Astro-Knights Island (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Guardian of the Cage

The Tiger Copter responded by shooting a barrage of snowballs at Simon. He tried to dodge them, but one hit the shield and bounced right off.

So the shield deflects the snowballs,
Simon realized. He wouldn't get hurt as long as the shield held. But how could he do any damage to the copter without a weapon of his own?

Bop!
Another snowball hit the shield and bounced off, but this time it hit the Tiger Copter, and one of its yellow lights flickered.

“Of course!” Simon cried. “I can use its own weapons against it!”

Simon kept an eye on the copter so he could try to get into the best position to bounce the snowballs back at the beast.

Bop! Bop!
He knocked two snowballs right back at the copter. The beast began to shudder and glow red, and one of the yellow lights went out completely.

“It's working!” Simon cheered. But then he felt the cold sting of snow on his arm and saw that he'd been hit. The yellow glow of the shield had vanished. His shield was down!

“That didn't last very long,” he muttered, complaining. There was nothing to do now but dodge the snowball attack. His feet slipped as he darted across the icy ridge, and he struggled to keep his balance.

What was I thinking?
he asked himself as doubt slowly filled his spirit.
How can I fight a huge beast like this by myself? Without even a sword?

Then he noticed a golden glow rising from his neck and realized that the shield was slowly recharging!

“Hurry, please!” he said.

“Simon! I'm coming to help you!” Alice yelled.

“Stay back!” Simon warned. “I think I've got this!”

Now the shield was fully charged.

Bop! Bop!
He bounced two more snowballs at the Tiger Copter, and a second yellow light went out. The beast lurched closer to the mountain, and it looked like it didn't have much longer to last. It weakly hiccuped a snowball in his direction, and Simon easily dodged it.

With his confidence returned, Simon launched his final attack.

Bop! Bop! Bop! Bop!
He pummeled the Tiger Copter with more snowballs. The beast was bright red now, and smoke poured from its nostrils. Something deep inside Simon told him to run away, and he reached safety just as the Tiger Copter crashed into the mountain in a ball of flame.

Simon ran up to the crash and looked over the ridge.

“Princess? Are you there?”

His voice echoed in the mountainside, but there was no response. He couldn't see anything for miles except snow and ice. Alice ran up to him.

“You were amazing!” she said.

“Thanks,” Simon replied. “But it was all for nothing. The Princess isn't here.”

Alice frowned. “I guess Sir Gawain was wrong,” she said. “If you ask me, I think his brain has become frozen out here. He keeps asking me to give him a doughnut.”

Frustrated, the friends marched back to Sir Gawain.

“Simon took down the beast,” Alice told him. “But we didn't find the Princess.”

“Perhaps one of my companions has found her,” Sir Gawain replied. “Sir Cador and Sir Pelleas have traveled to other planets in search of the Princess.”

“You mean the Jungle Planet and the Fire Planet?” Simon asked.

Sir Gawain nodded. “Yes. I think we should go to your ship at once. I fear my companions need our help.”

They made their way back down the mountain and across the icy waters to the rocket. Sir Gawain took off his helmet, and his pale face immediately began to regain color in the warm craft.

“Girl, how about that doughnut?” he asked Alice. “Or perhaps some hot chocolate?”

“Sorry, I don't think there's any food in this thing,” Alice said, and then she straightened her posture. “And, anyway, I'm not a scullery maid anymore. I'm an adventurer. And once we rescue the Princess, Simon and I will become knights, just like you.”

Sir Gawain looked as though he might laugh, but he thought better of it.

“Fair enough,” he said. “You have traveled to this far planet, rescued me, and destroyed the tiger. In my eyes, you are worthy.”

Simon felt so proud he thought his chest might burst. But he knew he had a long way to go before becoming a knight. He slipped into the pilot's seat. “All right, let's get to the next planet.”

“Try coordinates X-15, Y-15,” Alice suggested. “Those are next on the list.”

“Sounds good,” Simon said. He pulled the
LAUNCH
lever, and the rocket zoomed into space once more. This time, there were no robot beasts guarding the planet. The words
APPROACHING THE JUNGLE PLANET
appeared on the control panel.

Simon landed on a platform in the middle of the jungle. He, Alice, and Sir Gawain peered out the window.

They were in a jungle, all right—a mechanical one. The big pink flowers growing on the ground below them were made of metal, and the stems were springs. The leaves on the trees were big, green gears, and they powered swinging platforms that stretched across the jungle.

“At least it's not cold out there,” Alice remarked. “And I don't see any metal tigers.”

“Don't jinx us!” Simon warned. “What if there's something worse?”

“Perhaps I should stay back and guard the ship for you,” Sir Gawain offered nervously. “I am still weak, and I would only hinder your efforts.”

“What about you, Merlin?” Alice asked. The robot owl shook his head from side to side in response.

“See? Merlin doesn't like the look of this place, either,” Simon remarked.

“I'm sure we'll be fine,” Alice said. “Let's go find the Princess!”

They left the ship and walked out onto the platform. Another swinging platform came right toward them, and Simon was about to step on it when Alice stopped him.

“Look, down there,” she said, pointing. “Do you see something glowing?”

Simon looked down and nodded. “If it's glowing, like the shield, it might be useful. Let's go see.”

He jumped from the platform into the center of a giant pink flower, and Alice followed him. Then they grabbed on to vines dangling from the tall trees overhead and shimmied down to the forest floor. They didn't have to go far before they saw the green glow ahead of them.

“It looks like a weapon,” Simon said as they got closer. The glow came from a long, pointy stick with a handle. “It's Sir Cador's Laser Lance! One of the Three Mystical Weapons of Arturus!”

Simon grabbed the Laser Lance and held it in his hands. “This is amazing,” he said in wonder. “To think, Sir Cador held this!”

“Then where is he?” Alice asked.

They both gazed around the jungle floor. “I don't see any sign of him,” Simon said. “Maybe we should start heading up.”

They quickly climbed back up the vines, grabbing tree branches when they could for support until they reached a swinging platform.

“This is easy,” Simon said, once they were safely aboard. “We just wait for this platform to meet the next platform and step right across.”

“Whee!” Alice cried, jumping onto the first platform.

They crossed from platform to platform and ended up on another large, stationary platform in the trees. Waiting to greet them was a knight in green armor.

“Sir Cador!” Simon cried.

“Simon the stable boy? It is good to see you,” Sir Cador said, a smile growing on his face. “And Alice from the Castle. Good day, milady.”

Alice blushed a little as the knight bowed to her.

“The King sent us to find the Princess,” Simon explained. “We found Sir Gawain on the Ice Planet, but we didn't see her there.”

“I believe I have finally found her,” Sir Cador said. “She is being held in a cage guarded by a fearsome beast. I tried to battle it, but I dropped my lance. And I have been stranded so long that I am too weak to retrieve it.”

“We'll battle the beast for you,” Alice said. “Simon already defeated a Tiger Copter.”

Sir Cador nodded. “Then I wish you both luck. The beast is that way.”

He pointed down the platform, and Simon and Alice slowly walked to the edge. Simon handed the lance to Alice.

“I got to use the shield before,” he said. “It's only fair.”

Alice's eyes widened. “Thank you,” she said, gently swinging the lance in front of her. “I feel like a real knight!”

The platform ended in front of a huge nest with four eggs. They could see the bottom of a cage hanging from a tree branch, but they couldn't see what was inside.

“I don't see any beast,” Simon said.

“Then that just makes this easier,” Alice pointed out. “Let's get to that cage.”

Emboldened by the lance in her hands, she jumped on the first egg, and Simon followed. Suddenly, he felt something nipping at his heels. He looked down to see that a huge mechanical baby bird with a sharp beak had popped out of the egg!

“Hurry! The egg's hatching!” he yelled.

They jumped from egg to egg, and when they reached the last one, they took a final leap and landed on the platform around the cage. But there was no Princess behind its wooden bars.

“It's a winged horse!” Simon cried. He had grown up around horses but had never seen one as beautiful as this. “And it's not a robot, either.”

“It's called a Pegasus,” Alice said. “And we should save it!”

The wood bars were easy enough to break. The pair entered the cage and climbed onto the grateful horse's back.

“Fly away!” Simon commanded, and the horse spread its wings and flew out of the cage. At that moment, an earsplitting cry rang through the jungle.

“Look out! The mother Phoenix is coming!” Sir Cador yelled.

Chapter Seventeen

Into the Volcano

“A Phoenix! That's a legendary bird,” Alice said.

Simon nervously looked down at the giant eggs. “If it's the mother of those things in the eggs, then I'm guessing it's a really
big
bird. You'd better fire up that Laser Lance.”

Alice pointed the Laser Lance forward and switched it on. The weapon glowed bright green.

“It's so beautiful,” she said.

“And powerful. When it's green like that it means it's fully charged,” Simon explained. Alice might know all about Mordred and strange creatures, but when it came to the knights and their weapons, he was the expert. “I'll steer the Pegasus, and when we see the Phoenix, just aim and shoot.”

They could see a flash of orange metal in the distant sky. The Phoenix was getting closer. Above them, the sky grew dark, and ominous black clouds hung overhead. After the storm clouds, a small army of metal, melon-size yellow birds was flying toward them, blocking their path to the Phoenix.

“Better use the lance now!” Simon cried.

Pew! Pew! Pew!
It took only a short laser blast from the lance to take down each bird. Once hit, the birds spiraled down to the jungle floor.

Simon was impressed. “You're an expert shot, Alice!”

Alice smiled, pleased. “That's from years of shooting pebbles at the rats in the Castle basement. The place is full of them.”

Zap!
One of the thunderclouds overhead released a jagged yellow lightning bolt, and Simon steered the Pegasus out of the way just in time.

“That was too close!” Simon cried.

Now they could make out the body of the Phoenix, another mechanical beast. It looked like a fighter plane with a fierce bird's head and wings made of feathered metal. Attached to each wing were three long missiles, each one topped with a bird's head—and the Phoenix was starting to fire them.

Whoosh!
One of the missiles sped toward them, and Simon pulled back on the reigns to fly above it. When the next one zoomed at them, Alice blasted it with the Laser Lance, and it dropped from the sky, spewing smoke.

“Huzzah!” Simon cheered.

“Uh-oh. The lance isn't green anymore,” Alice said.

“It will recharge,” Simon told her, remembering the shield. “We'll just have to dodge the missiles until it does. Come on, Pegasus!”

And then the robot Phoenix swooped toward them with a horrible, metallic shriek.

“Shoot!” Simon yelled.

Pew!
Alice got off a shot that hit the Phoenix's wing—but didn't do any damage.

“I think it needs to be charged more,” Alice called to Simon. “We're going to have to dodge this thing before I can shoot again.”

Simon dove down quickly, avoiding another missile launched by the Phoenix. The mechanical beast lunged toward them, and Simon brought the Pegasus high above it. By now the lance was glowing green once again.

“It's fully charged!” Alice yelled.

“Right!” Simon steered the Pegasus so that they were face-to-face with the Phoenix. Alice quickly launched an attack.

Boom!
The bird's body shook and gave off an orange glow.

“It's working!” Simon cried.

They kept up the strategy, Simon flying over the Phoenix and then circling back down until the lance was charged again.

Boom!
Another hit. The Phoenix began to shake, and some of its metal feathers fell off.

“Huzzah!” Alice cheered. She steered away from the Phoenix, once again circling until the lance glowed green.

Boom!
The Phoenix shook violently, flashing with bright orange light. The remaining missiles harmlessly dropped to the ground. Then the robot's head fell off, and the body plummeted to the jungle floor and crashed.

“We did it!” Simon yelled, and they flew back to the platform and landed in front of Sir Cador.

“It was a trick! The Pegasus was a decoy!” the knight said, shaking his head. “That was well done. I will accompany you in your search for the Princess.”

When they got back to the rocket, Sir Gawain was surprised to see his comrade enter with Simon and Alice.

“Have you not found the Princess?” Gawain asked Cador.

“No,” Cador replied. “Only another trap set by the evil Binary Bard.”

Simon interrupted them. “One of the aliens on the Pewter Moon was talking about the Binary Bard. I'm confused. I thought we were looking for Mordred.”

“We have found no sign of Mordred,” Cador told him. “But a new villain has emerged—the Binary Bard. He is the creator of the hideous mechanical beasts we have found.”

“But isn't that the same thing Mordred is famous for?” Alice pointed out. “He made robot beasts, too.”

The two knights looked stumped. Sir Gawain shrugged. “Listen, we're just trying to find the Princess. Does it really matter who kidnapped her?”

Alice realized there was no use arguing with the knights. Simon looked at her and shrugged, then slid back into the pilot's seat. He hit the
LAUNCH
lever and piloted to their next destination: the Fire Planet. Through the window, it was easy to see how the planet got its name. The whole globe pulsated with red and orange flame.

They landed on a small rock sticking out of the bubbling lava that covered the planet's surface. Through the window, they could see the landscape, studded with volcanoes and geysers spewing steaming lava.

“I think we should check out that big volcano just over there,” Simon said, pointing.

“How?” Alice asked. “That bubbling liquid will melt us like cheese fondue.”

Simon pointed to the geysers. “See how there is a flat stone on top most of the geysers? We can jump on the first stone, and then when the geyser pushes us up, we can jump to the next and then the next, until we get to the volcano.”

Alice nodded. “That should work.” She turned to the two knights. “Let me guess. You guys want to stay here and guard the ship, right?”

“We will guard it with our lives!” Sir Gawain and Sir Cador promised.

“Right,” Simon said. He took a deep breath. “Okay. Let's go save the Princess!”

“She's got to be here,” Alice said hopefully. “It's our last stop.”

A blanket of blazing heat hit Simon and Alice as they stepped out of the rocket. Red-hot lava bubbled all around them. The nearest geyser was a short jump away, but the lava raised the stone on top up and down, up and down.

Working together, Simon and Alice crossed the lava by timing their jumps from stone to stone perfectly. The last jump deposited them at the mouth of the big volcano. It wasn't steaming, like the others on the planet.

“It must be dormant,” Alice guessed. “That means it won't erupt. At least I hope it won't.”

Simon grabbed her hand.

“There's a ledge down there,” he said. “Let's jump.”

They jumped together and landed on a ledge of dark brown stone.

“It's like a maze in here,” Alice remarked, gazing down into the belly of the volcano. Ledges of rock jutted out from the volcano's walls, creating a treacherous, zigzag passage to the bottom. “We might as well go down.”

Alice jumped down to the next level. Simon jumped down next to her—and was immediately hit by a hot wave of steam that glittered with yellow flecks.

“Hey!” he cried, ducking. “I thought you said this volcano was dormant.”

“I guess there are updrafts coming from the magma way down below,” Alice said. “When we see one coming, we'll just avoid it.”

Luckily, the yellow flecks in the hot steam made it easy to spot when an updraft was coming. The two friends jumped and ducked, jumped and ducked, until they reached a long, cool passageway at the bottom of the volcano.

“What's that?” Simon asked.

A strange creature was blocking their path. It looked like a snake made of brown rocks linked together. Each rock had one unblinking eye.

“I don't know,” Alice admitted. “But at least it doesn't have a mouth or fangs. I think we can jump over it.”

Alice took a running leap, and the rock creature formed itself into a circle and blocked her path, knocking her backward. Then the rocks broke apart and quickly began to reassemble.

“Tricky little critter,” Alice said, dusting herself off. “Hurry, Simon! Before it puts itself back together.”

They both ran as fast as they could and leaped over the creature. They both landed on the other side and kept going—and ran right into a knight wearing orange armor.

“Greetings, strangers,” he said. “I am Sir Pelleas. I was sent to find the Princess, but alas, I have failed.”

“We know,” Simon said. “The king sent us to find you. We found Sir Gawain and Sir Cador. They are safe and waiting in our ship.”

Sir Pelleas raised his helmet. “I thought you two looked familiar! I'm glad you're here. A fearsome beast dwells in the cave, and I believe he holds the Princess captive. The beast is too strong for me, but perhaps the two of you can defeat it. Here, take my arrow.”

The knight handed Simon the blue Ice Arrow. Another mystical weapon! Simon studied its blue, shining arrowhead in wonder.

“You should use the weapon this time,” Alice said. “I'll back you up.”

“Godspeed, warriors!” Sir Pelleas called after them.

Simon and Alice slowly made their way into the dark cave.

“Do you think it's another trick?” Alice asked.

“Probably,” Simon said. “But we have to try.”

Boom!
A fireball came out of the darkness, landing at their feet. The cave lit up, and they saw the creature that had thrown it—a green mechanical dragon with spikes on top of its serpentine body. Instead of legs, the bottom of the beast was made up of the treads of a battle tank.

“Oh no!” Simon wailed. “It's a fire-breathing dragon!”