The Lair of A Digital Dragon
1
Danny Dolan smiled as he put the finishing touches on the giant sandwich he planned to have for lunch. Things had been quiet in the realms, and he was looking forward to another peaceful day. Even the Majestic Empire had decided to keep the vast civil war within it on a low key.
Danny hoped to take in a race that night. Collard Green was going for the season's point championship, and Danny had been offered box seats on the track by his manager.
"There might be a problem, Danny," Mr. Guide's computer voice said.
Danny almost groaned. He took the plate with his sandwich on it to the monitor room. He hoped it was something simple so that he could get to Turbo City for the race. He settled in his chair, holding the plate with one hand while he ate with the other.
This might be the last thing he could get today before he returned to the Green Dome.
"What's the deal?," the guardian of worlds asked peevishly as he chewed his concoction slowly.
"There's a new haunted house in the Fungus Kingdoms," Mr. Guide said.
"Haunted houses aren't anything new," said Danny. The Fungus Kingdoms had three or four of the things, even a dark land filled with floating blobs of ectoplasm.
"Take a look at this one," said Mr. Guide.
One of the screens focused on a dark tower in the middle of green meadow. It had a square body with a rampart around the top. Danny couldn't see any windows, or a door. The grass around the base of the brick edifice was a brown moat three feet wide.
"Where is this?," Danny asked.
"Near the Princess's Summer Palace," said Guide, displaying a map of the Kingdoms on another screen. "It appeared out of nowhere. Not an uncommon thing in the Kingdoms, but this seemed particularly unusual to me."
"Have you scanned it?," Danny asked, taking a bite out of a sandwich.
"It is giving off the same type of signature as the Loathly Tower."
"I'm going to take a closer look at that thing," Danny said. "The Cloak said that Vlad was interested in expanding when I saw him and King Kopper together."
"I did not think that the denizens of the Tower had this much power to open a fissure big enough for that," said Mr. Guide.
"Neither did I," admitted the boy guardian. "I'll ask how they did what they did when I can find someone to talk to."
"Understood," said the computer domo.
Danny finished his meal. He took the plate back to the kitchen before getting a version of his favorite weapon from its place in his small armory. He strapped the gauntlet around his wrist before testing the light gun function. He smiled when the weapon sprang into being on cue.
Danny went to the transporter pad that would take him to the Fungus Kingdoms. He stepped on it, wondering what he would find in the new haunted house. A set of numbers whirled in the air around the circle until one long string emerged. Danny vanished from the room.
Danny blinked after he saw the sun smile down on him with its twinkling eyes. He didn't think he would see its warmth for a long time as he stared at the skeletal edifice in front of him.
2
Danny took a moment to examine the haunted house. It was cut off from the rest of the Kingdom by a small steel rod fence. The grass inside the yard was black and dying. A path of flagstones led up to a wide, rickety porch. The windows were boarded over from the inside. Two small wings spread out from a central section that was three stories tall.
Danny walked over to the small metal grate and let himself into the yard with a creaking of rusting hinges. He waited for a trap to spring before he crossed the crinkling lawn to the house. He walked around the building, not wanting to use the front door for his invasion.
He decided to bust in a basement window to get inside. He hoped it wasn't a mistake as he formed his zapper and fired, knocking the glass out.
Danny used a rock to knock the rest of the glass out of the window before climbing through the frame. He dropped the rock on the floor as looked around the large room he found himself in. Sunlight from outside fell in a steady stream in a column that really did not illuminate much.
The main source of light was pools of lava boiling on either side of a narrow bridge. Bubbles popped on the surface of the molten rock as the basement seemed to stretch beyond the actual length of the house in the Fungus Kingdoms.
Danny took a breath before he started across the bridge. The house was obviously a pocket dimension forced into the Kingdoms from somewhere else. Could he expel it from its new home before it wrecked the system?
Danny didn't want to explain his failure to the Princess, or the other inhabitants of the system.
3
Danny's sneakered feet rubbed against the stone bridge as he watched the lava for anything threatening. He wouldn't have been surprised if a bone dragon popped up to breathe fireballs at him.
Danny reached the other side of the bridge without any trouble. He paused at the steps leading to the exit. He couldn't decide if which would be better, fast or slow. He didn't want to rush into a trap.
Danny knuckled the sweat off his lip before rushing forward. A blade descended from the ceiling as soon as his foot hit the first step. It rushed forward on a rocker bar. When it reached the end of its arc, it would swing back the other way to catch the person it was aimed at in the back as he tried to make it up the stairs.
Danny recognized the danger instantly, seeming to blur for a moment, as he continued his mad rush for the exit. The blade sliced through where he should have been when it was tripped, but the guardian had already reached the top step before it could halfway through its swing. The blade kept going, but its target had already left the room.
Danny paused on the other side of the open door, making sure the blade wouldn't rebound into his back as he looked around.
4
The room beyond the basement was a two-story vertical cylinder. A staircase circled the inside of the stone wall to the top of the open space. Danny didn't see a floor below his vantage spot.
Danny tested the edge of the door sill, trying to see how much room he had to jump to the staircase. He took a deep breath, when he released it he jumped into space. He landed on the edge of a step, almost kept going into the open pit beyond. He caught himself, pushing back against the wall.
Rumbling under Danny's feet said he wasn't out of the woods yet. He started running, sometimes blurring as he tried to outrun the falling blocks. Snap, snap, snap followed him, almost catching him twice. He threw himself over the top landing as the last of the bricks fell into the open pit below.
Danny brushed his clothes off as he moved to the open door beckoning him forward. This resembled parts of the Loathly Tower instead of a Fungus Kingdom haunted house.
5
Danny paused after he crossed the threshold into the next room. A walkway led to a square platform that seemed to take up most of this room's space. A small stage formed a flat pyramid in one corner of the stone space.
Danny tested the walkway before putting his full weight on the rectangle sheet. He walked to the square, ready to run for his life. He didn't think another collapsing step would be set up but he didn't want to trust the stone.
Danny stepped on the square, zapper buzzing in his hand. There was no walk leading away from the platform. Where was he supposed to go now?
Humming attracted his attention to the pyramid in the corner. The back of a large, golden chair rose out of a concealed space in the rock. The small lizard man smiled with crocodile fangs as its metal fin waved when it moved its head.
"What are you doing here, Junior?," Danny asked, grimacing at the orange and green newcomer.
"The question is what are you doing here, brat?," said Junior, standing on squat legs. "This is my house, and I don't remember inviting you over for scones and tea."
"What's going on, Junior?," Danny asked. "I don't think the Princess, or Alfredo, gave you a permit for this rathole. Where's your dad? I know you can't make a move without his say so."
"I don't need his say for this," Junior said, body expanding from dwarf status to a behemoth in the space of a few seconds. "Eat Kopper Flame!"
Danny jumped to one side as a fiery jet scoured the rock platform as it walked toward him. He landed in a roll. His zapper bounced two beams off Junior's metallic scales as he sprang to his feet.
Should have brought a hammer.
"You were always slower than a turtle," said Danny, as he tried to get behind his foe. "You couldn't touch me if you wanted too, dumb lizard."
Junior charged the boy guardian, talons stretching forward to rip off his face. He was unprepared for Danny stepping out of his way, hands shoving him in the back. He saw the edge of the arena coming quickly. His feet put on the brakes, sending him into a slow skid. The reptile stopped right on the edge of the square, clawed toes hanging over the open space beyond.
"Goodbye, Junior," Danny said, as he leapt into a flying kick that he had been shown by a street fighter. His feet hit the metal head of King Kopper's son. The lizard fell off the platform into the bottomless pit beyond.
6
Danny waited for steps to roll up out of the lava to lead him to the exit. This was definitely more of the Tower than he liked to see in the Kingdoms. The presence of Junior was an unpleasant surprise to say the least.
He hoped Kopper hadn't decided to really throw in with Vlad's forces. A large percentage of the lava lands would follow Kopper's lead. That could lead to a civil war with the Princess's forces.
That would keep Alfredo busy for a decade trying to put out fires.
Danny hopped from step to step, ready for anything to happen. A square line appeared in the darkness ahead. One last hop got the guardian to a lip in front of the closed door. He couldn't see, or feel, a door knob. It wouldn't open with a push from his shoulder.
Danny shielded his face as he took aim with his zapper. He fired six or seven times, trying to hit the same spot with each shot. Light turned into a shaft as a hole turned into a cracked opening he could squeeze through to the other side.
An elevator of glass and metal rods dominated this room. A golden cable stretched from the top of the cab to a hole in the room's ceiling. Pillars held a bridge up between the cab and the door. The guardian didn't see an obvious trap, but knew there had to be one. He didn't think he would be allowed to get to the elevator without some kind of trouble. That would be out of character for King Kopper.
He stepped on the walk, testing each square before committing himself. A collapsing bridge was the obvious trap. He reached the fifth section, about ten steps from his starting point, when the bridge began to collapse behind him. He started running, as holes opened in the walls on each side of bridge. Laser fire wove a net, trying to cut Danny to shreds as he ran for the elevator's doors.
Danny reached inside, mentally summoning a large red button as red beams sliced the air around him. The red pulses became still after he pushed the imaginary button. The boy guardian had to move fast in the small amount of time he had bought.
Danny's speedup wore off as he reached the door to the elevator as the last of the bridge collapsed behind him. He leaped as he felt the last square fall away. His hand caught the edge of the cab, pulling the rest of his body against the cold metal. He took some deep breaths as he listened to the wind whisper from beneath the contraption.
Danny pushed the call button while trying to keep his grip with his other hand secure. He didn't want to fall into whatever lay below the cab. Sweat dripped from his brow as he waited for the double doors to slide out of the way. One wrong move, and one of his precious spares would have to be brought out of storage by Mr. Guide.
The elevator doors slid out of the way with a hiss of frustration. The guardian slid inside the cab before he could lose his grip. The cab started up after the doors closed. Danny waited for it to reach the next room so maybe he could get to the bottom of this.
The elevator doors slid out of the way when it reached the next floor. Danny stepped out, hand ready to summon his zapper as he examined the next obstacle.
He was in a small foyer blocked by a metal door. A lever leaned out from the right side of the frame. Small squares changed colors in some kind of pattern that repeated every few seconds. The boy guardian leaned closer for a better look. Each square was also a button as far as he could tell without actually touching one.
Danny grabbed the lever and pulled on it. A symbolic wave lit up under the dancing lights for just a few seconds. Then it vanished again. He pulled on the lever again with the same result. He frowned as he thought.
This was more like the Kingdoms. It was a place of puzzles and strange locks. This had to be an example of both. What did it mean?
Danny touched one of the squares. It slid back in its space easily. A chime sounded as the space stayed lit from within. The guardian stared at the lit space, then smiled in realization. His fingers pressed the flat buttons one after the other until he had drawn a wave in the dancing stones.
Danny stepped back to look at his handiwork. Maybe it was close enough to work. He pulled the lever. A wobbling tune danced on the air as the squares blinked in joy. Then the stone slab slid out of the way silently.
Danny laughed as he stepped across the threshold. Now he could finish his search.
The next space appeared to be a sandbox with stone tiles littered across the top of the white sand. The stepping stones drifted across to a door floating off the ground. Green flames drifted above, casting their light on the scene for Danny.
7
Danny hopped on one of the stepping stones floating on the surface of the sand. It started to sink as soon as his full weight fell on it. He jumped to the next stone, then the next. Each one started sinking as soon as he landed.
Still each step carried him closer to the floating door.
Danny jumped to the next stone. He was almost close enough to try for the door. He waited until the stone was nearly gone before jumping for the doorway. His hand grabbed the edge. One pulled dragged him out of the strange area into the next.
Danny paused at the scene confronting him. A platform of turtle-shaped stones had been put together over a lake of lava. A massive throne sat in the center of the platform. Two braziers burned on either side of the seat, throwing curling smoke in the air. King Kopper tapped one arm of his chair with a metallic claw. Rubbery lips drew back from wicked teeth in a snarl.
"You again?," he said. "You're almost as bad as that stupid cook."
"Nice place you have here," Danny said. "How did you get it?"
"I talked to my buddy, the Cloak," said Kopper, producing a cigar. A small blowing of his breath lit it. "He decided that it might be better for everybody to help me get home."
"You blackmailed the Cloak," said Danny.
"If you want to put it that way," said Kopper. "He was definitely glad to help me build this pocket so I could get from one system to the other without any problem. I'm sure he thinks that he'll be able to join the Fungus Kingdoms with the Tower. That would make his Vlad supreme in the Realm. Not even you would be able to stop him once he really wanted to expand after he had absorbed this system."
"You don't plan to let him do that," said Danny.
"Please," said Kopper. "This is my chosen place. I'm never letting that blood sucker get a foothold here."
"So how do you want to play this?," Danny asked. "I can get you out of here so you can go back to the Lava Lands, or we can duke it out so I can send you back to the Cloak. In any case, this house has to go, the byway closed off so no one can get hurt."
"I kind of like the place, kid." The reptile puffed on his cigar as he tapped the arm of his throne. "It's not perfect by any means but a little work could turn it into the best trap mansion the Kingdom ever saw. I would be able to charge to work people over."
"I don't think so," Danny said. "The house has to go. That's the rule. You of all people know that."
"What you gonna do? Gnaw my ankles?"
Danny was forced to admit Kopper had a point. His zapper wouldn't even scratch the beast's scales. He didn't have the physical strength to make a point stick. The only thing he had going was he was faster than the bigger menace. There had to be something he could do.
"I'll make a bet with you," Danny said. "If I can throw you off this platform, you pack up your house and leave the Fungus Kingdom for good."
"A bet, eh?," said Kopper, puffing on his cigar. "All right. If I throw you off, I don't want any more interference in my plans by you. That seems fair to me. Deal?"
"Deal," said Danny, readying himself for the onslaught he was going to face.
Kopper spat out his cigar, charging forward with claws slicing the air. His rank breath drifted ahead of his crocodilian grin as he swung his right arm with all of his might. One shot should do for the boy guardian. Then he could deal with the princess and her cook.
Danny waited. Then he moved out of the way of the deadly claws. He danced aside as the lizard kept coming. He wasn't where he needed to be. He needed to lure his adversary closer to the edge.
That was the first part of his plan.
The next part would be a little more difficult, but doable if he was fast and really lucky. He just needed to outlast his rival until he got the dragon in position.
Danny danced backwards, keeping an eye out for those five inch nails flailing at him. King Kopper was tremendously fast for all his bulk. One wrong move would see the guardian falling to the lava below.
Danny was so intent on Kopper's pudgy hands, he forgot about the lizard's tail. One swipe sent him on his face to the platform's edge. Smoke drifted up to his face before he could turn on his back. He saw a taloned foot descending to crush his body. He blurred for a moment as he slipped out of the way. Kopper's foot raised a cloud of dust as he stomped the stone surface.
Danny leapt to his feet, slamming his arms against the king's rump. Kopper stumbled forward, off balance from the missed stomp, and hit to his tail. He jerked all of his weight straight down in an effort to maintain his balance.
Kopper turned to face his opponent. His maw opened as his eyes glared an angry red. A stream of red flame cut across his sharp teeth. He would deal with this conqueror blocker once and for all.
The lizard was unprepared for the flying foot that landed from above the flames. It drove him backward more from being unexpected than any real pain. His scaly skin was tougher than anything a ten-year-old could do with bare hands and feet. His tail whipped out over open air, and the heat told him he was too close to the edge.
King Kopper took aim at Danny. He rushed forward in his patented stampede move. Smoke drifted from his nostrils as he roared forward. Slender hands grabbed his muscular wrist. Suddenly he was running in a circle, then he was thrown free. His own momentum carried him to the edge of the platform and over it. He hit the lava and immediately bounced back to where he had fell with an earthshaking impact.
"Okay," he said. "You win. A deal is a deal."
epilogue
Danny Dolan waited for the races to start on the Quantum Track. Another bath and a change of clothes had gotten him ready for the show. It had been a close thing, but King Kopper's new haunted house was gone from the Fungus Kingdoms. The lizard's word was his bond.
Danny knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to weasel out of it, but for now the Kingdoms were safe from him until he could find a loophole to exploit.
Danny had already asked Mr. Guide to upgrade his zapper so he wouldn't have to depend on a system's add-ons when he was trying to deal with a professional menace. That would give him a surprise edge the next time they tangled.
Danny knew there would be a next time.