Sidewinder Part VII

19Apr10

A cannon shot up at the zeppelin, smashing one of the decks. Stephenson jumped out of the way, shards of wood hurling in all directions. Down below crawled along the huge metal octopus, trampling the trees and underbrush with brutal ease.

“Oi there!”

Stephenson looked around until he caught sight of a nearing balloon, the figures of Wilde, Bell, and Verne sitting comfortably inside.

“What on earth? How did you lot make it to the fifteenth century?” the disoriented man managed to ask, wiping his brow with a handkerchief.

“Actually we’re not quite sure,” yelled Bell, “though both I and Verne believe it to be some powerful magic. Wilde just thinks it’s a deus ex machina to further the plot.” Wilde shot him in the pants with the water pistol. ”At any rate you need to get all of Sidewinder’s clones ready for combat. He keeps many reserves of steam-powered rifles in the back. We’ll be there as soon as Verne figures out how to steer this thing properly.”

Stephenson did not even pause to ask how they knew of the clones; he had to hurry if they were going to stop Weishaupt. He rushed inside and began releasing clones, telling them of their master’s need of assistance down below.

Meanwhile Sidewinder climbed down a rusty ladder, avoiding periodic bursts of steam from the nearby pipes. It was dark inside but noisy as hell. He followed a path to a large opening: the control room! The eyes of the octopus looked out to the skyline, letting in the light of day. A chair set between them turned to reveal Weishaupt’s second in command, Duke Ernest the Second. He pulled two longswords from a stand behind the chair, tossing one down at Sidewinder’s feet.

“So,” began Sidewinder, “this is where it ends.”

“No,” countered the Duke, “this is where it begins. You and your pathetic League will fall and the Illuminati will take its rightful place as leaders of the world.”

The Duke charged in, forcing Sidewinder to roll forward, grabbing the sword just in time to parry the Duke’s blow. Both men pushed the blades together, trying to overpower the other.

“You can’t win,” yelled Sidewinder as he landed a blow against Ernest’s shin. The Duke went down, dropping his sword. A blade extended to point at his exposed neck.

“We already… have,” he managed to say between heavy breaths. ”Weishaupt is already en route back to America in the late eighteenth century to replace Washington as president!” The Duke lunged at his chair, pressing a button on the underside. The octopus let out a thunderous growl as a countdown began. ”I’ll see you in hell, Sidewinder!” he called after the hero, who was racing to get out of the metal cephalopod.

Part VI

Part VII