INTO THE BLACK

“You first,” said Abe.

“Fine,” Justice replied as he tied his rope to the end of a row of poker machines and approached the crater. Gently, he began to abseil down.

“It's safe,” he called back to the others once he'd reached the ground. “Get down here.”

“I guess we're just lucky Atlantis had a sports supply megastore,” Google said as he checked his harness a couple of times before beginning his descent.

Abe looked around the now deserted games floor and briefly considered heading to one of the empty bars instead. Then, deciding there was safety in numbers, even if those numbers were at the bottom of an ominous crater, he made his way down.

At the bottom of the dark cavern there was a small altar were a podium rested.

“It looks exactly like the one on Super-Sunny-Happy-Bright-Fun Land,” Google said.

“Only without the Trinity key,” added Abe.

Before this could sink in, a flickering, robed figure appeared at the end of the cavern and slowly approached them. The figure stopped before them, then dramatically lowered the hood from its robe.

“Mykur!” snarled Google.

“That's Prince Mykur to you, Google. You'll find it's wise not to anger me.”

“What's going on?” Justice said.

“What have you done with your hair?” Mykur replied. “You've got sort of a wet thing going on. Doesn't suit you.”

“Evil bastard,” muttered Justice.

“You're alive for one reason. You have the first piece of the Trinity Key, I have the second. You need both pieces to get the third.”

“We'll never give you our piece!” Google said.

“Oh, I think you will. You see, by entering the cavern you triggered my security system. Right now, there's a massive planet destroyer heading your way. So, a piece of the key in return for your lives seems as good a deal as you're likely to get.”

“How do we know we can we trust you?” Abe asked.

“Quiet monkey, humans are talking here,” Mykur replied. “Go get drunk like the rest of your failed kind.”

Abe slunk back behind the others.

“You have one hour to make your decision. By then the destroyer will be in place.”

The hologram flickered off.

#

“I can't believe I'm going to die on the same damn planet I was born,” Jupiter said as he kicked some stones near the wall of rocks that blocked their exit.

“You give up way too easily,” Liberty said sternly as she fired some shots from her blaster into the wall to no effect.

“Maybe I just know when to quit.”

“No, you simply quit whenever things get difficult - like how you ran out on Belle. Well toughen up! We're not dead yet.”

“You know nothing about Belle and me! You wouldn't have the first clue,” Jupiter snapped back.

Liberty slumped down against a wall, tilting her head back against it.

“Maybe I don't. Maybe that's why I'm jealous of it,” Liberty said softly, almost to herself.

“Jealous?”

“The academy, they discourage emotional attachments. You can't afford to trust anyone – doing so can get you or your charge killed. It's too big a weakness: your loved ones can be used against you; they can betray you. It's drilled into you so many times you can't not believe it. And they're probably right – but right now, I know something. It's no way to live. So, yeah, if we are going to die here, I'm jealous. At least you've been in love. At least you have the memories. There's a reason they say it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”

Jupiter turned around to face her.

“Well then they're moronic idiots who've never been in love! Trust me, I should be the one envying you. The academy got it right: when it comes down to it, it's just you and you alone. You're the only thing you can count on.”

Liberty watched Jupiter silently before deciding to push the issue, “What happened with you and Belle? You went to Soulmates Inc. the day before the wedding, didn't you?”

Jupiter couldn't hide his surprise any better than you could hide a combover in zero-g.

“How'd you...?”

“I put some pieces together after talking to Belle. She mentioned she always wanted lots of kids – but for that you'd need a golden marriage. It's not cheap, but at the time you'd just found Uwe Bolle's Oscar. That would've been enough to pay for a Soulmates Inc. compatibility test before the wedding. What I can't work out is: what exactly happened next? You scored so low that you got cold feet? She wasn't your soulmate?”

“Soulmates,” Jupiter scoffed, bitterness coating the word. “The concept sounds so sweet, so innocent... so harmless. And then you meet her and she's your everything. Your world. Somehow in a dark galaxy it all makes sense. Your life makes sense. You suspect some greater purpose in it all – that the universe plays to some wonderful symphony and if you listen close enough you can be one of the lucky few that gets to hear it. The greatest tune ever created playing to all five senses. Just looking at her... you could watch her for a millenium and not get bored.”

He slumped down to the ground, next to Liberty.

“And then you learn the truth. She might be your soulmate, but you ain't hers. And just like that, your entire world is gone. You're alone. No purpose. No tune. Nothing. So spare me your romanticisms about how it's better to have loved and lost.”

Liberty sat quietly not sure what to say. The only sound came from Billy, softly breathing in and out as he slept soundly. Finally Liberty found her voice.

“Harvard's surname is also Black... They got the tests mixed up, didn't they?”

Jupiter's face told her she'd guessed right.

“Their compatibility rating was off the charts: 99+. One of the highest scores ever recorded. The company apologised for the mistake, of course, and did a reading for Belle and me. 91.”

“That's still amazingly high. It's like a trillion to one getting a score that high.”

“Might as well be zero. I loved Belle with all my heart. All my heart – but that's not enough is it? If someone could make her happier... how could I go on knowing that?”

“So you set things up in such a way that they were sure to meet. So that she'd fall in love with him instead.”

“Maybe. I don't know. I think part of me still hoped they wouldn't fall in love. That the test would be proven wrong. It didn't work out that way, though.”

Liberty got up from her seat, pacing back and forward.

“But you could've fought for her. You just gave up – you never let Belle have a say in things. Numbers are just numbers. If she loved you, surely that's all that matters.”

Jupiter looked down at the ground, picked up a couple of stones.

“She never loved me the way she loves him. The way she looks at him. He's her world – the same way she was mine. I only watched from a distance, but I could see it clearly enough.”

He rolled a stone along the ground and smiled a smile that didn't match the sadness in his eyes.

“It's twisted. I love seeing her happy. So seeing her with him, it actually lifts me up at the same time it breaks me apart.”

“You must hate him.”

Jupiter shook his head slowly.

“You're still not getting it, Lib. I get why she loves him. He's incredible - better than me in every way. She deserves him. Heck, I could just about turn arty for him. There's no bad guy; there's no villain in this. Sometimes the universe just deals you a bad hand.”

“Why are we telling each other all this? Are we actually... starting to trust each other?”

“Nah, I think the army must've started their interrogations. It's probably Veritas gas wafting down to us.”

Liberty laughed.

“You're probably right...” she put her hand to her head, a sudden realisation hitting her. “My god, that's it! I've never really trusted anyone – not even you. Quick! Take off your clothes.”

#

Abe sat at the bar pouring himself another scotch as Google watched on.

“Will you stop drinking? We need to think of a way out of this.”

“We're stuck at the bottom of the ocean, being stalked by a dinosaur shark, have no ship in which to escape and if somehow we did escape, we'll still probably be blown to pieces by a warship that's out there waiting for us,” Abe replied dryly.

“When you say it like, it does sound rather grim, doesn't it?” Google admitted.

Justice entered the bar looking defeated. Google turned in his direction.

“No luck?”

“Afraid not. The latest news is that we now have a death order on our heads. No sane person in the galaxy would dare attempt a rescue mission.”

“What about Jupiter and Liberty?” Google asked.

“No word from them.”

“So let's just give Mykur the key,” Abe slurred.

“And let him destroy the galaxy? I'd sooner die,” Google said.

“You sooner will,” Abe replied.

“You're not helping Abe,” Justice snapped.

“Well what do you want from me!? I know what you think - that I'm just a dumb ape! Well guess what!? You're right! I couldn't even write one damn line of shakespeare to save myself!”

Abe grabbed his glass of scotch and made his way to the other side of the bar away from Justice and Google.

Google stood up, ready to chase after him, but Justice put a hand on his arm.

“Let him go. We can't waste time arguing. We need to work out a plan.”

“I know – that's why we need him,” Google replied.

He found Abe slumped in one of the back booths.

“Can't a guy get drunk in peace?” he asked.

“We need you,” Google said.

“If this wasn't such good scotch, I'd throw the glass at you. You need me!? Most of the time you can't even get my name right.”

“So I'm bad with names! Get over it! Don't let what Mykur said affect you – if you do, he's won.”

“I've got news for you kid, he won a long time ago.”

“No. There's a way out of this. You can do it.”

“I can do it!? What can I do?”

“I read some of your books. They're amazing, Abe. So what if you don't write Shakespeare? Newsflash: Shakespeare's already been written. You create entire new worlds. Exciting places and characters that I loved reading about. That's far more impressive than repeating someone else's words. So, you can drink yourself into a stupor here or you can put your imagination to work and get us out of this mess. What will it be?”

Abe lifted the glass up to his lips, then hesitated before resting it back down, untouched.

“Ok, I might have one idea,” he said. “But it's a hell of a long shot.”

#

“Huh...?” said Jupiter. “I mean ok!” he added as he started to strip off excitedly. "Might as well go out in style."

“No, I don't mean... I didn't trust you when I first met you, so I kind of, well, embedded some microblasts in your clothes. That way, I could neutralise you if you became a threat.”

“Oh... yeah... that's what I thought you meant,” Jupiter said, starting to blush. Then, when the realisation hit him: “You put bombs in my clothes! Are you insane!?”

“You're missing the point,” Liberty replied. “If we place your clothes in some of the cracks in the rocks, maybe we can blow our way free.”

“Oh you can bet we're going to chat about this later,” he said as he continued to strip off. “And I should mention it's freezing in here,” he added as he removed his underpants.

Eventually the rock wall looked stylish, covered in Jupiter's clothes as he shivered, jogging on the spot to stay warm. After some pleading, Liberty tossed him her sweater.

“Stand back,” she instructed as she pressed some buttons on her watch. A small holographic number pad popped up a few inches above it. Liberty quickly punched in eight digits and placed her hands over her ears.

The explosion sent rocks everywhere - the wall crumbling down as Billy rose up, awake in shock.

“I don't have Narcolepsy, I...,” he then looked across at Jupiter in confusion. “Why are you nake...” He collapsed back to the ground asleep before he could finish the sentence.

“Come on, we need to get out of here; we need to get back to the Blackbird,” Jupiter said as Liberty quickly lifted Billy up.

Jupiter stepped through the debris and out into the howling Mars' wind. He leaned down to the ground, spotting something.

“Hey, my underwear didn't blow up.”

“Yeah, I didn't put any microblasts in your underwear,” Liberty answered as she followed Jupiter out into the cold.
“Why didn't you say something? I could've keep them on,” he said as he hurriedly pulled them up.

“It must've slipped my mind,” she said with the hint of a smile.

#

Abe sat forward, watching the monitor intently while Justice and Google nervously looked up. Above them, a massive planet destroyer spaceship was clearly visible through the casino's clear glass ceiling. The Megalodon circled the ship cautiously. Without warning a laser shot out from the planet destroyer, exploding the ancient shark like a cheap pinyata, sending blood and guts floating down towards the casino roof.

“Come on, come on. We're running out of time,” Justice said anxiously.

Abe shushed him as some green type ran across the black screen.

Did you say... dolphins?

The story so far:

Our heroes have split up in their efforts to find the fabled Trinity Key and stop the evil Prince Mykur. Liberty and Jupiter have travelled to Mars where they're under attack, having failed to stop a kill order being placed on all their heads. Meanwhile, Google, Abe and Justice are on the water world of Atlantis where they hope to find the second piece of the Trinity Key.

And so far, if this story was a map of the world, there would be no country named Cher-topia.

Now, the story continues...

#

“They're adopted you idiot!” Belle yelled at Jupiter through the barrier that now separated them.

“Well how was I supposed to know! You could've mentioned that!”

“Oh I'm sorry, I was a little busy trying to get you NOT KILLED!”

“Well that's working out just great isn't it!”

Harvard tapped Belle lightly on the arm.

“Uh, where's Billy?”

“Your parents took him to the clinic for observation, he's still having trouble... Oh no!" A look of horror appeared on Belle's face as she started to shake slightly.

"What is it?" Harvard asked as he rested his hands on her shoulders.

"The clinic's on Fforde street. We're locked off from him!”

“It's ok. Stay with me, baby. We'll work something out. We can handle this.”

“We... we can't get to him,” she said as her eyes started to fill with tears. “If the army...”

“Wait!” said Jupiter. “Fforde street! We can reach that from our side!”

“He's right!” said Harvard.

“But then what? You're blocked off from any exits,” Belle said.

“Not necessarily,” Harvard replied. “There's an emergency exit under the holo-theatre left over from the war days. It may still be operational. There's a lever hidden under one of the front row seats in the main cinema.”

“I know the place! We can escape out there before the army take hold. We'll get him out. He'll be ok, Belle. You have my word.”

“Please Jupiter! You've got to,” Belle begged.

“Hey, how hard can one kid be?” said Liberty.

Belle and Harvard glanced at each other but said nothing. Off in the distance explosions could be heard.

“Hurry!” screamed Belle

“Don't worry,” Jupiter said. “You can count on me.”

#

Abe looked down at his bloody fist as he prepared to dive out of the hole in the stingray.

“Good thing blood doesn't attract sharks,” he muttered.

Google went to say something but a look by Justice stopped him dead.

“Yeah, good thing,” he said instead.

“You do know how to swim, don't you?” asked Justice.

“Of course!” Abe lied. “You think just because I'm an ape I can't swim? Typical human!”

“Ok, well here goes,” Justice said as he grabbed the edges of the torn roof and pulled himself up, out into the dark water. Abe followed Justice and Google out, the chill from the water feeling like a thousand tiny bites on his body, but he was more worried about gigantic bites, keeping a constant lookout for any sign of the Megalodon. The seaport entrance was only twenty feet away, but it seemed forever away as the three swam as fast as they could manage towards it. Behind them, the waterlogged stingray sunk silently to the bottom of the ocean.

Justice and Google reached the entrance first as Abe struggled, flailing his arms and legs everywhere. All he could think of was all the times he'd arrogantly mocked humans obsession with being able to stay buoyant and move about underwater – swinging between trees was a far more practical skill. In between his panicked thoughts he watched as Justice and Google gripped a wheel attached to the seaport's airlock entrance. With all their might they strained to turn the wheel – an exercise that proved far easier when Justice realised Google was pushing the wheel the wrong direction. With effort they forced the door open wide enough for Google to slip inside before Justice turned back for Abe. What he saw when he glanced back didn't look very promising.

Abe was now staring face to shark face with a white pointer. The shark slowly circled Abe, like a cat waiting to pounce – most likely only hesitating because it was momentarily confused by the unusual sight of an ape underwater. Eventually deciding that sharks can't afford to be fussy eaters, it swung into attack position swimming at pace straight for Abe. Shutting his eyes, Abe prepared himself for a sharp end that never came, because at the last minute the Megalodon roared down from overhead snacking on the bite-sized white pointer. The rush of water as the Megalodon swooped by propelled Abe into Justice's path, who grabbed hold of him around the waist and raced them both to the seaport entrance, into the airlock.

Abe collapsed to the ground, coughing up water.

“Ok, that was insanely lucky,” Justice said laughing.

“Well then you've come to the right place,” Google said as he swung open a door at the other end of the airlock, revealing the most opulent casino ever created.

“Welcome to Atlantis.”

#

Liberty and Jupiter arrived to find the good doctor looking less than good. Collapsed against the front door of his clinic, he had laser blast wounds to his stomach and shoulders. Groggily he raised his blaster as they approached.

“Jupe... Jupiter is that you?” he said, squinting.

“It's me, Doctor Cole.”

“Oh thank god, I thought they were coming back. Did Belle...? You've got to get the boy – I hid him in the basement to keep him safe.”

“It's ok, we're going to get you both to safety,” Jupiter said, kneeling down to look the doctor in the eye. Then to Liberty, “Apply pressure to his wounds while I get Billy.”

As if on cue the doctor coughed. “Don't worry about me, it's too late. Just get the boy. You've got it get him out of here.”

“Don't say that doc, you're going to be fine,” Jupiter said.

“I'm a doctor – pretty sure I'm not going to be fine.”

“Well then we'll get a second opinion,” Jupiter said as he rushed into the clinic, taking the steps down to the basement three at a time.

At the bottom of the stairs he found a meek-looking seven year old boy with dirt-blonde hair, milky, light-brown-coloured skin and bright-blue eyes.

“Hi!” said the boy happily.

“Billy – I'm here to take you to safety. It's okay, your mum and dad - Belle and Harvard sent me.”

“Oh, I like them,” Billy replied.

“Yes, they're swell. Now let's get moving.”

“Wait, there's something important I need to tell you!”

And with that the boy fell promptly into a deep sleep.

“Oh great, you couldn't do that at the top of the stairs,” Jupiter moaned as he picked up the boy and started the trek back upstairs.

Outside he found Liberty. One look told him that the doctor's diagnosis had been accurate.

“Come, we need to get out of here,” he said with a sigh.

#

Inside, the casino was dark; just the emergency lights giving hint to the extravagant interior. Justice felt his way over to a circuit breaker near the entrance and fired the electricity grid back up. All three shielded their eyes as the now brilliant light from thousands of chandeliers revealed elegant marble walkways, towering arches and an almost infinite sea of poker machines and roulette wheels. At odds with the stunning vista was a dank, musky smell.

“Does anyone else smell wet dog?” asked Google.

Abe shot him a dirty look as he went about shaking dry his fur.

“I had no idea this place was so massive,” Justice finally said, almost in awe.

“Well, it was one of the biggest terraforming operations ever carried out,” Google said.

“How the hell are we supposed to find the second piece of the key down here?” Abe asked. “This place is the size of a city. Bigger!”

“Was there anything that stood out about Atlantis when you read up about it?”

“Not really. Basically, it was just a disaster. Got bankrupted in one night when some of the big rollers got on a lucky streak.”

“A lucky streak... with what?” Justice asked.

“I don't know – gambling I assumed,” Google replied.

“But what type?”

“What are you thinking?” asked Abe.

Justice raced off down the aisles of poker machines.

“Spread out!” he called back to the others.

“What's going on?” yelled Abe.

“Just trust me. Take out any money you have and play the poker machine in front of you,” Justice said, his voice echoing around the casino.

He fumbled around his pocket for some coins, grasped some and clumsily shoved them into the machine, pulling down the lever. Cherries, bars, rainbows, the number seven, stars and more went flashing before his eyes.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

“Cherry, Rainbow, Seven, Star” he muttered to himself. “What do you get?” he called out to Google.

“Bar, Seven, Cherry, Rainbow,” Google yelled back.

“Abe?”

“Cherry, Seven, Cherry, Bar,” he responded. “What's going on?”

“This way!” Justice called out, running towards Abe.

He flew right by the confused bonobo before skidding to a stop about 100 metres later. Coins in the slot.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

Justice laughed and pumped his fist.

“What is it?” asked Abe.

“Cherry, Cherry, Cherry, Seven,” he said

“You need four cherries to win,” Abe replied.

“We're already winning,” Justice said as he went racing off further west, deeper into the casino.

Abe shot Google a look.

“I think he may have gone insane. If it turns out we need to eat someone to survive, I nominate him.”

Google laughed. “I think I know what's going on,” he said as he raced after Justice.

They found Justice perched nervously in front of a machine – his hand holding a coin over the slot, ready to be dropped in.

“Can someone fill me in on what's going on?”

“Super-Sunny-Happy-Bright-Fun Land. The key messed with the gravity suppressor...”

“You think something similar happened here,” said Abe, getting up to speed.

“Exactly. I'm thinking the lucky streak was caused by the key interfering with the machines. I think the closer we get to the key, the more the machines will pay jackpots.”

“Crap! It's just too bad the machines have already been bled dry,” Abe said. The others looked at him. “But... you know, it's good about maybe finding the key. That's good.”

#

Carrying the boy, Jupiter and Liberty rushed through the city streets to the old holo-theatre. What few soldiers they encountered along the way were easily dispatched by Liberty. They raced up the steps to the museum just as a public annoucement played over the city's loudspeakers.

“This is Commander Watson of the Mykurian Army. Your planet is now officially under our rule. If you surrender peacefully, no harm will come to you.”

Some disagreement over the wording of the sentence could be heard faintly in the background.

“Fine, fine. No harm will probably come to you,” the Commander added before muttering, “Who let a lawyer into the room?”

The PA system went dead.

Inside the holo-theatre Jupiter and Liberty followed Harvard's instructions, searching the front row seats for some sort of lever, while Billy slept peacefully. Without warning, they were surrounded by soldiers in all directions.

“Prepare to pack your bags, you're on a one way trip to deadville,” growled the lead soldier.

A disco's worth of laser beams exploded from Liberty's blaster as she shot up the theatre. Finally she relaxed her grip on the trigger as little spot fires burnt quietly around the outskirts.

“Relax Lib, it's just a holo-film: Soldiers of death. This theatre has surround vision,” Jupiter said trying to clam her.

“Oh, I know. I just really hated that movie,” she replied casually as the theatre's sprinkler system kicked in and she placed her gun back in its holster.

Thwoomp!

A small entranceway opened up at the front of the theatre.

“Bingo,” said Jupiter, getting up from the seat he was under.

“Let's get off this planet already,” Liberty said as she raced over to grab Billy. Jupiter was first into the underground passageway, then Billy as Liberty lowered him down before making her own way into the passage.

Down below was a dark, ancient path that looked to be cut out of the rock of Mars itself. Jupiter and Liberty turned up the lighting options on their clothes and carefully followed the trail as it wound its way up and around towards the surface. After about 500 metres the tempreature had plummeted to near freezing levels. Gradually the cave got more and more cramped until finally the path ended, completely blocked by a wall of rocks.

Jupiter searched for a control panel but there was none to be found.

“I think this must be a natural cave-in,” he finally said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“You mean... there's no way out?” Liberty asked.

“And there's an army headed this way. That's about the size of it,” Jupiter added.

#

Justice lead the others west to the epicentre of the jackpot circle. That was when they saw it. A massive twenty metre hole in the middle of the gaming room floor.

“That must be where the key...” said Justice.

“Then that means...” said Google.

“Someone beat us to it,” finished Abe.

“A legendary sea creature of gargantuan size, the Kraken has made appearances in many famous fictional works,” the voice from the stingray's monitor informed the ship's occupants as Abe glanced out the cockpit window nervously.

“Perhaps one of the most celebrated appearances by the fearsome sea monster is in the poem The Kraken by Tennyson:

Below the thunders of the under deep,

Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,

His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep

The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee

Sounds scary – but don't worry, you're safe behind the barrier,” continued the chirpy voice.

“I can't see any sign of it,” said Justice as he scanned the ocean.

“The barrier?” asked Abe.

“No, the Kraken. If it's so massive, why can't we see it?”

“I've got a theory,” said Google.

“They made it invisible, didn't they? When will they ever learn!?” moaned Abe.

“No, I think we're going to be ok – I think maybe it's died off. A lot of genetically-engineered creatures have short life spans,” Google continued.

“Nice to see you were paying attention in our science classes,” said Justice.

“We hope you enjoyed the Kraken. But, the fun hasn't ended just yet. If you look to your right, you'll be among the first to discover the mysterious Loch Ness Monster,” instructed the voice from the monitor. “Nicknamed Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster is a debated, mythical creature said to inhabit what once was Loch Ness in the Scottish highlands. Fun fact! Nessie was commonly speculated to be from a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs.”

“Fun Fact: Is it a meat eater or vegetarian?” Abe spoke back to the monitor.

“Plesiosaurs were carnivores,” Justice answered.

“Oh great!”

“Well it looks like it's another carnivore that has died off,” said Google.

“Um, guys, what if these sea creatures didn't have short life-spans... what if they were eaten by something bigger?” Abe asked as a giant shadow passed over the cockpit window.

#

“Well that could have gone better,” said Harvard as the chant of 'Hang them' finally started to die down.

“So what now?” asked Liberty. “They won't really hang us will they.”

“No, we don't allow capital punishment on Mars, but if you're still here when Mykur's kill order is passed you won't last long. But not to worry, Belle and I have worked out an escape plan.”

As he finished his sentence green lights started flashing around the chamber as a shrill siren violated the air.

“Is that part of the plan?” asked Liberty.

“No. No, that's... that's worrying,” Harvard said before racing back to his balcony.

“What's going on!?” Liberty asked Jupiter.

“Clearance sale,” he replied.

“If you think you can make it to the south side exit in the next ten minutes to evacuate, please do so. Everyone else, gather your family and friends and head to the bunker under Mr Softy's Ice Creamery. We're under attack,” Harvard said into the microphone. Liberty glared across at Jupiter.

“Oh, wait, that's right... The red alarm is for clearance sales.”

#

“The Megalodon were giant sharks that lived around ten to fifteen million years ago during the late neogene period. Some believe these ancient creatures could grow up to 100 feet long and mainly dined on whales. Fun fact: Megalodon means big tooth in Greek,” informed the voice on the monitor happily.

“Oh great, a dinosaur shark. How the hell do we kill that?” asked Abe.

“Meteorite?” suggested Google.

A loud screeching noise filled the air as oversized teeth sliced their way into the submersible. With violent force the stingray was tossed around around like a rubber duck floating in a bathtub when a fat person hops in.

“Quick! We need to force the teeth loose. The 'ray can't take much more of this. We're getting tossed around like a rubber duck in a bathtub when a fat person hops in,” yelled Justice.

Abe started punching one of the teeth with his fist as hard as he could.

“Owwww!”

“What?”

“It's very sharp!” he yelled back as he looked down at his now bloodied fist.

“New plan,” said Justice as he unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled out his blaster. “Let's see how it likes having its teeth drilled.”

Taking aim at the tooth closest to him, Justice gave it the full brunt of the laser until it turned bright red and start to crack. With a violent jerk, the metal groaned as the teeth came free from the roof.

“Well, that's one problem solved,” Justice said calmly as water started to flood in at an alarming rate through the holes now left in the submersible.

“Arrgggghhhhh,” screamed Abe. The others turned to face him.

“What is it now!?

“The water's really, really cold,” Abe said sheepishly.

#

Belle came running down the steps of the auditorium, pushing her way through the panicked crowd heading in the opposite direction. As she arrived she tossed two blasters to Jupiter and Liberty.

“I snuck these in. Had a feeling you might need them.”

“What's the situation?” Liberty asked as she examined her blaster.

“Looks like the kill order was rushed through. Feel like taking on an army?”

“Always up for a challenge. How big's the army?” Liberty asked.

“Small - by army standards. It won't be long before someone spills that you're here. We need to get you off this planet ASAP. I'm guessing they've got armies scouting for you everywhere.”

“It's always nice to feel wanted,” muttered Jupiter.

“So what's the plan? SurfWorld exit? Sneak them off on the The Love Bug?” asked Harvard.

“Exactly. I'll get the twins and Billy from your parents. You take Jupiter and Liberty to the fountain. I'll meet you there. Don't stop for anything – if they start to shut down the city, there's no way past the barriers,” Belle said before giving Harvard a kiss. “I love you,” she added before turning and running back up the auditorium stairs.

“Quick, follow me. I know a short cut,” Harvard said as he slidback part of the floor revealing a secret entrance.

#

“Look there's a seaport to the right. Head there!” Abe yelled to Justice over the sound of water rushing in and smoke coming from the sub's damaged roof.

“I can't! Atlantis's computers are still overriding our system,” he replied as a burst of sparks exploded above them.

“What was that?” asked Google.

“The override system?” asked Abe full of hope.

“Afraid not. We're going to get fried or drown if we stay here,” Jupiter said.

Google looked around the ship for solutions.

“What do you suggest?” he asked.

“We need to swim for it. We should be able to fit through one of the holes.”

“That thing out there bit a hole big enough for us to swim through and you want to go out there!” exclaimed Abe.

“It's that or drown in here. Your choice.”

“I really, really hate Atlantis.”

#

Harvard led Liberty and Jupiter back up onto the street as alarms continued to sound.

“Some of my ancestors helped design the original Southland – thanks to them I know a few handy secrets,” he explained. “Now if we just wait here, Belle should...,” Without warning he pulled out his blaster, pointing it directly at Jupiter's head.

“Duck!” Liberty and Harvard shouted together.

Jupiter did as told. Blasts fired out, putting pay to two soldiers dressed in black fifty feet ahead.

“Nice shooting. You got the one on the right,” Harvard said.

“Like hell! I got them both,” Liberty replied with a smile. “You aim a little high. But not bad.”

Jupiter casually picked himself up from the ground. Harvard spied the dead soldiers nervously.

“If they've made it inside. Belle...”

“Relax, here she comes,” Jupiter said, pointing at Belle approaching them from behind. She was running as fast as she could while carrying a couple of five year old girls.

“Belle!” Harvard yelled and went running off to greet her and the kids.

THWACK!

Without warning grated barriers came smashing down in front of Liberty and Jupiter, separating them from the others and the rest of Southland.

“Oh great! They've shutting down the city. Now what?”

But Jupiter didn't answer. Instead he just stood staring blankly ahead through the barrier as Harvard hugged his girls; Jupiter's face going whiter than a blizzard.

“What's the matter?” Liberty asked.

“Those girls... they're about five years old, right?”

“So?”

“I left Belle less than five years ago.”