Phoenix

‘Is that Bazooka?’ gasped Frollix. ‘But . . . how?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Lucky. ‘I found a feather in the wreckage of the wheel. I put it in my pocket – and somehow, from that one feather, she came back.’

  ‘Of course!’ said Bixa. ‘That’s what phoenixes do: they’re immortal. They always rise again from the flames.’

  ‘Bazooka?’ said Frollix again.

  The little phoenix looked at the huge Axxa – and her feathers glowed even brighter. She gazed eagerly into Frollix’s eyes. ‘Ba – Baaa?’ she chirped.

  Frollix shook his great head sadly. ‘I’m sorry, Bazooka,’ he said. ‘The Prof’s not coming back. He’s gone.’

  ‘Ba-zooo?’ she asked, reaching out her beak to him, as if she wanted to hop over and perch on his shoulder.

  Frollix turned away, and stared into the gloom. He couldn’t look at her any more. ‘No. I – I can’t. I ain’t your master, Bazooka.’

  ‘Ba-zooo-kaaaaa!’ She shuddered, and huddled on Lucky’s shoulder.

  But illuminated now by the light of the phoenix, Mystica blinked, and opened her eyes. She was conscious once more. She turned, and saw Captain Nox beside her on the icy ground. ‘Oh, my dearest . . .’ she whispered, as she took him in her arms and held him tightly. ‘What has become of Ozymandias?’ she said, in a weak voice. ‘Where are we?’

  They told her everything that had happened. ‘I – I’m so sorry,’ said Lucky. ‘It’s all my fault. I should never have brought us here.’

  Bixa Quicksilver shook her head, eyes glowing with determination as she gazed at the reborn phoenix. ‘No,’ she said. ‘If we hadn’t come here, we would never have learned the truth about the galaxy. We know about the Wolf and the Starburner and the Spacewall – we know secrets now that no one else knows. And we have a shot at fixing it. If we can get King Theobroma to make peace, like Major Dashwood said, then we can still save Aquarius. With a single word, the King could start peace talks with President Thorntree, and then they’d have to stop killing the stars. And you know what? I reckon he’s right here on Charon. This is their secret base, after all.’

  ‘But why would the King make peace now, when he never has before?’ said Frollix.

  ‘Because of Lucky! He’s the key. If we can just get him to see Lucky—’

  ‘What?’ said Lucky. ‘Why?’ The idea of seeing the Axxa King scared him senseless.

  ‘Because if Mystica’s right, and you really are an Astraeus – then you’re the proof we need. Your power proves the stars don’t want us to make war on Humans. Why else would an Astraeus come down in a Human body?’

  Frollix scratched his horns, taking in her words. ‘You think Lucky’s an Astraeus?’ He peered into Lucky’s eyes. His gaze seemed to reach right into Lucky’s mind. ‘Huh!’ he said. ‘He could be; it’d make sense. But which Astraeus?’

  Lucky gaped at him. ‘Frollix! Not you too – I can’t believe you’re saying that!’

  ‘Even if you’re not an Astraeus,’ argued Bixa, ‘why would the stars give power like that to a Human? There’s no way they want us to fight the Humans! If we can just get the King to see your power, then he’ll see the truth and stop the War – and Mystica will live . . .’

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Mystica. She shivered, and then coughed violently: great hacking coughs that tore her apart from inside. ‘But how do you propose to put this to the King, Bixa? They will not listen to you. Look around you. There is no escape from these caves. Even if you did somehow find a way out – you would only freeze to death on the surface. To say nothing of the army that guards us.’

  ‘I’ll find a way,’ said Bixa, in a low voice. She kicked the icy ground with a hoof. ‘I’ll break us out of here. I’ll fight every last one of them if I have to.’

  ‘These are the people who took Joxi and Jonathan from us,’ said Mystica quietly. ‘What hope have you against people like that?’

  Bixa closed her eyes. Bit her lip. She couldn’t reply. The only sound was water, dripping in the distance.

  Lucky didn’t like her plan. He didn’t want to be the key to it. He didn’t want to be the key to anything.

  But . . . he could still hear the stars, crying in space. It broke his heart to hear them, and it broke his heart to watch Mystica die. He wished the real Astraeus would show up! They could save Aquarius, save Mystica, save the galaxy – but where were they?

  He had to face the truth.

  They weren’t coming to save the day. No one else was going to save Lucky and his friends. They were alone, with only what they had inside them to fall back on.

  And so – though he hated to admit it – there was only one conclusion here.

  He cleared his throat. ‘Uh – I think Bixa’s right,’ he said. ‘Not about me being an Astraeus! But about us breaking out of here, and getting the King to make peace.’

  They all stared at him.

  ‘She’s right,’ he repeated. ‘I can feel it: the stars are going to die if this war doesn’t end soon. We’ve got to act fast if we’re going to save them. We’ve got to act now.’

  ‘But how?’ said Frollix, in a small voice. ‘Mystica’s right. It’s impossible.’

  ‘I know it looks kind of hopeless,’ Lucky admitted. ‘I know we don’t have a ship, or weapons, or anything. But we’ve got to try. Even if we fail, we’ve got to try. See, I’ve been Bixa’s training partner all the way here. If she thinks she’s got a chance, then I believe she can do it. She can fight her way out of this horrible place – and I’ll back her up, all the way.’

  ‘Baaa-zoookie!’ chirruped the glowing phoenix on his shoulder. He turned to look at her, and her new light gave him courage he didn’t know he had. For if Bazooka had survived, after all – then perhaps he might too, despite Gala’s prophecies.

  And so he took a deep, deep breath, steeled himself, and said the words he’d sworn never to say again. ‘I – I’ll even use my power, if I have to. I’ll do it, just this once.’ He turned to Bixa and shrugged. ‘After all, what’s the point of power if you don’t use it to save the people you love?’

  Bixa grinned. ‘Yes!’ she said. ‘Thank you, Lucky!’ She turned to Mystica. ‘See, we have a chance. Two of us, now. What do you say?’

  Mystica looked at the Captain, in her arms. ‘I’m sorry, Bixa. I don’t like your plan. It’s far too dangerous. And I don’t believe the Captain would like it, either.’

  Bixa leaned in to Captain Nox, curled up on the frozen ground. She took hold of his hand and looked into his eyes: those burned-out, empty eyes, reflecting the terrible Nothing he must have seen. ‘Captain?’ she said softly. ‘Can you hear me?’

  And as she spoke to him, as she held him, as Bazooka glowed above them all – the Captain blinked. A spark of fire flickered in his eyes. Just a tiny spark, like the faintest ember of volcanic lava in a mountain of cold, dark ash.

  ‘Captain?’ said Bixa again.

  He looked at her, as if from a million miles away, and then a single word passed his lips: ‘You . . .’

  Bixa stared at him in shock. ‘Captain?’

  He shuddered, but that tiny spark of light was still there, at the back of his eyes. ‘You . . . matter . . .’ croaked the Captain. The spark of fire flickered a little brighter. It was growing, catching light, in spite of the darkness all around it.

  ‘Keep doing it, Bixa!’ said Lucky. ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!’

  What is she doing? he wondered. How is she bringing him back? Is there something that cures the Living Death? Something that protects against it?

  Whatever the answer, Captain Nox was looking more like his old self every moment.

  ‘Oh, my dearest!’ cried Mystica, embracing him. ‘You’re coming back!’

  ‘Captain, we’re gonna get you out of here,’ said Bixa, her eyes glowing with hope. ‘We’re gonna fight our way out, and you’re gonna be OK—’

  ‘No,’ groaned Nox. Focus gradually returned to his eyes, and clarity came back to his words. ‘No violence.
Because . . . you matter, Bixa. You and Frollix.’ He sat up shakily. ‘I want you to be safe. To be Startalkers one day, like Mystica.’

  ‘But I can’t be like Mystica,’ said Bixa. ‘The Professor told me there were many ways of being a Startalker. Well, my way is to fight for what I believe in.’

  Mystica looked at her, and shook her head. ‘That is not the way, Bixa.’

  ‘It’s my way. And as long as there are people trying to kill us, it always will be.’

  ‘Bixa,’ said the Captain, horns glinting in the cold blue light. ‘Enough foolishness. I am ordering you: no violence!’

  Bixa shut her eyes. Very slowly, she shook her head. ‘I – I’m sorry. I owe you both my life. I’ve always done what you wanted. But this time I can’t. I just can’t.’ She opened her eyes again, and met the Captain’s gaze. ‘I don’t want to do this – but if those are really your orders, then I’ve got to disobey them.’

  The Captain stared at her. ‘You cannot beat them, Bixa,’ he said. ‘They’re too strong for you. They’re—’

  ‘They’re not,’ she said. ‘They’re not.’ The fire in her eyes rose up, strong and silver and totally alive. ‘I’ve had enough of letting them do whatever they want to us. We are getting out of here, and I am getting us out, and you’re all coming with me!’

  This time, the Captain and Mystica could not reply. They sat there speechless, staring at their grand-daughter.

  ‘Good,’ said Bixa. ‘The decision’s made.’ She turned to her brother. ‘Frollix, I need your help. Someone has to carry them out of here; they can’t make it on their own. Can you do it?’

  Frollix grinned. ‘Course I can! I’ll be right behind you!’ He turned to Mystica and Nox. ‘Don’t worry,’ he told them. ‘I’ll take care of you, I promise.’

  And out of the shadows now came a man with a moustache, in a tattered starship commander’s uniform. ‘Forgive me,’ said Major Dashwood. ‘I couldn’t help overhearing. I can help you escape. I have a little experience of combat – if you’ll accept the help of a former Shadow Guard?’

  ‘We’ll take all the help we can get,’ said Bixa. She looked at the solid steel door, the ice-encrusted rock walls, the vidcams rotating on the ceiling – and breathed in sharply, like someone who was surprised to finally get what she wanted, and now wasn’t sure she wanted it after all. But then she clenched her fists, and turned to Lucky. ‘Right. That back-up you mentioned? You ready to go find the King, and beat some sense into his stupid head?’

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Bixa’s needles bristled from her hair again: defiant, proud, unbeaten and unbowed.

  ‘OK,’ she said. ‘First thing we gotta do is lose these electrocuffs. So, Lucky, if you could just pass me the purple needle from my hair, that’d be a nice start.’

  ‘Um – OK – but—’

  ‘See that vidcam up there?’ She pointed at it, whirring on the ceiling, way out of reach. ‘I’ve been counting. It’s on a fifteen-second rotation. We’re wasting time talking. Very soon, it’ll be back on us, and they’ll see my needles, and that’ll be the end of this escape.’

  She was right: the vidcam was already swinging back towards them. Lucky could see the purple needle glowing in Bixa’s nest of hair. But his own hands were bound in electrocuffs, too.

  ‘How, Bixa? I can’t reach it.’

  ‘Use your teeth!’ she urged. ‘Use anything – just do it!’

  The vidcam was coming. He leaned in close to Bixa, and brought his mouth next to her glinting needles. He hesitated there; he’d seen how powerful they could be, and wasn’t sure he wanted one in his mouth.

  ‘Ten seconds to go,’ snapped Bixa. ‘Nine! Eight! Seven!’

  It was now or never. Lucky opened his mouth, took the purple needle between his teeth, and pulled very, very carefully. The needle vibrated a little – but the sensation wasn’t unpleasant. It eased out of her hair – one inch, two inches; but there was more, still more – the shaft was longer than he’d imagined – so he kept pulling, as gently as he could – until finally, it came all the way out.

  Whew. He looked at her, the purple needle between his teeth. There could only be five seconds left – four – three . . .

  ‘Give it to me,’ said Bixa. She opened her palm. He dropped the needle in, and her fingers closed around it. She flipped it over so its tip was pointing at the electrocuff – and at once, it began to glow a deep violet colour. There was a buzz, the sound of something electrical crackling – and Bixa wriggled free of the cuffs.

  She turned to the vidcam, which was now less than a second away, and unleashed another needle. It arced towards the vidcam and hit its electronic eye dead centre, shattering it just in time.

  ‘My goodness!’ exclaimed Major Dashwood. There was hope on his face now; he stood straighter and taller. ‘That was . . . quite remarkable.’

  ‘That was the easy part,’ said Bixa. She was already busy freeing Lucky and her family. ‘Now the real problems begin.’ She went up to the door and examined it. ‘This is solid steel. Must be a foot thick, at least. There are deadbolts – here, here and here . . .’ Her face fell. ‘I don’t think I can take this out.’

  The Major joined her by the door. ‘Everything has a weakness,’ he said. He ran his fingers over the icy rock face by the edge of the door. ‘Aha. See here? Meltwater has been dripping down this wall. It’s been doing it for countless years: melting and dripping and freezing again . . . and in all that time, I do believe it has eroded the rock, just a little. It has weakened it. Do you see?’

  Bixa looked closely at where he was pointing: right by the edge of the door, where it met the wall. There was the tiniest crack there, almost invisible but for the droplets of water dripping down it.

  ‘If you hit that spot with sufficient explosive force,’ suggested Major Dashwood, ‘I think you may just be able to do it.’

  ‘OK, I’m gonna try,’ said Bixa. ‘Stand back, everyone. There are sentries outside that door. They’re Axxa army troopers, and they’re armed to the teeth.’ She hesitated on the threshold. ‘We have to take out every single one of them, straight away. If we don’t, we’re finished, right here . . .’

  ‘But we will,’ said Major Dashwood. He rolled up his tattered sleeves. ‘Have no fear, young lady. You are not alone.’

  Bixa looked at the door with grim determination, and shaped up to fight. Beside her, Lucky brought to mind everything he’d learned from her about Astral Martial Arts.

  ‘Ready?’ said Bixa, checking they were all in position. Then she leaned away, and fired a needle at the edge of the door, where Major Dashwood had found the crack.

  SHA-BLAMMMM!!!

  There was a huge explosion. Hot metal flew through the air. Emergency lights on the ceiling started to flash. Alarms began to howl.

  Bixa kicked down what remained of the door.

  There were troopers on the other side. Five huge Axxa troopers with cannon in their hands. They were off-balance from the explosion, but recovering fast. They raised their cannon – aimed –

  – and Bixa was upon them. They were so much bigger than her, yet she took on two of them, all on her own: fists smashing out, hooves kicking with perfect precision.

  Major Dashwood fell upon two more, wrestling with them under the flashing lights.

  Lucky charged at the last trooper, head down, hoping to take him by surprise. But the man was much stronger than him. He turned Lucky aside, and slammed him into the wall.

  OOOF!!!

  Lucky sank to the floor. He looked up to see the trooper aiming his cannon. Squeezing the trigger. A shot went off –

  – but not before Major Dashwood had somehow got between them. Hollering a bloodcurdling war cry, he seized the trooper by the collar, and launched his own head forward. Their skulls connected with a sickening crack – and then the trooper was on the floor, unconscious. Dashwood had felled him with a single massive head-butt.

  ‘Aries the Ram!’ he roared in triumph, as he helped Luck
y up. ‘Your mother taught me that one!’

  Behind him lay the first two troopers he’d fought; he’d knocked them both out, too. Meanwhile, Bixa had dispatched the other two. Confidence flooded into her; she seemed to grow in stature.

  ‘We did it!’ she said. ‘We beat five of them! They’re just people, like anyone else.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Major Dashwood. ‘And you are an extraordinary warrior; perhaps the best I’ve ever seen. You can do this, you really – unnnh!’ He groaned with pain and doubled up, clutching his side with both hands.

  Bixa frowned at him. The flashing red lights cast dark shadows all around. ‘You OK, Shadow Guard?’ she asked.

  The Major shook his head. A thin stream of blood began to trickle out from between his fingers. Lucky’s insides felt raw as he saw it.

  ‘What – what happened to him?’ said Bixa.

  ‘He saved me,’ said Lucky. ‘He took the shot . . .’

  Major Dashwood straightened up, a grim look in his eyes. ‘No one has saved anyone just yet, I’m afraid.’ He glanced at the howling alarms. ‘That explosion hasn’t gone unnoticed. There’ll be more of them coming, any moment.’ He hefted one of the sentries’ cannon in his hands, and his jaw set with determination. ‘I’ll make sure they don’t catch you. You must get to the King, and persuade him to make peace. It’s the only hope.’

  ‘But you’ve got to come with us!’ said Lucky. ‘We need you—’

  ‘No. You didn’t before, and you don’t now.’ Dashwood touched his side again. His fingers came away wet. ‘I – I can’t go any farther. But I can keep you covered, and buy you a little time.’

  ‘He’s right,’ said Bixa. ‘Come on. We have to get out of here.’

  She scooped up the cannon the troopers had dropped. She kept two for herself, and tossed a third at Lucky. He caught it awkwardly, almost discharging it by mistake.

  ‘But I don’t know how to use this!’ he protested.

  ‘I don’t want you to use it!’ said Bixa. ‘Just carry it for me till I need it.’ She crept round the corner, to check that the way forward was clear.