Monster War

The Queen of Nightmares continued. “As all good schoolchildren know, there are not just two elements - there are four. I’d now like to introduce you to Air.”

With a flick of her bottom right hand, the air on either side of her began to spin violently.

“And Water.”

With the slightest of gestures from her top left hand, the water in the Pulitzer Fountain at the southern end of Central Park shot upwards, twisting and churning, until it split to create two gigantic spouts, each thirty metres high. The enormous columns of water and air expanded and reshaped themselves until they formed entirely new Golems, huge and terrible. Their existence was impossible, and yet, there they were.

The two violently spinning Water Golems sailed back to the shell on a giant wave that would have doomed even the most experienced surfer, while the two Air Golems - looking for all the world like living tornadoes - settled down on either side of their fellows to create a line of eight Golems, two of each kind.

Brooke stared at them in dismay. “Even if we destroyed all the regular monsters of the Nether, the Fifth could just create more of these things!”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah. And we don’t even know if she can be killed. I mean, not even a missile strike could take her out.”

“Oh, you’ll kill her,” Theodore said, arms crossed. “Definitely.”

“How?”

“Well, how am I supposed to know? I’m sure you’ll figure something out. I mean, that’s what you do, isn’t it? You’re good like that.” He clapped Charlie on the back.

Before Charlie could reply, the Queen of Nightmares lowered her arms and said, “Delicious people of Earth, the time for talking is over. Now is the time for dying.” She turned to the Elemental Golems. “Attack, my beautiful babies.”

As if turned on by a switch, the eight horrific creatures headed out of Central Park and into the city beyond. The military personnel that ringed the park held their ground and fired upon the rampaging monsters, but their bullets passed right through the Air, Water and Fire Golems and bounced off the Earth Golems like grains of sand off steel.

One of the Earth Golems shattered the large glass cube above the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue with a gigantic stone fist, followed instantly by a Water Golem that flooded down into the exposed complex beneath. A Fire Golem breathed lava on the nearby FAO Schwartz Toy Store, while an Air Golem rocketed high into the air and crashed down into Times Square, sucking soldiers into its deadly, whirling funnel.

As the Golems wreaked their destruction, Nethercreatures swarmed up from the sewers and down from the skies to attack the fleeing, panicked people. Dangeroos stuffed some of them into their stinking pouches while Hags descended, cackling, from the smoke-darkened sky to carry off others in a swirl of filthy hair and tattered ballgowns.

“What do we do?” Brooke screamed as they watched the devastation from their vantage point atop the Plaza Hotel.

Charlie shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Nothing!” Theodore shouted. “What kind of an answer is that? Come on - let’s go spank these bad boys! Use some of those sweet Double-Threat moves you’ve been working on!”

Charlie pointed towards a purple flash far below. It was a portal created by a Nethermancer, who leaped through, followed by a mace-wielding Banisher. “They don’t need us. The Nightmare Division is already sending in the troops. In fact, there’s your dad—”

Charlie nodded down the street to a black-clad Banisher swinging a two-handed sword at a Silvertongue.

“OK, great!” Theodore shouted. “My dad’s here! The cavalry has arrived! Woo-hoo! Now let’s go and help out!”

“We don’t have time. There’s something much more important that we have to do first. We’ve got to—”

“CHARLIE BENJAMIN.”

Charlie looked down to see the Queen of Nightmares standing in front of the giant nautilus shell. She smiled as her voice boomed across the city. “People are dying around you by the hundreds. Will you save them? Or are you afraid?”

“I’m not afraid,” Charlie replied. “But getting rid of your ‘babies’,” he gestured to a Fire Golem that was climbing the Empire State Building, turning everything it touched into molten slag, “isn’t going to solve anything. I don’t need to stop them, I need to stop you - or you’ll just keep making more of them.”

“Very true. There’s a whole world out there to destroy - a monster’s playground - and my beautiful babies will soon rule it all.”

“Every playground has bullies and every bully has a weakness. We’ll soon find yours.”

The Queen of Nightmares’ laughter pealed across the skyscrapers, shattering glass. “Of course you will, Charlie Benjamin. Of course you will.”

With that, she walked inside her pearly lair and was gone.

“OK,” Brooke said. “Nice creepy confrontation with the most deadly boss of the Nether. Now how were you planning on killing her exactly?”

“No idea,” Charlie replied. Unfortunately, that was true.

“There you are!” a familiar voice suddenly roared from somewhere high above. Charlie looked up to see a portal hovering in the air over the nautilus shell in the park. It was so far away that he struggled to recognise the person looking through it - until he noticed the weathered cowboy hat the man wore.

“Rex!”

The cowboy smiled. “We been lookin’ all over for you, kid. Shoulda’ known we’d find you exactly where you’re not supposed to be - messin’ around with Miss Mega-Monster.”

“I’ve got a lot of questions for you!”

“And I probably got answers for some of them, which is why you need to come see us! Portal over and do it quick - me and Tabby gotta get back to the Headmaster pronto.”

He turned to go, heading into the bluish landscape of the Nether.

“Wait!” Charlie yelled. “Where are you guys?”

“Well, I don’t exactly wanna shout out our super-secret location in front of the lair of the Fifth - but here’s a little hint…” Rex leaned back and threw something towards Charlie. The small object sailed through the air, glittering as it spun. “See ya soon, kid!” the cowboy shouted as the portal began to snap closed. “And hurry!”

Charlie leaped forward to catch the baseball-sized ‘hint’ that Rex had thrown.

“Well?” Theodore asked, leaning in. “What is it?”

Charlie showed them. It was a snow globe, and the plastic snow inside seemed to be swirling around a familiar-looking building.

“Isn’t that Buckingham Palace?” Violet asked.

Charlie nodded. “Looks like it. Hey, Theo - think you can whip us up a portal to take us there?”

“Can I whip you up a portal?” Theodore echoed with a snort. “Hello? This is Theodore ‘Portal’ Dagget you’re talking to - I whip up portals like pastry chefs whip up soufflés! One delicious, nutritious portal coming right up!” He closed his eyes and began to focus on his core fear.

As he did, Charlie looked out across the city to see many other portals popping into existence like embers from a windswept campfire - the Nightmare Division was clearly sending in the troops. Suddenly, a blue axe flashed in front of him, followed by two large, mosquito-like creatures that thudded to the roof, dead. Charlie recognised the beasts almost immediately - Bloodsuckers. They speared you with their long, sharp noses and sucked you dry, like a juice box.

“Thanks!” Charlie said, turning to Violet, who was wielding her axe. “I was sort of drifting and I didn’t even see—”

But Violet wasn’t listening to him. A cloud of Bloodsuckers boiled down towards them from the smoky sky and, as each one arrived, she chopped it up without thought or pity. Charlie loved to watch Violet Banish - a calmness descended over her as she moved with an almost machine-like precision: elegant, exact and lethal.

“How’s that portal coming?” Brooke asked, turning to Theodore. “No hurry, as long as you don’t mind getting carried off by giant mosquitoes or spending some close, personal alone time with Mr Tornado.”

She pointed to an Air Golem as it spun towards them from the destruction it had wreaked in Times Square. Its eyes were like twin hurricanes.

“Ye of little faith,” Theodore replied.