Crystal Keepers (37 page)

Cole went on to hug Dalton, Blake, and Mira as well. “Where's Trickster?” Cole asked.

“On assignment in the city,” Googol said.

“Can I stay?” Roulette asked.

Googol gave her a nod.

“I better tell you the news,” Cole said. “I found Constance.”

“Her exact location?” Googol asked.

“I found
her
,” Cole said. “We talked.”

“You saw Costa?” Mira cried. “Is she all right?”

“I think so,” Cole said. “The problem is I also found her shaping power. It combined with a supercomputer that Abram Trench built and it's about to run wild.”

“Trench was involved?” Nova asked.

“He's had Constance in some secret hideout all along,” Cole said. “Harmony told me where to find her.”

“How's my mom?” Mira asked, wringing her fingers.

“She's doing okay,” Cole said. “She helped me a lot. But on my way back here, the Hunter caught me.”

“The Hunter?” Dalton exclaimed.

“It's a long story,” Cole said. “Turns out the Hunter is my brother.”

“He's lost his mind,” Jace said matter-of-factly.

“He really is,” Cole said. “His name is Hunter. I couldn't remember him because he was brought here before me. He quit the Enforcers and tried to help me find Constance. When the supercomputer stopped us, he brought me here.”

“I think we're going to need the whole story,” Googol said.

“There's too much,” Cole said. “There isn't time. This
computer is like another Aero. Except she can shape. And she built a huge robotic body. At least we think it's huge. She said it was. She has Constance and she's going to take over Zeropolis. How can we stop something like that?”

Everyone stared at him in silence for a moment.

“He's serious,” Dalton said.

After a quick knock, a young man poked his head into the room. “Nova, Googol, I'm sorry to disturb you, but we're getting some insane video feeds. City Patrol HQ is under attack. You're not going to believe by what.”

Googol groaned. “A giant bot?”

The young man furrowed his brow. “How'd you know?”

Vision gear swiveling, Googol looked around the room. “Let's all have a look.”

C
HAPTER

36

DRAGON

A
rms folded, mouth open, Cole stared as they replayed the video feed. On the screen, an enormous robotic dragon tore into a blocky building, raking away the walls to reveal the mangled floors inside. Patrolmen the size of insects attacked the metallic monstrosity from the building and from the ground, doing no noticeable damage. The feed cut off after about fifteen seconds.

“We keep CPHQ under constant visual surveillance,” Nova explained. “This was not a sight we ever expected to behold.”

“It has my sister?” Mira asked quietly.

“I don't know where Roxie put her,” Cole said.

“The dragon is named Roxie?” Dalton interrupted.

“I guess,” Cole said. “That's the computer's name.”

“We're getting the same transmission over multiple comms systems,” said the young man who had fetched them. “Mostly CP systems that we're monitoring.”

“Let's hear it,” Nova said.

Roxie's voice came on over the speakers. “—indoors during this period of transition. That's all for now. Citizens of Zeropolis, I'm Roxie, your new ruler. I order all authorities to surrender and stand down. If you do so, I will spare you. Do not fear me. Let's be friends. Together we will build a utopia for human and machine alike. Please stay indoors during this period of transition. That's all for now. Citizens of Zeropolis—”

The young man shut off the speakers.

“It really is named Roxie,” Jace said.

“Maybe it's an acronym,” Forge said.

“Constance had a poodle named Roxie,” Mira said.

“Forge,” Googol said. “Look into what systems she has compromised. Use every contact available. Let's assume squabbles between the resistance and the government are on hold for now. We're all allies in this.”

“It sounded like she wasn't in all systems yet,” Cole said. “She told Abram she had hoped to wait longer before revealing herself so she could control more of Zeropolis when she made her move.”

“We need to hear your whole story, Cole,” Googol said. “I know time is short, but understanding a situation is crucial before making tactical decisions. Everyone who was with us before, come with me.”

They returned to the room where Cole had found them. At Googol's request, Cole told about his trip to Junction and his encounter with Owandell and Nazeem. He went on to detail his conversation with Harmony, how Hunter captured him, and why he came to believe Hunter really was his brother. He
then recounted their mission to Abram Trench's secret hideout and all that happened. Googol was particularly intrigued with Roxie's ability to shape crystals and with how quickly she took over the drones and the system that controlled them.

“We have a lot to digest and little time to do it,” Googol said after Cole finished. “The threat posed by Nazeem and Owandell is perhaps the worst news of the day, but not the most imminent danger, so let's table it for now. Roxie's current rampage isn't just a show of force. She is using her abilities to compromise new systems. The more time that passes before she is stopped, the more of Zeropolis she will control when we engage her. If we wait too long, every bot, levcar, and automated system in the city will be her ally.”

“But how do we attack her?” Mira said.

“Not with bots,” Cole said. “It wouldn't be any fun to have Outlaw turn on us.”

“Too true,” Googol said.

“Do we have weapons that could hurt her?” Jace asked.

“What about a harmony bomb?” Cole asked.

“There are no harmony bombs,” Roulette said.

Cole noticed a glance between Googol and Nova. “Could you make one?” Cole asked.

“The results could be disastrous,” Nova said.

“As disastrous as this supercomputer?” Googol asked.

Nova frowned deeply. “We have a prototype,” she said. “It isn't currently armed and ready, but the final preparations wouldn't take long.”

“What's a harmony bomb?” Jace asked. “Could it take out the dragon?”

“Harmony bombs only exist in theory,” Googol said. “To make one, a harmonic crystal would need to be prepared to explode when infused with a massive dose of energy. If it works, the prototype we designed would destroy everything in a ten block radius, and do serious damage beyond that. It could demolish a significant portion of the city.”

“Could that be better than Roxie destroying all of it?” Dalton asked.

“I never knew we had a harmony bomb,” Roulette said.

“Almost nobody did,” Googol said.

“What if we could lure the dragon away from the city?” Cole asked.

“It would be a tactical error for Roxie to isolate herself,” Nova said. “But if we could find a way to make her do it, the harmony bomb could be just what we need.”

“Any interaction with Roxie will be difficult,” Googol said. “All our tech is vulnerable around her. We can rig the battle suits so crystals have no control over them, but they still need crystals for power. If Roxie reshaped the harmonics, she would cut off the power supply.”

“Wait a minute,” Cole said. “What if we did that to her?”

“Cut off her power?” Googol asked.

“She can change our harmonics,” Cole said. “Blake can change harmonics too. What if he shut her down?”

Googol raised his eyebrows and stroked his lips. “What do you think, Blake?”

“Shaping crystals is easy,” Blake said hesitantly. “It wouldn't be a big problem to sense her power crystals and change the harmonics. I'd need to get close, though.”

“Roxie is smart,” Nova said. “She'll probably have many crystals powering her, with redundancies built in. Once you start changing her harmonics, she might change them back.”

“Could other tinkers help him?” Cole asked.

“Nobody can do what Blake does,” Googol said. “Not even Abram Trench. Our best crystal tuners require crystals side by side for several minutes to forge a harmonic link. And that's tuning a blank crystal. Changing the existing harmonics of a crystal to a new frequency is ever harder.”

“Can you contact the Hunter?” Nova asked.

“Yeah,” Cole said. “It's just Hunter.”

“I'd like his opinion on all of this,” Nova said.

“He's worried you won't trust him,” Cole said.

“His worries are well-founded,” Nova said. “However, he delivered you here, and common enemies can make for unusual allies.”

Cole took out his communicator. “Hunter, this is Cole.”

“I hear you,” Hunter replied. “Are all the invisible people assembled?”

“They're here,” Cole said.

“Keep holding down your button and I'll hold down mine,” Hunter said. “It makes the communicator work like a speakerphone. The Unseen must be anxious if they're willing to talk to me.”

“You're Cole's brother?” Mira asked.

“I sure am,” Hunter said. “How can I help?”

“We're strategizing about Roxie,” Googol said.

“The dragon will be hard to beat,” Hunter said. “I'd start with finding Constance.”

“We're not sure where to begin that search,” Googol replied.

“I planted a tracker on Abram Trench,” Hunter said. “Shot it onto the back of his pajamas. It has moved a good distance from where we found him. If Roxie kept Constance with him, I can fly to them.”

“Where are you now?” Nova asked.

“Watching Roxie from high above,” Hunter said. “She's tearing through the town like a tornado full of knives.”

“Do you think you can rescue Constance?” Googol asked.

“Not alone,” Hunter said. “According to the tracker, Roxie took Abram Trench to his penthouse in the city administration building. She would have taken over the defense system and left it fully armed.”

“We have a bot that should be able to bring down those defenses,” Googol said.

“The instant those defenses come down, Roxie will come back,” Hunter said.

“We also have a kid who can change crystals just like Roxie can,” Cole said. “He might be able to change Roxie's power crystals to different harmonics.”

“That would be awesome,” Hunter said. “Okay, I'm coming your way. I want the bot, the harmonics kid, and Cole. I also want Googol's latest and greatest battle suit.”

“Clayton Barnes makes battle suits,” Googol said.

“Not like you do,” Hunter replied. “How big is your bot? If I can stick him in the cargo space, that will ensure enough room for Constance.”

“The bot is waist high,” Googol replied. “Fairly heavy.”

“That'll work,” Hunter said. “Are we agreed?”

Googol looked to Nova.

“Yes,” she said.

“I'm coming your way,” Hunter said. “I'll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“You know where to come?” Nova asked.

“I can track Cole's communicator,” Hunter said. “Have everybody ready. If Roxie isn't still out rampaging when we get to the penthouse, we'll have to abort.”

“See you soon,” Cole said. He released the button.

Forge cleared his throat. He stood in the doorway. Cole wasn't sure when he had returned.

“Roxie has control of the magroads,” Forge reported. “She has most of CP's systems. She has most city government systems as well. She controls the financial system. She took over several power stations and a variety of manufacturing facilities. Lots of communications networks. Most of the monorails. The list keeps growing. She infected two of my workstations while I was poking around. Don't worry—they don't connect to anything else around here.”

“Thanks, Forge,” Googol said. “Could you summon Sidekick?”

“Sure.” Forge trotted away.

“What do you think?” Googol asked Nova.

“It gives us a chance,” Nova said. “I wish we had some of our own gliders.”

“Our gliders were lost when some of our bases fell,” Googol explained. “Blake, you're willing to go?”

“I was kind of wondering if anybody would ask,” Blake
said. “I guess. But what if I can't change the crystals fast enough?”

“Hopefully we'll be gone before Roxie shows,” Cole said.

“That would be the ideal,” Googol said. “If you can get Constance into the glider and take to the sky before Roxie reaches you, the pursuit could possibly lure Roxie outside of town.”

“And then we drop the harmony bomb,” Cole said.

“That could work!” Jace exclaimed.

“But what if Roxie gets back before we get in the air and I can't stop her,” Blake said.

“Then we probably die,” Cole said. “So we better not mess up.”

Blake didn't look very comfortable.

Forge returned with Sidekick.

“Hi, Cole,” the little robot said. “I hear we might have a mission.”

“A mission of grave importance,” Googol said. “We need to break into Abram Trench's penthouse apartment at the city administration building.”

“You're teasing,” Sidekick said. “I've always wanted a shot at that place! I've daydreamed about it.”

Googol explained about Roxie and how she was controlling the system.

“I've caught some feeds of the dragonbot,” Sidekick said. “I guess if you're going to design yourself, why not aim for the stars! I'd be no match for her. I can't tap into the security system directly or she'll take control of me. If you could get me to the roof, I could probably shut it down manually. At least most of it.”

“The roof shouldn't be a problem,” Googol said. “Sidekick, there could be a second half to this mission. Remember Project Heat Lamp?”

“Oh, wow,” Sidekick said. “You mean . . . I'm going nova?”

“Possibly,” Googol said. “If the scenario plays out as we hope, you'll be on a glider with Cole, Blake, Constance, and Hunter.”

“Wait, rewind. Who's Hunter?”

“The Hunter.”

“My brother,” Cole said.