Digital Demons
1
Danny Dolan lounged in the large swivel chair he had inherited with the rest of the Green Dome. Large, floating screens covered the space in front of him. Most of lands he watched over had slid into their night times.
Flashes of light on one of the screens caught his attention as he sipped soda from a can. He put the can in a holder as he pressed the screen for a closer view. Seconds later, the scene was quiet.
Danny jumped to his feet. He belted his oversized gauntlet around his ten year old wrist as he ran to the jaunt center.
"Mr. Guide!," Danny called out as he stepped on the golden pad that would take him to the Fungus Kingdoms. "Transport me to the Rain Soldiers' village."
"Certainly," said Guide's computer voice.
The pad opened like a flower. Numbers indicated coordinates on a column of starry light that pulled Danny through the barriers that separated the Dome's reality from the Fungus Kingdoms. Danny slid to a soft landing against spongy turf. He jumped to his feet, light pistol appearing with a gesture.
Danny called out as he ran to the village. The Rain Soldiers seemed jumpy, and he didn't want to be shot while he was trying to offer assistance to them.
Regeneration was a painful process and limited as to how many times he could use it. Simple caution helped preserve the lives he had for important things.
2
Danny reached the village's outer wall. He jogged around until he saw the wooden gate in the spongy barrier. The guards at the gate were searching the sky, rifles at the ready.
"Ahoy the gate," said Danny, raising empty hands over his head.
The two guards swivelled as one, rifles glaring at the ten year old.
"Stand where you are," said the left handed sentry. "Command has shut down access during this emergency."
Danny half expected that. The soldiers were big on protocol, and chain of command. Waiting in an emergency was better than having them shoot at him because they were still trying to figure where their attacker was.
One sentry kept his eye on Danny, while the other went back to searching the sky.
3
Danny's wait at the entry ended after the transplanted troopers relaxed from red alert. He hadn't seen anything, but respected the rain soldiers' judgment.
They had been fighting in their home section for a long time, and habits continued even if they had settled in a peaceful land away from their original war.
"General Legi would like to see you now," said one of the sentries at the gate. "He said to join him at the command center."
Danny nodded as he passed the sentries.
The command center had been built from the spongy local sod and survival gear from their former home. Guards walked the ramparts as heavy blasters cooled in the night air.
Danny knew that he was about to find out what was going on, and he wasn't going to like it.
4
Danny's escort led the way to the top of the tower where General Legi's command staff ordered damage control from the alert troops. The one eyed general smiled slightly when he saw the boy step into the room.
"Greetings, lieutenant," Legi said. "I am glad that you have arrived. We have begun to have problems with night attacks since we have settled here. Maybe your unique knowledge can help us divine the culprit."
"It's not the locals," Danny stated. The intelligent species would think twice about attacking any force armed like the Rain Soldiers, even King Kopper, the biggest villain this sector had.
All of them knew what energy blasts could do in the hands of a determined fighter.
"The Shrooms, Paisans, and the others are peaceful and trade with us the things we need to keep our community viable," said Legi. "Some of their villages have also been attacked the same as ours."
"What can you tell me about these attackers?," Danny asked.
"I can do better than that," said Legi. "I can show you what they look like."
5
Command Center had a holographic display system at odds with the carved fungal walls, and ceiling. The general ordered a playback of the attack on the village. Danny frowned at the identified targets on the displays.
Fire breathing bats.
They filled the layers of the Loathly Tower to discourage adventurers from trying to pierce the upper floors. The master of the tower didn't like visitors.
"How long has this been going on?," Danny asked.
"The last five days," said Legi. "Always at night, always in a large swarm."
"Are any of your men missing?," Danny asked.
"We account for all of our people," said Legi. "Why do you ask?"
"These bats are commonly used as guards. Almost exclusively I would have said before tonight," said Danny. "They live in the Loathly Tower."
"How did they get here?," asked the General.
"Through a portal somewhere," said Danny. "I'll have to find it and shut it down."
"One of our men will go with you," Legi said. "As a guard. These things are very nasty."
"Don't worry," said Danny. "I've dealt with them before."
6
Danny led the way from the village after consulting with Guide. There should not be any open fissures to the Tower that far in the Fungus Kingdoms.
That said tampering.
Danny had also taken the time to sort out the general direction of the bat attacks. They seemed to drift in from the north as soon as the sun set. After they finished their attack, they left in the same direction.
Danny knew that volcanos were active to the north. King Kopper liked them that way. They matched his explosive temper. Caves also dotted the region. Smoke from the constant eruptions kept the region in a perpetual eclipse.
That would be perfect for the bats.
The real problem would be locating the right cave and checking for a fissure. He didn't expect the bats to react well to his intrusion into their roost.
Scouting the area was the best plan at the moment. Legi had said the depredation would be kept down with the village's firepower.
Danny hoped the soldier was right.
7
"Sir," said Sergeant Armus. "What are the rules of engagement?"
"Don't shoot unless you have to," said Danny. "We aren't here to fight. We're just looking for the source of the bats."
"Understood," said Armus. "None of our patrols reach this far. Is there anything I should watch out for?"
"The most dangerous thing in this part of the world is ten feet tall, covered with metal and spikes, and breathes fire," said Danny. "Everything else is not worth shooting unless we have to."
"Understood," said the Rain Soldier.
The boy guardian led the way across the smoky ground. Despite his assurances to his impromptu aide, he knew that King Kopper noticed any incursion into his fiery realm. Sooner or later, he would notice the two wandering around. Then things would get really hot.
Danny hoped to find the bats' lair before that happened, and he had a real battle on his hands.
8
Danny paused at the lip of a canyon. Armus stood behind him, magnifying lenses flashing on his closed helmet. Dozens of cave mouths littered the wall on the other side of the gorge. A small volcano erupted a few miles away beyond.
Danny frowned as a dust cloud bloomed, reaching for the sky as the ground rumbled. Any of those caverns could house the transplanted terrors. They didn't have the time to search all of them before the village was attacked again by the small monsters.
"Sir," said Armus. "I have some movement to the north."
Danny looked in the indicated direction. A cloud of bats were just climbing into the sky. Small flames escaped from their wide nostrils as they started south.
"It looks like we have home base spotted," Danny said.
9
Danny and his escort made their way across the broken ground as fast they safely could. Breaking a leg could be disastrous. The bats headed south without attacking the pair. Armus sent a warning over his helmet radio.
Danny paused at the entrance of the cave. He didn't see anything suspicious with his eyepiece. He gestured his light gun into his hand as he started forward. The fissure had to be somewhere at the back of the cavern.
The pair crept forward. Small shards of glowing rock turned into a line across the floor. The dark air pulsed quietly above the markers. Danny paused to look at the line before stepping through the shifting door.
10
"Loathly Tower," Danny said.
Torches burned on the stone block walls that led to a wooden door. A rack and other bloodthirsty things decorated the room. A glance over Danny's shoulder showed that a painting hung on the wall in cheery colors which contrasted sharply with the grimness of the place.
Shadows coalesced into a floating form that became a robe of darkness. It hung in front of the dudgeon door. The hem moved in an unfelt wind. Spots of red fire blazed inside the shadowy folds of the hood.
"I see that you have intruded in my lord's domain once again, Danny Dolan," said the hovering cloak. "This time shall be the last we suffer with your interference."
"Really?," said Danny.
"Really, kid," said a gruff voice.
King Kopper stood in the painting. His golden scales reflected the torches' light like real metal. His wide dorsal fin waved slightly as he chomped on a stubby cigar in a mouth of crocodile teeth.
"Time for some payback, you brat," Kopper said, pointing at Danny with a wide index finger.
11
Danny tensed at the sudden turnaround. He was quick, but his light gun wouldn't do more than scratch these two. He needed to stall for time.
"So you guys have been attacking the Rain Soldiers just to lure me into a trap?," Danny said.
"Our purpose is two fold," said the Cloak. "First we wish to eliminate you as the Guardian of the Realm. Your replacement will be more to our liking and will allow the expansion of our control into the other sectors without interference.
"The second to test the effectiveness of our portals across the Lines. We already knew that we could send things from the Tower into the Kingdom. Now we know that we can send things from the Kingdom to the Tower. Unfortunately none of our bats return from these forays, and Kopper does not trust us enough to send one of his subjects here."
"That's King Kopper to you," said the reptilian ruler, thrusting with his cigar for emphasis.
Danny saw that as an opening. He drew his pistol, firing lances into Kopper as he pushed Armus to one side. The energy blasts bounced off the King's gleaming scales. The lizard jerked back instinctively. A wide blast of fire escaped his rubbery lips. The flame drove the Cloak against the locked door of the cell.
"Oops," Kopper said.
12
Armus fell to the floor. He felt they needed to clear either the picture, or the door into the tower proper. He pulled one of the plasma grenades from his belt. One thumb push armed it.
Picture, or door.
Armus threw the grenade as King Kopper reared back to let out another blast of flame. The metal ball fell into his wide mouth. The reptile choked on the sudden obstruction. The soldier covered his helmeted head with his arms. The explosive blew the hot tempered ruler into a perfect sphere. Smoke escaped from Kopper's mouth and nose in a weak puff.
The boy guardian ducked behind his deformed nemesis. One push sent the metamorphosed Kopper rolling across the room. The Cloak had a moment to look up from brushing itself off before the improvised bowling ball slammed into him. Both creatures rolled through the door and the stone walls surrounding the door frame.
"Good job, Armus," Danny said with a laugh.
Epilogue
Danny and Armus retreated through the painting. The soldier dropped the rest of his grenades on the way through the portal. When the explosives went off, they dropped the cavern's ceiling down on the artificial fissure.
Danny led the way back to the Rain Soldier village. Hopefully an alliance between two dangerous enemies had been scotched before it was really off the ground. He knew that both parties would try to seize what the other had after they had ripped their own kingdoms apart.
Anyone caught in the crossfire would have been chewed up and spat out.
This way they would just have to wait for King Kopper to find another fissure and return that way. The Fungus Kingdom was sure to be peaceful in the meantime.