Sealing Death (19 page)

Tartarus Truth

      “That was very nice of you, Cassie.” Susan applauded her daughter. “To be honest, Betty was slowing us down.” Cassie confessed, “And I don’t want Charlie to get hurt. I mean, he should see his family before we send them all back to Death.”

      Cassie looked at Will. Chrissy was, like, right there, like, attached to him! She suddenly didn’t regret saying what she did. In fact…

      “Will? Can we talk?” Cassie asked, “It will be really quick!” Before anyone could protest, the two vanished in a swirl of black smoke.

      They were about one hundred yards back up the tunnel, before the Scarrcedenhogg wreckage. “What are you doing?!” Will demanded to know. He was secretly angry she separated him from Chrissy. “I think we should break up.” Cassie blurted.

      “We were dating?” Will asked, surprised, “I mean, um, yeah.” Will had gotten so distracted by Chrissy that he forgot he had a girlfriend? Whoa. “You’re right.” he continued, “You clearly like Charlie still, and we just didn’t fit back together like we used to.”

      “Probably because one of us has matured.” Cassie snorted, “You should definitely pursue Chrissy. Every prince needs a pop princess.” Will began to nod, and found himself back with Chrissy. “Hey.” he drawled. Chrissy smirked.

      “Can we get back to saving Reality now?” Braddock huffed, “It might take a bit to get into the Death Realm.”

      As Braddock wished, the group proceeded on their journey. Soon, the entrance came into sight. It was a wooden door on the ground, cleared of evil sludge. The strange part, however, was that the sludge stopped shortly after the door.

      “Does anyone have something they don’t need?” Will asked cautiously, “You probably won’t get it back.”

      “I have this rock.” Stella piped, “It’s getting too heavy to carry on me anyway.” Stella took out a beautiful, big purple stone. “I picked it up in the realm with Internet.”

      Will took the rock and threw it. It landed just before the sludge ended, and wobbled. The stone tipped forward, and fell in the Tartarus.

      “Gravity switch.” he explained, “If anyone goes where that rock was, they are a goner.”

      “What are we waiting for?!” Cassie yipped, running towards the door, “Come on!”

      “I don’t think so.” the deep voice echoed through the pit, “You see, you can’t leave this pit, unless I can.”

      “Who are you?!” Cassie shouted. The ground shook, and the sludge churned. Dirt fell from the ceiling and sprinkled on everyone below. “Who am I? Who am I?!” the voice repeated, “Why I am Tartarus, of course! I am the
darkest
soul in existence! Always have been, and always will be!”

      “I thought the Scarrcedenhogg was-“ Susan was interrupted by Tartarus, “The Scarrcedenhogg is the most feared beast in existence! It isn’t dark! It is a beast!”

      The evil ink-like substance swirled into the air, and pulled itself together into a figure that reminded Cassie of the Silver Shadow monster from her nightmares at summer camp.

      “Prepare your eyes to witness the spectacle that is I! King of the Death Realm! Guardian of Darkness! Or, my favorite name, The Tartarus!” the figure announced, whirling around in a circle, “Hello!”

      The sludge took the form of a man, a distorted vision of a man. The thing was wearing a pitch black hooded cape, seemingly made of the same slime that created the man. It dripped down onto the, now bare, ground.

      “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time!” Tartarus barked, “I’m a prisoner of my own body. What you see here is simply an illusion. I can’t leave this place, without a body.” The man walked towards the group slowly and explained, “The prophecy goes as follows.”

The Darkest Soul isn’t a quitter,

To escape the hole is a difficult deed,

The purest one born of the bitter,

Is the one needed for Tartarus to be freed.

      “I finally can do what I’ve waited to do for centuries!” Tartarus cheered, “And now I have what I need! A pure soul born from the bitter. Cassandra Alice Smith.”

      “We won’t let you do whatever you are trying to do!” Susan screamed, stepping in front of her daughter, “Not without getting through me!”

      The devious looking man grinned and sighed, “Pathetic sight, really. You think you can stop me. This is the end of the line for you!” Waving his hand in the air, he transformed his arm into a thick liquid rope of inky black mud and knocked Susan out of the way. “Anyone else?” he teased.

      Chrissy reached for her bow as Stella began steadily streaming snow and ice at the attacker. She steadied herself, nocked an arrow, and drew back the string. Stella was blasted back with a flow of evil, and Chrissy let the arrow fly.

      “Nice try, Miss Price.” Tartarus jested, catching the incoming arrow between his thumb and forefinger, “Or should I say Miss Snowberger?” Casually bringing the arrow up to his rotting mouth, he gently blew onto the tip. Flames scurried along the shaft and to the fletching, reducing the weapon to a pile of ash. “I’ll take Cassandra now.” he ordered, slowly directing his evil sludge to Cassie’s feet, “Don’t bother trying any of your magic tricks! You can’t escape!”

      Cassie felt helpless as the sludge swirled up around her, tightening around her legs, absorbing into her favorite skirt and blouse. On the bright side, her outfit had gotten pretty torn-up along the way, anyway.

      The sludge stopped around Cassie’s neck and jolted. It shook around, whipping Cassie up and down, and retreated back to Tartarus. “I guess I’m not as pure as you thought!” Cassie hollered. “What?” the Darkest Soul muttered, “What?”

      In his confusion, Tartarus didn’t see the angry black-haired boy run at him, arms extended. It wasn’t, however, until Charlie shoved him back, that he realized what was happening. Tartarus tumbled back, tripping over the handle of the floor-door, and past the Gravity Switch. The man screamed, turning back into a glob of evil as he poured down the deep pit.

Progression of the Returned

      “Thank you!” Charlotte called out to the blue-haired woman who saved her, “Wait! Who are you?!”

      “I’m a friend of one of your old students,” she replied, smiling a devilish grin, “but right now, I have some business to attend to. You need to keep an eye out, though. Those people who took you probably aren’t going to give up anytime soon.” Having said what she needed, Electra whisked her hand around and vanished in a swirl of blue steam.

      “Who was that?! What just happened?!” Riley yelped, gesticulating, “I just came to tell you the Internet crashed, and then smoke, and fire, and people in the basement! Kings and mayors! House caves in! I don’t know!” Riley held her hand up to her face and shook her head.

      “I don’t know either, Riley, but I have a hunch.” Mrs. Spencer admitted, “First that portal opened, then the Smith and Myers families vanish. The unearthly copy of me, the lady who attacked me, the group that kidnapped me, and now the entire Internet crashed! That woman just said she was a friend of one of my old students. I don’t know for sure, but I think this has Cassie written all over it.” “Do you think they went to stop that beast thing people are saying exists?” Riley asked.

      “Yes! That is exactly what is going on!” King Albert butted in, “I am King Albert of Everlanon. My son Will left to find Cassandra and his friends as soon as he saw the portal reopen. He hasn’t returned, and now his friends are gone too. He was worried about the Scarrcedenhogg, so he and the others must have found a way to get to the Death Realm, to close the gates, and send the dead, including the Scarrcedenhogg back!”

      “Wait, what?” Riley yipped, “Scarrcedenhogg?! Death?!” Riley looked around and cried, “So like zombies!”

      “No, no, no!” Albert clarified, “The dead have simply returned. They are no harm, unless they want revenge. People and animals alike. Every living thing that has died is back, and as you know, no one can die, until Death is closed. Then, anyone who has died will return.”

      “Wait a second!” Mrs. Spencer piped, “Do ALL living things return?” The king nodded, “Some take longer than others, but the only things that are probably left are those that have died long ago.”

      The ground shook and the wind blew. A roar echoed throughout the neighborhood. “Dinosaurs!” Riley, Mayor Sanders, and Mr. and Mrs. Spencer screamed.

      Thump! Thump! THUMP! Trees in the forest behind the Spencer house snapped and cracked. The giant oak on the edge of the woods fell forward as a tyrannosaurus rex stepped into the open.

      It was thirty to forty feet long and about seven tons in weight. Brownish in color, the dino was covered in coarse scales, and sprouted, feathers, from around its tail.

      “I know I should be scared out of my wits, right now,” Riley stammered, “but since when did T. Rexes have feathers?” “Scientist have found evidence-“ Mr. Spencer was interrupted by the dinosaur’s growl. The beast eyed the group hungrily, right before making a dash for an afternoon snack. Several pterodactyls circled above, hoping for leftovers. “RUN!” Charlotte screamed, grabbing Riley and pulling her along.

      The ground shook once more, and a tree sprouted up out of the ground. “Oh-no.” Charlotte sighed. The ground continued to shake as the T. Rex looked around. Trees and plants sprouted up, here and there. A giant Sigillaria grew up from beneath the dinosaur, lifting it up into the sky. They watched as houses crumbled and trees and plants took over. Moss covered the ground and crawled up trees and cars, and the ruins of buildings. “What can we do?” King Albert pondered, slashing down a vine that was trying to scale his leg. “There’s nothing we can do!” Charlotte yelled, watching the Plant Kingdom take over her world.

      “Where is my son?!” Charlie’s father demanded to know when Paul walked in. “He did what he had to do.” Paul grinned, “Don’t get too comfortable, because we are going back to Death!” Betty stood up. “Gregory Myers! You have disappointed me! I told him wonderful things about you!”

      Greg opened his mouth to start talking when the ground shook and a roar echoed through New York City. The house shook and the floorboards creaked. Everyone backed up, and the floor cracked. A small vine twisted its way up and touched the ceiling. Another vine creeped through the crack, splitting off into three smaller vines. Betty backed up against the wall and screamed. Vines invaded her house, twisting and turning here and there. “Betty!” Paul shouted as vines shot through the wall and wrapped around her, tightly holding her in place.

      Paul tried to run over, but his feet were fastened to the floor by a thick layer of moss. “Seems like someone built a house on my home while I was gone!” a woman hissed, walking in the living room, “Well, one of them anyway! I’ve always liked to think of the whole world as my home. After all, they don’t call me Mother Nature for nothing!”

Dear Mother

      Many, many years ago, there lived a woman with superior powers. Although her real name was Arcanala Pandemoni, they called her Mother Nature, and she had the power to control nature.

      Mother Nature, as you may have known, was a beautiful maiden with long red hair, fair skin, sea blue eyes, and a gleaming bright smile.

      It was around 1500 B.C., in the middle of the ages of the Babylonian and Ancient Egyptian Civilizations. The Hittites, a race of giants, were thriving, the Barra were falling, and Mitanni, the Kassites, and the Olmec were beginning, simultaneously across the globe. All the while, Mother Nature was deep inside the Earth, more or less happily monitoring the weather and taking requests from around the world.

      “How are you doing, Mother?” a sixteen-year-old boy asked the busy Mother Nature, walking in the globe room, “May I be of assistance to you today?” The shaggy-haired boy brushed his auburn hair away from his big forest-green eyes, which also had a swirl of sea-blue, giving the appearance of teal.

      “I’m fine, Arcane, thank you for your concern.” Mother Nature assured, stepping away from her work, “How are you adjusting? I know growing into your powers are hard, especially since they are stronger than mine.”

      “I’m okay, Mother.” Arcane smiled, “And I already know my powers are stronger because you can’t create storms, and I can, blah, blah, blah.” Arcane loved his mother dearly, but she was always stressing about his nascikinesis, the ability to control nature. They were the only two who had that power, and with it came a lot of, responsibility. Well, if you call it that. People, giants, and everything in between reached out to his mother daily to request weather changes, livestock help, and gardening prosperity. It was clearly taking a toll on her.

      “Hittites need rain! Kassites demand a plentiful harvest!” she yelped, “Sometimes I wished I didn’t have this power! But other times I wish I could squash them all like the bugs they are!”

      “What are you saying?” Arcane asked, frightened. “What I’m saying is that I am sick and tired of dealing with the weather.” Mother Nature explained, clenching her fists, “I am sick and tired of calming lions, and finding dogs! It’s time to put these powers to the test, and take back what is rightfully ours! It’s time to take back Planet Earth.”

      “Here’s the plan, my son.” Mother Nature began, “We shall first bring upon the Earth a terrible snow storm, freezing over the oceans and lands alike! Then, we welcome the heat, and flood every nook and cranny of the world, to further the cleaning. The last phase of our attack is the return of the plants! We shall rule over the whole Earth!
Just you and I controlling everything!
”

      Arcane still wasn’t convinced that this was a good idea. Wiping out nearly every race on Earth definitely didn’t sound like something Mother Nature should do. It didn’t sound like something anyone should do! He had to stop her, and there was only one way to do it. Arcane had to kill Mother Nature. Arcane had to kill his mom.

      “I gotta go get something, Mother, okay.” Arcane stammered, stepping towards the door, “Be right back!” “Sure dear, just be back soon!” Mother Nature smiled as her son ran up to the surface, “Now what is he up to?”

      Arcane waved his hand, summoning a small cloud to carry him to the surface. He had to hurry. He had to find a weapon powerful enough to kill anything, even his immortal mother.

      Being immortal himself, he knew that there was nothing that powerful. But what he did know was that there was a blacksmith sorcerer who could create such a weapon. His name was Temujin. Temujin lived high above everyone else in the world, atop of a tall mountain in what is now called Mongolia. His talent has long been sought out by kings, emperors, and dictators alike for him to create the ultimate weapon; he had always refused, no matter the circumstances.

      But this time was different. This time, Temujin was directly involved. “What you seek is hard indeed, but not impossible.” the blacksmith assured, walking up to Arcane, “In order to make a weapon powerful enough to kill Arcanala, a sacrifice is needed.  An immortal soul must be forged into a dagger, counteracting any soul with the fatal blow.”

      Arcane watched the very hairy man as he circled the cave-like room. He wore a sheep-skin robe and simple leather sandals. The man had a devilish demeanor, which was probably just in Arcane’s imagination.

      “I would love to help you, but I need an immortal soul to create the weapon, and I just used my last one yesterday.” Temujin explained, “So unless you have one-“ “I do.” Arcane blurted, “Take my immortality and make the dagger. Death as a mortal is better than eternal loneliness as an immortal.”

      Temujin grinned a minatory grin. This boy had no idea what he was doing! But it didn’t matter, anyhow. If Temujin was going to shirk this upcoming apocalypse, the boy must concede his immortality.

      “If you say so.” Temujin sighed, grabbing his metal tongs, “Here we go!” The sorcerer plunged the grabber into Arcane’s chest and hummed a song that was probably a combination of
Silent Night
and
Happy Birthday
.

      Arcane tried to focus, but the tool in his chest blurred and swirled his vision. Temujin smiled as the tool glowed bright red and pulled out a grey, no, silver shadow-like substance that drifted together like a ghost. Arcane looked around and saw Temujin set the silver shadow down on an anvil and picked up a giant hammer. The wizard-smith slammed the hammer down on the soul, and Arcane felt his heart jump. The hammer slammed down again and Arcane’s head tightened. Each bang blended together in Arcane’s young mind; the room darkened, and Arcane fell forward and blacked out.

      After waking up and being sent along on his way, Arcane looked down in his hand. In it was a pitch black handle with a 9-inch silver blade sprouting from the black. So this is it. This is the weapon that can kill anything; the weapon that can, and will kill Mother Nature before the sun rises the next morning.

      Arcane swirled his hand and hopped on the cloud he just created. The temperature was rapidly dropping, and Arcane knew he had to hurry before the entrance to his home froze over. His mother must be onto him somehow; the Ice Age wasn’t supposed to start until tomorrow. Arcane shut his eyes as tight as they would go, and raised his hand. A lightning bolt shot down from the clear blue sky and shocked Arcane all the way back to his home.

      When Arcane arrived to his front door, vines shot up from around the doorway and wrapped around him. The boy took a deep breath, and the vines retreated, and even opened the door for him.

      Arcane walked in the room just as he had before and smiled, “How are you doing, Mother?” Mother Nature whipped around and yelped, “How did you get back?!”

      “I really needed to see you.” Arcane grinned. His hands were completely empty. “I’m so happy we are doing this.” he lied, “These people really don’t deserve to live here.”

      “Really?” Mother Nature asked, surprised, “I sensed you were, troubled, with the plan, when you ran off.” “I was, before.” Arcane admitted, “But then one of
them
took my immortality, and kept it for themselves!”

      Mother Nature walked over to her son and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Who was it?” she asked, “Tell me and we will get it back.” Arcane shook his head. “It’s no use, Mother.” He sighed, “I love you.”

      “No!” Mother Nature cried out, her eyes nearly popping out of her head, “You didn’t!” She jolted forward, and fell to the ground. The bloody Silver Shadow hung from a vine coming down from the ceiling, right behind the spot where Arcanala had stood. “How could you do this?” she demanded to know, gasping for breath, “How could you kill your own mother!”

      Arcane looked down at his mother, crying. “I couldn’t let you kill the whole population of Earth.” he whispered. His mother looked up and warned, “They haven’t seen the last of me. And neither have you!”

      “Well done, Arcane.” an old man congratulated, “You did it.” Arcane turned and saw Temujin, holding the Silver Shadow. “What are you doing here?” Arcane asked. The blacksmith grinned and sliced through the air with the Silver Shadow, cutting through the fabric of time. “The Earth isn’t ready for your type yet.” he hissed, “How does 2016 A.D. sound?!”

      Arcane tried backing up, but the Time Cut drew him in. “How could you betray me? I saved you!” Arcane shouted, as he was pulled in the crack. “You killed your own mother,” Temujin taunted, “and you think what I’m doing is betrayal?!” A bright flash burst out in the room, and when Temujin could see again, Arcane Pandemoni was gone.