4. P R O T E C T O R S : Primordial

CHAPTER X

The Avatars and Worthy appeared in another cavern that was as dark as a starless night. Cameron ignited her sword, illuminating what lay below them: the Leviathan's closed eye.

Cameron exhaled. "This is it, guys," she announced. "We take care of the Leviathan, and the world is saved. Then all that's left is to save Autumn."

"Let's make this quick, ja?" Gustav suggested. "After all, he isn't getting any younger."

"This should be as easy as the last one," Tián stated, whipping her armor-plated tail back and forth. "Just travel through the eye and—"

Suddenly, the ocean shook again—but this time from the Leviathan instead of the late Behemoth.

And this time, the creature's eye opened.

The Avatars and Worthy rapidly covered each other's mouths in a sequence that left a hand on every mouth, effectively silencing their inevitable screams.

The Leviathan's massive yellow eye glared at them balefully, unblinking.

Zill slowly removed Kayla's hand from his mouth and whispered, "If that thing even twitches, we're toast."

"Then let us make sure dat it cannot twitch," Endar sneered. He let out a powerful caw and darted forward and lightning speed, dashing into the Leviathan's eye.

"ENDAR!" the Avatars and Worthy cried, following him quickly.

The Leviathan shifted slightly in irritation, creating tremors that caused massive waves to crash on the Earth's beaches—but it did not rise.

The Avatars and Worthy moved as fast as possible, making their way to the brainstem in less than fifteen minutes—under three-quarters of the time it had taken to reach the Behemoth's.

"Look sharp, drongos—we've got no time to waste!" Davey snarled, pointing his claws at the brainstem. "Ya ready?"

"Ready!" the Avatars and Worthy declared, aiming their weapons as well.

"Three," Davey counted, "two... one..."

"Here we go again..." Slither grumbled.

The second Giant-slaying explosion worked just as quickly and effectively as the first—and spawned the same result. The Leviathan spasmed, making the plates it rested under shift. Earthquakes rattled the globe, resulting in a couple of fatalities.

When it was over, Cameron called anxiously, "Mr. Barakoa? We're all done down here. What's the damage report?"

"The world is on high alert," Mr. Barakoa replied as his image appeared before the Avatars and Worthy's eyes. "They are trying to identify the source of the quakes. As for you all, get to these coordinates IMMEDIATELY. There is no time to waste!"

Mr. Barakoa vanished, and a set of coordinates appeared.

"Uh... uh... John?!" Cameron cried, trying to figure out what the numbers and letters meant.

"48°37'32.0016" S, 126°13'32.0016" W," John muttered. "That's near Point Nemo..." He turned to Endar and ordered, "Endar, enter those coordinates into your helmet's projector. It should give us a map of the globe."

Endar nodded and did so at a tedious pace, increasing the others' impatience with him. "Dere," he said at last a map of the world appeared. "No vun ken type as fast as Endar," he bragged.

"I know several people who can type way faster than Endar," Xiao Lang said under his breath.

"Hm... I believe I can take us to this location," John surmised, squinting at the map. "But it'll take a lot of precision and effort." He held out two of his several appendages.