68: Eruption of Events

  It was a horrible sight. Even though Kim didn't always enjoy Fiora's presence or her habit of 'accidentally' frying her hair, she did not want to see the dragonspawn get smashed into the floor repeatedly while letting out the most gut-wrenching, growling painful angry utterances ever emitted by any creature. She expected pieces of Fiora to fly off.

  Blayre, who had stood with his hands up, still frozen in fear, lowered them and smiled. Then, a streak of consternation crossed his face.

  "Enough!" Blayre snapped his fingers, and Jam, as if he had been electrocuted, dropped Fiora.

  "Metal Dad!" Jam squeaked. "What was that for! I was just stopping the big bad dragon lady from attacking you."

  "You did well, my Metal Son," he said. He ran a hand through his hair. "But she has to live to see all of her friends die. I am impressed that you really went full metal on her."

  "Thanks, Dad, dude wizard." Jam leaned slightly forward, as if expecting a head scratch.

  Fiora wasn't moving, but all her pieces looked to be intact. Her chest rose and fell.

  "You are the best son I've had," Blayre said. This sounded almost sarcastic.

  "Strike while he's still talking," Lita whispered to Kim and Damon as she pulled on the glowing rope around the librarians.

  Moving with speed, Lita yanked on the rope then lifted the Bag of Ultimate Rock Surprises over her head. It widened like a maw. She managed to pull it over Glauten-Globen, leaving only Günter on her own, who was locked in a hug from Uncle Gord. "Strike now!" Lita said.

  "I feel a little like a redshirt," Damon said.

  "A what?" Kim asked.

  "Oh, never mind," he replied.

  "The best we can be is a distraction," she said. "Break a leg!"

  Since there wasn't a plan, she ran towards who she hoped was the weakest of their enemies—Jam. The overly-muscled young man continued to stare at Blayre the Wizard with admiration. Kim raised her sword and leapt, not sure she really wanted to remove his head. Partly up in the air, she decided she'd use the flat of her blade. It was an impressive leap, and she cursed the fact that in this medieval world no one would capture it on their phone. She heard Damon a step behind.

  "You are the best Metal Dad I've had," Jam said. Then he cocked an ear towards her whistling through the air and spun in Kim's direction. "Dudette babe! No!" he shouted.

  She swung, but at an alarming speed, Jam brought up his guitar and blocked her blow. Strümbringer didn't even cut the strings; instead the blade bounced back, and Jam stepped aside so she hit the floor, rolling onto her feet. She spun, bringing her blade up to guard her left flank, because she expected him to swing the guitar.

  Instead, he grinned, and put his hands on the neck of the guitar. And played.

  He hit three chords in a row, then a mad collection of notes flew out like rabid bats as his fingers went up and down the frets. Was he showing off? She wondered, planning to feint to one side, then hit his temple with the flat of her blade.

  She made her move. But not in the way she intended, for, without her permission, her body went its own way—she danced to a guitar solo.

  "Ha!" he said, still wailing on the guitar with a perfection that she found amazing. "This is called 'Eruption' and it makes you erupt all around me. It's like the eruption of my talent."

  It wasn't square dancing, which her grandmother had taught Kim, nor was it overtly shaking up and down; it was more like she was on a hot lava floor and jittering every time her boots touched the ground. But she couldn't stop it. It was embarrassing; that's what it was. Plus, she was a better dancer than this.

  He began hammering his index right finger onto the guitar, pulling with his left so that the notes tripled.

  "You will be my rock and roll bride," he said. "It will be a white wedding! Or a black wedding. I can't decide."

  "There won't be any weddings," a voice shouted, and she was busy jerking around and dancing but saw that Damon was running towards Jam, his hand out.

  Damon slipped, whether on purpose or luck, for Jam had, still playing, swung his guitar at him, the blade on the edge of the body shining with sharpness. It flew over Damon's head, and Damon hit Jam in the knees with his feet.

  It should not have budged the behemoth. But a piece of luck raised its lucky head, for the gelatin below Jam's feet meant he couldn't set his stance and he flew back, falling over, taking his hand off the frets long enough to catch himself.

  Kim stopped dancing and grabbed Jam's shoulder, flipped over behind him, landed firmly in her Destroyer Boots Of Major Metal Destruction and put her blade on his throat.

  "Drop your guitar!" she shouted. Which Jam immediately did. It landed with a clang. And she turned him around, so they were facing Blayre.

  The Librarians were struggling in the bag and letting out screeches and hoots. And Uncle Gord had control of Günter.

  Blayre continued to smile, looking out at them all, as if these developments were part of his plan. "Oh, I enjoyed the librarians getting their comeuppance. When I release them, their revenge will be well, let's say textually perfect."

  "Stop clapping," Kim said. "And don't use any of your powers. Or I'll kill him."

  "You won't," Blayre said. "You're a light bearer. So your threat means nothing."

  "I'll do it," Kim said. "I will."

  "She really will," Damon added. "She kicked me in the head the first time we met."

  Would he never let that go? Kim wondered. She had kicked several men in the head, mostly at karate class, and they hadn't held it as a grudge against her.

  "Do your worst to him," Blayre said. "He is but a vessel of my power."

  "Metal Dad!" Jam shouted. "Don't let her do this. And an update: I don't want to marry her. Let it be written in the book of… of rock. No white wedding for you, dudette!"

  Blayre lifted the king's head and moved over to the song podium. It had been a curious place to stand.

  Lita was approaching, her staff up. She'd tied the bag over Glieben and Glauten-Globen's heads.

  "There is something wonderful about to happen," Blayre said. "Something perfect and beautiful and—"

  Then Fiora stood up. She looked like she'd been through about fifteen boxing matches with a semi, and her snout seemed to point in three directions at once. Her eyes were glowing red.

  She let out a blast of flames.

  69: Final Countdown To Burn

  It was the most impressive blast of flame that Damon had seen Fiora release. A column of white-hot energy that was burning him even from this distance. Written above it were the words:

  Final Countdown Flames of a Super Nova: Maximum Damage

  Music crackled along with the flames. He could almost recognize the song.

  Sadly, Fiora missed Blayre by about seven feet. She had been pointing right towards his smiling, eager face, but as the flames neared, some sort of magical defense bubbled around him, both deflecting the flames and distorting his looks so his smile looked even creepier.

  That smile faded as a sharp realization struck him. The flames were travelling towards the Ultimate Heavy Metal Music Stand where the Something Wicked This Way Comes song waited.

  "No!" Blayre's eyes widened, and he put out his hand.

  The flame was so concentrated and powerful, but something about that denseness made it travel as slow as lava. Fiora redoubled her efforts, the flames now becoming so bright white that it was difficult to look directly at them.

  Final Countdown Flames of a Super Nova: -25 damage to user

  Metal Health: 91

  Going Super Nova was clearly a sacrifice—just like her mother had done. the flame were deflected in a star pattern, melting the chandeliers on the ceiling, melting the glass on the wall. The rest of the glass shattered and rained around them. The podium, though, was now burning. Fiora herself was turning white with the heat. She stepped closer, so the flames wrapped around Blayre. He tucked the king's head in front of him, so it was protected.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Final Countdown Flames of a Super Nova: -25 damage to user

  Metal Health: 66

  "She's going super nova," Damon explained to his companions, who were all edging away from the heat. "Her numbers are dropping like mad. She won't last long." And with the flames, Fiora let out a cry of anger and death-dealing hatred. Kim could only imagine it was channeling all the pain of her endless hours of killing and dying in the dungeon.

  Final Countdown Flames of a Super Nova: -25 damage to user

  Metal Health: 41

  "Bad Cuddlebottom!" Blayre said. The words clearly took all of his strength. Fiora continued to edge towards him, bringing the flames to bear.

  "Metal Dad is going to melt," Jam said. "I must save dad dude. It is my duty. He made me this strong."

  "If you do, you will die," Kim said. The flame Fiora was spurting out would melt him in a few heartbeats. The gold was dripping off the columns behind Blayre. Even the floor at his feet bubbled redly. The librarians in the bag of everything and Gunter had stopped struggling.

  "Stop it, Cuddlebottom," Blayre yelled. "I have a whole lotta love for you. Cuddleb—"

  The flames increased in brightness and heat, as if each word he said were pouring lighter fluid onto a barbecue. Except the barbecue was coming towards him. A tapestry of his face burst into flames behind him.

  Fiora opened her mouth and shouted, "Don't call me Cuddlebottom," briefly slowing the flames, but they returned even stronger, wider and drove the wizard back.

  Final Countdown Flames of a Super Nova: -25 damage to user

  Metal Health: 26

  Blayre made a gesture, and the Helmet of Mega Metal flew across the room and was sucked into his bubble, becoming a part of it. This was followed by several books and a mix of scrolls, a wizard's hat that could have come straight out of Harry Potter; even the Schenkeraxe flew and stuck to the bubble. His spell pulled the Screaming Eagle Staff, but Damon caught it in the air and clutched it tight. Clearly, Blayre was using all that stored magic to add to his power. He widened his defensive circle, so that Fiora herself had to take a step backwards.

  But Fiora was relentless. The wizard's protective bubble was getting smaller, so his throne was melting. The wizard's hair began to sizzle.

  Final Countdown Flames of a Super Nova: -25 damage to user

  Metal Health: 1

  The heat was getting through; Damon could tell mostly because Blayre's hair was burning now. The fringes on his leather jacket . But being at only 1 Metal Health meant Fiora would die, and her death blast would kill the wizard.

  "Fiora, no!" he said. But she paid him no heed.

  "Metal Dad!" Jam moved ahead, so Kim pulled her blade away, so as not to cut him. Jam took two staggering steps, bringing him that much closer to the heat. His clothes smouldered. "Metal Dad!"

  Somehow that sad cry reached Blayre's ears, for he looked towards Jam and gestured with a little finger as if beckoning Jam, but the Necklaces of Maximum Rock flew off his neck, arm and forehead. Jam fell to the floor suddenly a very skinny man. He didn't even have the strength to look up. "Don't Metal Dad," Jam let out. "Don't take away my coolness."

  Blayre, though, had a moment where his bubble of protection expanded, the power of the necklaces aiding him, then he fell to his knees. The round bubble around him was cracking. Here and there.

  Damon grabbed Jam by the foot and pulled him out of the heat that would soon kill him. The protective bubble around Blayre cracked even further.

  "No," Blayre said. "No, Fiora, you can't have it. You can't break my dreams."

  But Fiora was now almost a foot away and Blayre was soon going to be roasted like a goose.

  "What happens when she explodes?" Damon asked.

  "We might all die," Lita replied. "She is giving all of herself."

  "Can we help her?" Damon asked.

  "She has chosen this path. There is nothing we can do."

  The bubble around Blayre cracked. "I do this for rock," Blayre said, and he struggled to lift the head and set his hand on the podium on the song. And as if straining or burning, he shouted out seven sharp words.

  KASHMIR LED PURPLE SMOKE WATER IRON DIO

  "No!" Günter's bandana had slipped from her mouth. "He used the source words." Gord let her go, and she covered her ears. All of them did so.

  A magical chord played, and with it came a blast of such pure power. And, still on fire, holding the head and the song in the other, Blayre faded away.

  There was a flash so bright and the equivalent of a sonic boom, and they all fell over.

  Fiora was lying on the floor, smoke coming out of her nostrils, mouth, and ears.

  70: Powerslaves

  The whip that bound the librarians glowed, which made Kim think of Wonder Woman, not that Lita was wearing any of the Amazonian clothes made popular by the movies. She looked more like a female Robin Hood.

  "You will not be forgiven," Lita said. "You are powerslaves—slaves to your own intellect and need for power." The librarians glared at her, but their power was in their words and the one-headed Glauben and Glauten-Globen struggled without their books. And Günter, their leader, still had her eyes covered.

  Damon was leaning over Fiora. Before Kim could go to help, Lita shoved the handle of the whip into her hands. "Hold tight to the Whip of Priest Power." And so Kim held the two librarians in place. Strength flowed up her arms from the whip, allowing her to hold their enemies with ease. The whip would be a great addition to her arsenal.

  They were standing before the arch. Much of it had melted, the jewels had fallen off, and frankly, Kim wouldn't go through it with a bow pointed at her head. But Lita seemed nonplussed about the safety of the librarians.

  "You will not escape our wrath," Günter mumbled through the Def Leppard bandana. Kim wondered if a bandana with an intentionally misspelled band name would have made Günter even angrier. Shayne, who had worn it all that time ago, might be happy he had a place in this battle. "We will seek and destroy you."

  Lita laughed. "You believe you will get revenge. To that I say: Yeah, right." Lita gave her a not too gentle shove, and the librarian stumbled through the portal. She didn't explode in a ball of feathers. Instead, she vanished with an angry and surprised squawk. The remaining librarians were still struggling. So Lita pulled off the gags, and they were about to open their mouths, either to find their source words or to say something very quippy and librarian-esque, but Lita kicked one of them in the chest, and Kim, following suit, roundhouse kicking the other. At the same time, she snapped the whip, and as if knowing her intention, it undid its knot. The portal made a loud zapping noise, and the librarians were gone.

  Lita wiped her hands. "May they never rock nor roll near us again," she said.

  "You sent them home?" Damon asked.

  "No. They are going to the Great Library of Metal Words in Hades, and their actions will be brought up before the librarian council. A letter precedes them. It won't be long before they will be sanctioned or worse: Unlibrarianished. They will hear the tolling of Hades' Bells."

  "So there really are bells called Hades Bells?" Kim asked, partly on behalf of Damon because he would want to know this.

  "Yes. They ring for war and judgement. Never good when you hear them."

  Lita grabbed the books of power and placed a spell that made a lock appear on each one and then tossed them into the portal. And as if in protest, the portal collapsed. "There, done!"

  "So, not all librarians are bad," Kim said.

  "Hades bells, no!" Lita said. "These three are outliers. Most librarians are kind, knowledge-seeking fonts of wisdom and patience. Unless you damage a book or scroll. Now, let us return to our dragonspawn friend."

  Gord and Damon were leaning over her. Fiora was still pale. The very slightest shallow breath emerged from her, though the time between breaths was getting longer. Gord had filled golden pails from a golden tap, and Damon was dabbing her swollen eye with a torn piece from his pirate blouse. The other eye glared at Kim. Well, to be fair, she thought it was glaring at everyone.

  "How is our savior?" Lita asked. "Disappointed he vanished before you could go completely supernova?"

  Fiora nodded with clear painful effort.

  "Understood," Lita said. "Perhaps a part of you still wanted to live. I doubt that it's because you enjoyed our presence."

  "Will you…" Fiora spat the words out more of a growl.

  "Will I what?" Lita asked.

  "Tell these idiots I'm not a sponge."

  Gord and Damon immediately leaned back. "Judging from the forcefulness of that request, she will heal soon," Gord said.

  "One more thing," Fiora said.

  "Which is?" Damon asked.

  She lifted a mangled finger and pointed at Jam, who was in a corner holding a half-melted Necklace of Maximum Rock. "May I eat that one? It will make me feel better. And I'll heal faster."

  "No," Lita said. "There will be no eating of—"

  "Let her eat me," Jam whined. "Eat me alive. I deserve it. I let Metal Dad down."

  "And us," Gord added. "Don't forget you betrayed us."

  "Yes, I'm a traitor. Let her eat me."

  "I'll start with his left foot," Fiora said.

  "No one will eat anyone today." Lita pointed her staff at Fiora. "You aren't strong enough to be eating. Enjoy your recent victory." She gestured around at the smashed, melted, and burned room. It was almost as if every trace of Blayre had been melted. Wind was coming in through the broken glass. "You gave Blayre a true metal mashing."

  "How is that you are here?" Kim asked Lita. It surprised her she had seemed to form it in the style of Old English. "I mean, where did you go?"

  "Oh, I suppose would like a bit more detail," Lita said. "Well, I wish it were a tale of amazing wonder and heroism. But it is rather simple. I appeared inside that bag." She pointed at the Bag of Ultimate Rock Surprises.

  "That is where the tree sent you?" Gord asked.

  "Yes, it seemed to think I would be safe there. But inside that bag is a swirling dervish of traps, evil items, strange brews and bracelets." She turned and looked behind her. There was a mousetrap stuck to her back, which she brushed off. "It was Hades inside a bag. But the reality is I was relatively safe compared to, well, wherever you appeared."

  "We appeared inside the Pit of Never Ending Sarcasm," Kim said.

  "Oh, that sounds wonderful," Lita said.

  "You would have fit in well there," Uncle Gord said.

  "Thankfully, I found enough parts to heal JoJett while there. Then I saw Damon's hand far above me and leapt for it, and so I was just in time to save you."

  "I did the saving," Fiora mumbled.

  "Well, we all did our part," Gord said.

  Lita looked at Fiora. "Do you have any idea what Blayre was doing?"

  "He is going to finish the song," Fiora said.

  "What does that mean?" Gord said.

  "He has been trying for years to finish 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'," Fiora said. "He didn't have the songsmithing talent. So he turned to the librarians."

  "'Something Wicked This Way Comes' is one of the most powerful artifacts brought to this land." Lita leaned on her staff. Perhaps all the work had tired her. "And the source words finished the song which gave him power to transport away."

  "But what does that mean for us?" Gord asked. "So what if he wrote a song? And where did he go?"

  "He went to Dio's castle," Kim said before anyone else could answer.

  "Oh, she's smarter than she looks," Fiora said. Despite the pain it must have caused her, she smiled.

  "He's jealous of anyone with more power than him," Kim explained.

  "Kill the king and become the king," Damon said. "Classic game-winning move."

  "Exactly," Lita said. "But Dio is like a god to us. I don't know that he can be killed."

  At that moment, arriving like hope or a well-placed cheer, Notes of Power rose up and hit each of them. Kim sighed as it went right to her soul. She was certain she hadn't gone up another level. At least they learned something, and her health had returned to being full. In fact, when she looked around at her companions, they all looked rosy. Even Fiora was less pale, though she remained on the floor.

  Hope and strength had filled them. All of them, broke into a smile as if just stepping out of a massage.

  A crack of thunder shook the entire palace. Chunks of glass fell down from the ceiling and shattered around them.

  Gord made his way to the glass wall where the sun was rising in the east. Bringing light across the mountains and valleys of Rothland. In the distance were the towers of the other wizards who dwelled in Rothland. Also, just below the sun, was a gigantic shadow.

  "I'm feeling black sensations up and down my spine," Fiora said. She was lying on the floor, so had the best view. A huge floating island was speeding through the sky towards the palace like a battleship, lightning shooting from its bottom, thunderclouds surrounding it. "Rainbow Island is here. Methinks Blayre has won and now holds a teensie eensy grudge."