The two super wizards stood stock still as the two floors of the building above them were eaten by the ghost of a cosmic megalodon. Bigger than a rocket-ship, it nonetheless hung effortlessly in the air, it's fifty-five rows of cleaver-like teeth surrounding their room as it floated vertically above them. The daylight of the alien sky shone through it's phantasmal body, the only full solid part of the terrible apparition was the laurel wreath floating above its forehead, radiating wildly with a sickly green light.
Flanking it was a pair of rainbow-finned fish, each as large as a full-grown man but just as insubstantial as the giant beast. They wavered beside the gigantic shark as if the slow breeze was a liquid stream they were coasting in. Their milky white eyes had an eerie spectral weight to them but also carried an innocent freedom.
"Don't move," the Super Wizard From Space warned the Hermit Wizard From Space, placing a firm hand on his companion's a shoulder. Not that there was anywhere they could go. There were rows and rows and rows of monstrous teeth in all directions around them, each tooth a vicious triangular bone larger than their torsos. "Try to stay very still."
"These aren't bees," whisper the hermit wizard.
"No, Gavrilo, these are not bees," said the super wizard. "It's some of the Infinite School. And they've brought their space-champion, Sharkasaurus Rex."
The ghostly megalodon seemed to recognize it's name, a maddening hunger flitting over it's golden eyes. The surrounding jaws flexed slightly tighter, the jagged teeth leaping toward them. The super wizard outstretched his arms, spread his fingers, pale solar power leaping out around him and Gavrilo to form a protective bubble of energy. The wall of giant teeth poked and tore through the edges of the shield near effortlessly, arcs of shredded electricity jumping inward.
The two rainbow-finned fish darted down toward the super wizards, their ghostly forms easily passing through the energy shield, and positioned themselves between the megalodon and it's meal.
"No! No!" thought the red-green fish aloud, it's short staccato telepathy hooking into the forebrains of everyone around it. It wasn't crying, it wasn't pleading. It was excited, the words rich with the bite of anticipation. "Great Rex! Mighty Rex! Not these! Not them! Not yet! Up! Up up up! Look up! See up!"
Far in the sky above the ruined building, the swarm of monster bees flew in wide circles. All of them different shapes, different materials, different colours. All of them in perfect formation, moving at exactly the same speed. Round and round, their wings making a low constant rumble, like a waiting storm.
"Terrible Rex! Harrowing Rex!" thought the other transparent fish. His scales were several shades of wonderful blue, but his mind slashed out words coldly and cruelly. "Up! There! Them! Them! Vengeance! Vengeance on the bees!"
There was a pause, then the laurel wreath's green light flashed brightly and the megalodon dived straight down. The energy shield popped like soap as the ghostly beast moved through the fish, through the wizards, through the ground. The remains of the building quaked, even insubstantial the great shark caused civilized structures to shake with the fear of it's passing. Gavrilo's blood went cold and his bones felt hollow as the beast dove into the planet. Then after a long heavy moment, a blast of vertical wind as it rose up again in a rising ragged attack.
Sharkasaurus Rex flew straight up toward the swarm. The drones blasted out panicked scent-transmissions and scattered. The one monster bee of purple-tinted electricity swerved in the wrong direction and quickly the cavernous jaws slammed shut around it. There was a crackling pop of lightening and it was gone. Rex swum around, already hurling through the sky toward the next victim.
"Formidable Rex!" thought out the one fish.
"Fearsome Rex!" thought out the two fish.
"Stay here. With Rex's help, I can end this," said the super wizard to Gavrilo before he wrapped himself in the remains of the shield's pale light, flying up into the air.
The swarm grew smaller as the monstrous drones got picked off one by one. They occasionally managed to get behind the crazed brute, their superior maneuverability allowing them to jabbed at the megalodon with their toxin stingers. But the quick attacks just passed through the spectral form, striking nothing.
The Super Wizard From Space flew alongside the giant shark, ambushing the confused drones as they emerged out the other side. A clench of his fist, a snap of his arm, and a blast of solar fire stretched out like a flaring whip. The bees vaporized instantly before the whip finished snapping, the fusion arc erasing a mountain with a deafening roar.
"Wondrous Rex!" thought out the red fish.
"Murderous Rex!" thought out the blue fish.
Gavrilo watched the carnage in the sky, a motion of super-savagery. As much as the ghostly megalodon filled his heart with terror, it was overwhelmed by his fellow wizard's bleak ruthlessness. And all the time, a loud and pounding cheering in his head, the pair of fish psychically throwing around acclamations to their space-champion. Clapping his hands over his ears did nothing to keep the broadcasts from slamming against his own thoughts.
The fish swam around the room randomly, the air shimmering behind their ghastly bodies, their rainbow fins leaving half-seen trails of color in the corners of his eyes. Rainbow fins. "Hey," Gavrilo called out to them. "I've seen you two before, haven't I?"
The two fish froze, blind white eyes wide, then dashed to the hermit wizard. "Yes! Yes! Quite recently! Just recently! I am Geisel!" said the red fish excitedly.
"I am Theodor." said the blue fish. "The rocks. The reef. The infinite ocean. You wizards killed us."
"You wizards freed us!" agreed Geisel.
"You mean the asteroid fields? You two were some of the drones. Out when we were ambushed."
"Yes." thought Theodor, trailing his words with pictures of the vast blackness of space, white-hot fire, melting flesh. "Stabbed. Changed. Long mad with instinct. Long crazed with need."
"Yes!" thought Geisel, trailing his words with sensations, the release of flesh and freedom from reality. "Freed from poison! Freed from body! Freed to swim the infinite ocean! Freed! Returned to Rex's school! Returned to Rex!"
"Returned with Rex. For revenge." dripped Theodor's black thoughts.
"By ourselves! Rest of school did not understand! Rest of school did not agree!" thought Geisel.
"Rex agreed. The teeth of Rex agreed." thought Theodor.
The telepathic bursts of the ghost fish were like sharp sudden headaches in Gavrilo's head. The hermit wizard winced and waved a hand at them to get them to be silent. Instead, then sway up through the air, watching the frenzy in the upper atmosphere. The drones never stood a chance opposing the two space-champions, their numbers were dwindling rapidly against the combined powers of two cosmic crowns.
In an attempt to ease away the jackhammering thoughts of the fish, Gavrilo moved to the edge of the room, toward the main entrance. It was like trying to fight an excitable unpredictable migraine. The extra distance seemed to help, as did the dimness of the hallway beyond it.
But the darkness seemed to shift. Like something too big was trying to squeeze through. And with a sudden lurch, it charged the hermit wizard.
Gavrilo held his hands in front of him, an unsteady energy shield forming between him and the shape. But eight long spear-like points pierced it. And they pierced his abdomen. Shock. Excruciating pain. The taste of bile. The taste of copper.
"You wouldn't szztray on old Pete, would you?" asked a mocking thrumming voice. The monster bee limped out from the hallway. It was suffering from burns and it's sides were crushed and its wings had been torn off. But the vibrating of it's consonants and the spitting of it's vowels were full of satisfied confidence. "Szztill szzo much to szzee. Szztill szzo much to do."
"Pete..." Sticky wetness everywhere. An invasive burning in his middle. The toxin started to seep into his flesh. "Don't do this... please..."
"We gotta, partner. All thiszzz, all that up yonder, we have to have szzomething to show for it." The Pete-bee's voice cracked, getting sickly and uneven. It's own wounds were probably fatal. Even so, it was almost gentle in tilting it's stingers, letting the hermit wizard slide off them onto the floor.
The concrete floor felt very very cold. "It doesn't even work," Gavrilo managed to choke out.
"What, the szzkull? That waszz szzmall time. That waszz the old me. I szzee thingszz clearly now. I'm part of bigger thingszz now. Part of a hive. Part of a szzwarm. And thiszz szzwarm never wanted no szzkull.
"We wanted you. We alwayszz wanted you. And all of them nameszz in that there thick head of yourszz."
Geisel and Theodor came rushing. Suddenly. Like a haunting. Mouths wide and minds racing. "Here! Here! One of them! A monster bee!" Thoughts and images of distress and hatred came out like tidal waves, washing over the Pete-bee. "A race of thieves! A race of slaves! Help! Help!" They hit like jackhammers against it's already cracked skull. The bee tried to slash at the spectral assault, but it's stingers cut only through empty air, and the erratic motion caused an already broken leg to give out under it.
Gavrilo coughed up blue blood. He could feel the dire poison working it's way through his body, tugging and stretching at his bones and muscles. Names. Cephalo Pete had sold him out to this swarm for names. The names of every one of his race. The knowledge of that name made Gavrilo completely immune to the science-sorcery any super wizard of his race could throw at him. Including the super wizard space-champion.
And when the poison in his system rewrote his form and shape, when it made him into a monster bee like the other drones, his loyalties would change in an instant. He'd tell their entire hive all those names. He'd tell their dread queen those names. And no super wizard would hold any power over them.
There was a rush of air and a cracking of concrete, and Gavrilo was knocked half-way across the room and slammed into the side of the machinery. But there wasn't as much pain as there should have been. Already he was being overcome by a rushing numbness throughout. His entire body felt tight, the stingers' poison was closing the wounds... in preparation to warp him into a new beast.
Looking at the hallway, the Hermit Wizard From Space could see the Super Wizard From Space standing over the Pete-bee. He had come straight down on the monster drone, landing like a meteor strike on the creature's back. It was probably dead instantly, but the super wizard beat it anyway. Struck at the body over and over. Hammering with concentrated solar force.
He didn't stop until he had completely pulped the corpse. That's when, in the silence, the super wizard heard the clicking of the metal door sealing on the silver skull machine.
The Super Wizard From Space took a moment to breathe deeply and slowly before turning around. Through the tinted glass of the eye socket portals, he could see Gavrilo inside the machine. The controls were untranslatable, the settings unknown, but a single large red lever was clearly waiting to launch the entire device into the time stream.
The Hermit Wizard From Space gripped the lever with both hands. He stared out the portal. His eyes were wells of regret. And resolve.
The Super Wizard From Space nodded.
The red lever was pulled. The entire machine shook. The ancient computers fed the silver skull's immeasurable power back into itself.
The interior went pitch black for an instant. Then it was empty.
Reality jolted. The entire universe tilted to one side in one moment, but smoothly righted itself in the next.
The wraith-like rainbow fish looked up into the clear sky. In the thinner higher parts of the atmosphere they could still make out Sharkasaurus Rex prowling the cloud banks, looking for prey that might have slipped away. If the massive megalodon had had any interest in the silver skull machine or the sudden unnatural shifting of the universe, he didn't let it interrupt his lazy hunting.
Geisel drifted to the skull, circling and peeking into the tinted glass and looking at his reflection in the tarnished surface. Theodor hung limply by the super wizard, broadcasting his thoughts in a mournful blue tone, "Gone. Dead. The other wizard. He killed himself."
"No. He left," the super wizard replied. "Given enough stellar energy, he could stall the transformation, but inevitably he would succumb. He left. While the decision was still his own to make."
"But where?" asked Geisel. "He is outside everything now. Outside the stream of time! Outside the ocean of space! He is no where!"
"Or somewhere."