“Elvira? Elvira? Do you read?”
Silence.
“OVER HERE!”
“Elvira?” Hydra yelled. Elvira’s inside! At last I’m going to see Elvira again.
“Elvira, you must be kidding. How could you stay in a scorching place like this?” Hydra said, chuckling.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m well protected. Come inside. Maybe if you run, you will not feel a thing.”
“Run? He-he-he. Maybe I’ll just fly, how’s that?”
“Run, fly, whatever you want to do, just get yourself in here, right now!”
“Alright, alright, I’m almost there—take it easy,” Hydra said, moving toward the opening.
The tunnel ran straight through but there was a small opening on the side, leading to another area. Once inside, Hydra found the light so bright that he was momentarily blinded. He was in a cave with dry reddish earth walls, and fire was coming out of the cracks. The heat was intense, even for a hydrant. As he stepped inside, he noticed a group of shadows scurrying about. What did I get myself into?
He walked deeper into the space and came upon a formation of huge rough and round columns made of earth. Fire was flickering out of every niche in the columns and walls. He cautiously peeked around the columns but there was no one there. He walked slowly and quietly, looking from side to side. As he peeked through the third column—
* *
He found her—a queen-like figure sitting perfectly still on an elevated earthen and royal-like seat. She had a pointy-head with ghostly eyes. Her skin was glowing red covered by crisscrossing purple veins. Her demeanor was frightening although majestic. Hydra stared at her—he was hypnotized like a zombie.
“At last Hydra—we meet.”
That voice. It sounds like Elvira’s but it seems different.
“You can’t be Elvira.”
“YOU’RE RIGHT HYDRA! THAT’Z NOT ME, I’M OVER HERE!” THAT’Z FIREEBA! RUN! GET AWAY FROM THERE!”
“ELVIRA! WHERE ARE YOU?”
There was no response.
Fireeba was enraged by the sound of Elvira’s voice. She became upset and turned fiercer that fire came out of her skin making the space intensely hot. Torrents of fire shot out of her body, turning the place into an inferno. She stood up slowly and gave Hydra a cynical smile.
“Fireeba! I should have known it was you!” Hydra yelled.
“You’re a smart hydrant Hydra, a smart hydrant,” Fireeba said mockingly.
“I demand to see Elvira, now!”
“No need to be arrogant Hydra. I’ll see to it that you two are destroyed together. Ha-ha-ha! Billow! You know what to do!”
A billow of smoke formed and swooped down from above like a tornado and landed in front of Hydra. The dark brownish thick smoke formed into a human shape. Hydra stepped back, unsure if his power was capable to deal with these adversaries. “A battle is already lost once you lose your faith,” he heard the Voice in his mind. Billow glared at Hydra while he tried to disorient him with his thick dark smoke. At the same time, Fyros, those foot-long fire figures, came out of the walls and circled Hydra like dancing lava.
“Follow me!” Billow demanded in a deep resonant voice that sounded synthetic. The Fyros inched toward Hydra, forcing him to follow Billow to a labyrinth of dark earth tunnels with fire seeping out of every crack. That’s the trick, were they fires or Fyros? Only a water test will tell me what I need to know, Hydra was thinking.
Walking behind Billow, he figured out his escape route for later. Hydra saw a bright throbbing light coming from a room as they rounded a corner. Billow quickly blew smoke over the room's entrance door. But Hydra was able to steal a quick glance anyway, and saw a giant capsule glowing like a giant firefly.
“You didn’t see anything, did you?” Billow bellowed.
Hydra gave him a dumb look. He knew that Billow was afraid of Fireeba and didn’t want her to know that he might have seen something.
After a few more turns, they came to a door and Billow shoved Hydra inside.
“Hydra, are you okay?” Elvira asked as she helped Hydra who was sprawled on the floor.
“Elvira, is that really you? What’s that on your skin?”
“It’s a zpecial zkin that Dr. Woolf invented to shield me from the heat. It protects me from any toxic and nuclear environment. My zkin changes its texture when I push thiz button on my zuit. How are the otherz?—Wait!” Elvira said. But before Hydra could answer, she put a finger over her lips and shushed him. She then signaled for him to put some water on his forehead. As soon as they had both done that, they were able to communicate by using their minds.
(“That’z better. I know that she put uz in the zame room zo she could listen to our planz. But zince she can’t read our thoughts, we are zafe. Can you read me now?”)
(Yes! “I realized I was tricked by Fireeba into coming here and… ”)
(“That'z too bad. But at least you are here and you can help me ztop these zcoundrelz. I zecretly left a message chip inside the Metro that would turn it on az zoon as it heard your voice. That was me zcreaming for you to run. I was hoping that you would run and get the otherz. But I have another plan.”)
* *
“Billow, what do you think those guys are doing? They’re not talking at all,” Fireeba said as the two watched from their spy camera.
“I don’t know, boss. They may be taking a rest.”
“Remind me to check them later. Is the capsule ready?”
“Err… I think so,” Billow replied hesitantly.
“What do you mean, ‘I think so?’ There is no room for failure here, Billow. It’s our only chance to test this volcanic bomb from Mt. Caldera. Go and check it again. I can’t rely on you!” screamed Fireeba.
* *
(“What is that glowing capsule that I saw in one of the rooms?”) Hydra signaled Elvira.
(“That iz the experimental capsule Fireeba will uze to wipe out Guerlin City. If she succeeds, she will launch ten more of thoze in several major cities. She will keep doing it until she conquers the world. Remember I told you about total disarmament and the major return to earlier technology? It did happen—except for the part about weaponz being destroyed. All documents and references were also destroyed relating to weaponsz of humankind destruction. The world haz been living in peace for about zix centuries now. But some fanatics are getting bored again,”) Elvira scooped up more water and splashed it on her forehead. She continued with her thoughts, (“Fireeba is going to fire this capsule simultaneously with the dropping of the ‘zquare’ to mark the coming of the year 3000.”)
(“The “square, what square?”) signaled Hydra.
(“It is the object that iz dropped from a tall building on the last ten secondz of midnight, December 31st, 2999—tonight. Many years ago, people used to drop a ball but the tradition changed. Over the yearz, they dropped things of various shapes, like triangles and ovalz. I guess people got tired of the old tradition and kept on changing it,”) signaled Elvira.
(“Then we’re really out of time. I better send a message to Pluggo.”) Hydra spread more water on his forehead then he clenched his face trying to send a mental message to Pluggo.
* *
Meanwhile, Fireeba and Billow went to check on the capsule.
“That’s good Billow. I knew I could rely on you. The capsule is ready to be launched by midnight, and the old subway track that will carry it seems clear of any obstruction. We will have our own initial countdown, so by the time the New Year countdown ends at zero they won’t even know what hit them. Check the monitor at Guerlin City,” demanded Fireeba.
Billow turned on the monitors. The crowd had already gathered. Because it was a celebration of a new millennium, the crowd was much larger—almost three times the customary size. New Year’s Eve was by far the most celebrated holiday in Guerlin City. People came from all over the world to join this special event. The noisy crowd was waving, screaming, and seemed to be overjoyed by this celebration.
> “Good! That’s the crowd we want. What’s the computer count?” asked Fireeba excitedly.
“There are over a million people there right now. Do you want to know how many men, women, and children?”
“No need to, Billow. They’re all going together, anyway. Ha-ha-ha-ha! I’m going to take out the entire population of Guerlin City—ten million people in all. What a lovely experiment this will be,” Fireeba said gleefully.
“Boss, you’re a genius,” Billow said.
“Of course, I am! Don’t worry I will not forget the effort that you’ve contributed to this cause. Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“Boss, check out Elvira and Hydra, they’re just staring at each other. We can’t get any information from them about the other backpack. What do you want to do?” Billow asked.
“Separate the two for now. Although, Hydra can’t really do any major damage to us since he is useless without his backpack,” Fireeba said. “Let’s go and prepare the capsule for the final launch.”
The Fyros quickly transferred Hydra to his cell, and Hydra tried to send a message to Elvira but there was no response.
Then he heard another signal, (“Hydra!”)
(“Who is this?”) Hydra asked.
(“It’s me, Elvira! Can you read me?”)
(“Barely, but let’s keep our focus and make our thoughts stronger.”)
(“Listen, Hydra. Try Pluggo again. We’re running out of time.”)
(“I’m trying. I can’t seem to get to him.”)
(“Keep on trying. There are only a few minutes left. We can’t fail. If you can’t get Pluggo, let’s move now as planned. We’ll get to Pluggo later.”)
(“Alright Elvira, I’ll talk to you soon.”)
Hydra quickly lay on the bunk, closed his eyes and concentrated, pretending to be sleeping. After a few minutes, he slowly got up. He turned around and looked at an exact replica of himself that he had left on the bunk. He had used the process of Sola, the process of using radio waves to create his own clone. He didn’t know that he had that power until Elvira told him about it. Hydra stared for a moment at 'himself' and then pounded on the door.
“Guard! Guard!” Hydra yelled.
“What!” exclaimed the Fyro.
“You’ve got to see this. Where did this come from?” Hydra asked as he pointed to an exact replica of him lying on the bunk bed.
“What the… ” The two Fyros immediately opened the door and stepped in. While they were gawking at the Sola of Hydra lying on the bunk, the real Hydra quickly aimed his nozzle and extinguished the two Fyros with two quick blasts of water.
Elvira had told him that if you hit these Fyros in the right place, it was just like putting out a lighted match, and she was right. But if you missed, you could pay a big price. These Fyros were capable of shooting exploding fireballs. Hydra was lucky and on target.
Hydra dashed out to free Elvira from her cell. Elvira had left her own Sola image lying on the bunk as she joined Hydra in the hall. Hydra was intending to follow his escape plan when Elvira summoned him.
“Thiz way Hydra, there could be a trap there. I saw this niche here before—we’ll be zafe here for now. Try to contact Pluggo again.”
* *
Pluggo and the rest of the gang had followed the train tracks but, somehow, missed the fork in the road. Pluggo was a few paces ahead of the gang who had lagged behind as they became involved in a snowball fight. Silver was chasing Splatter with a huge snowball. He had just heaved it when Pluggo turned around to see what they were doing. The snowball missed Splatter and hit Pluggo full in the face, knocking him to the ground.
“Pluggo are you alright?” Silver asked.
Pluggo tried to compose himself. He was gritting his teeth as he wiped his wet forehead.
“Wait. I’m getting something. Get me more of that snow. I can hear something inside of my head.”
(“Hydra is that you?”)
(“Yes, Pluggo. It’s about time. Where are you?”) signaled Hydra.
Pluggo described his location.
(“You missed the fork. Go back a half mile and the fork should be on your right. Hurry up, we’re running out of time. Listen, here’s what we’re going to do… ”)
CHAPTER 20
Year 3000
“I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT!” Maya screamed.
“Yes, Maya found it! Maya found it!” screamed Veeda.
“Oookay! Relax!” Pluggo said as he welcomed the news from his two spotters.
Pluggo and the rest of the gang followed Veeda and Maya to the manhole. Upon reaching the spot, they all gathered around it. Grunt couldn’t hold his excitement and kept bar-king restively.
“Okay! According to Hydra’s instructions, we need volunteers to stay up here,” Pluggo said.
There was a collective—“What?”
“I see there are no volunteers. We kinda expected this. In that case then, let this be an order. Maya, Veeda, Crooton, and Beatree, will stay up here to guard the manhole. We will call you if we need more backup. Just make sure that your foreheads are constantly wet so we can relay messages to you in case we need help. Any questions?” Pluggo asked.
Silence. They just stared at each other.
“Let’s go!” Pluggo yelled.
The 'volunteers' watched as Pluggo, Splatter, Silver, and Grunt entered the manhole.
“Take care guys,” Beatree said.
Crooton replaced the manhole cover leaving it partially ajar.
* *
Pluggo led the group as he went down the manhole by the ladder—making one step at a time. But midway down to the tunnel, he felt the wind blow from the cross tunnel to his right.
This was the tunnel Hydra told me about, Pluggo thought.
Pluggo had a plan.
* *
When Pluggo’s group reached the tunnel hidden by the falls, the Fyros were already there. They were surrounded.
“Welcome friends! Just don’t do anything funny or we will blow you away. We’ve been waiting for you,” said the lead Fyro in his high-pitched voice.
The Fyros herded the group to the end of the tunnel. Everyone was unusually quiet—only the crackling sound of the fiery bodies of the Fyros could be heard.
* *
At the lab, Fireeba was testing the mechanisms of the capsule.
“This is great! You’ve all done a good job. Billow and all of you Fyros deserve all the recognition you could get,” Fireeba said.
“Boss! We’ve got the rest of them!” Billow screamed.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Better! Line them up against the wall and make sure to blast those idiots as soon as we launch the capsule. We have no more time to waste. Billow! Start the engine!”
“EEEEEEINNNNNG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!”
A piercing sound emitted by the capsule shook the earthen walls of the tunnel. Although a bit bulky, the capsule looked very stable sitting snugly on the old subway tracks that was linked directly to the city. It was the perfect vehicle for Fireeba’s earth-shattering plan.
The noise was deafening. Fireeba had to scream louder to give out more orders to Billow and the Fyros.
“Billow, go check the prisoners before we launch the capsule! I don’t want any more intrusion from anyone. This has to be perfect!” Fireeba yelled.
“Boss, I can still see them on the monitor. It’s kind of odd though cause they seem to be sleeping.”
"Great! Let them sleep. But have the Fyros check them out, I’ll pull the lever now and start the countdown. We have no more time to waste or this capsule will explode here with us.”
“NO NEED TO, FIREEBA! STOP THIS NOW OR WE WILL BLAST YOU ALL TO PIECES!” Elvira yelled as she came out of her hiding. She held a modified water cannon leveled at Fireeba’s midsection.
"Huh? How could this be?" exclaimed the confused Billow.
“Ha-ha-ha! A water gun! You must be kidding me!” Fireeba screamed.
Elvira aimed the gun and blasted one of the Fyros.
“KA-BOOOOOOOOOSSSS
HHHHHH!”
The gun discharged a ball of silver-colored water and instantly dissolved the Fyro.
“That’s right Fireeba, give it up,” Hydra said coolly as he turned up from behind an earthen column. He aimed one of his nozzles at Fireeba, ready to fire.
Fireeba looked stunned and in disbelief. But before she could make her move, Billow engulfed the entire place with smoke. There was pandemonium inside. Everyone panicked and made everyone bump into each other as it was so hard to see. For a moment, there was a scramble beneath the smoke and the Fyros seized Elvira and Hydra. Fireeba was furious as she confronted the two.
“You fools! There is no way you can spoil my plan. I've worked all these years for this main event and no one in this world can stop me! Not even wannabe heroes like you!" The mad Fireeba was shaking with anger.
"Tie them up at the front of the capsule and get ready for the countdown! We’ll smoke ‘em when this thing takes off. Good job, Billow. Good job Fyros. You just saved my day!”
Fireeba quickly release the lever and started the countdown.
“… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… GO!” Fireeba screamed, and the capsule lurched forward. Hydra and Elvira were tightly strapped to the capsule and looked helplessly at each other. Elvira bowed down as Hydra told her not to worry.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! You’re doomed and the world is mine, and mine alone. Ha-ha-ha-ha! Execute the other hydrants! Blast them all! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“AHHHHHH! WHAT THE… HEEEEEEEELLLLPP!”
A cable dragged Fireeba down the tracks. When Billow engulfed the place in smoke, Hydra had spread a loop of cable on the floor where Fireeba had been standing. Now, that same cable had ensnared her and she was pulled off her feet as the capsule moved forward.
The capsule whizzed down the tracks at full speed—it dragged Fireeba violently as she struggled to free herself. Soon, she was flying in the air like some kind of fiery kite being pulled by the speeding capsule.
Meanwhile, Hydra was able to free himself despite the violent vibration of the capsule. He quickly untangled Elvira as he held tight on a bar and made sure not to fall. They were almost out of time—about fifteen seconds before they and the city were toast. The capsule came out of the tunnel to an open track. Hydra and Elvira saw the chance and struggled to open the fuse box in a feeble attempt to stop the capsule’s plight before it goes back to the tunnel towards the city, when suddenly…