It took Paul a second to break his stare from the impossible sight of two identical men coming toward them—one limping, the other moving at full speed. Both seemed oblivious of the other, each wanting to reach the Realitants and unaware of his twin.
“Come on!” Sofia yelled, grabbing Paul by the arm and pulling him as they ran after Mothball. “I think I know—”
An ear-piercing noise cut her off just as a surge of blinding light flashed behind them. A terribly loud boom rattled the air, the sound of a million amplified horns going off at once. Paul had heard that sound before.
He’d barely had the thought when a rush of tornado-force wind hit them, knocking him and Sofia flat on the ground. The wind passed over them, a solid wave of air that was almost visible as it tore at trees and bushes and benches, traveling outward in a wide arc. It knocked over the other fleeing Realitants and kept moving along its destructive path.
All was still for a single moment. Then the ground started violently shaking, far worse than before. Trees crashed to the ground. Sounds of breaking glass and bending metal filled the air as the mountainous palace of Chu started collapsing all over again.
“Tick!” Paul yelled over the deafening noise. “He must’ve woke up!”
“No!” Sofia shouted back. “I think it has something to do with Chu meeting his Alterant.”
Paul risked a glance over his shoulder and saw that only one Chu remained—the injured one. He limped toward them, struggling all the worse because of the earthquake.
Sally suddenly bolted past Paul and Sofia, running for the man. Like picking up a bag of sticks, Sally grabbed Chu and flopped him over his shoulder just like Mothball had done with Tick. He ran back toward them, stumbling left and right as the ground shook.
“Get up! Get up!” Sofia shouted, pulling on Paul’s good arm.
He obeyed and ran after her, his mind twisting in a million different directions.
The earthquake worsened, throwing Sofia to the ground. Paul helped her up and they kept running, losing one step for every two they made forward. Sally caught up with them, moving as if Chu weighed only ten pounds.
Eventually, the Realitants gathered in the designated spot, every last one of them staring back toward Chu Industries in awe and fear. Mothball still held Tick, and she was shouting something over and over.
“Wink us out, George! Wink us out! Ruddy wink us out!”
Sounds of splitting and cracking and shattering glass rocked the air. A thunderous roar ripped across the ground, and Paul felt his heart wedge itself in his throat.
Chu’s palace collapsed toward the ground, the whole thing at once. Paul threw his hands over his ears. The sounds of destruction were louder than anything he’d ever heard before as an entire building of metal and glass exploded nearby. He watched as a massive cloud of black dust rolled out of the falling ruins, billowing out and rushing toward them at an alarming speed.
“Now, Master George!” Mothball roared, barely audible over the sounds of the mountain collapsing. “Now!”
Like a fleet of starships zipping into hyperspace, the Realitants winked away in quick succession. Paul actually tasted the choking dust and saw the suffocating darkness before he felt the familiar tingle and was winked to safety.
Chapter
50
Much to Discuss
No one did any celebrating.
After getting safely back to headquarters and undergoing full debriefings, most of the Realitants said their good-byes and winked back to their home Realities. Paul and Sofia stuck to Tick’s side; except for the rise and fall of his chest, he seemed as dead as a corpse. Paul couldn’t think of much to say as they followed Mothball to the infirmary, where Doctor Hillenstat hooked Tick up to several monitoring machines; an IV dripped a clear liquid into his veins. Rutger watched from the side, scrutinizing the doctor’s every move as if waiting for him to make a mistake.
“How long will he be out?” Sofia asked. “Is he gonna be okay?”
Hillenstat frowned. “An hour. A day. A week. No telling.”
“But will he be okay?” Paul said.
The doctor felt Tick’s forehead. “Yes, he’s fine for now. But in the long run?” He shrugged. “I think I’ll let Master George be the judge of that.”
Sofia huffed. “Aren’t doctors supposed to make you feel better?”
Hillenstat smiled through his droopy mustache, the first time Paul had ever seen him do it. “Doctors are supposed to be honest. Now, I’ll go and get Master George and you can bother him with your questions. I need a nap.”
He wiped his hands together as if swiping away crumbs from dinner, gave one last look at Tick, then walked out of the infirmary.
Sofia looked at Rutger. “Nice guy you got there. I’m glad I’m not sick.”
Rutger ignored them, looking over at a machine that monitored Tick’s vitals, but Mothball spoke up. “Best doc in the Realities, he is. A bit snippy, though.”
Master George walked in, Sally lumbering along behind him. They both pulled up chairs to the bed and sat down
so the whole group was in a circle, looking solemnly at the comatose Tick.
“So what’s the deal?” Paul asked.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with him?” Sofia added.
Master George cleared his throat, not breaking his gaze from Tick’s face. “Yes, yes, a very good question, my young friends. I certainly didn’t expect things to go in this direction with the lad. Troubling, I tell you. Very troubling indeed.”
He paused, and after a few moments of tense silence, Sofia threw her hands into the air, palms up. “Well?”
“Show some respect,” Rutger growled.
“No, no,” Master George said, throwing a quick glance in Rutger’s direction. “We’ve seen a lot this past day, and answers are deserved. If everyone would give me a moment, I’ll do my best to tell you what we know.”
He took a deep breath, then began. “First of all, Sato is recovering nicely. The lunacy left him as soon as the trouble started with Tick in the Fourth—the antidote obviously found its target during all that chaos. But Sato’s very battered and bruised from the abuse he gave himself while under the control of Dark Infinity. I’d encourage you all to visit him. He’s back in his normal quarters—quite a relief, actually. It was very hard to see him locked up like that.”
Master George pointed at Tick. “As for our young sleeping lad, here . . . goodness gracious me, what a turn of events. I believe I may have found a connection that explains what is happening.”