Fire Storm (4 page)

You hover in the air at the entrance to the cavern. “Full scan,” you order.

Seconds later, the computer replies. “Enemy ahead,” it warns. “A pack of pyrodogs located. Also, holes in walls indicate seventy per cent possibility of firetraps at entrance to the cavern.”

If you want to head into the cavern to fight the pyrodogs,
go to 24
.

If you wish to deal with any possible traps,
go to 13
.

“I hope I don’t need it, but I’ll take the TD bomb,” you tell QTee.

“I hope so too,” replies QTee as he loads the bomb into the DART suit’s launcher.

He continues. “Because you captured the crystal in Hurrikano’s Staff of Power, you will have control over the element of air. You will now be able to fly in the suit. And remember, if you capture Vulkana’s crystal, you will also be able to control fire!”

You step into the suit.

QTee speaks to you over the COMS link.

“Because teleportation doesn’t work underground, I will teleport you to the surface of the planet. You’ll have to make your way to Vulkana’s underworld kingdom. I have set co-ordinates for this in the DART suit’s NAV system. Good luck!”

“Teleport,” you order. A bright light envelops the DART suit as you are teleported through the dimensions of space.

Go to 6
.

You make your way through the tunnels of Vulkana’s underground kingdom.

Surprisingly, you meet no more enemies. Eventually you arrive at the opening to a huge cavern.

“Vulkana’s throne room located,” the computer tells you.

Again you are surprised that there are no guards at the entrance. Slowly and carefully you make your way into the cavern.

At the far side of a lava pool, you see a carved throne, and sitting in it is a figure.

It is Vulkana! Her voice rings out across the cavern. “I have been expecting you. Why do you think that you didn’t come across many of my troops? I have allowed you to find me. I want your suit to reclaim the power of air you took from Hurrikano. You have fallen into my trap! Guards!”

If you wish to attack Vulkana,
go to 27
.

If you wish to seal off the entrance to the cavern,
go to 2
.

The fire titan sends a wall of flames at you.

“Dodge!” you order. The DART suit responds, sending you flying high into the sky and out of range of the heat.

You spin around and hurtle down through the blackened sky.

“Foam missiles ready,” the computer tells you. “Which part of the titan do you wish to target?”

If you want to aim at the titan’s flamethrowing arms,
go to 8
.

If you wish to aim at the titan’s head,
go to 33
.

As you fly towards the flock of lizard creatures, the computer bellows out a warning: “DANGER! Hostile aliens detected!”

In the blink of an eye, the salamanders transform into huge dragons! They head towards you at incredible speed.

“Warning! Dragonmanders!” warns the DART’s computer.

Swirling fireballs erupt from their mouths and rocket towards you.

“Evasive action!” you shout. The suit responds and spins away from the deadly fireballs, which explode in the air, buffeting the DART suit. The force of the blast causes the suit’s electronic systems to jam.

“System malfunction!” it warns. “Power down!” You hurtle towards the ground.

Just as you think you’re about to hit the fiery surface, the DART suit recovers and you head skywards. You breathe a sigh of relief, but you know that you still have to deal with your enemy! The dragonmanders gather together in formation, ready for another attack.

To attack the creatures with your eGun,
go to 3
.

To use the foam missiles,
go to 23
.

If you want to fly away from the dragonmanders,
go to 47
.

“Arm and deploy earthquake bomb,” you order.

The suit responds. You aim at the lava pool and fire. The bomb hits the lava pool and is sucked into its depths.

You hear a small whumph noise and the whole cavern begins to shake. Then there is nothing!

Vulkana laughs. “An earthquake bomb? How foolish! A bomb to make the ground unstable? My whole kingdom is built on a moving lava core. You have just added to my power!”

She raises her Staff of Power and before you can respond, she sends wave after wave of burning lava crashing down on your head. The DART suit is powerless to respond. You are pulled into the molten lava pool. Even your DART suit can’t survive this inferno.

You have failed and paid with your life. Begin your adventure again —
go to 1
.

The flames burn at the DART suit, causing the computer’s circuits to overheat.

“Super speed,” you order, but the suit doesn’t respond.

You drop to the ground in a heap as your enemies continue their deadly attack. Wave after wave of intense heat hits you. You fight back, taking out a couple of your attackers, but it is hopeless. The DART suit begins to melt.

As you feel your skin begin to burn, you scream in agony. Then with a final blast of flame, your enemies silence you forever.

You have failed! Earth is doomed! Start your mission again —
go to 1
.

“Teleport,” you order.

You wait for the white light, but nothing happens.

“Unable to teleport whilst underground,” the computer responds.

You curse at yourself for forgetting this. Another shower of lava covers your suit. You have to get out of here!

Go to 10
.

You open up your visor. The heat blasts your face, instantly blistering and burning your skin. You have made a fatal mistake!

You scream in agony, but only for a few seconds as Fireworld’s deadly toxic fumes overcome you. You drop down dead, and your body is consumed by fire.

You’ve been baked to a crisp! Begin your adventure again —
go to 1
.

You fly around the cavern at speed, whilst the pyrodogs spit streams of burning liquid fire at you.

“Engage enemy,” you order the suit.

Within seconds, you are firing bolts of energy across the cavern, picking off the creatures.

The remaining pyrodogs continue to attack, but you easily avoid their streams of fire. You destroy the creatures one by one until only the leader of the pack remains. You fly towards the ledge, hovering in front of the pyrodog as it snarls in fury at you.

Suddenly it pounces! It runs and leaps off the ledge towards you, spitting out streams of deadly liquid fire.

If you wish to fire at the creature,
go to 7
.

If you wish to take evasive action,
go to 11
.

You fly down towards the fire titan’s body.

“Scan for life signs,” you tell the suit.

A few seconds later, the computer answers. “Enemy still alive.”

“Activate weapons,” you order.

At that moment there is a roar of flame and the titan leaps up. It tries to pin you with its damaged arms, but you are prepared. You send another volley of missiles into the titan. They explode and the creature sinks to its knees. You finish off your enemy with a deadly stream of shots from your needle gun.

The way to Vulkana’s kingdom is open!

Go to 4
.

“Super speed!” you order the DART suit.

The DART suit responds and you zoom away. However, the dragonmanders follow and soon catch up with you.

You try to outmanoeuvre the creatures, but they manage to keep in range. Fireballs explode around you, throwing you around like a rag doll. The dragonmanders’ tails burn with liquid fire and, like huge whips, they lash out at you. The tail of one of the creatures hits you and you are covered in burning liquid.

Before you can order your weapons systems to attack mode, you are caught in a deluge of fire. The heat is intense. Your suit begins to melt under the attack. You feel your skin beginning to burn up. There is one more blast of fire and, thankfully, you feel nothing more.

You’ve failed!
Go back to 1
.

Vulkana falls into the lava and is pulled under the surface. You know you have to get out of the cavern before the TD bomb explodes.

You shoot energy bolts at the foam-sealed entrance. The foam dissolves and you fly through and down the tunnels. There is a huge explosion as the TD bomb detonates. The whole underground world shakes.

“Get me to the surface,” you shout. The DART suit responds and you fly at super speed through the tunnels, followed by a huge wave of lava, which sweeps away the creatures of Vulkana’s kingdom.

The wave of lava hits you, but the Staff of Power protects you from any harm as you speed through the collapsing cave system.

Go to 50
.

“So, what do you think Vulkana’s plan is?” you ask.

“The surface of Fireworld is molten and Vulkana’s kingdom is underground, near the molten core of her planet,” replies QTee. “Her warriors can only survive in high temperatures. I think that she is trying to create a world of fire here on Earth, before she invades.”

“How can she create such a world on Earth?” asks Agent Roberts.

QTee answers. “Our calculations show that if all the volcanoes continue to erupt, the Earth’s crust will weaken and split. The hot molten core of the planet will be released and the land and sea will be consumed with fire. All human life will be destroyed. Then Vulkana will invade and take over.”

You nod. “So if she isn’t coming here right now, then I’ll have to pay her a visit!”

“Correct!” QTee presses a button. The wall pulls back to reveal the DART suit. He loads the suit with new missiles. “These are foam missiles,” he says. “They will encase your enemies in a hard shell of foam, which will cool their fires and stop them in their tracks.”