The Wizard of Zigg

((Here's a little story that's been circulating in my head the last week. I got a fun idea the other day and just had to write it down. Hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!))
--------------------------------------

Part 1 - Initiation

”Mrs. Macintyre will be with you in just a minute” the receptionist said. ”She had to finish some calculations first, but said that you could wait in her office in the meantime.”
FredEx nodded lightly and guided himself through the corridors of the Portal Corporation to Tina Macintyre’s office.
It was a room in which she rarely was, but the name that was printed on the door still indicated that it was hers. FredEx stepped into the neat room and waited. He remembered that some people find it disturbing when someone is standing completely still in the middle of a room so he sat down on one of the chairs and hummed softly. At first you would think that it was just the sound of whirring gears, but if you listened carefully you could hear that it was actually a song that lately had been played a lot on the radio.

“I’m sorry for letting you wait, but I had to make sure it was stable” Tina said as she briskly stepped through the door a few minutes later. She sat down with a sigh and took a sip from the coffee mug that was standing on her desk. She grimaced as she swallowed the cold coffee and remembered that she fetched it two days ago. With a sound of distaste she put down the mug and looked up at FredEx.

“Where was I? Yes, umm… As you know we, the Portal Corp, constantly search for other dimensions and try to contact them. Sometimes it leads to bad things happening…” Her mind drifted briefly to the Rikti invasion. “…but usually it ends well and with lots of new experiences! Usually we search for new dimensions but sometimes we also look back and try to get in contact with destinations that we couldn’t get hold of before. To make a short story shorter, we’ve finally managed to re-establish a connection to the very first portal ever created but we need some fine-tuning before we can test it.” She got a worried expression in her face, looked down at her papers and tried to change the subject.
“By the way, if you like I could give you a tour of our latest upgrades of the portal projectors.”

Being an android FredEx didn’t notice this subtle change of topic and replied:
“The very first portal you say. Wasn’t that the one that caused an accident in which several people were lost? And you were there too weren’t you?”

Tina’s heart sank. She had always hoped that no one would ever remind her of this tragic event but she knew it couldn’t be avoided forever.
“Yes… Yes I was there.” She kept her unfocused eyes at the papers before her and was silent for a long time. She then sighed and started talking with a low voice.

“We were so excited about having successfully opened a portal to another world. We didn’t know anything back then, about other dimensions or anything of what we could expect from it all. We sent some probes through and since they only gave good readings we thought it was safe to go through. A team with some of our bravest and brightest scientists was assembled and they were to be escorted by a group of soldiers for protection. You could never be too sure, you know. We were all so eager to explore that we didn’t double check the readings. When the team had just entered the portal something went wrong. The portal started to ripple and there was a noise that sounded like someone tearing plastic wrapping. And after a few seconds the portal was gone. We never heard from the team again and we never managed to recreate a portal there. And believe me, we’ve tried a lot!”
She exhaled heavily but looked a bit relieved.

“A few months ago we came up with some revolutionary theories and adjusted all our data and machinery according to them. And last week we finally did it! We got connection with that same old ‘address’. But not until today have we been able to get the connection stable. It’s been fluctuating the last couple of days, but we think that we got it now. What we now want to ask you is that if you would like to be present during our first tests. With your rather unique sensors and vast knowledge and experience with portals I thought that you would be of great help to us.”

“Indeed! I would be delighted to, madam!” FredEx responded with a cheerful voice.

“Very well then. We have a team ready for departure and it would be a shame to let the project wait another day.” Tina instinctively reached for her coffee but stopped halfway and picked up her calendar instead.
“I’ll inform the others immediately and make preparations so come back tomorrow at noon and we will write history. Again!”

Part 2 - Preparation

In the control room a couple of technicians sat and watched numerous displays, monitoring the activity of the newly created portal. Despite the room being somewhat soundproof you could still hear the deafening roar of the heavy machinery in the portal room. Through the window FredEx could see several people in lab coats walking around the portal, getting readings from an array of equipment. He could also see a group of people dressed in field uniforms boringly trying to pass time.

Macintyre directed him to a set of monitors on one side of the room.
“As you can see here, the readings aren’t that clear but they indicate that the portal should lead to a dimension quite similar to our own. Usually we get better signals from portals but the recent fluctuations must be interfering with our sensors. We need to cross the event horizon to make sure of course.”
One of the technicians grunted and glowered at Tina.
“Yes Richard. I KNOW it’s not a bloody black hole, but ‘event horizon’ just sounds more dramatic”. Tina turned back to FredEx.
”So… Since the portal has been stable the last couple of hours, that team down there is ready to embark. But don’t worry; it’s a team of experienced soldiers and scientists that has been through many portals so they know what risks they are dealing with.”
“Yes. The readings and calculations look accurate” FredEx said approvingly. “But I would like to see the portal up close first.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll follow you there.”

Down by the portal FredEx asked the technicians to step aside to let him do some own readings. He kindly declined the equipment he was offered and said that it wasn’t necessary. He walked up to the portal, raised his arms and faced his palms towards it. For several minutes he stood like that, immovable and lifeless. Then he turned around and gestured Tina to follow him out to where the noise from the machinery wouldn’t drown normal conversation.
“I did several deep scans and they all came up with the same results.” He plugged himself into a data pad that he showed to her.
“So what’s your verdict?” Tina eagerly asked as she studied that data pad.
“I would say with 100 percent certainty that the portal is stable, but...”
“Perfect! I will give the signal to the team to go” Tina interrupted.
“BUT…” FredEx raised his voice. “There was something else.”

She gave him a worried look.
“Something else what?”
“That I do not know. Some kind of anomaly, but it shouldn’t be anything that would jeopardise the stability of the portal. Still, I have a suggestion. Tell your team to stand down and let me go instead.”
“No, I could never ask such a thing from you” she said with a soft voice.
“And so far you haven’t. I volunteer freely.” FredEx tried to imitate a gentle bow but only gave the impression of being about to fall over.

“You know it’s the most logic thing to do, madam. If something goes wrong and I get stranded somewhere, in one way or another I can get back. And I can create my own force field to shield myself when returning.”
Tina had nothing more to say since she knew that he was right.

“And we don’t want to repeat the incident from last time, now do we?” he bluntly said.
Tina closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.
“Ok, I will tell the team to stand down. And I’ll notify the board that there’s a change of plans. Are you ready to leave in an hour?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, ma’am!”

Part 3 - Destination

FredEx stood before the huge portal ready to step through it. A few of the technicians were doing some final preparations while the rest of the crew was standing around FredEx giving him praises and words of encouragement. Tina approached him.

“Take this. This locked used to belong to a dear friend of mine, Dory Gale. She gave it to me a long time ago when we both were still in school. Said it brought good luck. She was also one of the scientists who were lost in the accident, so I think she never should’ve given it away. Now I want you to have it.”

“There is no such thing as luck for an android; only accurate calculations. But I do appreciate the gesture.” FredEx accepted the necklace and put it in a small storage compartment in his right leg.
“I will return with more answers as soon as possible!”
FredEx saluted smartly, turned around and stepped into the portal.

The moment he stepped through he felt that something was terribly wrong. Without warning the wormhole started rupturing. He had only a split-millisecond to react. He couldn’t go back and if he stayed he’d be torn to atoms when the wormhole collapsed.
His own power source wasn’t enough to create inter-dimensional portals but since this one was already activated he might be able to at least keeping it up until he was through. He had no time to ponder. He had to try.
With a force of will he expanded the force field around him and diverted all power to focus the gravity to propel him through the tunnel. Every backup system screamed, but he couldn’t stop now. If he did he would most certainly cease to exist.

Then everything went black.

Part 4 - Presentation

The power had recharged a little bit but was still dangerously low. It had worked; He was still alive! He couldn’t tell how long he’d been out, since his internal clock had been reset and he had no idea of where he was. Still not able to move but he could at least get some sensors to function. He detected a slow moving wind and the temperature was mild. Some birds were singing far away.
His vision went online again. The sun shone brightly. He was standing in the middle of a corn field. There was no immediate danger nearby so FredEx decided to shut down to recharge some more.

FredEx woke up as the sensors picked up a life sign closing in. The clock told him that it’s been two days since he reactivated. The energy levels would be enough for him to move but far from being able to teleport or even raise a force field. He remained passive.
He saw a figure walking through the corn field towards him. It almost looked like one of the Lost, but he couldn’t really tell. Silently he continued observing the figure.

The man walked up to the stationary FredEx, circled around him and prodded him slightly with a stick.
After the man had completed a full circle around him FredEx decided to speak.
“Excuse me sir, but do you know the direction to the nearest city?”
The man was startled and jumped backwards.
“Tinman speaks!” he said with a slow voice.
“I do have a voice and physical appearance that somewhat resemble that of a human male, but I’m certainly not made of tin. It’s actually a dura-steel alloy with a density six times that of normal iron.” said FredEx with an explanatory voice.
The man blinked.
“Tinman speaks mystic language! But what are ya doin’ in my corn field?”
“I’m need a high-energy atomic reactor transformer. Do you know where I could find one?”
“Wuh?”
“Well, you can call it a H.E.A.R.T. It’s some kind of a nuclear battery-recharger.”
“Uhh. No. Never ‘eard of it. Pe’haps they know in Town.”
“And where might I find this town?”
“Ah’ can show you. Follow with me.”

The man wasn’t much of a conversationalist and every time FredEx asked something he instantly regretted that he did. FredEx did at least find out that the man was called Bud. Bud didn’t belong to the Lost that FredEx knew from back home, but his thoughts were surely lost.

The odd pair walked south for a few hours and finally FredEx could see buildings and streets in the distance. When approaching the city he saw that it wasn’t in a very good shape. It looked half deserted, there seemed to be no electricity and there were grass protruding here and there through the asphalt.
Suddenly it struck FredEx. He recognised the formations of the streets and some of the buildings. He had to recall some old memory files he’d archived several years ago. This was Baumton, before it went ‘boom’.
”My Creator, this is Paragon City!” FredEx bursted out.
”No... It’s Town.” Bud lazily replied.
FredEx was thrilled. Could this be a world untouched by Rikti?
“This is truly fascinating!”
“No, are you deaf? I said it’s Town!”
FredEx reminded himself once more to not think aloud in the presence of Bud and continued walking.

As they walked further into Town FredEx saw lots of people walking around doing this and that. One of them noticed the wanderers and yelled out:
“We have visitors! Go get the mayor!”

They were led to the centre of Town where lots of people had gathered. The masses parted and a middle-aged woman stood before them.
“Welcome to Baumton! I am the mayor around here and my name is Dorothea.”

Part 5 - Frustration

“Dorothea? As in Dory? Dory Gale?” FredEx asked.
The woman was stunned.
“How… How did you know that?”
“Hah! Then I have a gift to you!”
FredEx opened up a storage compartment in his right leg and then reached out his hand to her.
“I think this belongs to you.”
“My locket? Where the h… How did you… What?!?”
“I got it from a mutual friend of ours. Tina Macintyre! Perhaps it will give you your luck back.”
FredEx was so proud that he almost bursted. He had just completed his very first inter-dimensional delivery. That’s another merit to write on his résumé.
Dory lead FredEx inside a house near the town square.
“Come! We could talk more privately in here.”

FredEx explained his current situation and the task he’d been given by Tina. He also told Dory that they never stopped trying to look for her.
“Somehow I knew they wouldn’t! But the last few years I actually started to give up all hope of returning home. This is just… Wow… You have no idea how glad I am for hearing from Tina.” With shaking hands she poured a glass of strong spirits for herself.

“The moment we stepped through the gate something happened. I only heard a loud noise, someone pushed me and I fell and hit my head. When I woke up I found myself in this twisted version of home. I supposed everyone else had died in the event as I was all alone. Well, except the poor woman I had landed on. I must’ve fallen quite a bit, because my entire body was hurting and the woman was dead.”

Dory let out a short laugh.
“Then some people ran towards me, screaming and laughing, saying that I had liberated them from the evil Cabal witch that for a long time had plagued the town. They made me mayor and here I’ve been ever since.”

“Have you never tried to find a way back home?” FredEx asked inquiringly.
“I looked for a little while but gave up trying since there is no electricity around here anymore. The young people say that there never have been. Although some of the older ones talk about a mighty wizard to the south in the town called Brickston and that he one day stole all electricity and locked himself up in the great ziggurat. Perhaps he can help us.”

Of what FredEx had seen so far of Baumton, it was an exact copy of the one back home. Before he had helped Rikti to sabotage and blow up most of it that is. If the rest of Paragon City was the same it shouldn’t be too hard to navigate to Bricks-Town. His GPS didn’t work here but he still had a complete map of the entire city in his memory. Since FredEx still hadn’t power enough to teleport, the easiest way would be to take the bus south to Steel Canyon, then take the Green Line directly to Bricks-Town. And from there it couldn’t be more than a few minutes of walking.

As if Dory had read his mind she said:
“Sadly, since there is no power the production of gasoline stopped long before I came here, which means there isn’t a single car or bus that works. And without power we can’t take the train there either. Even if there were it wouldn’t help. The Green Line was destroyed a few years ago by some savages. The only thing that remains of the line is the station in Bricks-Town I’ve heard.”

FredEx thought for a second.
“Ok, then the easiest way would be to walk south until we reach the Yellow Line, then follow it through Steel Canyon, Galaxy City and finally Kings Row and then take aim for the emerald station of Brickston. That would lead us in the right direction.”
Dory was relieved.
“Thank God that you came! I can’t stand another day in this cursed hell hole! Let’s go immediately.” She took a bag and hastily packed some stuff into it.

Dory gathered the townsfolk yet again and spoke up.
“I left home a long time ago and could never get back home again. But this is an old friend from my home town and he knows the way there. I have never done anything around here really, so I know that you will manage quite perfectly without me. So this is it! Good bye, so long, fare well and ta ta!”

The people looked perplexed and didn’t say anything as they saw their old mayor leave town with the strange new visitor.

Bud rushed after them and asked vividly:
“Where are ya goin’?”
“We are going south along the Yellow Line to Bricks-Town.” Dory replied.
“Ah… Follow the yello’ brick road! Sounds like fun! Whas happn’s there?”
“Hopefully the wizard that lives there can help us finding a way home for us.”
“Perhaps he can give you a new brain too.” FedEx snapped.
“Really?!?”
“Yes, I’m quite sure of it. But if you are to follow, can you please walk a few meters behind us. And would you be so kind to not speak?”

((Sorry for the long dealy with finishing this story, but I've been a bit absent from the game and thus lost some inspiration. I've had the story in the back of my head all year and finally I've gotten new inspiration to complete it.

When reading it through again I found some things that I've corrected and changed. Sadly you cannot edit your posts after they've been posted so they have to remain like they are.
They're mostly just linguistical aesthetics, but one more obvious thing I changed is that the person called 'Bud' is from now instead called 'Hunk'.))

Part 6 - Confrontation

The trio walked for hours without encountering anything special. They saw some smaller groups of people living here and there, but other than that the activity was low all around. FredEx told Dory all about the Rikti wars and about what had happened in Paragon City after that. She was devastated by this and wondered what Pandora’s Box they had opened by experimenting with dimension portals.

Hunk had obeyed FredEx and thus hadn’t said a word since they left Baumton. This made FredEx react when he heard him speak.
“Ooh, apples!” Hunk said and started walking towards a small glade a bit away from the road.
FredEx turned around and saw Hunk reaching out for a red fruit.
“No, get away from there! That’s not an apple tree, that’s…”
A branch lashed out, grabbed Hunk by the arm and pulled him into the glade.
“…Devouring Earth!”

FredEx sighed. If he was fully recharged this wouldn’t be any problem, but now he had to do it the hard way.
“Dory, please stay here!” he said and hurried after Hunk. He tackled himself into the angry glade trying to dodge several branches thrashing around but managed to avoid none. Surrounded by angry trees lay Hunk who already had taken a few heavy blows. FredEx leaned over him, blocking the attacks with his own body.
“Are you injured, Sir?” he asked inquiringly.
“GE’ ME OUT OF ‘ERE!” Hunk cried.
“That is my intention, although I’m not quite sure of how at the moment.”

FredEx made several attempts to move out of the glade with Hunk but the angry trees countered every move, keeping them surrounded and still trying to smash them both to pieces. Hunk was safe at the moment but this sure wasn’t a permanent solution, FredEx thought. He managed to block most of their attacks with his back and they weren’t strong enough to break his dura-steel body, but eventually Hunk would starve.

Then suddenly they heard a loud roar followed by sounds of snapping wood and rustling noises of trees falling over. Within seconds the glade dispersed and the tree lashes over FredEx’s back stopped.
“You ok?” a deep, harsh voice asked.

FredEx looked up and saw a massive figure hulking over them. He was very surprised. They’ve just been saved by a Council War Wolf.
“Indeed we are!” FredEx replied. “We’re most grateful!”
“Aha!” said Hunk and picked up a red fruit that had landed beside him.
“Where did you come from? I didn’t see any more of your kind around here.” FredEx glanced cautiously around.
“Take easy. Zeke alone.” The Wolf hung with his head. “Council mock Zeke for scared of dark. Council no like Zeke. Zeke no like Council. Zeke left.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Again, thank you for helping us, but we have pressing matters to attend to!” FredEx bowed gently and turned back to the road where Dory stood with a still anxious expression.
“Hey!” Hunk uttered. “We’re takin’ the yello’ brick road to Em’rald City. The wizard is givin’ me a new brain! Pe’haps he can give you new curridge too!”
FredEx sighed. “It’s not a city, it’s just a train sta… Ah, never mind.” FredEx shook his head and beckoned Dory to continue walking again. Hunk and Zeke followed shortly after.

When they eventually came close to Brickstown they saw the massive ziggurat shaped old prison loom large at the horizon. There were several Crey soldiers patrolling the streets in the vicinity. FredEx was on guard for sudden moves or ambushes, but none of them seemed to take notice of the odd fellowship.

By the entrance to the ziggurat stood two security guards, looking rather bored. One of them held up a hand and told the approaching group to stop.
FredEx took a step forward. “Greetings! We seek guidance from the wise wizard that we’ve heard lives in here. Would it be possible to obtain an audience with him?”
“Hey! Can’t you read?” the guard asked.
“Read what?” Hunk said.
“The notice!”
“What notice?” Dory asked and looked for signs but couldn’t see any.
“Oh, darn. I forgot to write one. Well, the wizard doesn’t let anyone in. Especially not strangers like you.”
“I’m terribly sorry, but we’ve travelled a long way for this. Couldn’t you at least ask him?”
The guard grunted, leaned over and murmured into the intercom. When he heard the reply he got a displeased expression and turned back to the group.
“Ok, you may enter…”

When inside FredEx understood that in this dimension the ziggurat wasn’t used as a prison anymore. It was deserted and there were lots of cables all over the floor and along the walls. Down the main corridor they could hear a low humming. They followed the corridor towards the sound.

At the end of the long corridor a huge room opened up. The walls of the room were cluttered with machines, computers and lots of other obscure pieces of apparatus. When they stepped inside the room a huge glowing head with a visage that commanded respect appeared in the middle of the room.
“KNEEL BEFORE THE MIGHTY WIZARD OF ZIG!”

Part 7 - Emancipation

Hunk’s and Zeke’s jaws dropped by the sight of the imposing head and after a few seconds they realised what it had said and knelt.
“He really IS mighty!” Hunk said with a gasp.
Dory noticed a hologram projector on one wall then whispered to FredEx:
“Don’t they realise that it’s just a…”
“No.” FredEx interrupted.
“So the wizard is just a scam then.”
“Shush! Just play along and we’ll see what happens.” FredEx gestured Dory to follow the others. Dory knelt reluctantly.

“WHY HAVE YOU COME TO SEEK COUNCIL FROM THE OMNIPOTENT WIZARD OF ZIG?”

FredEx imitated a sound as if he had needed to clear his throat, and then spoke with a solemn voice:
“Greetings, O mighty supreme sorcerer of the high plains and ruler of weak minds! We’ve travelled from countries from afar and due to various mishaps we’ve been stranded here and cannot get home. We’ve heard that you might be able to help us so we simply came here to seek your help.”
“An’ a brain!” Hunk interjected.
“And curridge!” Zeke added.
“Oh, oh! An’ he needses a heart!” Hunk pointed at FredEx.
The huge head frowned.

“RIGHT… UHM… YES, I CAN HELP YOU! OF COURSE I CAN. BUT FIRST YOU MUST DO A TASK FOR ME TO PROVE YOUR WORTH!”

The wizard added a dramatic pause and awaited their reaction. Zeke yawned. Hunk blinked. The wizard continued.

“TO THE WEST OF HERE RESIDES THE WICKED WITCH CALLED ELMIRA. STEAL HER MAGIC BROOM AND GIVE IT TO ME AND I WILL GRANT YOU YOUR WISHES!”

“A broom? What do you need that for?” Dory asked.

“I’VE DICTATED THE TERMS. NOW LEAVE!”


Once more they were on the road.
“He never said exactly ‘where’ she lived.” Dory said. “But the only thing west of here are the Crey factories and the water works in Venice so she must be in one of those places, right?”
FredEx thought for a second. Since the Rikti never invaded this dimension there was never any fierce retaliation so Crey’s Folly was still called Venice here.
“I would guess you are correct, ma’am.” He looked at the dark factory buildings that lurched over the treetops far away. “But first we must get there.”

Suddenly they heard an increasing noise above them. When they looked up and saw some lithe winged figures flying toward them FredEx felt a shiver along his spinal circuits. Rikti monkeys! The Rikti were here after all! But the closer they came the more details he saw. They lacked the distinguished Rikti features. It was just normal monkeys. Except with wings, of course.

There were four of them and when they closed in they latched on to FredEx, one at each limb. Normally when someone tries to lift or throw FredEx he increases the gravitational pull underneath his feet, but these monkeys didn’t possess the combined strength to even budge him. They squirmed and grunted and flapped their wings like madly for almost a minute then gave up and flew away.

For several seconds the party just stood there giving each other confused looks. Then they all broke the silence:
“What did just happen?”
“Tha’ was strange…”
“Heh! Zeke think they want mate with legs.”
“Highly peculiar! I’m not quite sure, but I think that they wanted to lift and carry me somewhere.”
“Ah, yes!” Dory exclaimed! “I’ve heard that the witches sometimes alter their servants with magic so they can carry out their orders better. So if we follow them they’d probably lead us to her!”
The monkeys flew high above the treetops in a straight line towards the Crey factories so it was very easy to follow them. The fellowship increased the pace and continued moving west.

When they arrived at the factories it was very easy to spot which building that was their main residence. The gate to the main building was open and lead to something resembling a courtyard. There were four Council soldiers guarding the gates and several more were positioned on the walls. The soldiers made no signs of interfering or stopping them when they entered, but when they were in the middle of the courtyard they heard the sudden sound of the gate slamming shut behind them. Armed soldiers rushed out from the building and surrounded them quickly. Zeke's eyes darkened and his lips curled up into a snarl.

“The Mistress has had her eyes on you for quite a while now, Tinman!” a herald said. “And you better feel lucky. She wants something from you.” He beckoned FredEx to come closer. The surrounding soldiers made an opening for FredEx, leaving him outside the circle.
“But she has no interest in the rest of you, so prepare to meet your gods!” The soldiers readied their weapons and began to aim.
“But I don't believe in any gods...” Hunk whispered.
”Gods or no gods, I’ll tear ’em apart!” Zeke yelled and with a loud roar he lunged forward, landed on two soldiers, cut a soldier to his left open with his claws, grabbed a soldier to his right by the legs and used him as a club against another. FredEx had never seen such violent display of wrath before. Within seconds Zeke had almost worked his way through the entire group of soldiers before anyone else had even reacted.

Then suddenly a bolt of lightning hit Zeke in the chest with a loud crack, flung him against a wall and knocked him unconscious.
“ENOUGH! You're not allowed to treat my Winkie soldiers like that! Only I am.” Elmira stood in the doorway, panting furiously and with a long, sleek silver rod in her hand. More soldiers came running out from behind her. Some surrounded the party anew. Some started carrying away the wounded. They dragged Zeke back to the group and dropped him by the feet of the others.
“I've had my eyes on you for quite a while now, Tinman!” Elmira said and eyed FredEx up and down. FredEx glanced quickly at the herald then back to Elmira.
“Since you entered our world I’ve been watching you. Observing all your doings and trying to figure out your intentions.”
FredEx stood still and said nothing.
“Well…?” Elmira asked.
“Oh, you’re already done? I thought your monologue would be longer.”
Elmira narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
“My main intention is to get home, but that can apparently only be fulfilled through my secondary intention, which is to acquire your broomstick and give it to the Wizard.”
“Wizard? There are no male wiz…” She stopped in the middle of her sentence, thought for a second then grinned broadly. “Ha! Timothy you old coot. Ok, then I guess that my “broomstick” should be this one.” She admired the sleek rod in her hand. “Too bad that he will never get it back. He left it here when we… ‘liberated’ these factories from them a long long time ago. And now it’s all mine.”
“Don’t you think that he wants his factory back?” FredEx asked.
“Ha! I move for no man! These factories are mine now. Most of the scientists that used to reside here are dead now and Timothy alone has no power over me.” Elmira looked at FredEx again. “But back to what’s more important. Namely, me. As I said, you have something that I want. It’s something I’ve never seen here before. I demand you to give me your ruby shades!”
“Oh I’d love to, but I’m afraid I cannot. These glasses are tightly welded to my skull and to remove them you must more or less destroy my head, with a high risk of damaging the glasses too. I’ve grown quite fond of my head, so I would advice you not to perform this act. If you like the glasses that much you wouldn’t want to destroy them, would you?”

Elmira clenched her fists and bit her lip. “Then you shall die!” She raised the rod and pointed it towards FredEx. Dory and Hunk looked nervously at each other. Dory saw the hair on Elmira’s head rise as it got charged with static electricity. A bolt, similar to the one that knocked out Zeke, shot out with a crack and hit FredEx in the chest. FredEx didn’t budge. He just stood there, in an at ease position, looking totally unaffected by the bolt.

“WHAT?!?” Elmira shouted. “No one has ever resisted my lightning before!” She looked at FredEx, looked at her rod then looked at FredEx again.
What she didn’t know was that the bolt had made his sensory systems flicker and shut down from the overload of input and then forced his whole system to restart.
Elmira pointed the rod at FredEx again and with a face twisted by anger she let the rod scream once more. This time not with just a bolt, but with a continuous beam of electricity. The air crackled and several small electric arcs leapt out from FredEx to the ground. The soldiers backed away from him, as did Dory and Hunk. Dory noticed a gap in the circle of soldiers surrounding them and took her chance and sped through it. One of the soldiers noticed her but didn’t want to risk moving closer to FredEx and let her run.

Dory scanned the courtyard quickly and saw a water hose at one of the walls. “Perfect!” she thought. “It looks like she’s channelling the electricity through her own body so a dose of water could short-circuit her.”
She ran over to the hose, grabbed it and aimed at Elmira. She braced herself and turned the muzzle to max. The jet stream of water hit the witch full on. There was a big puff of smoke and a loud pop. Elmira dropped the rod and started screaming.
“NOOO!!!” She clenched her fists and looked down at herself. “Damn you! Have you any idea what happens to this dress if it gets wet? Winkies, grab her! And keep an eye on them all until I come back.” She turned and went back inside. Two soldiers walked up to Dory and dragged her back to the others.

FredEx activated again. A quick analysis of the situation told him that his friends were still here, Elmira was gone and the rod lay on the ground in front of him.
“How fortunate!” he thought and picked up the rod.
What also was fortunate was that the high dose of electricity had recharged his batteries somewhat. Not much, but just enough for him to activate his force field. He expanded it so Dory, Zeke and Hunk could fit inside. The soldiers looked nervously at each other.
“Ok then. We got what we came for. Are you ready to departure?” FredEx said with a cheerful voice.
Zeke got up on shaking knees. “Yeah. Zeke fine. Zeke just dizzy.”
“Stop right there! You cannot leave!” one soldier said and aimed his weapon at them.
“Oh, but I think we can.” Dory said as they started walking.
The soldiers opened fire but the bullets deflected from the force field. One tried to grab them but the force field pushed him aside just as easily. The party walked away with ease and the soldiers could do nothing but waiting for the punishment they’d get for letting the prisoners leave.
Hunk looked back over his shoulder as they walked away. “Tha’ was a bit easy, wasn’t it?”

Part 8 - Proclamation

When they arrived at the ziggurat this time the guards outside let them in without any comment. They stepped over some bundles of cables and walked down the corridor towards the humming sound once more. And like last time, when they entered the great room a huge head appeared in a flash of light before them. And also, like the last time, Zeke’s and Hunk’s jaws dropped in awe.

“WHY HAVE YOU COME TO SEEK COUNCIL FROM THE OMNIPOTENT WIZARD OF ZIG?”

“Oh come on! Please drop the charade already” Dory said. “We know that you’re just a normal guy with a hologram projector.”

“YOU DO? OH… OK THEN…”

The head vanished and they could hear mutterings from behind a curtain in one corner of the room. An elderly man dressed in a labcoat and a pair of glasses that were too big for him emerged.

“Heh… Hello there chaps!” He squinted at them. “Why are you here then?”
Dory stepped forward with the rod in her hands. “Please, sir. We've done what you told us. We brought you the so called “broomstick” from the Wicked Witch of the West. We met her! She was a rather grumpy old lady.”
“Oh, you liquidated her, eh? Very resourceful!” He rubbed his hands and grinned.
“No no. We ‘met’ her. We didn’t ‘melt’ her. That would be barbaric!”
“Ok ok. That’s good enough. I see that you atleast brought my stick with you. That’s splendid!” He walk up to them and grabbed the rod. With eyes full of love he admired the rod while he carressed it gently.

“Wha’ is tha’ thing?” Hunk asked.
“This? Oh, this is my own creation and master piece. It’s an Energy Focus Transmogrifier. I made it a long time ago and it was the center piece of the reactors that used to give power to the entire city. We had generators in those factories you saw. Then one day those witches came with their army and killed most of us. I managed to flee and barricade myself in this old prison. As much as it was built for keeping people inside, it was also made for keeping unwanted people from getting in. They could never touch me in here.”
“But you had soldiers yourself. Couldn’t you have defended yourselves or retaliated? Were you that frightened by them?” Dory asked.
“Frightened? You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe.” He raised his hands towards the ceiling and laughed, then lowered his voice and slouched. “Ok, they scared me quite a lot.”

“I built a new generator in here, but as I couldn’t build a new Energy Focus Transmogrifier I couldn’t get the generator to give power to more than just the ziggurat. That’s why people had to come to the “mighty wizard” whenever they needed help.” He held the rod up in the air. “But now with this I can give electricity back to the city. Power to the people! And more power to ME!” He laughed a manical laughter.

“Sir?” Dory asked cautiously.
“Umm… Yes?” The wizard became aware of his surroundings again.
“How about our rewards? You promised to help us, remember?”
“Oh, yes… That’s right. Of course I remember!” He pondered for a moment. “Just a moment. Wait here!” He took the rod and walk out of the room down another corridor. After a while they heard the humming sound increase in volume and the lights in the room started shining brighter. They heard a muffled but manical laughter through the hallway. A few minutes later the wizard returned with widened eyes and a broad grin.
“There… Where were we? Yes…”

The wizard walked up to Zeke and patted him on the shoulder. “You, my friend. You wanted courage. I watched you all through my flying sentry bots and I witnessed the ferocity with which you fought those soldiers. I may say that your courage is already far greater than any other war wolf I’ve seen. You know what? Now that this reactor is up and running again I’m afraid that there will be more attacks from the witches and others who don’t want me to be the rightful ruler of this place. Would you like to be my personal guard?”
Zeke straightened his back. “Zeke be honoured! Zeke wants!”

“As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don't know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.”
Dory frowned, looked at FredEx then back at the wizard again.
The Wizard continued. “A Heart is not judged by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others.”
“Excuse me, but it’s not a real heart that I need.” FredEx interrupted. “It’s a H.E.A.R.T. You know, a High-Energy Atomic Reactor Transformer.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. I know I have one of those here somewhere. I could plug it in now that the reactor is working.” He rummaged though his cluttered desks and found a foot-long box shaped device. “It’s a bit too heavy for me, but if you carry it to the socket over there you could easily plug it in yourself.”
FredEx picked up the device and walked over to the socket.

“And for you, young woman, I have an old thing that I’ve modified for your needs. You said you wanted to get home…” He picked up a remote control from a desk. “Just wait and see… There. Behold!”
He pressed a button on a remote control and the ceiling started to move with a rumbling noise. The roof opened up and showed a huge hot air balloon equipped with jet engines and lots of cannons and machineguns.
“Eh? What do you think?” he asked.
“Thanks, but I’m afraid that cannot take us where we are going.” Dory said.
“Who are you kidding? This lady can take you anywhere!”
“Can it go to another dimension?” she asked sarcastically.
“Haha! Of course not! No one can do that. Dimensional travel is pure fiction…” His jaw dropped. “Or isn’t it…?”
Dory pointed at FredEx. “He knows how.”

The wizard rushed up to FredEx with wild eyes and heavy breathing. “You must tell me! How do you do it?”
“The basic idea is very simple, but the mechanics behind is very complex. And even if I told you, you still lack the technology to manage something with it.”
“But you have that technology?”
“I have, yes.”
“Then give it to me! Or at least let me borrow it so I can make copies.”
“Sorry, but it’s built into my very core and isn’t something I can just give away.”
“Then let me examine you! Can’t I just open you up and take a look at you? I’m sure I could figure out how it works!”
“I’m terribly sorry, but since this world never had a any visitation by the Rikti you cannot possibly be qualified to work with Rikti technology.”
“What’s rikti?”
“My point exactly.” He gestured to Dory. “Come! It’s time.”
“Oh no you don’t! You can’t leave until I get what I want!” the wizard shouted. He turned around quickly and picked up an energy rifle from a table behind him and aimed at FredEx. “I DEMAND YOU TO GIVE IT TO ME!”

FredEx grabbed Dory around the waist and raised his force field. Dory held him tightly, closed her eyes and pressed her head to his chest.
“Thank you for your assistance, Sir! And thanks for all your help too, my friends!” He nodded to the others. “But this is farewell. Take care!” Then they vanished with a soft sighing sound of air filling the space they just inhabited.

The ground disappeared under Dory’s feet and her stomach felt like going down the initial slope on a roller coaster. For several seconds she heard crackling noises all around but didn’t dare opening her eyes. Suddenly the feeling of falling down stopped and everything went silent. She still kept her eyes closed, afraid of what she otherwise might see. The silence was broken by the soft voice of FredEx.
“Dorothea. You’re home…”