Destined: 2 Be Continued

43. Castle's Fortress Remix

(Listen to the song as you read)

"I know what we're going to do!" Silas cried out suddenly as Wind flew them throughout the United States.

"What?" Otto asked hopefully.

"What is it?" Herman droned exasperatedly.

"This better be good," Malarkey warned.

"Let's go find my fortress! You know, our old home? We could get it fixed up right quick, and then we'd have someplace to live, rent-free! We could get our food from tending the farm the other metal monkeys used to tend--hey, we could make more monkeys! It's the best option we have right now, in terms of what to do," Silas answered excitedly. It was a pretty brilliant plan, even by his standards, which were not unlike those of Dwayne Johnson's.

"That sounds great!" Otto agreed.

"I suppose that's a good idea," Herman admitted.

"Hmm. That is pretty good," Malarkey responded reluctantly. Silas smiled at the monkeys' answers. Even the sad and angry ones agreed with him--that meant it was a good idea for sure! He sped up, turning course towards the fortress. He wasn't sure of the actual location of the fortress, but he definitely knew that he could find it, no matter what. It was like he was constantly magnetized towards it, just like the monkeys.

"Let's go!" the monkeys shouted in perfect three-way tandem, happily, sadly, and angrily. The four flew at high speed towards wherever the fortress was, speeding past mountains, forests, deserts, and even a bit of water. After a lot of speed and flying, going faster than they had ever gone before(or at least going at their top speed), they saw a fortress in sight.

"There it is!" Silas called out, wishing that Wind could go faster but respecting that Wind could go this fast already. They sped like rockets towards the two large front doors that Silas had loved so dearly, slowly lowering themselves. Finally, they landed on the ground at a run, dashing across the earth. Silas slowed down enough so that he could open the door dramatically instead of just bursting through it. 

"Here it is. Man, that was fast. Thanks, Wind," Silas spoke, staring at the two doors that held his memories.

Don't worry about it. I'll take your firstborn son as payment, Wind answered. Silas grinned and slowly opened the door, which swung with a creaking sound. Slowly, inch by inch, the inside of the fortress was revealed to them: the golden halls, the checkerboard ceiling and floor, the shining pillars that held the ceiling up. The four stepped forward.

"It's all here," Herman noted, disappointed.

"The glittering pillars!" Otto remembered.

"The glaringly shiny floors," Malarkey complained.

"And the trap door right there!" Silas laughed, pointing at the floor under them. The floor opened up into a chasm, which the four fell in to. The four laughed, growled, and attempted to have positivity as they fell down the chasm. 

"This is where we kept Heather!" Malarkey snapped as they landed. Silas felt a rush of guilt, remembering the days that he had told Otto, Herman, and Malarkey to help him defeat those great, meddling kids known better as the Destined. He smiled internally at how he always called them kids, though Jeremiah was actually older than him. 

"Well, let's forget about this chasm," Silas said, flying the four back up to the ground floor.

"Just like we forgot about how you were in a barbershop quartet?" Malarkey scolded. Silas tried to give one of the snappiest comebacks in the entire known universe, but he instead burst into laughter. He had completely forgotten about the barbershop quartet! That was one of the best times in his life, or at least in the last two years--he had been able to travel quickly and wear a funny hat!

"We'll talk about that the next time we can," Silas compromised. "I actually did forget about the barbershop quartet. Man, those guys were lovely."

The four went down one hallway, aiming for the room with all the Impervium in it. They ended up realizing they were in the wrong hallway and turned back. They did soon find a room with a sign next to it that said Impervium Storage, so the four made a wild assumption--the kind that a normal person should never make in their day-to-day lives--that that room was the one that housed all the Impervium. They walked inside to find their wild assumption proved correct, and there indeed was a large glass dome with a swirling silver mass inside it, along with a dispenser and many glass jars. Near it, there was a pile of metal monkey bodies--the one that August had created when raiding the Impervium.

Silas leaped to the top of the mound of metal monkeys and slid down it with the three others in tow. He reached the dispenser machine, which had two options: Make a Monkey and Jar. Silas hit the Make a Monkey option and when the number asking how many came up, Silas chose "99," making a note in his head to change the wording of Make a Monkey to Make Monkey(s). One by one, silver swirling liquid poured out of a large spout, forming into a monkey shape. The liquid hardened, and the eyes of the monkey would glow red, the monkey screeching in becoming-alive-ness, joining the others. 

Once every monkey was created, Silas pointed to the pile of dead monkeys and shot his hands forth towards them. Lightning, the pure form of storm, shot from his fingers, empowering the monkey corpses with what would seem to the unknowing layman as artificial souls. Malarkey, Otto, and Herman were the only sentient beings, and only because they were hyper-intelligent. Silas though of the other monkeys as nothing but machines, helpers, and mild companions--like rubber duckies.

"Alright, that should be enough," Silas muttered to himself. It certainly seemed like there were very many metal monkeys, probably enough to rebuild the fortress and the property surrounding it. All he needed to do was give the order. Of course, he would help, too, putting a priority on the more difficult tasks that the metal monkeys might not be able to do on their own.

"Alright, metal monkeys," Silas called out to them. "We've got some work to do."