Did we make it fall apart? No! It fell apart, right in front of us! Don't you see? This isn't just any nugget! It's magic. It's some kind of Incan treasure! No wonder no one has discovered it by now! We'll be famous!"
Tom wanted to believe his friend, but he couldn't. There HAD to be a reasonable explanation to what happened at the grounds! He knew it! Such things just don't happen! Or do they?..........
Later, further research was done on the Incas and the gold. They found that the gold was called Onahuan-tiho, or Secret Nugget. Tom thought then and there it was a hoax, but Bill read on.
"They meant nuggets of gold, Tom! Lighten up! This is a good thing!"
Tom retorted, "I know, and I want to be happy. But I can't believe any of this is true-that it can happen!"
Bill, almost irritated, replied, "Explaining is a scientist's job, Tom. We find stuff. Scientists have the hard job!"
Tom knew what Bill said was completely true, but he also knew that the whole thing was just so impossible!
Bill continued. "Besides, Tom, who cares about the rock any more? We have gold! The rock doesn't mean anything anymore! Whatever the rock was, it's no more!"
"Well, explain to me-"
"FOR THE LAST TIME! WE DO NOT NEED SCIENTIST'S EXPLANATIONS TO DO WHAT WE DO! WE DO NOT NEED TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO ANYBODY, ESPECIALLY ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS. FORGET ABOUT THE STUPID ROCK !"
Tom was startled by Bill's outburst, and ran out into the site. He started to dig, and he hit something hard. When he dug it up, he found another huge rock, but smaller than the first. It was still as strong and as heavy as ever, especially since there was only one person there to carry it. He called out to Bill, but his friend was so busy examining the rock, he didn't hear Tom.
Bill, meanwhile, was researching the Incan customs in the mid-1390's. He didn't find anything exciting, except that the Incas, in that period of time, worshipped gold and glowing things more than anything. He also found interesting information about Onahuan-tiho, such as the first person to discover it, after the Incas, was not found since. Bill's thoughts began to waver about this old stone, realizing the truth of what that sentence meant. Thoughtfully, he closed the book, and called out to Tom.
Tom was still trying to carry the second boulder, and was quite exhausted, when he heard Bill. He ran into the laboratory, and told Bill everything. Then Bill told all he found. Now Tom was convinced to get rid of the gold, valuable or not. But Bill was defiant, because he remembered the other gold. If it had the same "powers", it wouldn't be staying still. Bill wanted to test them together.
Before Bill or Tom could say another word, or think another thought, the stone started to glow again, and this time the archaeologists saw it, because they were sucked into the nugget like dust into a vacuum.
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Chapter 2
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Bill and Tom realized that they were right, but it was too late. They were trapped in a gold nugget. Then, they heard an eerie, crackling voice that hissed like a snake.
"Greetings, archaeologisssts. I have been expecting you! I do ssso hope you enjoy thissss plasssse, becaussse it will be your new home, for all eternity! Hahahahahaaaaa-", and Bill and Tom heard no more.
Tom looked at Bill with a face that said, as plain as day, "I told you so!"
Bill was sorry, but then wasn't the time to worry about that.
"Come on, Tom, let's get some answers. We might......", but he was interrupted by the eerie voice.
"If it isss anssswersss you require, good friendssss, you mussst find them yoursssself! Hahahaha!"
Bill and Tom were plainly puzzled, as the unmistakable laughter died away. Tom thought to himself, I knew this was a bad idea, but does he ever listen to me? OH, NO! And with that, he followed Bill down a long and narrow corridor.
Bill said, "Well, if we can't get any answers from the creepy dude, we apparently have to find them ourselves."
Tom reluctantly agreed. He wasn't about to go poking around in HIS own nugget! The two friends peered down another passageway, and saw nothing but darkness.
Suddenly, the nugget began to move. It moved faster and faster and faster, until it abruptly stopped. Tom looked through a crack and saw the other rock falling apart, just like the first one. As soon as the rock fell apart completely, the nugget zoomed straight at the second rock. All at once, the walls began to move out, and Bill saw that they had joined with the second nugget, and all around Bill and Tom, the super-nugget began to glow.
Bill got up with a start. He must have been sleeping! He looked around.
"Tom?" he called, again and again. But his friend was nowhere to be found!
Bill was very worried. Well, he thought, I might as well look for him. Wait! He could be just about anywhere! Bill hurried around dark corridors, until he found a perforation in the wall on his right. He touched it, and it slid open.
When he stepped inside, he was blinded! The light was unbearable to him! Then, he heard the voice.
"You should not be in here! It isssss very private! For tressspassssing, you will be blinded with the light of SSSSSoulssss!"
As the voice died away, Bill lost practically all senses, except for touch.
Meanwhile, Tom was also lost somewhere in the super-nugget. He found a huge hole in the wall. He touched it, and felt hard gold. He turned around, and saw sunlight! He ran forward, and ran smack into another wall. Soon, he was surrounded by openings, which all turned out to be solid walls. Confused, Tom sat down on what he saw to be ground, but was actually a trapdoor! As he fell, he heard the voice.
"You have disssssturbed me in my room! You will not live for it! The illusionssss were my doing, to get you to leave! SSSSinsssse you didn't, you will fall for all eternity in my trapdoor!"
Tom listened to this in horror.
As Tom was falling, Bill was still desperately trying to see. He knew he had to get out of there! He stumbled forward. Then again, and again. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Bill, his fingers found another perforation. As he touched it, it slid open, and he was free! He could see again, but only to see a large, glowing cobra cross his path.
"Thossse who sssssurvive getting blinded musssst sssssuffer at the handsssss of a sssssserpent!" said the voice.
As the cobra struck again and again, Bill noticed an axe on the wall.
Meanwhile, Tom was still falling. Then, he remembered his mountain-climbing lessons! He looked up dizzily. The opening looked like it was miles and MILES away! But, calmly, he grabbed onto the edge and started to pull himself up.
Bill looked at his watch. It was almost 12:00 midnight! But he didn't feel tired one bit, as he swung ruthlessly at the glittering snake.
Tom still saw the opening to be at least 35 feet above him. He kept climbing, and finally, after what could have been a year to him, he grabbed onto the opening and pulled himself up. He started to run, and he got out of that room lickety-split! But, as he ran, he could have sworn he saw a control panel appear from the ground of the nugget. He kept on running, and collided with something.
Bill, meanwhile, was still battling the snake. Finally, he made a good, solid blow, and chopped that golden snake in two. He started to run. As he ran, he heard the voice say,
"You desssstroyed my sssssnake! Now I am really sssssteamed!"
And with that, the voice disappeared, and he ran smack into something.
Bill got knocked unconscious, and Tom stumbled backwards. Tom saw that he had run right into.......a wall. Bill woke up at, according to his watch, 10:30 am the next day. In front of him was a huge door. There was no wall supporting it, and a sign on the door said,
DO NOT ENTER!
Bill looked longingly at the door, but after all the things that had happened to him, he knew he should leave that door alone. Wouldn't you? As soon as he could get this thought out, the voice said,
"I will now reveal mysssself to you, Bill. You musssst promissssse not to tell your fellow archaeologisssst, or anyone elsssssssse. I am your father, SSSSSSam SSSSSSolidade. If you tell, you will be dessstroyed for betraying your own father."
Bill could not believe what he had just heard. That wacko trying to destroy him was his own father? He refused to believe that! But he knew he had to listen to the guy. Besides, the man was implying that he would SEE Tom sometime soon. That made Bill think.
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Chapter 3
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Bill began to ponder the situation, but then he heard the voice again.
"Don't you believe me, my ssssson? Can't you recognize the voisssssse of your father? Have you missssssed me for ssssso long, you forgot me?"
Then, Bill saw an old man.
"Dad!" he said. "It IS you! But, how?"
"Asssss you had read, child, the lasssst perssssson to find thisssss sssssstone wasssssss never found. I am he. I wassss sssssucked into thisssssss nugget assssss you were. I do not know how it worksssssss. Oh, and here isssssss your friend........." and with that, Bill saw his friend, screaming in terror. Then, a cage fell on them. Bill's father transformed into an ugly monster.
"You were a fool to believe me, Bill! A fool........."
Hours passed. Bill's watch began to stop. One day, his watch stopped ticking. The cage around them started to glow, and the monster reappeared, as a female stewardess.
"Thank you for choosing Airway Nugget. We hope you enjoyed your flight!"
Then, transforming into his true self, he laughed out loud.
Tom squeezed the bars of the cage with all of his might, but nothing happened. Then, Bill remembered the axe he had. He cut and swung that axe, and finally the bars snapped. Bill and Tom ran, and bumped into the monster.
"Hey! Who're you shovin'? Oh-it'ssssss you foolssss. How did you esssssscape?"
Then the monster noticed the axe in Bill's hand.
"Very clever. It ssssssseemsssss my sssssssecurity issssss not perfect! No matter. It endssss NOW!"
Terrified, Tom ran like a coward. But Bill stayed. He had the axe. He swung and swung, but just as he had the upper hand, eventually, he was overwhelmed.
Tom said, "Stop being such a fool! You are no match for him! MOVE!"
Bill agreed, but not soon enough.
"AAAAARGH!" he shrieked, as he fell to the ground.
"Bill!" Tom shouted.
The monster silently slinked away, cradling its injured arm.
Tom grabbed the axe and ran after the monster.
"You little creep! You'll pay for that!" and before he realized what he was doing, he ran at the monster, screaming.
As they clashed, Bill slowly and painfully looked up. He saw the two fighting, and he wanted to help. He knew he was hurt too much, but he was strong (or so he thought). He rushed at the monster, but before he could move, a tearing pain filled his insides. He fell helplessly to the ground.
Meanwhile, Tom was defeating the monster. He was just about to strike the killing blow, when the monster, with its remaining strength, hurled itself at Tom. Tom was overcome with pain, as the monster disappeared.
Bill, meanwhile, was suffering greatly from his blow. He cried out in pain, and Tom ran over to him. Weakly, they lay there together. Then, a face peered through the golden walls. Bill saw his father. Tom saw his long-lost brother, John. They both ran over to the figure, and were violently thrown backwards. The monster stepped into the light, fully restored.
Another hour passed like that. Bill opened his tearing eyes, only to find Tom missing again. He could not look for him, he was much too weak. He just lay there helplessly, as Tom wandered further and further away from his friend. Bill dunked his head back down on the ground. They were going to die, he knew it!
Later, Bill woke up. He began wandering around, when he saw a stairway. He went down it, and he saw a large cage. In the cage, he saw a group of people that looked just like the Incas in the photographs of them in books. They spoke.
"We have been captured here, as you have, by Kimonalanacadoneb."
Bill said, "Well, maybe I can help."
With his axe, he chopped open the cage bars.
"Come on," he said, "Let's take care of Kimonathingy-doodle!"
Meanwhile, Kimonalanacadoneb had taken Tom hostage.
"You cannot esssssscape thisssss time, without your axe. You are mine!"
Just then, Bill came charging in with the Incas.
"Aaaaarrrrrrrrgh!" the monster screamed.
Bill was about to strike the killing blow, when his insides filled with pain. He was not completely recovered. Tom grabbed the axe and was about to deliver the blow, but Kimonalanacadoneb disappeared.
Bill was still trying to recover, when Tom disappeared with the monster.
Many hours later, Kimonalanacadoneb, fully restored, locked Tom in the cage again. Tom screamed and yelled, but it did no good. The Incas, however, were very cunning, and devised a strategy. When they found Kimonalanacadoneb, they surrounded him. Ten Incas created a diversion, while the rest sneaked behind him. However, the monster was magic, and had eyes in the back of his head. He cleared away the first ten, then turned around. The startled Incas grabbed their injured members, and ran.
Bill, now fully recovered, ran to help the Incas, but he was too late. Kimonalanacadoneb stood before a group of unconscious Incas.
Tom was still locked up, but the axe was in reaching distance. He strained and struggled, and severely injured his arm, but managed to get the axe. He broke through the cage, and killed the monster.
Bill, seeing this, ran over to congratulate his friend, but before he could say anything, they were attacked by a huge lion, composed completely of gold.
"Whoa!" Bill exclaimed.
As Bill battled the lion with his axe, Tom went to try and heal the Incas.
The lion was much too powerful for Bill alone, and he called to his friend for help. Tom, seeing that Bill was in trouble, grabbed one of the Incan spears, and helped Bill. Eventually, the Incas woke up, and saw what was happening. They rushed in to help. As the lion roared in pain, it apparently became more engaged in the fight, and started to really hurt. It slashed with its huge claws, and attacked often.
After a while, the entire team was overwhelmed, and retreated. But the lion ran after them, and it ran fast! When the team was exhausted, they were attacked again. They managed to escape, but the lion was hot on their heels. The team rounded into a corridor, and the lion ran past.
The team was pretty sure they would be safe in the corridor, but little did they know! As they began to sneak out into the main hallway, they heard a hissing sound behind them, then another, then another. The turned around, and saw huge spiders the size of a catchers mitt, hissing loudly.
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Chapter 4
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The spiders were hissing so loud, they sounded almost like Kimonalanacadoneb. As they carefully backed out of the corridor, they bumped into something. They turned around, but saw nothing.
"Split up!" Alqui, an Incan, suggested.
So, the Crone team (Bill, Alqui, Baverick, Dasex, Polose, NoGrosse, Zeshed, Quedend, Ledenas, Yedach, Gralb, Okarham, Tartam, and Frosganius) went left, and the Sone team (Tom, Inq, Byst, Ranes, Kijde, PebLead, Uid, Ta, Pyze, Xeg, Plast, Honsa, Zunbej, and Getarmea) went right. Zeshed was almost certain he saw a large lizard, and then it was gone. On his side, Uid thought he heard a snort. Then, Quedend turned around.
"Halana Quite Poaet!" (Now quickly run, or run quickly now)
For behind the Crone Team, there was a huge chameleon!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Their screams could be heard throughout the nugget. Tom, hearing them, cried out his new orders.
"Turn around! Our friends-" and stopped short. For behind the Sone Team stood a large warthog. Its ugliness reminded Tom of Kilo.
"Weapons, everybody!" shouted Tom. "CHARGE!"
Meanwhile, the spears are being wasted as the offensive side of Crone try to find the lizard.
"Iniva ye Hisasasa!" (Is he here, or Here he is) yelled NoGrosse.
The now visible lizard slashed its tail dangerously close to the men's hearts. Bill was glad he had his axe again.
Tom saw a sword on the wall, and grabbed it with no further consideration. The great hog "grabbed" it with its huge tusks, and swallowed it whole.
"Ouch." Tom remarked to himself.
Ta grabbed his spear and rushed at the beast, but his attempts were no match for the beast. He, along with Byst and Getarmea, fell valiantly.
Meanwhile, the lizard was taking victims, too. Gralb and NoGrosse both lay dead. Then, Dasex hit the dust. The chameleon was, however, getting beaten. Every few seconds it got pierced by another spear or axe.
As all this was happening, Inq, Zunbej, and Pyze were killed by the beast. Tom, having no weapon, borrowed a spear from Ta. Lucky shot! The Sones ran to help their friends.
On the other side, Yedach and Zeshed died, and then Sone came. After a short time, the beast ran away.
Crone and Sone split into two teams: Cone and Tone each.
ToneS found a large Neanderthal person ready to attack.
ToneC encountered the lion.
ConeS was covered by the huge spiders.
ConeC fought the warthog.
Each of the four corridors was raging with screams, snorts, hisses, roars, and battle cries.
Soon, ConeS was down to just Bill, ConeC was down to Frosganius and Ledenas, ToneC was down to Xeg and Uid, and ToneS was down to Tom and Plast.
Frosganius sent his arrow straight to the warthog's heart, and turned around. Xeg was about to be killed by the lion, but the lion suddenly stopped. It had been stopped by an arrow from Frosganius! Now that the warthog was dead, Frosganius was everywhere. A spider fell down dead, and Nean Derthal got an arrow in his club.
Plast was also all over the place. Another spider died. The lion was shot right in the paw, and Nean got his club knocked out of his hand and pinned to a wall, by two arrows. Then, Nean did an earthquake slam. ToneC was totaled, and so was half of ConeC.
Bill grabbed his axe (which was now very bloody, I might add) and rushed at Nean. It became bloodier, but Nean was still cooking. Suddenly, a mysterious figure became visible. He/she slashed his/her cape, and instantly what was left of the monsters vanished. Then, so did the figure.
Bill, Tom, and Frosganius were talking about the figure, when he/she appeared again. He/She pointed behind the men. They turned around, but saw nothing but a wall. The figure leapt into the air over the astounded men, and swung the cape. Instantly, a huge door appeared and opened. To the men's watching eyes, a room filled with golden weapons and golden armor was exposed.
In the room, the men not only discovered treasure, they discovered the figure had disappeared once again.
Later, Frosganius was extremely puzzled, but Bill had an idea.
"Remember in those books we have, how it said that there was supposedly a supernatural female entity sighted whenever someone emerged safely from this place? She could be our ticket outta here!"
"Whoa, that's all fine and dandy," said Tom, "But she didn't whisk us away with her, so you say, magic cape, did she?"
"Tom, my boy, you don't get it, do you?"
"Well, I get enough to convince me your idea is about as crazy as-as-"
"As what? As us being here? As Kimonalanacadoneb (I said it!)? As the ancient Incas fighting alongside us? As a golden lion, and man, and warthog, and chameleon, and group of spiders? As-"
"Will you two stop arguing!" Frosganius interrupted. "You're right, Bill, about some things. I've seen that lady before. Her name is Hafasenabed, or Hafasa. She is indeed magical, and helps all who have been captured by Kilo."
"And that is an advantage, I might add." remarks Bill.
"Advantage or not, I DON'T TRUST GIRLS!" yelled Tom.
"Then you will never escape." said a female voice, and everything went dark.
Later, Bill woke up. That lady was magic all right, and she held the key to freedom. If only I could convince Tom that she's on our side. Hasn't he seen enough?! And with those aggravating thoughts, he drifted slowly back to sleep.
Much later, Frosganius started a tour of the nugget. Bill saw it as an escape route waiting to be told. Tom saw it as a way to "run into" that girl again.
Later, Bill and Tom saw Hafasa. She swung her cape, and disappeared. Frosganius turned around. Tom was gone!
Hafasa took Tom back to her nugget, which had joined with Kilo's. She was mad. Very mad.
"I don't trust girls! I don't trust girls! Well, young Tom-"
"I'm not young! I am an-"
"Don't bother me with details! You are young to me. I am 40,000 years old, and despise impolite persons."
Tom gulped silently.
"Yes, I heard you. You have no right not to trust me, for if you do not trust me, you won't live to forgive yourself. I read the mind of your friend. He is true of heart and knows the truth in one's spirit. If he were like you-" upon which she spoke in a nasty voice like Kilo's "-I would have taken him with you."
And she vanished, with Tom chained, incredibly tightly, to the wall.
Bill and Frosganius, meanwhile, were very worried. They couldn't arrange a search party, they didn't have enough people. They couldn't look for him themselves, they might be attacked by another animal or something. Anyway, they could get lost. They couldn't make any useful weapons or vehicles from the gold, there might be booby traps. They were very worried.
Finally, Bill said, "I say we take our weapons and armor and go after him. We might get killed, but it would be for Tom!"
So he and the remaining Incas (Frosganius, Baverick, and Ledenas) split up, each with a walkie-talkie from the room.
Frosganius (F) took the left, Baverick (B) took the right, and Bill (LL) took straight ahead. Ledenas (L) stood where he was.
Meanwhile, Hafasa returned to Tom-with a laser. Horrified, Tom stared at the laser.
Hafasa said, "You will learn not to mess with girls. We deserve credit. You do not." And, before anyone did anything, Hafasa grabbed the laser and shot. Tom ducked as best he could, and the bullet cut through the top of the wall.
Meanwhile, Bill received a message on his golden walkie-talkie.
"LL! This is L. I'm being attacked! It's some sort of-it's a tiger! It has big claws and-" and Bill heard nothing more but static.
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Chapter 5
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"L? L? Can you hear me, L? <Beep> B, come in. Do you read, B? Over."
"I read, LL. What is it? Over."
"L has been attacked. Contact F. Over."
"I read you, LL. Over. <Beep>"
"What's up? Over." asked Fros after he was contacted.
"L's got trouble. Let's move. Over." said Bill.
Meanwhile, Hafasa still had Tom. Tom, now, was really worried that something bad would happen to him, and that apologizing wouldn't help. Still, he could try....
Meanwhile, Ledenas was having a huge problem. He was almost unconscious, and the tiger was preparing for another blow. He grabbed for his spear, but his attempts were useless. Then, the spear snapped. Ledenas was left defenseless, at the hands of a murderous feline, all alone, all-
"Hang on, Leden! We're here!" and even as the reassuring sound of Bill's voice cut through Leden's brain, the tiger took another swipe, and missed.
Tom was still waiting for Hafasa to come back so he could apologize. Then, she finally appeared. Tom opened his mouth, but could say nothing. With a flash of her magic cape, Tom's mouth sealed shut. Another wave, and Tom couldn't see. All of a sudden he couldn't hear. He couldn't feel the stone he was tied to. Then, he could hear.
"Apology UNaccepted." and he heard no more.
There was quite a battle raging in the corridor labeled Yadaoped, where a tiger, and Leden, Bill, Fros, and Bave were battling. Fros was still a terrific shot, but the monster seemed to almost reflect off the arrows. Baver swore once he saw it glow.
Hafasa had a powerful magic spell on Tom: senselessness. Oh, it's not funny. If he ever recovers, he would see mirages controlled by Hafasa everywhere he'd look. That spell could not be broken while Hafasa was alive. She was almost pitying the poor man. His thoughts were not of hating girls, but of seeing, apologizing, and leaving. She almost gave in, almost set him free. Almost. But as she thought this, she thought of what he said, and thought. She angrily sealed the room completely with magical holographic solids of lions and tigers and other cats.
The battle was favored for the tiger so far. Already, Leden was unconscious, Fros's bow was snapped, Bill was injured, and Bave had no weapon. With a blood-stopping roar, the tiger struck Bave. He screamed, and fell to the ground next to Leden. Bill had blood pouring out of his shoulder, but he kept going. The tiger turned, and revealed another animal: a cheetah. As soon as it had a clear path, it raced onto the scene, taking out Bill. Fros had a snapped bow, and no other weapons in sight. Frantically, he tore at the walls, and finally, a chunk fell out. With intense accuracy and attention, he hurled the small piece of gold at the cheetah. But although his aim was very good, he could not hit that target no matter how hard he tried. He tore off another piece, and hurled it at the tiger. He hit it right in the face, but the tiger merely brushed it aside with its powerful claws. Horrified, he turned, grabbed the unconscious bodies of Bill, Leden, and Bave, and ran.
The cheetah, however, could outrun anything (This cheetah could), and soon caught up with Fros.
Meanwhile, Tom still couldn't hear, see, say, smell, feel, or taste anything, but he could think. He knew that rocks were rough, and could cut through rope. So, while thinking about how to fool Hafasa, he cut through the rope. So he was free. Now what? He realized that Hafasa must be somewhere else, so he took the opportunity and ran. However, he couldn't see or hear, and tripped. A second later, he was somewhere else. He knew because he heard Hafasa.
"So, you want to escape, Tom? You are clever. Now, you are tied to a golden rock, which is as smooth as paper. You cannot escape from Hafasa, not with the brain of Einstein. But, your cleverness may be of good use to me. I just might spare you! You must prove yourself clever, first. Escape from this. You have exactly 48 hours."
His hearing shut off again, and he thought. Then, he realized that the gold was crumbly. He could pull it up from the ground! After much straining, it came loose. He moved over to the wall, and shattered it against a wall. His hands and feet became untied, and he realized he could see again! Only to see that he was trapped. He knew he hated girls.......but Hafasa complimented him........maybe there was space in his brain and heart for girls. MAYBE.
Meanwhile, Fros was in a great amount of trouble. Bave seemed to be dead , and Leden was definitely dead. Bill was breathing slowly, and Fros was, quickly. He was also wounded, in his leg. He found it hard to run, let alone the fact that he was carrying three limp bodies. Plus, his enemy was the fastest animal in the whole world. Not only that, he was exhausted, and to top it ALL off, he had no idea where he was going. He had never been in this section of the nugget before.
Tom was also lost. He bumped into somebody. He looked up, and saw it was Frosganius! He was holding Bill, Ledenas, and Baverick. Tom was so happy!
"Where are the other Incas?" asked Tom as he noticed their absence.
Frosganius simply shook his head, and Tom understood.
Hafasa, noticing Tom's absence, screamed in rage, and Tom heard it. He grabbed F and ran. But Hafasa wasn't known for being female. In less time than it takes a man to blink, she appeared before them.
"You are clever. But, you betrayed me. You cannot get away with that. Somehow, the spell wore off. But I can cast it again-" and with that she raised her cape, "-and you will not live to remember it!"
But when she was about to cast the spell, Fros jumped at Hafasa.
"And YOU won't live to remember anything after your ABC's!" Fros shouted, as he wrestled Hafasa to the ground. "You may be magic, but women never compare to men in brute-<Ugh!> strength." For before Fros could let out that last word, Hafasa jabbed him in the ribs, and rushed at Tom.
Meanwhile, the cheetah and tiger were still chasing the Incas and Tom. The tiger picked up their scent, and sent the cheetah after them. As the scent drew stronger for the powerful cat, the Incas were walking slower, unaware of danger, until the cheetah spotted them. Hafasa raised her cape, and the cat vanished.
"Now to get on with the business at hand!" she exclaimed, as she started to glow. Her hand raised, and..........Tom ducked just in time, and hit Baverick. Instantly, he came back to life. He saw Hafasa, and gasped.
"A gi-" but before he could say, "girl", Tom leapt over and cupped his hand over Baverick's mouth. Screaming in rage, Hafasa shot again at Tom, but hit Ledenas instead, and he too came alive. Hafasa, sensing a pattern, disappeared, and immediately Tom was frozen stiff. Hafasa shot again, and sent Tom flying into the solid wall of the nugget. Baverick, Ledenas, and Frosganius tried to hold her down, but she sent them flying too, with a wave of her cape.
"I could have helped you! You could have escaped, with my help. But, thanks to your own distrust, it will end, here and now!"
As she charged up all her power into her hands, her hands overflowing with electricity, and shot, Bill awakened, and saw what was happening. He rushed at Hafasa.
"Why, you dirty little- attack MY friends, will you? Oh, big mistake! Listen, I may not look powerful, but when I get mad, ohhhh, the sparks fly!" But even as he mouthed these words, he went flying back to the wall.
"Ohh, yes, the sparks fly. LITERALLY!" And Hafasa disappeared.
Later, Frosganius and Tom had a discussion.
"I think we should try to convince Hafasa that we don't mean it." said Frosganius.
"ARE YOU KIDDING?! IF ANYBODY WANTS TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO THAT SORCERESS, THEY'LL GET BLASTED INTO A WALL LIKE WE DID! HELLO! WAKE UP HERE! THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. THIS IS A BLAST-HAPPY SORCERESS OUT FOR REVENGE! HOW-"
"I know, but don't you think that if she was on our side, you could escape?"
"Excussssssse me for interfering," said a third voice, a familiar one, "But did I overhear you two sssssspeaking about Hafasssssssa?"
"No! Y-Y-You're d-d-dead!" stammered Tom.
"That'sssss right!"
"But how-"
"Okay, Tom! L-L-Let's not get hasty! Come on, let's, um, go--- pick at the walls! That's it! Let's go pick at the walls!" said Frosganius.
"S-S-Sure. N-N-No p-p-prob-l-lem."
"Oh, don't go. You ssssee, I have a ssssssurprissssse for you good men. It'sssssss right behind thisssssss door."
As Frosganius thought, Tom talked.
"Why should we trust you, you, you, dirty rat?"
"Becausssssse, if you
don't, you will never get away from here. That'ssssss why. Now go!"
As they entered the door, they were blinded by flashing lights. Red, now green, now blue, now yellow, now purple. Tom looked around, but Frosganius saw something he always wanted to see. A brand new, polished-spear! Made purely of metal! Meanwhile, Tom discovered a large suit of armor that fit him perfectly. And Fros saw a shield. And Tom saw a treasure chest. And Frosganius saw a crown. They were both rolling in riches, when Tom asked,
"But why, Kilo? Why would you do this for us?"
Smiling evilly, Kilo said, "I wouldn't!" And with that, all the treasures disappeared, and the ghost of Kilo floated up from the floor.
"You pitiful foolssssss! You fell for it! Oh, that wasssssss funny. Now what were you ssssaying about Hafassssa, and how issssss it to your benefit?"
"Okay, Kilo. You got us. We were talking about Hafasa, and all we were discussing is how, if she knew we were on the same side, we could-" but before Frosganius could finish, Tom interrupted. "-be very happy together. Right, Frosganius?", nudging him gently.
"Yeah, right."
"I don't believe you! Tell me the truth. What were you ssssssssssaying?"
"About me?" and all eyes turned to the corner of the room, where Hafasa stood, hands glowing.
***********
Chapter 6
************
"Kilo, you!" she yelled, and lunged at the spirit.
"If I am to crossssssss, you will have one thing to remember me by, Hafassssssssa!" and with that, he disappeared. All at once, Hafasa heard a roar behind her. A huge lynx roared into full height-a couple hundred feet tall. Bill and Tom ran.
"Uh, you do know, uh, where we're going, right, Tom?" asked Bill hopefully.
"Well, actually, I was kind of hoping you did."
"Oy."
Hours later, Hafasa still struggled with the huge lynx. Her magic didn't seem to harm it, so she ran. A mighty roar was all Hafasa needed to hear. She charged at the lynx, full force, full power.
Even as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them, they occasionally heard a distant roar. Bill said,
"Watch out for that...........<oooof!> wall." he finished as he collided with Tom into the wall.
"No time to spare, Bill. Let's move!" exclaimed Tom.
"I can still hear that cracked kitty behind us- <ROAR!> -and it's getting closer!" exclaimed Bill frantically.
Hafasa didn't seem to be hurting the lynx.
"Bad hair day, Meow-Meow?" she cried in frustration, violently assaulting the towering cat. Nothing she did seemed to slow down the lynx.
"Hafasa doesn't seem to be helping!" exclaimed Bill. "Come on <ROAR!>. It's getting closer!"
"And we don't even know where we're going!" remarked Tom with a hint of fright in his voice.
Hafasa still couldn't hold back the lynx, and she could see the archaeologists straight ahead! Her only hope was to transport them away and stay to fend off the attacker.
Bill and Tom heard the cat, full roar. <ROAR!> All at once, they couldn't see themselves. They were surrounded by some kind of golden field. The roar got farther and farther away. Hafasa ! they both thought at once. Gratefully, they sat down to rest.
Hafasa still couldn't seem to hold back the beast. One more try , she thought, and turned to face the cat, her face as dark as the midnight sky, her eyes narrower than a snake. Her hands glowing like the sun in the summertime, she charged her entire body strength into her hands, and shot. Screaming in rage, the lynx shrank ten feet, then another ten feet, then twenty feet, then thirty feet, then ten feet. Finally, the cat was no more than a small, insect-sized cat. One more inch, and the lynx was history.
Bill and Tom nervously looked out, and saw nothing. They crept out slowly. Suddenly, Hafasa appeared before them.
"It is all right. The lynx is gone. Come, we have much to discuss. Oh, and I advise you NOT to remark on our sex again, young man." That last sentence she added with an angry, warning voice, hands glowing, cape waving.
At her hideout ("Hideout is too primitive. I prefer lair." she said as Bill and Tom remarked.), Bill and Tom saw things they never thought they could see, or even imagine. They barely had room to walk.
"Don't touch anything unless I give you permission, and don't think you can get out from here."
During this full conversation, Bill and Tom took in all the gory and sad moments.
"I came to this site in 6,000,000,000 B.C.E. in your years. I settled in this rock, which I gave glowing powers that were given to me by my father, Jafasertyniot. I stayed her for 1,000,000,000 years. Then, HE came. That hissing, treacherous Kimonalanacadoneb, which I called Kilo. I worked with him for a while. Then, in 1390 C.E., the Incas discovered the nugget. Charming people they were, very civilized for back then. Kilo took a disliking to them, and he captured them all. I tried to stop him, but his power is greater than mine. I stayed here through all the wars, the depressions, the famines, everything. Until you two found this nugget, and, well, you know the rest."
"How did you know what was going on in the outside world?" asked Tom.
"Excellent question. Actually, I didn't. Kilo did. I was able to spy
on him
using my powers."
"How come there were two nuggets?" queried Bill.
"Oh, one was Kilo's, the one you found first. I saw what he was doing, and joined with yours to help." "How come you're so sensitive about your sex?" asked guess-who.
"On my home planet, women were supreme to men in every way. In the 1960's, when I heard that 'It's a Man's World', I was ready to-"
"Okay. But why couldn't you stop Kilo?" asked Bill.
"Oh, I don't know. Apparently he was given more power than I was." and there was a strong hint of sadness in her voice.
"Oh, Hafasa, I'm sorry! I mean, I didn't-"
"It's okay. You stay here, I'll be right back."
"Where are you-" Tom started to say.
"Stay here, no matter what happens."
Later, Hafasa returned, completely out of breath. Her face was twisted with fright and danger. Her hands were glowing.
"Kimonacadara-Kilomagada-Kilmoana-KIMONALANACADONEB!!" she exclaimed, spitting out the words (to put it lightly).
Soon after she burst in, an eerie voice filled the room.
"Hello, worthy friendsssssss. I ssssssee you ssssseem to be sssssssafe, but no one issss sssssafe from me!"
"Where'd you get that hisssy voice, anyway?" queried Bill.
"Oh, it came with the outfit."
"Get on with it, Kilo. What do you want? And what OUTFIT? For a villain, you have no sense of FASHION!" said Hafasa angrily.
"Firsssssst of all, you're not Mrssss. Perfectly-matched yoursssssssself. SSSSSSSSSSSecond of all, I would like to remind you that I am a MALE villain. Third of all, what I want, really, issssss your head, Hafassssa. But, we'll have to sssssssettle with thisssssss." and as he spoke, a door behind them started to close.
Bill and Tom could see Hafasa straining to open the door, and the door was slightly opening.
"Run, you two!" Hafasa screamed, and they got out just before the door closed. Horrified, they heard a blast, a scream, a laugh, and another scream.
Hours later, Bill still couldn't open the door. Tom helped, too, but the door was fastened with magic. The same magic that lifted the archaeologists into the air, through the door, and inside the unconscious body of Hafasa.
When Hafasa awoke, she felt rather sick. She didn't know that Bill and Tom were inside her. She yawned, and Bill and Tom ran out the mouth, but now they were microscopic-invisible to the naked eye. Of course, Hafasa didn't have the eyesight of a human being, and she saw her friends. She also saw that they were microscopic.
When they emerged from Hafasa's mouth, Bill and Tom were puzzled. Hafasa was a whole lot bigger, the nugget looked like a palace, and five flesh-colored mountains stood behind them. They heard a loud, earsplitting voice.
"Bill? Tom? You okay?" It was Hafasa's voice, only amplified 1,000 times. What had happened?
Huge bolts of lightning came from the mountains-upside-down now. It took a moment for Bill to figure out that they were Hafasa's fingers! She was trying to bring them back to normal. One struck Tom, and he started to grow, and then stopped. He was now at least 2 in. tall, but he would not grow any more.
"What's wrong with this stupid spell? It always worked before!" and again lightning bolts struck Tom. He grew another inch. "Why isn't this working? These old spells can't be trusted! I ought to get a refund!"
"Uh, excuse me, Hafasa? You're screaming in my ear, and your voice is very loud," Bill politely complained. "Could you please try your spell on me? Her bolts hit Bill, and he GREW. 10 in., 20 in., then 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80! Finally, Bill was regular size. Confused, she zapped Tom, and he grew another inch.
Meanwhile, Kimonalanacadoneb, or, more accurately, Kilo's GHOST, was grinning in his lair, in the heart of the nugget.
"Thossssssssse foolssssssss won't esssssssscape my vengeansssssssse! I will have my revenge! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Bill was carefully wording the instructions for the spell, and Hafasa was following them to the letter, but Tom only grew another inch each time.
"Orono Kolono Gosono. Grow." patiently read Bill.
"Orono Kolono Gosono. Grow." repeated Hafasa. Zap.
"Orono Kolono Gosono. Grow." calmly read Bill.
"Orono Kolono Gosono. GROW!" chanted Hafasa, practically screaming.
"Wait, there's another part here. Say this:
Orono Kolono Gosono.
Lonono Dozono Rowono.
Hovono Roxono Broknono.
Kolono grow." said Bill.
"Orono Kolono Gosono.
Lonono Dozono Rowono.
Hovono Roxono Broknono.
Kolono grow." repeated Hafasa.
Tom grew another 3 inches.
***********
Chapter 7
***********
In the outside world, Bill's mother and Tom's mother had been searching for months!
"Search quadrant F has been cleared." "There's still no sign of them!" "Oh, my darling! Where are you?" rang out hundreds of different voices.
"Go check their office." "I hope they're okay." "What could have happened to them?" As everyone in town became interested in the search for Bill and Tom, the city got noisier and noisier.
"Mrs. Kraftan, police. Have you two had any fights recently to make him run away?"
"Hello, Mrs. Solidade. Channel 4 news. When did you last see your husband?"
"Hey, guys, let's go find them. We'd be rich!"
Within a couple of months, the whole town was looking for them. Police, neighborhood kids, news crews, family, and even pets were running alongside the heels of their masters.
"This is Repe Orter, for channel 4 news, live from Gardener's Marsh. As we see here, everybody in town is now searching for the two archaeologists who have been missing for over 2 months now! Even now, the town's population is hiking up to the archaeologist's office, and hoping they're not too late. Next update in 5 hours. This is Repe Orter, for channel 4 news, signing off."
"Keep an eye out for two archaeologists, last seen in matching outfits that said, 'I'm an Archaeologist.' That's 'I'm an Archaeologist'. If anyone should see them, please-"
"Mommy, are we going to find them? The news lady said-News lady! Mommy! I'm on TV!" she turned around and smiled at the camera.
"We'll find them, honey. I know it,"
Mr. Kraftan called the police again.
"Where is my son?" Have you found him yet?"
"I regret to say, sir, that your son still has not been found."
"Well, I suggest you find him. I am paying BIG money for this operation, and I mean business. GOOD-BYE!"
The usually quiet town of Ciano, Texas erupted into search parties, screams, excitement, and tenseness. Bill's aunt Cathy, his cousin Carl, and his uncle Cletus all came from Hawaii to help look. His other cousins (triplets), Jerry, Jon, and Jordan came from New York, his grandmother Lola and his grandfather Larry, his other grandparents Erin and Aaron, his only great-grandfather Mark, and his other uncle Nicky and aunt Nicole all came to help search.
Tom's aunt Holly; his uncle Harry; his cousins Fred, Nola, and Sam; his grandmothers Pam and Prunella; his grandfathers Drake and Donald; his great-grandfather Grey; his other aunt Forra and uncle Fred; his best friends from Pennsylvania: Gary and Giuseppe; and even his pal from grade school: Barry all came from around the United States to help search. The whole town was flooded for 5 straight weeks by friends, family, more friends, more family, and the normal residents. It was a RIOT. Billy the Kid would have called it chaos.
After 5 weeks, everyone left. Bill and Tom were NOT to be found! The planes were booked for a month.
The poor town of Ciano, Texas, would never, ever be the same again.
Every two days, the archaeologists' relatives called for news. After being discouraged again and again, they came back to Ciano.
The crew who went to Bill's and Tom's office saw nothing but a HUGE, HUGE nugget. It was 3 times as wide as a swimming pool and 10 times the length of a car. Inside, they saw many pictures carved in. Two looked just like Bill and Tom!
"This is Repe Orter, channel 4 news. This just in: In the office of the archaeologists, a huge gold nugget has been found. Here it is, actual size." The camera moved around and around, trying to show the whole thing. "As you see, this is huge. On the nugget, we discovered two carved paintings, looking much like our missing friends. More news in 5 hours. This is Repe Orter, signing off."
Puzzled by the strange pictures, the news crew saw that they were freshly cut-only cut within that year! Their disappearance must have had something to do with that nugget. They left, to think about what they had found.
Ciano again fell to the mercy of the human race when foreign magazine editors, newspaper reporters, and TV reporters came to interview everyone about what they think happened to them (some were right!). The news spread. Soon, reporters came from all over the world to interview people, even Bill and Tom's foreign relatives.
After a while, the reporters left, and Ciano was quieter. Bill's relatives were very resourceful, and used Bill's tools and/or Tom's tools, and discovered that, indeed, the carvings were freshly cut. They also discovered that there were other, smaller, drawings of Incas, and two at the end. One looked like a hideous monster, and the other was a woman with a long cape, hands glowing.
"This is Repe Orter, channel 4 news. Our sources have just discovered other carvings on the nugget. Incas, and two others. A huge monster and a woman with a long cape and hands glowing. Could this be the clue as to what has happened to Bill and Tom? More news in 5 hours. This is Repe Orter, signing off."
Tom's relatives were impatient. They saw the carvings, all right, but they were so hard to find! They had other things to do! They looked again, and gasped. Inside the nugget was a small figure, arms and legs moving, squeaking "Help!"
We don't have time for these practical jokes , the people thought, and rushed out the door, not bothering to tell the news.
Later, Bill's relatives saw it too, but it was too late to tell the news. The last report had already been given.
Finally, the news saw it.
"This is Repe Orter, channel 4 news. Just inside the nugget, we have found a small figure, arms and legs wildly kicking, screaming, "Help!" which we only heard as a squeak. Listen................ You see? Could this be Bill or Tom? Next update in 5 hours. This is Repe Orter, signing off."
Bill's relatives and Tom's relatives returned every morning to investigate the nugget, and each time saw the same thing. Now it was joined by another one, much taller this time.
"That can't be them," Bill's aunt Cathy said. "They don't have that much of a size difference. This is all a joke!" and with that, they left.
*************
Chapter 8
************
"They didn't see us, Bill." Tom said sadly.
"Keep trying!"
"They already left!"
Hafasa walked in. "Let's see what I can do about this size problem. I overheard their conversation, and they left because they knew your size difference wasn't that big. Now, what were those words-Oh yes! Orono Kolono Gosono.
Lonono Dozono Rowono.
Hovovno Quoxono Broknono.
Kolono grow."
Tom grew another 3 inches. He sighed, and motioned Hafasa to try again. She did, and he grew another 3 inches.
"Unless you're willing to do this a whole, WHOLE lot, Hafasa, you might as well try something else." remarked Bill.
Hafasa, flipping through the pages, silently agreed.
"Aha!" she shouted, and Tom turned his head from watching the people hopefully. "Juluk Muruk Kasuk.
Alamuk Bubunuk SuperUk. Super grow." Tom grew 10 inches, but he was considerably taller-25 inches above human sight. After 6 more recitals of that spell, Tom was regular size.
"That's better!" exclaimed Tom, stretching his arms and legs. "Thanks, Hafasa."
"Start waving your arms and legs again, boys," Hafasa told them. "The news is coming back."
They did, and sure enough, they heard cries of astonishment, and the news report was much better.
Meanwhile, Kimonalanacadoneb was growing sadder. "Those foolsssssss are sssssssucsssssseeding! People are ssssssseing them, and they could get out! NOT WHILE I'M AROUND!" and with that, shot a bolt from his hand, and the shadows disappeared to the people outside. Everyone was muttering about a prank, a joke, as they left.
"What happened?" Bill, Tom, and Hafasa said in unison. Then, they heard that unmistakable laugh.
"Hahahahahahahahaha! You will never esssssscape! Thisssssss plasssssse isssssssss not free to come and go! You will never go! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Kilo had done it again!
"I'll get him, or my name isn't Hafasenabed!"
Hands, glowing, Hafasa stood up to the nugget and seemed to be straining to do something. The nugget opened a crack, then closed again.
"Kilo's powers are too great," she sighed, and turned around. "Look out!" and she pushed Bill and tom to the side just as two huge golden insects whizzed by. With a small blast from Hafa, they fell to the ground.
"What were those-those THINGS?" asked Bill nervously.
"Nothing-just an old spell. I am quite accustomed to it." she replied calmly.
Tom, however, was nowhere near calm. "Yeah, well, we're not, which is why we need to get OUT OF HERE!"
"I'll try, but Kilo has this place under a powerful spell. It will be exceedingly hard to break," remarked Hafa.
"Well, get on it! I don't have-"
"Come on, Tom! Give her a chance!" Bill stepped in, interrupting Tom. "She said it would take a while. Let's go explore."
"Whoa! You canNOT go exploring now if you value your life. Stay here. You will be safe from Kilo."
"Kilogram doesn't scare me! I'm going!" insisted Tom, and left. One minute later, he appeared before Hafa and Bill again.
"You are not leaving here. I am sorry, but Kilo is too powerful."
"You sound like you're SCARED, Hafasenabed!" Tom sneered.
"Scared? You have gone too far, HUMAN!" and with that, Tom flew across the nugget, into the wall, where he was electrocuted, and fell to the ground.
"That's enough, Hafa!" Bill shouted nervously.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine. That's what he gets. Come, Bill, read me a spell."
When Tom woke up, he was furious. He looked around, but saw no one. That devil woman made off with Bill ! he thought, and went to look for him. If she harms Bill I'll .........I knew all along she couldn't be trusted ! Angrily, he hurried down a corridor, Hafa's words echoing through his head.
"Kilo is too powerful! You will be safe from Kilo. You cannot go exploring here." Growling, he turned and ran down a nearby corridor. That Kilometer doesn't scare me one bit ! Now , if only Bill would listen ! he thought angrily to himself.
Meanwhile, Hafa and Bill were studying spells. Frog to king...........Blood to gold..........Weak to strong............Create golden animals (Bill shuddered inconspicuously)...........Anti-gravity............Walls part....-
"Ah, here it is! Walls part, page 2479!" Hafasa said joyously. Okay......"Walls Balls Calls Dalls Ealls Falls Galls Halls Ialls Jalls Zalls Yalls Xalls Valls Ualls Kalls Lalls Malls Talls Salls Ralls Nalls Oalls Qalls Palls."
The walls of the nugget shifted like doors, then started to open. However, a lightning whizzed by, stopping the walls and closing them again.
"Blast that Kilo!" Hafa said impatiently. "You boys have to get out of here!"
"Now you're seeing things my way!" Tom stood in the doorway, hands on his hips.
"Back for more, eh? I'll-"
"Hafasa! No! You don't have to do this. We have to work together to get out of this!" Bill desperately told Hafa. "You too, Tom,"
Tom growled.
Kilo, meanwhile, was in his hideout.
"If Hafassssssa getssssss thossssse boyssssssssss free, I'm ruined!!!!!!!!!! I need a plan."
Hafasa was also having trouble thinking of a plan. All her previous ones were thwarted by Kilo. But there had to be a way-right?
"Hafasa, Tom, come here! The news is back!" Bill yelped happily as he started waving his arms and legs. Hafasa left to take care that Kilo didn't interfere. Tom joined in moving his arms and legs, and heard the next news report.
"This is Repe Orter, channel 4 news, and would you believe it? The shadows are back, and the size difference is the same! They are the right height! Could this be the subject of Bill and Tom's disappearance? More news at 11. This is Repe Orter, signing off."
Bill and Tom were thrilled. If only Mrs. Orter would realize........Oh, what were they thinking? Who, in their right mind, would believe that was what happened?
Meanwhile, Hafasa was also feeling down. Kilo could have already zapped again. Enough walking , she thought, disappeared and reappeared in front of the evil ghost.
"Ah, Hafassssssa. It'sssssssssss sssssssso nisssssse to ssssssssee you again. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
"Well, what I want is for you to go take a hike. But what I'm here for is to make you let Bill and Tom escape."
"Why, Hafasssssssa! You're ssssssstupider than I thought! Your friendssssssss are my prisssssssonersssssss! I will never let them go! It issssss not up to you to tell me ssssssuch thingssssss. If the archaeologissssssstssssss want to esssssscape, they'll tell me."
"You know they want to escape, you fiend! You're delaying the inevitable, the unavoidable. You KNOW Bill and Tom will escape."
"I will not tolerate thissssss behavior, Hafasssssssa! If you feel that way, I'll have to terminate you with your fool friendsssssssss. Don't you sssssssee? I will not let them go!"
"Okay, but if you make one bad move, I'll be on your back like a an ant on food crumbs!"
"Yessssssssss, that fitsssssss you well. SSSSSSSSmall and pitiful. I sssssssee your point, but I am not afraid."
"I think "crumbs" fit you more. And remember, that's the way the cookie (can make you sick) crumbles!"
Hafasa angrily stomped away. That little fiend thought he could get away with that? I'd crush him if I had the power ! she thought angrily, after she realized she had been walking. She returned to the wall, but Bill and Tom were gone. She chanted a few magic words to herself.
Bill and Tom had heard a strange noise. They went to investigate, and forgot Hafasa's warning. Suddenly, a strange blue cloud formed behind them.
"Do you think Kilo's attacking?" asked Bill nervously.
The cloud swooped and turned, and charged toward Bill. He disappeared. Then, it hit Tom. Tom saw Hafa, with a stern look on her face, with Bill standing next to him. She sighed, and repeated her warning, stressing Kilo.
"We heard a strange noise, and went to investigate," explained Tom nervously.
"Then, you contact me."
"How?"
"Just speak. I'll hear you."
"Well, we were curious, and-"
"IT DOESN'T MATTER! DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, NO MATTER WHAT YOU HEAR!" Hafasa screamed, breathing after each word.
Meanwhile, Kilo was plotting to get rid of Hafasa. Natural means would not work, but what about SUPERnatural means? Grinning, Kilo muttered some strange words.
Meanwhile, Hafasa was lecturing Bill and Tom on safety, when Frosganius appeared.
"Frosganius!" Hafasa shouted.
"Where?" Bill asked.
"I don't see him!" Tom replied.
"He's right here," Hafasa replied, reaching out-and she was instantly electrocuted by an invisible force. Her powers were draining, her strength decreasing, her soul dying. Screaming, she fell to the ground.
"Hafasa!" Bill and Tom shrieked in unison, and rushed over.
"Don't touch me," Hafasa warned weakly. "Kilo fed a magic electrical force through me. My powers are gone. You are on your-" and she fell, her face pale white.
***********
Chapter 9
***********
Kilo grinned happily in his lair. Now that Hafassssssa issssss gone , he thought, the archaeologissssssstsssssss will only be a matter of time. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha !
Meanwhile, Bill and Tom knelt beside the motionless body of Hafasa. Tom decided to give a funeral speech.
"Friends-er-friend, we are gathered here today to honor the sorceress-okay, so we're here because a maniac trapped us here, but......., our friend, Hafasenabed. Her loss will always be deep in our souls-particularly because she was the only one who could get us out of here-and we say-AMEN," they heard fake crying in the background, and wheeled around. Staring into their nervous faces was Kimonalanacadoneb, the living, solid body.
"Well, if it issssssssn't Bill and Tom, the archaeologisssssstssssss. How nissssssse to sssssssee you again. Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
"What do you want, creep?" Bill asked nervously.
"Duh-uh-uh! I want you creepssssssssss. But what I am here for issssss none of your busssssssinesssssssss, foolsssssssssss! And you will not sssssssstop me," he pronounced happily. "NEVER!"
"What'll we do?" asked Tom.
"Grab Hafasa and let's move!" said Bill.
"Why do I have to carry her?"
"Oh, for crying out loud! I'LL do it. Now come on!"
"I can smell his breath. P.U.! Stinky!"
"That means he's getting closer. You hold her. I've got an idea," and before Tom could protest, Bill thrust the body at Tom, and started running. "Can't catch me, slowpoke!" he taunted, turning and expertly (yes, he knows this part of the nugget) twisting around, with Kilo on his tail. "Tom! Don't move! Keep Hafasa with you and stay there!" he screamed, checking to see if Kilo was within hearing range. He wasn't. Bill screamed, "Come on, you slowpoke! Can't catch me! Nya-nya-nya-nya-nya! Loser!" he heard Kilo's hoarse breathing, so Bill knew he was still there. "Come on!" and then, just at a dead end, Bill turned sharply, and Kilo, not having the agility of a human, smacked into the wall head-on. Bill turned, and headed back towards his friend.
He finally caught up with Tom. "It's okay, Tom. Let's go."
As they slowly made their may through the nugget, they saw something that made them gasp.
"FROSGANIUS!" they cried in unison, and rushed over to him, but didn't touch him, remembering Hafasa.
"Is it really you? Can it be.......?"
"You guys missed me more than I thought, didn't you?" Frosganius teased.
Frosganius led them through the tunnel, until he saw Kilo smacked against the wall. He pointed at Bill, and Bill nodded. Almost immediately, Fros asked, "Okay, what have I missed?"
"It's a LONG story. Right now, we-" and here Bill held up the limp, motionless body of Hafa, "-need help."
"Aw, man, we have a problem, Houston," observed Fros.
"No kidding, and I DON'T FEEL LIKE HEARING ABOUT APOLLO 13 RIGHT NOW!" insisted Tom jokingly.
"Hmm, I see your point. I've been here so long, I'm kind of used to it."
One trip around the nugget later-----"Man, isn't there anything here but gold?" protested Bill.
"Which isn't so bad," broke in Tom.
"Stop arguing, and come on, over here. There used to be a healing table here-Ah, good. Set Hafasa on one of these. It should take only a few hours," Fros said. Bill looked at his watch. Amazingly, it was fine, and still running. He started timing.
Exactly three hours later, Hafasa stood up. Bill and Tom looked on in astonishment as she destroyed the table she was on, with a flick of her finger.
"Thank you, Frosganius. I assume this was your idea," Hafasa said.
Before Fros could even say, "You're welcome", Tom cut in. "What the heck happened? You lay down on a table and now you're better?"
"It is a long story," Hafa replied. "It has to do with the concentration of magical energy from this nugget into my body,"
Later, Bill, Tom, Fros, and Hafa were exploring the nugget, when, suddenly, a huge golden eagle swooped down and grabbed Hafasa. Bill and Tom could see the fangs glowing, and Hafasa fell to the ground.
"The healing table was destroyed!" recalled Tom.
"But there are others," Fros replied.
Kilo was thinking too. "I mussssssst dessssssstroy thosssssssse other healing tablessssssssss! Hafasssssssa may NOT be cured again! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
When Bill reached the tables, he saw something that made him leap into the air. "The tables! They're gone!" he remarked sadly. "What now, Fros?"
"Now," he said solemnly, "We find Kilo."
"WHAT?" Bill and Tom seemed to both disagree.
"It's the only way," So, Bill, Tom, and Fros (who was carrying Hafa) set out for Kilo's den.
"I went there before!" Tom recalled as he reviewed his first adventure in the nugget. "I think I remember the way. Follow me!"
Just then, the eagle swooped by again, and grabbed the limp body of Hafasa.
"What would Kilo want with her?" Fros wondered aloud.
"Who knows?" Bill said.
"Hey, let's follow the eagle. I bet he takes us straight to Kimonalanacadoneb!" Tom said.
So, Bill, Tom, and Fros ran after the eagle. It was extremely hard to keep up, for the eagle was very fast. Finally, the eagle stopped. Bill, Tom, and Fros heard a hissing voice than could only be categorized under Kimonalanacadoneb.
"Well done, E. Gell. You have ssssssssssssserved me well. Now, I shall plassssssse Hafasssssssa on my new healing table which I have acquired, and when she wakessssssss up, she will obey me, and thossssssssse archaeologissssssstssssssss will be redusssssssssed to nothing! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Hearing this, Bill and Tom trembled. But Fros wanted to take action. "Let's get him!" he yelled. They jumped into the room, and saw Hafasa on the healing table.
"You guys get Hafasa. I'll take care of Kilo," Fros said. With one very well-aimed arrow, Kilo fell, gasping for air. Meanwhile, Hafasa was safely in the hands of Bill and Tom, but still uncured.
Kilo, still on the ground, swore to revenge on all who were in the room. Even E. Gell proved useless. Kilo still could not get up, but was healing, on the wrong healing table! Bill, with his electronic know-how, had rigged the table to make KILO serve THEM! Then, after Kilo woke up, he made it a regular healing table again for Hafasa.
Unfortunately, Hafasa did not cure completely. The healing table was overwhelmed and exploded. Luckily, they moved Hafa in time. She could talk, and walk, but her magic was gone, and all the other healing tables were destroyed. She began studying her magic book so she could learn again. While she was doing that, Bill and Fros (Tom was helping Hafasa) began building a new table.
"The sensor can go here." "Here?" "Yes." Now, this metal sheet must be fixed up, you just iron it. Here, do this." "This?" "Yes. Now, where did that bolt go?" "This bolt?" "Yes. Now, there we go! Not bad, wouldn't you say?" "Yes."
Meanwhile, Tom was busy helping Hafasa with her spells. She already knew half the easy spells, but Tom was on page 53 of 4003. And easy spells don't include any you have heard so far.
Kilo, meanwhile, had powers too strong to be overcome. He captured Bill and Fros, while Hafa was busy with Tom. All at once, her magic snapped on. She saw Kilo, heard cries of help, and appeared before Kilo.
"Sorry, but you are not going anywhere with those two," Hafasa said.
"Wanna bet, Hafa-head?" Kilo sneered, and disappeared.
Hafa was not won. She followed Kilo, all the way to his hideout. He left a distinct trail of magic particles. However, Hafa also left a trail, and E. Gell was following it! Hafa turned to face claws and talons, as E. Gell picked her up and carried her away. Tom was scared. He was, for once, completely alone in the nugget. Who knows what Kilo would -his train of thought was interrupted by a loud <ROAR!> Tom lost it. He ran around the nugget. Then, he remembered how Bill had taken out Kilo. He led the cat around, and turned at a wall. The cat swacked into the wall-hard-and shattered into a million golden pieces.
Meanwhile, Kilo was waiting impatiently for Tom to be captured. He sent Nean, the lynx (Links), E. Gell, and the chameleon (Ka Meleon) after Tom.
He complained, "What'ssssssssssss wrong with my pet, Tie Gerr? That archaeologisssssssssst better know he'sssssssss insured!" Steaming, he shot at the ropes holding his prisoners. They coiled tighter. Hafasa sadly declared her magic was gone again, it must have had to do with Everett Gell.
Poor Tom! When he saw those animals charging, he almost fainted. He couldn't lead them all on a wild goose chase across the nugget! Where did the chameleon go? Is that the sound of a club swinging? Was that a roar?
"Let go of me, E. Gell!" Tom suddenly shouted, as the evil bird lifted him high into the air.
"My pleasure!" Smiling evilly, the eagle dropped Tom, and he made a weird sound when he fell-a hollow sound! There was a trapdoor there! It could lead out! Wait a minute-What about Bill? He couldn't just leave his friend to die. Bravely, he set out to find Kilo-at any cost.
Meanwhile, Kilo was practically screaming at full force (above human ears).
"WHERE ISSSSSSSSSSSS THAT SSSSSSSSSSSSTUPID ARCHAEOLOGISSSSSSSSSSSST? HE SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW! IF MY PETSSSSSSSSSSS HAVE FAILED, I'LL, OH, do ssssssssssssomething bad. Anyway, I'M MAD, OH YESSSSSSSS, I'M MAD! GRRRRR, GRRRRRRRR, I'M MAD. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" That last sentence was directed to Bill, Fros, and Hafasa, who were staring at Kilo like, What in the name of heaven is that guy doing?
Meanwhile, Tom was looking for Kilo. He didn't realize that he had four animals big enough to crush the Empire State Building and trained to kill, on his tail. He was walking calmly, just looking around, when suddenly, Ka Meleon appeared in front of Tom. He, frightened, turned to run, but Nean jumped at him. He became surrounded, and then-
*************
Chapter 10
*************
-Tom remembered his mountain-climbing lessons. The wall had many handholds, so he went for it. He forgot that there was an eagle present. It swooped and dived. Luckily, there were a whole lot of handholds, so Tom could move around. However, he did not have the advantage of flight, and was soon captured. The eagle carried him to Kilo.
Kilo, meanwhile, was growing impatient. Finally, Everett Gell arrived with Tom.
"Yesssssssssss, Everett. No one can ssssssssstop me now! My golden petsssssssssss can desssssssstroy the nugget with thessssssssse foolsssssss in it, while I evacuate quickly. My masssssssster plan issssssssss almosssssssssssssst complete!"
Tom, through clenched teeth, said to himself, This is all Bill's fault . He was the one who said to keep it , that it would make us rich and famous . And look what it led to . We're about to be killed by golden creations of a sinister creepazoid with a name that reaches from now to the middle of next month ! It figures .
Hafasa heard what Tom thought. She, in order to distract Kilo from doing the same, screamed, "Let us free, you louse!"
"I know what you're thinking, Hafassssssssa, and you're too late, but thank you for the compliment!"
Hafasa sighed.
"Hey, Billy-boy! Tom here isssssssss revolting againsssssssssst you." Grinning evilly, he turned to Hafasa. "Would the enchantresssssssssssss like ssssssssssssssome power? Here-Oh yessssss-here-Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
But Hafasa was too quick. Her remaining powers snatched the power, and she broke loose.
"You're paying, Kilo. No mercy!" And with that, she zapped Kilo into the wall with her new powers, and freed Bill and Tom. She realized that Fros was missing! No time now, she thought, and continued. Hafasa shot again, and Kilo started to shrink, and shrink, and shrink. Finally, he was gone.
Hafasa, relieved and proud, said, "Now that that problem's out of the way, let's get you two out of-"
<ROAR!> The felines were back in the picture. Hafasa stood perfectly still. Bill and Tom felt that they were in a force field. A huge flash of light filled the corridor, and the beasts were gone. Of course, a world's worth of gold lay on the floor. The force field lifted.
Tom, amazed, said, "Why didn't you just do that all the other times we were attacked?"
Hafasa replied, "The power that I received from Kilo was enough to allow that. Before, my powers were less," Tom was not convinced. However, he knew that Hafasa could read minds, and she was glaring at him. So Tom convinced himself.
Later, Hafasa was testing her new powers, Bill was looking over her book of spells. Tom complained, "Come on, Hafasa! You have new powers, and you know they work. WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING US OUT OF HERE?!"
Hafasa explained calmly, "My powers are greater than before, but the walls still hold Kilo's power. I could try, but the spell is probably still too strong."
Bill stepped up. "Give her a break. Sheesh, Tom, you'd think she could do anything! Ease up."
Hafasa gratefully sighed.
All of a sudden, a loud noise came from around the corner.
"Stay back!" Hafasa warned. "It's-" but before she could finish her sentence, a golden hand grabbed her.
Confused, Bill and Tom rushed forward. Fros was already there with Hafasa. They saw golden robots, very tall, too.
"GDGHLGIO]LGFASL0=HGAUGFDS-JHGFDFJAGJFKSKFAFGJAGFKJGFJHGFK" one robot declared.
"JDSHFUEWHFCLDHVCXDSBVCUKWHFIGFDBCKJHGD" another answered.
"SJIH=FDS,KYHFDSBVIO]JDSAZHVUYREGDSIG,LSKBGHFUACGISOHDSA6UYESWHC92GF" another said, and they left, holding all four.
"KILO JDCGLUKJBVUJHGBV KHGFVKJHGCLKGFCGB` KJGDKGVK" one said as they were leaving. Bill shrugged at Tom. Tom smiled. Hafasa rose to the situation, and destroyed her robot. However, it built itself back together, and attacked.
"KSHGFDNKHGVFCHDOHVO;
HCSZ" it said, and the others turned to fight.
Hafasa tried to destroy the monsters, but it was in vain. Frustrated, Hafasa tried again and again, but nothing worked. However, they were slowing down. Finally, Hafasa screamed, "Garno Go!" and the robots disappeared-and reappeared.
"CODE KS0=HLFKLJHGJKHGLKHGKJHFGSHK" one said, and they started to glow. They transformed into humans, and each was armed with a wide selection of magic tricks. It was all Hafasa could do to keep from getting killed. Fros, who knew he should help, remembered his water pack. He flipped the robot carrying him (Don't ask-he just did) and ran away. He came back minutes later with a water pack.
"I had it when I was sucked in," he explained, as the robots shorted out.
Hafasa shot a silent message of THANK YOU to Fros, and he smiled.
Then, a large Abominable Snowman pushed its way to the friends (Bill knew because it wasn't gold-it was white). Then, Bill remembered a spell he learned in Hafasa's book. He chanted a few magic words, and an identical Snowman began to fight. Hafasa, Tom, and Fros looked at him in amazement. He shrugged. The problem was, no one could tell who was who. Bill chanted some more magic words, and his Snowman changed into a lion. The other did the same.
"This is going to be a long night," Hafasa said. She chanted a few magic words, and the lion split up. One into a Neanderthal, one into a chameleon, one into an eagle, etc. The other could not do this, and was beaten badly.
Then, the entire nugget practically jumped, it shook so much (which the people outside saw). A huge, 50 foot tall monster charged. It looked just like Kilo! It laughed.
"HAFASSSSSSSSSSSA!" (They knew now that it was Kilo) "YOU ARE A FOOL! NO ONE DEFEATSSSSSSSSSS KIMONALANACADONEB! NO ONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The nugget shook just with the voice (Which the people outside heard).
"Kilo!" Hafasa, Bill, Tom, and Fros cried in unison.
"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, FOOLSSSSSSSSS! IT ISSSSSSSSSSS I! YOU FOOLSSSSSSSSSS ARE FINISHED NOW! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Hafasa angrily charged at Kilo.
"You won't escape my wrath this time, Kilo!"
Bill shielded his eyes, Tom turned away, and Fros was half-blinded as the two magical forces battled. It was hard to see who had won, but when the golden light cleared, Hafasa was standing over the limp, unconscious body of Kimonalanacadoneb. Then, Kilo moved, and tripped Hafasa.
"YOU FOOL, HAFASSSSSSSSSSSSA! YOU SSSSSSSSSSSTILL THINK YOU CAN DESSSSSSSSSSSTROY ME? NO ONE CAN DESSSSSSSSSSTROY ME! I AM KIMONALANACADONEB THE MASSSSSSSSSSTER! I AM INVINSSSSSSSSSSIBLE! JUSSSSSSSSST TRY AGAIN!"
Bill slyly cried, "Look, Kilo, it's a power source!"
"What?!" Kilo exclaimed in disbelief.
"NOT!" Bill shouted gleefully, and socked Kilo in the face.
"You'll pay for that, human!" Kilo shouted, and instantly, Bill froze.
Hafasa ran up to him and said, "His brain waves are decreasing. Soon, he'll be permanently paralyzed!"
**************
Chapter 11
**************
Tom, horrified, asked, "Isn't there anything we can do?"
Hafasa replied, "Only hope for the best, Tom. I'm sorry, but I can prevent it entirely."
Tom ran over to his friend. Through sobs, he shouted at Hafasa, "You can't help us! I thought you were a sorceress!" And with that, he knelt down over his friend, and sobbed for a while.
When Tom opened his eyes, he lost balance and fell. He was no longer leaning on Bill!
"Hafasa!" he called. "Hafasa!"
She ran in.
"Where's Bill?" Hafasa shrugged.
"A pity, human, that you cry with your eyes closed. Bill has most likely been abducted by Kilo. He will probably not come back." she admitted.
"Well, that's what we're here for!" Tom shouted, with a look of determination on his face. "Come on, Hafasa!" Hafasa had to agree.
Hours later, Hafasa finally reached the lair of Kimonalanacadoneb. "Over here, Bill!" she called. "Stay here, I'm going in." After what seemed like days, Hafasa peeked her head out of the door and said one word: "RUN!" For behind her was Kilo.
Tom ran. He ran and ran and ran. He ran so much his legs ached. He kept running. His legs felt like they would fall off. He kept running. He didn't look back, didn't look where he was going. He just ran Through clenched teeth, he complained, "How much farther, Hafasa?"
Hafasa replied, "Until he quits."
So Tom continued to run. He almost ran into a wall. He glided past a hole in the wall. He didn't care. It was a trick. He kept running. His legs moved so much, he thought they would just crumble before him. But he kept running. Keep running , he thought. Don't stop , no matter what . But, finally, he could run no further. Hafasa, far ahead with her powers, could not help. He soothed his aching legs. He rested. But soon he heard Kilo again. Run, run, run. His legs would never be the same. He saw Hafasa. His legs hurt again, but this time he was carried up to Hafasa's level, and his legs seemed to be cured. He flew alongside Hafasa.
Hours later, Tom and Hafasa finally stopped. Hafasa revealed Bill. "That's why he chased us," Hafasa remarked. Tom sighed.
"Is there anything I can do, Hafasa?" Tom asked again.
Hafasa sighed and shook her head. She suddenly sat up, and bolts of electricity traveled through her body, up into her hands. She said a few magic words, and seemed to focus her power for a moment, then shot. Huge streaks exploded from her fingertips. The noise was deafening. Her hands were not visible through the blinding light. Then, it all stopped. Everything happened at once. Hafasa slumped, obviously drained of power. Bill moved, only slightly. Tom opened his eyes. Kilo came charging in. And, to top all that off, the entire nugget lost all light.
"Blew a fuse." Bill muttered unhappily.
Kilo was also in the dark-both ways. What happened ? he wondered. He lit a match and looked into his ViewNugget.
"AAAAAAARGH!" Kilo screamed as he saw what had happened. "Kimonalanacadoneb shall have hissssssss revenge!" And with that, he disappeared.
Meanwhile, Bill was being filled in on what happened.
"So then he paralyzed you. We didn't know-" But Tom was interrupted by an ominous hissing noise.
"I will dessssssssstroy you with my own handssssssss! You foolssssssssssssss essssssssscaped me many timesssssssssssss, but now, NOW I'm REALLY MAD!!!!!!!!" The walls of the nugget began to shake. They vibrated so much that it seemed that the nugget would just collapse. Then, every wall in the room turned into a different golden animal. Another wall appeared behind them. Hafasa saw an eagle, lion, bear, leopard, cheetah, lynx, chameleon, crocodile, vulture, alligator, poison dart frog, and an ape. Bill noticed also a tiger, Nean Derthal, a spider, a bee, and a wolf. And Tom saw an octopus, a dragon, and a huge ninja. They were closing in, and Hafasa was still somewhat drained by the recovery of Bill. Bill and Tom were surrounded.
"What'll you do now, now that your perssssssssssonal guardian issssssssssssss kaput? Wither away and die, or jussssssssst die? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Kilo taunted.
Bill, quivering, blabbered some words. It didn't come out right. Finally, a dragon rose from the ground. But it was not enough. The dragon was soon overcome. There seemed to be no way out. But then, Hafasa raised her hand and pointed at one of the monsters. It disappeared.
Bill asked urgently, "How did you do that?" Hafasa told him.
After he was pretty sure he had it, he pointed at the wolf. It disappeared!
Kilo, surprised, waved his arms frantically, signaling, "Turn back, turn back!" But the golden animals didn't see him, and one by one, the monsters disappeared.
Hafasa, with no time left to congratulate Bill, slumped, with not enough power left to continue the fight. Weakly, she said, "Go, friends. I will catch up with you. If you meet Kilo, think my name.............." and she passed out.
Bill and Tom had no choice. They ran and ran and ran.
Hafasa was at her knees. She felt too weak to move, to THINK. She felt a shadow fall on her backside, and heard a voice.
"Hafasa? Hafasa? Are you okay?"
Too tired to answer, or move, she lay still.
"It's me, Bill! Can you hear me? Give me a sign to show that you hear me. Hafasa?"
Hafasa heard Bill, and moved her fingers just enough for Bill to see them.
"Good!" And, out of nowhere, Bill disappeared. In his place was Kilo.
"I mussssssssssssst sssssssssssay that I am happy that you are alive. Now I can finish you mysssssssssself!"
Hafasa's hands flared, but she was still weak. She was recovering, though. A shock filled Kilo's body. He staggered, stumbled, and fell. He did not get back up. Hafasa slumped again.
Meanwhile, the REAL Bill and Tom were running. They would not stop.
"Do you think Hafasa's okay, Bill?" Tom asked, but as he was running, he ran into something golden-hard. It was the leg of an immense golden crocodile. Hafasa Hafasa , Bill and Tom thought simultaneously. But Hafasa was still unconscious.
Hafasa heard the thoughts, loud and clear. But that last shot had really leveled her. She couldn't even concentrate of the whereabouts of her friends by following their brain waves' path (hey, it would be easy for HER).
"Have to........concentrate...........must follow path before........trail becomes.........cold......." And she passed out.
"See any weapons on the wall, Bill?"
"Oh, funny. Hey, look! A carcass of an animal."
"Yeah, let's move on."
"No, dummy! Watch!" And he started rolling the hide into a long string. "Up we go!" He tied a hole in it, and it caught on the croc's ear. He heaved himself, with Tom, onto the croc's back. He slid down the tail, and ran away.
"See," Bill said, "The crocodile will be distracted by the smell of the meat and won't bother going after us!"
"Clever, Bill," Tom said, clutching his stomach. "But I NEVER want to do that again!"
Bill smiled, and helped Tom to his feet.
Meanwhile, Hafasa was lying there, worried sick about Bill and Tom. Suddenly, a familiar voice said
"Don't be worried about your friendsssssssssss, Hafasssssssssssa. They're only being attacked by a giant crocodile! It'ssssssssss not like they're in trouble. You-however..........." And Hafasa saw Kilo storming towards her, fully repowered, before she blacked out again.
**************
Chapter 12
*************
Hafasa lay, head down, waiting for the worst to happen. She had no more power left, and Bill and Tom were being attacked by a-what was that Kilo said-a crocodile, and she was in the hands of the evil sorcerer/monster, Kimonalanacadoneb.
Meanwhile, Bill, proud of his idea, and Tom, still sick to his stomach, continued to aimlessly wander the nugget.
"I wish Hafasa was here!" whined Tom as he followed Bill around the nugget. "Aren't we going in circles, Bill?"
"Shut up, Tom! Listen!"
Tom heard it too-a whistling sound-coming from behind them. They turned around, and were temporarily blinded by a huge flash of light. When they could see, they saw-Kilo.
"Hi, heroessssssss. Love your outfit. The blinding you exsssssperiensssssssssed was from me. I have killed Hafassssssssssa for good this time, and you cannot help her! You will ssssssssstay here forever!"
Just then, a dark, inconspicuous shadow loomed over Kilo. Bill and Tom heard a clear, familiar voice.
"Hey, Kilo! Did you forget to check LifeScan before you killed me? You killed a dummy! And now, I'll kill you!"
"Hafassssssssa? You tricked me! I sssssssswear, you cheat!"
Bill grinned at Hafasa, then turned to Kilo. He glared, then socked Kilo in the face.
"Funny-you don't feel THAT heavy!" Bill taunted as he assaulted Kilo. Tom joined in.
"Foolsssssssssss!" Kilo shouted as Tom and Bill hit the wall. "You cannot desssssssssstroy me with punchessssss!"
Maybe not , thought Bill, but I think I can remember that spell -Yes! That's it !
"Yol Kol Eon. Power Zower Mower. ZZZZZ as ZZZZZ will KaKaTa."
Kilo shifted uncomfortably, then again, then again. Finally, he fell to the ground. A deep red cloud ascended above Kilo, then started to lightning. The cloud moved across the nugget, and struck Hafasa. Hafasa stood up and faced Kilo. She looked at him, and he went up in flames. The entire nugget shook. There was a huge tearing sound, and half of the nugget disappeared.
"Of course!" Hafasa shouted. "Kilo trapped you in his nugget, but mine joined it. He's destroyed, so his nugget's gone. Only mine's left."
"So let us out!" Bill said.
Hafasa motioned for him to be quiet, then stood, as if listening.
"I can't let you out yet," she said. "Kilo's golden creatures are somehow still here-and after you."
Tom, annoyed, said, "So make them NOT still be here!"
Hafasa blasted Tom into the wall. Then, she zapped the air. Instantly, a huge, mean, ugly Abominable Snowman loomed overhead. Hafasa stood alarmed.
"That wasn't supposed to happen! There's no spell like that!"
The snowman grabbed the wall of the nugget, and tore a hole in it. Small pieces of gold came flying through. Each one became a different myth. One was the Hydra. Bill saw a Sphinx, and a Griffin. One looked like Kilo. There was a dragon, and an alien with three eyes. Hafasa zapped them, but nothing happened.
"Something is wrong here. The pieces of Kilo's nugget aren't gone! They're right here. And they are still charged with magic!"
And with that, Bill, Tom, and Hafasa got sucked into the golden monster shaped like Kilo.
"Everybody okay?" a voice asked.
"I think so, but is Hafasa okay?"
"I'm fine. Here, I'll light a match."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAh!"
For the three people were surrounded by towering golden creatures, more hideous than before! They circled the defenseless three, and started to charge.
"Somebody take away their credit caaaaaaaaards!" Tom screamed as one monster chased him around the nugget.
"That is soooooo old!" Hafasa said. "These creatures are really strong! I can't even dent them! And there seems to be an electronically-charged laser force field surrounding the nugget. If we touch the walls, we will get electrocuted!"
"Well, degenerate the force field!" Tom whined.
"It's not that easy, Tom. You see, degenerating the force field would automatically power a self-destruct mechanism connected to the field. We'd all be blown to Kingdom Kome!"
"And here I thought Tom was a negative thinker!" Bill teased.
"Uh, guys, I hate to remind you, but there are a hundred golden creatures here, closing in! It would help if you, like, started HELPING ME HERE!" Tom remarked.
Sure enough, the monsters were closing in-FAST. It was all the heroes could do to keep from being destroyed.
"[[apple]]^~ø [[Sigma]]^~~ å(c)å^~ reg.[[diereis]]~' +[[dotaccent]]' [[Sigma]]øreg.~[[partialdiff]]<= å[[florin]]+'reg. [[dotaccent]]' [[dotaccent]]åß +å[[ring]]'~ çåreg.' ø[[florin]] [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] ^~+'reg.[[florin]]'reg.'reg.ß/!"
"Oh, you can talk now! How cute! HAFASA! HOW ABOUT A TRANSLATION HERE!" Tom yelled.
"Okay. Kilo will again rule the world, after he takes care of you interferers!"
"Áø[[dieresis]] [[partialdiff]]'~^(c)[[dotaccent]]+[[florin]][dieresis]]~~[[yen]] ß+[[dieresis]][[pi]]^[[partialdiff]] [[florin]]øø~ß/ ,,' åreg.' ^~[[radical]]^~ç^[[integral]]~'/"
"You delightfully stupid fools! We are invincible!"
"Œ[[Sigma]]'reg.+[[yen]][[dieresis]]^ø[[pi]]åß[[partialiff]][[florin]](c)[[dotaccent]]Ô[[ring]]~[[Omega]]~ç[[radical]][[integral]]~u[[integral]][[radical]]ç~reg.'[[questiondown]]"
"Now I don't know what they said."
The monsters started to grow, and their hands began flashing. They then got smaller, hands still flashing. Then, lightning sprung from their fingertips. They started to get smaller, then fell into pieces. Each piece became another creature! They kept multiplying until the nugget was full. The nugget grew larger, and more appeared.
"Áø[[dieresis]] [[Sigma]]^~~ [[partialdiff]]^' ~^[[ing]]' +[[dotaccent]]' [[florin]]øø~ß [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] åreg.'<= [[integral]][[dieresis]]+ ~ø+ [[dotaccent]]'reg.'/ ,,,,' [[Sigma]]^~~ +å[[ring]]' [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] +ø [[dotaccent]]^ß Âå(c)'ß+^'ßæ [[pi]]reg.'ß'~ç'<= +[[dotaccent]]'~ [[partialdiff]]'ß+reg.ø[[yen]] +[[dotaccent]]'u/"
"Um-You will die like the fools you are, but not here. We will take you to his Majesties' SON'S PRESENCE, AND DESTROY THEM THERE! Oh, of course! Benodacanalanomik!"
"Could I call him Ben?" Tom asked hopefully.
"Not me! I'll try the whole thing. Benanalanacadoneba-um-no....." Bill tried.
"Stick with Ben." Hafasa grinned.
"i'~ø[[partialdiff]]åçå~å~å~øu^[[rig]] [[Sigma]]^~~ [[partialdiff]]^ß[[pi]]øß' ø[[florin]] +[[dotaccent]]'ß' ^[[partialdiff]]^ø+ß [[pi]]reg.ø[[pi]]'reg.~[[yen]]/"
"Let's see-Benodacanalanomik will dispose of these idiots properly!"
"Well, he seems pretty powerful!" Bill remarked.
"[[Pi]]ø[[Sigma]]'reg.[[florin]][[dieresis]]~[[questiondown]] [Pi]]ø[[Sigma]]'reg.[[florin]][[dieresis]]~[[questiondown]] Íß +[[dotaccent]]å+ å~~ [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] çå~ ßå[[yen]] å[[integral]]ø[[dieresis]]+ i'~ø[[partialdiff]]&aing;çå~å~å~øu^[[ring]][[questiondown]] Ø[[dieresis]]reg. uåß+'reg. [[dotaccent]]åß å~~ +[[dotaccent]]' [[pi]]ø[[Sigma]]'reg. +[[dotaccent]]å+ [[apple]]^uø~å~å~åçå[[partialdiff]]ø~'[[integral]] [[dotaccent]]å[[partialdiff]]-å~[[partialdiff]] ÂØ[[perthousand]]'/"
"Whoa! Okay-Powerful? Powerful? Is that all you can say about Ben(odacanalanomik) Our master has all the power of Kimonalanacadoneb-and more!"
As the creatures blabbed and Hafa translated, Bill and Tom tried to tear the walls open. They were electrocuted, and shot back.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" they screamed as they fell backwards, hearts pounding, insides burning. Hafasa turned, and was hit in the back by a gold creature.
"[[caron]][[dotaccent]]'ß' ^~+'reg.[[florin]]'reg.^~(c) u'[[partaldiff]][[partialdiff]]~'reg.ß [[Sigma]]^~~ (c)ø ~ø [[florin]][[dieresis]]reg.+[[dotaccent]]'reg./"
"<gulp>These interfering meddlers will go no farther!"
But Tom and Bill were still unconscious. They lay completely still, but Hafasa could detect their heartbeat.
Later, Hafasa woke up. She was apparently knocked out. She found herself staring into a hideous face that could only belong to Ben.
",,' [[florin]]ø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] +[[dotaccent]]'&szig;' ^~+reg.[[dieresis]][[partialdiff]]'reg.ß ß~øø[[pi]]^~(c) åreg.ø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]]reg. ~[[dieresis]](c)(c)'+<= Áø[[dieresis]]reg. Ó^(c)[[dotaccent]]~'ßß>="
"[[caron]][[dotaccent]]'[[yen]] [[Sigma]]'reg.'~æ+ ß~&oslah;ø[[pi]]^~(c)/ Â[[yen]] [[florin]]å+[[dotaccent]]'reg. [[integral]]reg.ø[[dieresis]](c)[[dotaccent]]+ +[[dotaccent]]'u [[dotaccent]]'reg.'/ i' (c)ø~' [[Sigma]]^+[[dotaccent]] [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]]/"
We found these intruders snooping around your nugget , Your Highness .
They weren't snooping ! My father brought them here ! Be gone with you !, Hafasa translated to herself, so she could stay with the conversation.
"[[caron]][[dotaccent]]å~[[ring]] [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] [[lorin]]øreg. [[integral]]reg.^~(c)^~(c) +[[dotaccent]]'u +ø u'<= +[[dotaccent]]ø[[dieresis]](c)[[dotaccent]]<= [[florin]]øreg. ~ø[[Sigma]] ^ çå~ [[partialdiff]]^ß[[pi]]øß' ø[[florin]] +[[dotaccent]]'u u[[yen]]ß'~[[florin]]/"
Thank you for bringing them to me , though , for now I can dispose of them myself !
",,' åreg.' å~[[Sigma]]å[[yen]]ß [[pi]]~'aring;ß'[[partialdiff]] +ø [[dotaccent]]'~[[pi]]<= Í^reg.>= ,,' ~'å[[radical]]' ~ø[[Sigma]]>="
We are always pleased to help , Sir . We go now .
Hafasa found herself getting so lost in the conversation, she didn't notice a large amount of nervous energy being blocked in both brains of Bill and Tom.
*************
Chapter 13
**************
Bill and Tom immediately stood, frozen stiff, and Hafasa was still listening.
",,[[dotaccent]]å+ åreg.' ÁØ[[dieresis]]&nbs;[[partialdiff]]ø^~(c) [[integral]]åç[[ring]] [[dotaccent]]'reg.'[[questiondown]] Áø[[dieresis]]reg. [[integral]][[dieresis]]ß^~'ßß ^ß [[partialdiff]]ø~'/"
"Íøreg.reg.[[yen]] +ø ^~+reg.[[dieresis]][[partiadiff]]'<= Í^reg.'<= [[integral]][[dieresis]]+ [[Sigma]]' [[dotaccent]]å[[radical]]' å uå++'reg. ø[[florin]] [[dieresis]]+uøß+ ^u[[pi]]øreg.+å~ç' +[[dotaccent]]å+ [[Sigma]]' Â[[dieresis]]Í[[caron]] [[pi]]reg.'ß'~+ +ø [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]]/"
What are YOU doing back here ? Your business is done !
Sorry to intrude , Sire , but we have a matter of utmost importance that we MUST present to you !
"Í^(c)[[dotaccent]]/ Å~reg.^(c)[[dotaccent]]+<= [Sigma]][[dotaccent]]å+ ^ß ßø ^u[[pi]]øreg.+å~+[[questiondown]]"
"Óå[[florin]]åß'~å[[integral]]'[[partialdiff]]&aeig;ß ß^ß+'reg. [[Sigma]]åß [[Delta]][[dieresis]]ß+ ß''~ aring;reg.ø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] +[[dotaccent]]' ~[[dieresis]](c)(c)'+/"
",,ÓÅ[[caron]][[questiondown]]"
Sigh ! Alright , what is so important ?
Hafasenabed 's sister was just seen around the nugget !
WHAT ?
"Bill! Tom! Debanesafah, my sister! She's come to save us! Bill? Tom? Bill? Tom? What's wrong? Where are they-Oh no!"
For, too late, she noticed poor Bill and Tom, paralyzed.
"No matter. With my new powers I'll-"
"Áø[[dieresis]]æ~~ [[partialdiff]]ø ~&oslas;+[[dotaccent]]^~(c)/"
Just then, another being entered the room.
"Œ,,ÍÏ[[hungarumlaut]][[lozenge]][[daggerdbl]][[hungarumlaut]]eg.^ØÒÚÆÚÔÔÔÏÎÇÍÍÅ'ÎÏ[[apple]]ÔÆ[[questiondown]][[questiondown]][[questiondown]] >> i[[perthousand]]Ô[[caron]][[perthousand]]Ïi[[hungarumlaut]]ÔÒ[[apple]]Ò[[apple]]Ú"Æ"
Hafasa turned, and saw a large monster. It was very fat, and was immune to all attacks from Hafasa.
"Å[[dotaccent]]<= +[[dotaccent]]' [[hungarumlaut]]^Ïi/ Áø[[dieresis]] [[dotaccent]]å[[radical]]' årg.reg.^[[radical]]'[[partialdiff]] å+ ~åß+/ Hafassssssssenabed! You have FINALLY met your MATCH! Meet the GIFF, the Golden Indesssssssssstructible Fighting Force! [[ogonek]]Å,,ÇÇ fl[[hungarumlaut]]Á[[daggerdbl]]Oacute;Ô[[apple]]ÒÚ[[apple]][[breve]][[macron]][[breve]]ÚÆ[[macron]] [[hungarumlaut]]Ï[[caron]]Ó Â[[macron]][[questiondown]][[breve]]"'[[Pi]]deg.[[daggerdbl]][[apple]][[apple]][[breve]] [[apple]]Ò/ Begin your asssssssssault!"
"Oh, you take after your father!" Hafasa retorted.
She retranslated the earlier conversation.
You 'll do nothing !
Something
Ah , the GIFF ! You have arrived at last !
"Aaaaaah!" for as she became lost in her mental world, the GIFF struck.
"Hafasenabed! The GIFF requests your accompaniment in the Netherworld! I am GIFF, the Golden Indestructible Fighting Force, and you are NOTHING! Say no more! Your fate has been decided! Benodacanalanomik, my supreme master, decides all! Come with me, and avoid a harsh beating! Refuse, and suffer!"
"Do you know how much I hate being called Hafasenabed?! And believe me, pal, I ain't goin' nowheres without a good fight!"
"RAAAAAAAAHR! I SAID, SAY NO MORE! DIE, FOOL! YOU HAVE NO NEED TO LIVE!!!!"
"Enough need to do THIS!" Hafasa shouted, and with that, magically sealed GIFF's eyes and mouth, and disappeared.
"MMMMMMMMMMM-MMMM-MMM! BAH! Hafasenabed's parlor tricks are no match for my might! Eh-She's gone! I heard her disappear. OOOOOOOOh, she's tough! But I will TRIUMPH! I am GIFF! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Hafasa, meanwhile, was back at the outer walls of the nugget, telepathically searching for Bill and Tom. Then she remembered their last condition. She angrily threw down her hands, and Bill and Tom appeared before her, moving again. But then, a huge figure broke through the walls behind them.
"Okay, what have we missed, and why?!" Bill asked.
"Say no more, human! I am GIFF, the Golden Indestructible Fighting Force. You are Bill Solidade and Tom Kraftan. Together, no good! My master's son is a sworn enemy of Hafasenabed, so none of you may escape!"
Bill sighed, and turned to Hafasa.
"Is this guy for real? I mean-"
"SILENCE! YOU WERE NOT GIVEN PERMISSION TO TALK! YOU WILL DIE!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bill, frightened, clutched Hafasa's hand tighter.
"I have no fight with you, human. Step aside now, and save your pathetic hide. Stay, and die with your friend. And don't try any rescue business, because I've got her covered. Move aside-NOW!"
Bill moved.
"Í+ø[[pi]] [[pi]]~å[[yen]]^~(c) åreg.ø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]]<= [[hungarumlaut]]^ÏÏ/ Ï^~^ÍÓ [[caron]]Ó'Â/"
"Âåß+'reg.<= ^ åu/"
"Îø~æ+ [[florin]]å^~ u'>= ^&aelg;u ^~ å [[integral]]å[[partialdiff]] uøø[[partialdiff]]>="
Stop playing around , GIFF ! FINISH THEM !
Master , I am !
Don 't fail me . I 'm in a bad mood . Hafasa listened carefully.
"Now where were we, Hafasenabed? Oh yes! I was about to destroy you! Âåß+'reg.<= ß+ø[[pi]] [[integral]]&olash;+[[dotaccent]]'reg.^~(c) u'/ ^ åu/"
"I don't know what he said." Hafasa remarked.
"Don't think you can escape from this trap, Hafasenabed. YOU are MINE!"
"Ô[[dieresis]]ß+ [[florin]]^~^ß[[dotaccent]] +[[dotacent]]'u/"
"[[caron]][[dotaccent]]å+æß [[Sigma]][[dotaccent]]å ^ ÅÂ [[partialdiff]]ø^~(c)/"
Hafasa still didn't know what the GIFF said, but Ben said, "Just finish them!" She told Bill and Tom, and was blasted in the back.
"Tsk, tsk, GIFF. Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to shoot in the BACK?" and with those last words, fired a ray at GIFF, and he stumbled backwards.
"Don't annoy me, Hafasa. I don't like to be ANNOYED!" and with that, he zapped Hafasa. She fell to the ground, her power drained, her life gone. Bill and Tom sobbed over Hafasa's body, but-a familiar voice in the backround-an Inca! FROSGANIUS!
"Hello to all-except for you. GIFF. I never thought that you were really so ugly. And-oh, Benodacanalanomik! You're dumber than you look!"
Just then, Hafasa recognized another voice-that Bill and Tom did not.
"Sister! Oh, no!"
"My sister! Debanesafah! You're--here!" Hafasa weakly said, smiling.
Bill queried, "Do you have magic powers like your sister?"
"Of course I do! Why?"
"I believe I can answer that question! I am GIFF. To me, Debbie, and Frossie here, you are prey waiting to be caught! I just need to be the right hunter. Meaning--bye-bye!"
"Now that the formal introductions have been made, Debbienesehaha, or whatever, let's get this overgrown trash pile!" Frosganius eagerly shouted.
"Agreed, loyal Incan and noble friend!" Debbie shouted back.
"Could you two get much DUMBER? If you want to fight, you might consider Benodacanalanomik's army of golden warriors slowly creeping up behind you!" GIFF said with a smile.
Fros and Debbie whirled around. Sure enough, hordes and hordes of golden guards were silently sneaking up from behind.
"Haminahaminahamina! Gorath to gommall! Soner to cennerr!" Debanesafah shouted. The warriors went flying backwards.
"Áø[[dieresis]] ^[[partialdiff]]^ø+ß/ Áø[[dieresis]] ^~çøu[[pi]]'+'~+ [[florin]]øø~ß/ ^æ~~ ß'++~' +[[dotaccent]]^ß u[[yen]]ß'~[[florin]]/ Debbie, you'll pay for that!" Ben shouted.
"I don't know about you, Debbie, but he lost me." Frosganius whispered to Debbie.
Debbie shook her head, and said, "You idiots! You incompetent fools! I'll settle this myself!"
"You're FINISHED, 'safah!" GIFF shouted angrily.
Frosganius fired an arrow to the GIFF's heart, but it bounced off. He fired again, but this time Deb uttered some magic words, and the arrow began to glow.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ben shouted, and fired an energy bolt at the arrow. It caught on fire, and fell to the ground, charred and worthless.
"Yawn! I've heard of slow-motion battles, but let's work with me here! I want a FIGHT, not a talking match!" The GIFF was getting impatient.
"Í^~'~ç'<= [[hungarumlaut]]^ÏÏ/ ^&nbs;[[Delta]][[dieresis]]ß+ ßå[[radical]]'[[partialdiff]] [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] [[florin]]reg.øu å [[florin]]~åu^~(c) åreg.reg.ø[[Sigma]] å^u'[[partialdiff]] çø~[[radical]]^'~+~[[yen]] å+ [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]]reg. [[dotaccent]]'åreg.+/"
Hafasa quickly telepathically translated to Fros before he could make some dumb remark.
Silence , GIFF ! I just saved you from a flaming arrow aimed conveniently at your heart !
Hafasa was getting better, and Bill said, "Fros, over here!"
"Boys, girls, work with me here! Come on already! Sheesh!"
"Î'[[integral]]å~'ßå[[florin]]å[[dotaccent]]<=&bsp;[[yen]]ø[[dieresis]] åreg.' [[integral]]'çøu^~(c) '~+[[perthousand]]'Â'ÒÁ å~~ø[[yen]]^~(c)>= ÍÓ[[dieresis]][[caron]] [[dieresis]][[Pi]]/"
Debanesafah , you are getting extREMELY annoying . SHUT UP !
"Not for you, fool-gold!"
"[[caron]][[dotaccent]]å+æß ^+/ [[hungarumlaut]'[[caron]] Ó'[[perthousand]][[macron]] [[hungarumlaut]]^ÏÏ/"
Fros didn't need a translation to tell that Ben was now really mad at Deb. The entire golden army was
translating extremely clear, too. All at once, a rush of wind was heard, and a hole appeared in the nugget. A huge foot came crashing through it into the nugget, accidently squashing GIFF. Another foot made another hole. The nugget started to enlarge, and enlarge, and ENLARGE until the entire beast was shown. It was a gigantic, bigger-than-life tyrannosaurus rex!
"Meet Rexatron, my own robotic T-Rex, modified for your approval. Rexatron, DESTROY THEM!"
******************
Chapter 16
*****************
Rexatron now loomed over Deb and Fros. Ben gleefully smiled and pointed at the still damaged Hafasa, and she screamed in agony. Angrily, Deb returned fire at Ben, but he dodged the blast and it hit his throne.
All at once, the nugget started to shake. Bill, Tom, and Hafasa jumped up, seemingly unharmed. Rexatron began to glow, and roared in agony. He fell to the ground, and blew up.
Ben disappeared, and so did Bill, Tom, Hafasa, Frosganius, and Debanesafah. They reappeared in another nugget. They heard a loud noise, and a creature appeared. It wasn't the GIFF, or Rexatron, or even the Golden Army. It was a small, almost invisible bug. A bee.
Hafasa zapped it, to destroy it. But it started to grow, until it was twice the size of Rexatron. Its stinger started to glow, and it shot a blast so strong, it knocked a hole in the nugget, but sealed quickly. Hafasa, Bill, Tom, Fros, and Deb now saw a way to escape-but- it wouldn't be easy, since the nugget started to shake again. The bee grew, and grew, and grew some more! Now, it was 5 times Rexatron's size, and still growing.
Its once fragile wings were now strong enough to create a hurricane with but one wave, and its once short, insignificant legs could now create a devastating, 9.9 earthquake. Bill and Tom were horrified, but the others seemed undaunted by this unexpected turn of events.
Debanesafah blasted the bug, and it grew. She turned around, said some weird magic words, and it shrank, but the Deb was blasted in the back.
"No! YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT MY BUZZCUT! YOU CANNOT!" Ben wailed, and zapped the bee, or Buzzcut. It grew so big, that now, it could possibly be bigger than the earth. It actually was, but the nugget kept balance.
Meanwhile, outside of the nugget, the town was still buzzing about the archaeologists' disappearance. Repe Orter and the citizens had discovered an incredible shadow in the now world-size nugget. It looked like a bee. Looking closer, they saw five little shadows battling the bee.
Hafasa desperately turned to Bill.
"Bill!" she cried. "Use the backhand!"
Now remembering an ancient art Hafasa had taught him, Bill lunged at Buzzcut and made a knife out of his hand. He swung once, twice, and three times, and his movements were accented by the blinding glare of the distant scorching sun. Buzzcut buzzed loudly, shuddered, and collapsed. As the others gaped at him in awe, Bill explained his previous display.
"See, Hafasa taught me to use an opponent's strength against him using a special attack called the backhand . By swinging your hand right, you hit your opponent's center of gravity. I was rusty at first, so I swung three times. Buzzcut, or all robots, have a center of gravity too."
Ben was furious.
"You-and-Buzz-RARR!" he stammered, and fired at the five. They began to glow. Ben looked on ominously. Our heroes felt themselves disappearing.
"Oh no!" Deb exclaimed. "I've heard of this! This is the horrible nugget suction! We will get sucked into the nugget's walls and be trapped forever! And it only takes 25 seconds!"
"That's enough time for me!" and with that, Tom lunged at Ben, knocking him out. The glow disappeared. Ben, horrified, looked on as Hafasa and Deb glared down at him, hands glowing. He smiled, and disappeared.
All at once, the nugget came to life. It squeezed and stretched and bulged, until it took the form of Benodacanalanomik! The nugget said,
"Ha, Debbie! Who has the upper hand now? Y'see, I control this nugget now. Every atom, every molecule, is under my control. And right now I'm not in my better moods. So-It's been nice knowin' ya!"
And with that, the walls began to close in. And very quickly. Hafasa shot at one of the walls, and it appeared to be held back-momentarily. Bill and Tom leapt at the other wall, pushing with all their might.
"Ooooh, this is fun! Not only am I destroying my arch-enemies, but I'm also avenging my Daddy! So squiggle and squirm, boys and girls, because NOTHING can save you now! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Aggravated and misused, the five heroes continued their pushing-but in vain.
"How are we going to fight a wall, for crying out loud, let alone a magic nugget?!" Tom cried in disgust.
How indeed? As our heroes face inevitable death, Ben was plotting against them.
"Now let's see, should I use my giant shark against them, or the spikes-in-ground scenario, or maybe the crushing scene-oh wait-that's being used. Okay........"
Deb, meanwhile, was pushing on the wall with all her might, but to no avail. Her magical powers were not strong enough to hold back this wall. Frosganius was helping Bill and Tom push on their wall, but the walls kept closing in. Then, they heard the obnoxious and repulsive voice of the nugget-Ben.
"Hi again, boys and girls! It's me again. Now, tell me, how does it feel to be moments away from death? Oh-wait-don't answer that. I already know. It happened to my father. But enough talk. As you can plainly see, the walls are now inches away from crushing your puny meddlesome bodies. In that time, I will triumph!"
"Yeah? Well, don't count your gold coins before they're stolen, fish-face!" Frosganius retorted angrily.
"Fros, don't. We've got enough problems." Deb said.
"Oh really? I bet one of them is talking to a weirdo who lives inside a nugget and eats coins for breakfast-"
"-And motormouth Incas for dinner! Now, shut up, or face the consequences!"
"Oooh, he's gettin' rough. Maybe I should run. Oh, no, wait, scratch that-we're trapped inside your insidious plan."
"Frosganius, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Bill exclaimed. "Now, let's keep pushing. We don't have all day."
The walls quickly rushed closer and closer together and our heroes get more and more frantic, Hafasa remembers an incredible spell. She utters a strange chant, and the walls stop-abrubtly.
"Hey! You cheated. Okay-now I'm mad!"
And then, spikes grew out of the walls, with blood and gore splattered on them. They grew closer and closer together as more and more appeared. Soon, the entire room was covered in golden spikes.
Tom said, "This is not quite the way I expected to die!"
"Oh, stop being so negative, Tom!" Fros replied.
"I agree, Tom," Bill said. Hafasa broke in. "Sorry to intrude, but we shouldn't really be standing around arguing when all our lives are at stake!"
"Sorry, let's go-but go do what?!"
"Well, aren't we enjoying ourselves, boys and girls? Oh drat, I was hoping it could be a family dinner!" The spikes disappeared. "I've invited a guest. I believe you haven't met." The ground parted. A huge shark leapt out of the floor. "Sharkie, meet helpless victims. Helpless victims, Sharkie."
As our heroes looked on in amazement and horror, the giant shark jumped back into the nugget and splashed nugget pieces on them. No hole was created. While the shark removed himself from the five's visual range, he snuck under them and prepared to eat. But then, Deb spotted the upcoming shadow.
"LOOK OUT!" she cried. The heroes jumped out of the way just as the giant shark leapt out of the floor, jaw crunching.
"You avoided my Sharkie! Oh well, my chance will come again. After all, he's not dead yet!"
And Sharkie once again lunged out of the nugget, aimed straight at Bill and Tom.
*************
Chapter 17
*************
As the shark plummeted toward them like a torpedo with fins, Hafasa chanted an enchantment.
"Thoruda Ruda Ruda,
Gomuda Faluda Suda,
Fanci Monci Junci,
Omear!"
The shark stopped, wavered, and fell back into the endless "sea" of gold.
"Sharkie! You fools! What have you done to my Sharkiiiiiiie?"
"We sent him back to him sick family, which is exactly where you're going, Benny! To meet your dad!"
"Don't count on it, Billy! You haven't seen the last of Benodacanalanomik!"
And with that, the nugget started to twist and push and pull, and the nugget returned to its original form. Ben was nowhere to be seen. Hafasa sighed heavily.
"Now what?" she queried. "Ben is gone, and the nugget is still sealed! And our powers don't seem to work."
Frosganius solemnly agreed. "True. But where is Ben, anyway?"
Tom paid no mind. "Who cares? He's gone. We beat him, and all of his golden cronies!"
With that, a golden statue rose up from the ground. It looked like Ben. The statue did not move, laugh, or talk. All at once, Tom disappeared.
Our heroes heard a sentence that struck fear into their hearts.
"That's what you think, Tom!"
And as the all-too-familiar voice spoke, the statue started to crack. Not a glass-shattered crack, but more like a force-from-inside crack. A pile of gold nuggets, most no bigger than a penny, lay on the floor. A horrifying sight stood where the statue once was: Benodacanalanomik!
"Welcome, boys and girls! Did you miss me? Well, I'm baaaack! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Hafasa was blasted backwards into what looked like a giant fish tank. The top was pointed, like a rocketship, and the glass was tinted a golden color. An ominous wire led from the point of the tank to a remote control in Ben's hands. Bill fell down a trapdoor-the infinite one. Debanesafah was surrounded by Ben's golden minions. Frosganius was confronted by a gigantic spider on a golden web. Then, Tom reappeared, and was trapped in a room where the walls slowly began to close in.
"Well, I'd love to stay and watch you all perish, but I've got a tight schedule now that I'm back in the land of the ungold! Ciao!"
Tom was inches away from being splattered flatter than a pancake, when Hafasa weakly fired at the point of her tank, which started an interesting chain reaction. The blast went up the wire and fried the remote control, still in Ben's hand. He dropped the remote, and it cracked. Untrue to his word, he HAD been watching them all perish. The remote control cracked. Its main power section, which was connected to the wire, slid under the door. It almost glided across the floor, and struck one of the walls surrounding Tom. It started to pulsate with electricity, and exploded under the strain. Tom rolled out of the way. Then, just in the nick of time, Deb used her power to lift up the outlet, and "threw" it at the creatures. They all got close together, and the electrons were jumping around the many creatures. They fell down. One fell and cracked the glass around Hafasa. A great amount of glass flew at Fros. He jumped, and it got tangled in the web at the exact moment the spider stepped over that spot. The glass, still minorly electrocuted, blew up the spider.
Now everyone except Bill was free. Tom peered down worriedly.
"BILL!" he shouted. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
No reply. Hafasa could not see him. She tried to enlarge her vision range. Nothing.
"I'm coming, Bill!" Fros grabbed a rope, tied it around himself, and jumped. He fell for what seemed like a year before he saw a familiar silhouette.
"BILL!" he shouted. He grabbed on tight. He tugged twice on the rope, and was brought up. Now everyone was safe, and Ben was furious.
"Y-you escaped! All of you!"
"Nice teamwork, eh, Pops?" Tom replied with a grin.
As our heroes celebrated, Ben plotted in his own language, so you won't find out his idea until it unravels!
"~ø[[Sigma]]<= ~'+æß ß''>=>=>=>=-Óø[[Sigma]] ß[[dotaccent]]ø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] ^ [[partialdiff]]'ß+reg.ø[[yen]] +[[dotaccent]]øß' ^[[partialdiff]]^ø+ß[[questiondown]] ^ çø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] +reg.å[[pi]] +[[dotaccent]]'u ß'[[pi]]'reg.å+'~[[yen]]-~ø<= +[[dotaccent]]å+ [[partialdiff]]^[[partialdiff]]~æ+ [[Sigma]]øreg.[[ring]]>=>=>=>=>=>=^ çø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] [[dotaccent]]å~(c) +[[dotaccent]]'u ø[[radical]]'reg. [[integral]]ø^~^~(c) ø^~>=>=>=>=>=>=[[integral]][[dieresis]]+ Óå[[florin]]åßå å~[[partialdiff]] Î'[[integral]]å~'ßå[[florin]]å[[dotaccent]] çø[[dieresis]]~[[partialdiff]] 'ßçå[[pi]]' +[[dotaccent]]å+ +øø 'åß^~[[yen]]>= ÅÓ/ ^ [[ring]]~ø[[Sigma]]/ ^æ~~ [[ring]]^[[partialdiff]]~å[[pi]] i^~~<= [[perthousand]]øu<= å~[[partialdiff]] Ïreg.øß(c)å~^[[dieresis]]ß>= ,,[[dotaccent]]'~ +[[dotaccent]]' uå(c)^ç ø~'ß çøu' [[florin]]øreg. +[[dotaccent]]'u<= ^æ~~ [[integral]]' reg.'å[[partialdiff]][[yen]]/ ÓÅ--ÓÅ--ÓÅ--ÓÅ--ÓÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅ/"
Bill and Tom were exploring the nugget with Frosganius. All at once, golden soldiers appeared. Bill thought, Hafasa , Hafasa ! Help ! He heard a faint teleporting sound, and turned around. A soldier knocked him on the head split-seconds before he saw Tom and Fros in the soldier's hands. When Hafasa appeared, Bill, Tom, and Fros were gone.
"I suppose you're wondering why I brought you here, mortals! Well, my plan is quite simple! You see, your magical friends will soon be here to "save" you. Then, we will destroy them!"
Indeed, at that moment, Deb and Hafasa were planning an attack. They tried to attack by storm, but were almost captured. So, they tried an attack by stealth.
Inside Ben's lair, an alarm sounded.
"They're heeeeere!" he said with a grin.
But they weren't! Hafasa and Deb were nowhere to be seen! Ben mumbled something about a computer malfunction, and went back inside. Hafasa peeked out.
"Coast is clear, Sis." She smiled. They crept out of hiding, fried the security cameras, and found Ben standing over his captives.
"You're finished, Benny!" Deb stood menacingly in the threshold. Hafasa backed her up.
"Oh no, girlies, I told you I'd be ready!"
With that, he and his captives disappeared. Hafasa and Deb were violently spun around and around. Images of a smiling Ben appeared and disappeared. The floor level rapidly began to drop. Doors appeared from the walls, and the spinning and falling stopped. Disoriented, Deb and Hafasa stepped off the elevator.
"Hope you liked the ride, girls. Your magical powers sure didn't!"
A glowing copy of themselves overflowing with magical power stepped away from the two sorceresses. The two found their powers gone. Behind Ben, Hafasa could make out the trembling figures of Bill, Tom, and Fros.
"Hafasa!" cried Bill. "Deb!"
Weakly, the two girls jumped over Ben, trying to reach the prisoners, but Ben fired at the girls. They fell. The power beings stood by Ben's side, accompanying him.
"i^'~(c)ß<= ~^ß+'~/ Áø[[dieresis]]&bsp;[[integral]]'~ø~(c) +ø [[dieresis]]ß/ ,,' ~''[[partialdiff]] [[yen]]ø[[dieresis]]/" Deb tried to communicate with the beings, but she could not. They had lost all senses, lifeless beings with limitless power. Worried, Hafasa tried.
"Listen to us! We are you, you are us! We NEED you!" Nothing. "Can you understand me now?" No answer. "Now?" Not a word. "Come on, guys! Now?" Still silence.
"Enough!" Ben screamed. "These beings are UNDER MY CONTROL. YOU CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH THEM!"
"Wait!" Deb broke in. I have an idea. can you hear me now? if you can, give us a sign." She tried telepathically, and it worked. "Hafasenabed? Debanesafah?" the beings said slowly.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Ben screamed. "IMPOSSIBLE!" The beings walked towards the two sorceresses. There was a blinding flash.
"All right!" Hafasa said in delight. "We're back in action!"
Ben angrily thrust his hands above his head. A golden tornado whirled around his hands. It left his hands and rampaged through the air toward our heroes. Bill, Tom, and Fros were free. They gasped in horror as the tornado gathered speed and size.
***************
Chapter 18
****************
The tornado whirled around and around. The quintet could even make out bits of golden debris inside. Deb charged up and fired. The shot whirled around inside the tornado, and shot out again at our heroes, full-speed. She dodged it, but Hafasa got hit guarding the humans.
"Ungh!" she cried, and fell to the ground.
"Sister!" cried Deb. "No!" She rushed over to her. Her eyes glowed with rage. She wheeled around, staring right into Ben's eyes, even as the tornado approached.
"You'll pay for this, Ben. I swear by all that is good, YOU WILL PAY!" She angrily shot another beam at the tornado. It hit the bottom of the "funnel". The tornado slowed, stopped, and disappeared, inches away from our heroes. Ben was in a red rage, too.
"You got back your powers, escaped my traps, and destroyed my tornado! This is it, heroes, the gig is up! No more Mr. Nice Guy! Now I mean BUSINESS!!" and with that, he disappeared. Hafasa moaned. She tried to sit up.
"Don't, Hafasa. You must rest." Deb's loving words soothed her, and she lay back down.
Tom, however, was not as soothing. "We're down one, just as Ben is preparing his final revenge. Great. Just great!" Bill scowled at him.
Fros tried to intercept. "Hey, Tom, that was not passionate! Bill, don't scowl. Your face gets all twisted up. Deb, take care of 'safah. Lend us some weapons, and we'll have a look around." Deb reluctantly agreed.
Meanwhile, Ben was conjuring some evil indeed.
"Roll call!
Tie Gerr! "Here!"
E. Gell! "Here!"
Turr Tell! "Here!"
Ka Meleon! "Here!"
Li One! "Here!"
Pan Therr! "Here!"
Kitte Katt! "Here!"
Lynn X.! "Here!"
Chee Tah! "Here!"
Wol Ve! "Here!"
Foxx E. "Here!"
Elee Fante! "Here!"
Good, you're all here. Now, it is time to lead the attack on these five." Their images appeared on a golden screen behind him. "Now go!"
Suspecting nothing, the threesome of humans rounded a corner. In front of them stood the lynx, lion, panther, fox, elephant, and eagle.
"Oh boy, something tells me we are NOT going to like this!" Tom said nervously. "Bill, do something!"
But Bill was already doing something. He leapt into the air, and held on to an overhang in the wall. The elephant lunged at him, but he let go, and watched the elephant shatter into smithereens.
Fros was also having a good time, with the eagle. He grabbed a sword from the wall, and threw it into the ceiling. Being a smart bird, it flew up to retrieve the sword and throw it back down at Tom. However, Fros was prepared. He had slipped a magnet onto the sword, and smiled as the eagle desperately tried to pull away. As the eagle was preoccupied, he got out another magnet (What's the use of having one in an Incan science experiment?), and threw it up in the air. It reached up to about 3 cm below the eagle, and both came careening down. The sword came down too, and, well, the eagle shattered.
Tom worriedly looked up at his assailant, the lynx. He ran up the wall, and flipped backwards onto one of its whiskers. It broke. Tom expertly threw the golden "blade" at the lynx's head. Its head shattered. The tip wasn't sharp enough to stick into the wall, so it bounced off, landed in the middle of the lion's mane, and stayed there. The lion, thinking it was a flea, scratched and scratched and scratched-till there was nothing left to scratch.
Meanwhile, the fox slyly crept around Fros, and then, he pounced. With the speed of light, he whizzed through the air. Nothing could stop him. Nothing-<CRASH>-but a golden wall.
Now all that was left is the panther. It leapt down from the ceiling, and dug its claws into the nugget. His back legs flipped around, pulling its legs out of the ground, and sailed swiftly toward Bill. Bill looked up, and the panther was about to land, but then, he rolled forward-just an inch. When the panther landed, he was under his stomach. He kicked and punched, and finally saw a little opening. Fros threw him the sword, and the battle ended-with one last explosion.
Meanwhile, Hafasa and Deb had encountered the other six-the tiger, turtle, cheetah, cat, chameleon, and the wolf. They, too, were having a bit of trouble. The turtle was slow-moving, but a valiant warrior. The cat was a mean fighting machine, but the tiger and cheetah somehow picked up traditions from real cats, and fought amongst themselves. The wolf snuck into that a few times, too.
Ben, meanwhile, was watching his display. Despite the victory owned by the humans, and the interarmy
battles, he was pleased. He smiled as he thought: If my army doesn't defeat them , the ninjas will .
As Ben schemed, Hafasa confronted the turtle. A slow one, but a hard surface. She had trouble getting through. Finally, a quick blast to the eye finished the job.
Deb, meanwhile, encountered the chameleon. Her tracking powers could only track him to a limit, and it exceeded that limit. To Deb, the creature was lost. Suddenly, it reappeared, with vengeance in its thrashing tail. Deb flew backwards.
The other four animals now had started what looked something like a Civil War, and the battle was almost won. But, at that moment, sunlight glanced off of a golden figure, shimmering brightly. The golden creatures melted. The figure split into two, then four, then eight, etc. Soon, the sorceresses could tell what they were: an army of ninjas! Solid gold, gleaming, armed ninjas!
In the time it takes for a hummingbird's wings to flutter, six things happened. Bill and Tom arrived. They made noise. The ninjas turned around. Fros appeared on what was now their rear. He fired an arrow. It knocked down a solitary ninja.
"Well, well, the gang's all here. Splendid! I assume you enjoyed our little presentation?" Ben. Five heads looked around, glaring at the remark. "Wonderful. I can't keep you bored, though. Here are some ninjas to play with. Of course, they will be called off if the magical powers of you-know-who are donated to me."
Well! That was a new objective! Nobody foresaw that request. And nobody agreed to its terms. To put it bluntly, "CHARGE!" went through each being's mind. And they did. The ninjas were agile and quick, but not intelligent. The humans had little trouble.
"I guess you did get bored, after all. Well, if you don't GIVE me their powers, I'll have to TAKE them," And with that, long, golden cables snaked out of the wall, headed for the two women. The cables grabbed the two, glowed brightly, and disappeared. For the second time, two glowing power beings appeared before them.
Nervously, Tom whispered to Hafasa: "What are those things?" She hastily replied, "They're our power."
But there was no more time to converse, for one of the beings reached out for the fivesome. Its hand outstretched and grew. When it reached the group, it was almost the size of Buzzcut.
"Duck and cover!" screamed Bill. But it was too late. The other four people were grabbed. Bill was on his own against Ben and his demi-invincible golden army.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! That goody-good human is on his own! I'll send my entire army against him, and he will be destroyed. Then, I will transfer Hafasa's and Deb's power into mine and destroy the nugget. I will rule Earth's civilization, and then, the universe! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
The sorceresses, Fros, and Tom were in an air-tight power cell in the middle of space. The oxygen level was dropping. If the container was shattered, Tom and Fros would die. However, if they did nothing, the oxygen level would empty and everyone would die.
Even as their moments ticked away, Hafasa transferred her breath into Tom's and Fros's. Before anyone could stop her, she blasted open the cage. Tom and Fros fell safely to earth. Deb lingered, carrying Hafasa's limp, airless body.
"Benodacanalanomik! You will pay! I swear it!"
They landed on earth as safely as can be expected. Deb stood, weeping over her unconscious sister. Then, Tom realized something.
"Hey, we're out of the nugget!" But Bill wasn't. So they hiked back to the nugget. Deb crushed it.
"No! Sunlight-k-killing-meeeeeeeeeeeee." Ben, the most powerful being on earth, was killed by sunlight. The power beings formed two streaks of light and made their way to Hafasa and Deb. To everyone's surprise, Hafasa woke up!
"Sister!" Deb cried in happiness. They rebuilt the nugget and went inside. Bill and Tom then found themselves surrounded by reporters and family members.
"Bill, tell, us, would you care to explain that?"
"Where did you come from?"
"Are you hurt?"
"Tom, describe your location for the past month."
Bill smiled at the cameras, and pulled Tom aside, before he could answer the question.
"Bill! I was gonna be on TV!"
Bill sighed and smiled, and the friends walked home together, ignoring the amassing crowd behind them.
"Sigh. Well, that was an experience I could live without."
"Tell me about it! Who talked us into being archaeologists, anyway?"
"BEING archaeologists?! Are you kidding? I never want to see another rock in my life!"
"I never want to see anybody like Kimonellaneeaneena-I forgot his name! There must be some power in that nugget............."
And so, the side of good wins again! But-dare I ask-is it REALLY over?
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