Hundreds of little NPCs filled the floor of the factory, and they scattered as we rolled in. These were tiny, round-faced creatures, each about the size of Zev. They all wore bright yellow hard hats, and they looked to be a race of creature that was a smaller version of a Bopca mixed with a gnome. They were all levels 10 to 15, and they were calledknockers.
I activated the newly upgraded Bubble Buddy shield and clicked theHeat Sinkbutton, which turned on with a hum, and it lowered the temperature even further.
Behind me, Grigori was loudly vomiting. He’d turned not into the sink but the empty deep fryer.
Far ahead, there were about a dozen smaller doors just wide enough for a pair of vehicles. A deep red glow emanated from allthe entrances. About ten of these doorways had wide conveyor belts leading up to them that were pulling the metal pellets into the next room. The other two doors were larger, and this was where Osvaldo was heading. Team Free Love’s van also zoomed ahead, aiming at the second conveyor-belt-free door. I cringed as the floating van mowed over a pair of the fleeing knockers.
I saw from the map that the conveyors all led up to the second level, where the pellets would get dropped into giant melting vats. One would have to make a jump off the end of the belt, lest you’d fall into the vats of molten metal. But if one made the jump, they’d bypass the third room, which was where the molten metal would be shaped into massive coils. That third room would be dangerous as fuck, but it didn’t require a big jump.
If I were choosing our route, I’d have skipped this first jump and tried to zoom around the vats. But it appeared the Lady Dominators were aiming for one of the conveyor belts, meaning we’d have to drive over a belt filled with metal balls. And make a jump.
I growled and tightened my grip on the wheel. I warily eyed the new button on the dash, just to the left of the GPS unit. This was the rocket-acceleration activator. In theory, the rockets, combined with the Bubble Buddy upgrade, would allow us to fly for a short period. But we hadn’t tested it yet.
There were suddenly vehicles and mounts everywhere, coming from both sides, zooming in around the piles of metal balls. A fire truck, lights and siren blaring, zoomed up from my far left and appeared to attempt to sideswipe an ostrichlike mount with goblins on the back, but the ostrich flapped and rose into the air, and the fire truck smashed right into a pile of metal balls that caused the truck to flip and the balls to go everywhere. The goblins cackled and laughed and flipped off the truck as they zoomed ahead, trampling a group of the fleeing knockers.
The Lady Dominators were angling toward the second-to-last door on the left, also mowing through the tiny NPCs, cutting a diagonal line across the factory floor. The conveyor belt on this one was thick with the round metal balls. I reached over and increased our wheel size slightly. That would slow us, but it would increase our traction to the belt.
The new golden wheels of the Dominator car had spread out laterally, and an impressive shower of sparks flew off the sides, leaving me to wonder if that was on purpose or if something was already wrong.
Bang! Bang!I didn’t see the vehicle that shot the weapon, but a pile of balls exploded far off to my right, and the balls rocketed through the room like shrapnel. A massive giraffe squealed out in surprise, tumbling from sight, its shield fuzzing like a buffering video.
A hover-car thing with twin flamethrowers spun along to our left, having been shot by something. It hit the edge of a pile of spheres and rose up into the air, leaving a curl of black smoke as more metal balls shot out in all directions, including off our shield. More explosions and spells ripped back and forth across the room.
We bumped as we hit the edge of the conveyor belt, crunching over the metal balls. Far ahead, the GTO disappeared into the second door, already a good five seconds ahead of us.
But then a dark shape appeared in quick pursuit.
Bianca. Prepotente’s hellspawn familiar was out and flying through the factory, likely at home in this heat. The goat dragon roared and pushed through into the next room.
The plan, which had been Prepotente’s idea once he heard about the problem, was to have Bianca grab Corky out of the back seat. We’d first have to defeat the shield, but it was a simple and straightforward idea. If that didn’t work, the backup plan—which I’d come up with just about ten minutes previously—was alittle more iffy. It involved theBig-Ass Magnetspell Donut had just eaten from herFeastbook.
A shrill alarm filled the cab.
Containment Warning!
The voice was sudden and loud and similar to that of the card-battle announcer from the eighth floor. But the alarm stopped after just a second. A fat gray, monstrously ugly creature zoomed ahead of us, disconnecting our two containments before the five seconds. The mammoth-sized mount didn’t have a saddle so much as a square cage that had a secondary glowing shield over it. At the front of the cage, holding the reins in a single hand, was Prepotente. Standing behind him was Jurgen. The man held a giant battle-axe in each hand. He turned to salute us as the creature galloped ahead.
“Wow, look at the thing!” Donut yelled, chewing on her page.
“That is a Perriso!” Dong called from behind us. “Wonderful mounts! They are deceptively fast for such large creatures.”
We bumped again as we moved to the next room, revealing a set of rising conveyor belts and a haphazard tangle of giant bubbling vats. The temperature noticeably rose, but it was still bearable. The little gauge by the heat sink was still in the green.
Prepotente: I am directly behind the Pontiac. Will be attempting to defeat their shield, but I will wait until after the jump. After the shield is defeated, Bianca will deliver this half-mantaur to you, and then she will return to us for defense. Good luck, Carl.
Carl: I see you! We’re just behind you!
Far off to our right, one of the conveyor belts tumbled over as a group of two vehicles spun away. One landed in a vat of molten metal while the other, an old roundish car with no obvious upgrades painted a dull yellow, spun once in the air and then landed soundly on the floor and continued. The car was anAMC Pacer. I only knew that because my grandfather had had that same car.
“Carl, that’s team Yokai!” Donut called when she saw the yellow car. “Our friends from karaoke!”
Just ahead of us, the conveyor belt curved to the right and then curved again, going under another belt before the belt dropped all the contents into the bubbling vat below. Across the way, easily ninety meters farther into the room, only slightly lower, a second conveyor belt also dropped its contents into a vat. This would be where we’d have to land. But when we did land, we’d be moving against the conveyor belt, which arced up into a higher room deeper into the factory. This distant conveyor belt was dropping a different substance, some sort of white chalky powder, into a different type of vat. The entire second half of the room was filled with a thick, roiling smoke.
I held my breath as the GTO, with Bianca floating just behind it, made their jump.
The golden tires turned, facing downward like a spaceship from some sci-fi movie, and the car rocketed over the space, soaring as it aimed for the opposite conveyor belt. Prepotente’s Sweety hurled her giant form into the air just behind it.
The car landed soundly with a crunch as Sweety galloped through the air with her fire feet. Ethereal wings fluttered, helping her steer toward the track.