It was almost impossible not to stare at it. The massively huge storm of the Void, roiling in a giant circle as lightning cracked and whipped through its fog and mist. A gray, monstrous thing that was growing by the minute. Master George thought he was being more than careful when he’d winked them several miles away from the spot of the once-great castle of Mistress Jane, but they had still ended up way too close for comfort.
At least they had no excuses, now. No time to look and wait and grow more fearful. The nearest wall of the Void was close, and they’d have to start fighting soon. Though how, exactly, you fought a storm was anyone’s guess. What could they do but try? Follow the path of Karma and buy time for Master Atticus to do what he must and meet his own destiny with the Void. Paul and Sofia had given him the Karma Drive and returned safely.
They were all together now—Sally and Mothball. Paul and Sofia. Sato and his Fifth Army. Only Rutger was missing, having stayed in the command center in order to gather in the other Realitants. It was a ragtag group, but the best hope the Realities had at the moment.
Sato stepped up to him. “No time like the present.”
Master George could tell that the boy wanted to show him some respect, allow the leader of the Realitants to issue the first command. But George was no fool. He was here to fight, as old and frail as he may be, not command. He wouldn’t send all these people to their most dangerous task yet without being by their side. Not this time.
“You’re in charge now,” he told Sato. “Especially since you’ve fought this . . . thing before.”
Sato was trying to hide a look of disappointment on his face. “We only fought the things that came out of the Void. Not the Void itself.”
George shrugged his shoulders. “Well, they’re bound to be related, connected. I know of nothing else we can do but to take our weapons and attack it as you did the monsters it unleashed. If nothing else, perhaps we can at least stop it from growing. We need to buy time until Atticus can do what he has planned.”
“We’ll do it,” Sato said. “We’ll beat it, or we’ll die trying.”
“Oh, goodness gracious me. Don’t talk like that.” He patted the boy on the shoulder. “All right, then. Take charge, my good man. I’ll be right here fighting with you—though I may linger in the back.” He gave him a smile. “And we’ll hope that others come to help soon enough.”
Sato nodded, a different countenance spreading across his face and demeanor. He suddenly looked like a cold, hard leader. He gave a long, lingering glance at the nearby wall of churning fog then turned to his army and the other Realitants.
“Line up!” he shouted. “Rows of twenty, staggered by four soldiers on the ends!”
The orders were followed, and soon the formation was complete, each person facing the Void. Paul and Sofia, and Mothball and Sally, were mixed into the group, new members along with Master George.
Sato shouted a command that was lost in the wind, but his hand signals were clear enough.
The Fifth Army started marching toward the Void of Mist and Thunder.
Tick refused to tell Jane anything, saying simply that his friends had given him a good-luck charm. He felt the string tightly wound against his wrist, felt the bulk of the box inside the bag. He was doing exactly what Paul had asked him to. Trusting them. He could use all the help he could get anyway.
His eyes stung from the ripping winds that tore across the fields away from the Void, picking up dust and rock and debris along the way. All of it pelted him from head to toe. He wiped at his face and kept going, determined to stay by Jane’s side as she marched toward the towering wall of spinning gray fog, leaning into the stiff wind. They were almost there, and the sight of the Void up close was frightening, all lightning and thunder and swelling power.
Jane didn’t slow. And neither did Tick. He did look back every once in a while, and it seemed as if Sato’s army was massing for an attack on the Void itself, which seemed ridiculous.
Just let me handle this, guys, he thought. I can do it.
They were a few hundred feet away, Tick’s entire vision filled with nothing but gray mist and flashes of light, his ears numb from the pounding noise, when Chu abruptly appeared right in front of them. Winked in, flashing into existence. He held a large, silver cube about the size of a microwave oven in his hands. The wind pushed his black hair all over the place in a frenzy and riffled his clothes, but Tick noticed his eyes. They were sane and clear, which, for some reason, scared Tick.
Chu held the metallic box out in front of him. “This is it!” Even though he was obviously screaming, his words were barely audible over the deafening roar of the Void. “The work of more than a hundred scientists! It will change the Realities forever, and I plan to be the guinea pig this time!”