The Void of Mist and Thunder (The 13th Reality #4) (46 page)

The First Meeting

Paul sat at the large conference table, feeling a little bit as if he’d finally awakened from a long, long dream. Things felt surreal and kind of strange. Different. But good. Mostly good. Today’s agenda had an item listed that would never be forgotten. He took a second to look around the room at his fellow Realitants.

There were a few people here he didn’t know very well. Not yet, anyway. People like red-haired Priscilla Persiphone, a doctor named something-or-other Hillenstat, or the dude that couldn’t speak named Jimmy—the guy didn’t even have a tongue. Ew. There were others: Nancy and Katrina and William. A couple more he couldn’t remember. All of them had come just in time to save the Fifth Army—along with Paul and Sofia—from being completely wiped out in that last and final battle. So they were definitely his new friends.

And then there were the others. The ones who’d become family.

Mothball, still marked with wounds from the terrible battle in the Thirteenth Reality, but with a smile planted on her long and weary face. Rutger, sitting taller than ever; he’d done the impossible and gathered together all the missing Realitants. Sally, who’d been wearing the same shirt since that fateful day, saying that it’d be bad Karma to put on anything else.

Sato’s face was actually a little less stern than it had been of late. Paul knew he was thinking of all the soldiers he’d lost, and the promise he still planned to keep. To take what was left of his army and reclaim the Fifth Reality from the Bugaboos. They’d be leaving soon to do just that.

And Sofia.

Her eyes met his. She didn’t say anything, and neither did he, but a lot passed between them in that gaze. The months that seemed like years, the pain and hurt and terror, the thrill of winning mixed with the sorrow of all that had been lost along the way. The ache for those who were no longer there. And an unspoken bond that could never be taken away from them. She smiled, and he smiled back.

And finally, he looked to the head of the table.

To the place where Master George had always sat with his flaky red scalp, his loyal Muffintops on his lap, his three-piece suit, and his Barrier Wand usually somewhere nearby. The old man with the proper speech and the constant twinkle in his eyes. The old man who’d brought them in, trained them, encouraged them. The old man who’d chosen to fight by their side in the end, though he had to know his chances of surviving were slim. Paul had a lump in his throat at the thought, and wished he could say good-bye one last time.

Someone else was sitting in the leader’s chair now. Someone very different, having just appeared in a blaze of sparks and the sound of static charges.

A being, roughly in the shape of a human body, a cloudy mix of blue and white light swirling through and around each other, occupied the seat where Master George had once reigned. Little flashes of orange danced throughout the ethereal substance, along with zigzags of bright electricity, like miniature strikes of lightning. The otherworldly apparition glowed warmly and gave off a humming sound. Paul could feel a vibrating buzz in his bones.

There was a face projected on the surface of the wraithlike figure’s head. A familiar face that was smiling at the moment. Tick. It was good to see him again. Oh, man, it was
so
good to see him again.

Atticus Higginbottom, in a form that no one else in that room would ever understand, leaned forward and put his ghostly elbows on the table.

“Let’s get this meeting started,” he said.

A Glossary of People, Places, and All Things Important

Atticus Higginbottom
—A Realitant from the state of Washington, in Reality Prime.

Alterant—Different versions of the same person existing in different Realities. It is extremely dangerous for Alterants to meet one another.

Annika—A spy for the Realitants who was killed by a pack of fangen.

Bagger—A large device from Chu Industries that can fly and is armed with Chu’s anti-Chi’karda recoil mechanism.

Barf Scarf—The red-and-black scarf that Tick used to wear at all times to hide the ugly birthmark on his neck.

Barrier Wand—The device used to wink people and things between Realities and between heavily concentrated places of Chi’karda within the same Reality. Works very easily with inanimate objects, and can place them almost anywhere. To transport humans, they must be in a place concentrated with Chi’karda (like a cemetery) and have a nanolocator that transmits their location to the Wand. The wand is useless without the Chi’karda Drive, which channels and magnifies the mysterious power.

Barrier Staff—A special Barrier Wand created by Mistress Jane.

Benson—A servant of Reginald Chu in the Fourth Reality.

Bermuda Triangle—The most concentrated area of Chi’karda in each Reality. Still unknown as to why.

Billy “The Goat” Cooper
—Tick’s biggest nemesis at Jackson Middle School.

Blade of Shattered Hope—A weapon created by Mistress Jane that allows her to harness the power of dark matter and utilize the linking of her Alterants to sever a Reality from existence.

Bryan Cannon—A fisherman in Reality Prime.

Bugaboo Soldiers—The nemeses of the Fifth Reality, these assassins are bent on taking over their world. Often dressed as clowns, they are very unstable.

Chi’karda—The mysterious force that controls Quantum Physics. It is the scientific embodiment of conviction and choice, which in reality, rules the universe. Responsible for creating the different Realities.

Chi’karda Drive—The invention that revolutionized the universe by harnessing, magnifying, and controling Chi’karda. It has long been believed that travel between Realities is impossible without it.

Chu Industries—The company that practically rules the world of the Fourth Reality. Known for countless inventions and technologies, including many that are malicious in nature.

Command Center—Master George’s headquarters in the Bermuda Triangle, where Chi’karda levels are monitored, and to where his many nanolocators report various types of information.

Darkin (Dark Infinity) Project—A menacing, giant device created by Reginald Chu of the Fourth Reality to manipulate others’ minds. Destroyed by Tick.

Denter—A robot built by Chu Industries that is like a bulldozer with metal fists sporting spikes at the ends.

Earwig Transponder—An insect-like device inserted into the ear that can scramble listening devices and help track its host.

Edgar Higginbottom
—Tick’s father.

Entropy—The law of nature that states all things move toward destruction. Related to fragmentation.

Factory, The—Located in the Thirteenth Reality, it is where Mistress Jane “manufactures” her abominable creations.

Fangen—A creature created by Mistress Jane, utilizing the twisted and mutated version of Chi’karda found in the Thirteenth Reality. Formed from a variety of no fewer than twelve different animals, the short and stocky creatures are bred to kill first and ask questions later. They can also fly.

Fifth Army, The—Sato’s fighting unit, made up of people from the Fifth Reality.

Firekelt—Creation of Mistress Jane. A monster covered in hundreds of cloth-like strips that ignite on demand.

Fourth Dimension—Another dimension that is as different from ours as the oceans are from outer space. Hardly understood, and with limited research available, because it’s never been explored before, the Fourth is breached when Tick and Mistress Jane battle it out after the incident with the Blade of Shattered Hope. The Void of Mist and Thunder is spawned from this dimension.

Fragmentation
—When a Reality begins losing Chi’karda levels on a vast scale, it can no longer maintain itself as a major alternate version of the world and will eventually disintegrate into nothing. Its cause is related to entropy.

Frazier Gunn—A loyal servant of Mistress Jane.

Frupey—Nickname for Fruppenschneiger, Sofia’s butler.

Gnat Rat—A malicious invention of Chu Industries in the Fourth Reality. Releases dozens of mechanical hornets that are programmed to attack a certain individual based on a nanolocator, DNA, or blood type.

Grand Canyon
—A satellite location of the Realitants. Second only to the Bermuda Triangle in Chi’karda levels. Still unknown as to why.

Grand Minister—Supreme ruler of the Fifth Reality.

Great Hall—A room within Mistress Jane’s castle that has a high concentration of Chi’karda.

Gretel—A Realitant taking refuge in the Third Reality.

Grinder Beast—An enormous, rhinoceros-like creature with dozens of legs in the Tenth Reality.

Halters—A weapon that shoots out tiny darts laced with a paralyzing serum.

Hans Schtiggenschlubberheimer—The man who started the Scientific Revolution in the Fourth Reality in the early nineteen-hundreds. In a matter of decades, he helped catapult the Fourth far beyond the other Realities in terms of technology.

Haunce, The—A mysterious, ghostly, powerful being made up of billions upon billions of soulikens.

Henry—A boy from the Industrial Barrens in the Seventh Reality.

Hillenstat—A Realitant doctor from the Second Reality.

Jimmy “The Voice” Porter—A Realitant from the Twelfth Reality. Has no tongue.

Karma—A mysterious force that has been studied for years by a team within the Realitants, led by Gretel. Its powers are unpredictable, but it’s believed to heighten the strength of good or evil, depending on who wields it.

Katrina Kay—A Realitant from the Ninth Reality.

Kayla Higginbottom
—Tick’s younger sister.

Klink—Guard of the Execution Exit at the End of the Road Insane Asylum.

Klint Tanner—A man living in the Twelfth Reality who helps gather data for the Realitants.

Kyoopy—Nickname used by the Realitants for Quantum Physics.

Ladies of Blood and Sorrow—A mysterious society of women loyal to Mistress Jane.

Lazbots—A robotic device of Chu Industries outfitted with incinerating lasers.

Lemon Fortress—Mistress Jane’s castle in the Thirteenth Reality.

Lisa Higginbottom—Tick’s older sister.

Lorena Higginbottom—Tick’s mother.

Mabel Fredrickson—Tick’s great-aunt. Lives in Alaska.

Master George—The leader of the Realitants.

Metaspide—A vicious robotic creature from the Fourth Reality that resembles a spider.

Mistress Jane
—A former Realitant and ruler of the Thirteenth Reality, she wields an uncanny power over Chi’karda. Since the accident in which she was “melded” with fragments of the Dark Infinity weapons, her power has increased tenfold.

Mordell—The leader of the Ladies of Blood and Sorrow.

Mothball
—A Realitant from the Fifth Reality.

Ms. Sears—Tick’s favorite librarian.

Muffintops—Master George’s cat.

Multiverse—An old term used by Reality Prime scientists to explain the theory that Quantum Physics has created multiple versions of the universe.

Nancy Zeppelin—A Realitant from Wisconsin in Reality Prime.

Nanolocator—A microscopic electronic device that can crawl into a person’s skin and forever provide information on their whereabouts, Chi’karda levels, etc.

Nonex—When Alterants meet, one disappears and enters the Nonex. A complete mystery to the Realitants.

Norbert McGillicuddy—A post-office worker in Alaska who helped Tick and his dad escape an attack by Frazier Gunn.

Paul Rogers—A Realitant from Florida in Reality Prime.