Agent Darcy and Ninja Steve in...Mecha-Mole Mayhem! Read online

  “Thank you, sir. Thank you for letting me and Nora out of jail.”

  “It was necessary,” President Ninja said. “Anyway, I need to work something out with your parents. So if you could—”

  “LOOK OUT!” Samurai Sam shouted.

  The tree shook, then split in half. Steve’s parents ran off the end of the branch and landed silently on the ground. His mom and dad drew their baseball bats. President Ninja landed in another tree. Steve hovered in place.

  Three brute mecha-moles clawed their way to the surface. A fourth one came out last. Steve saw the golden claws and knew that it was Prince Eldin. Even though Steve had already seen him once before, he was still caught off-guard by just how tall Eldin was. Like last time, he was wearing his gold helmet, his black and gold boots, and his golden chest plate armor. Once again, his weapon of choice was a long stick with a drill bit on each end.

  “The ninja with no honor,” said Eldin, looking at Steve. “Elom, you may have your revenge tonight.”

  Steve looked around for the young prince. He spotted him hiding behind one of the other brute mecha-moles. Elom was carrying the same weapon as his father. He stepped into view and stumbled, dropping his weapon.

  “Here we go again,” mumbled Steve.

  “Halt, ninja peasant!” said Elom. “We’re going to win this war and shut down your holidays where you dress your prisoners up like mecha-moles and beat them with drumsticks.”

  There was no holiday like that. Not at all. That didn’t even sound fun to Steve. What other lies had Elom been told about Ninjastoria and its people?

  “I don’t want to fight your son,” said Steve.

  Prince Eldin roared. “A rat doesn’t decide if a raven can eat it! Elom, destroy him!”

  The young prince threw his drill spear. It didn’t even come close to reaching Steve.

  “Your son isn’t a good fighter,” Steve told Eldin.

  “Steve! Move!” Nora shouted.

  Prince Eldin threw his drill spear right at Steve. There was a clang as Steve’s mom threw a shuriken and knocked it off-course. The drill spear tumbled down and stuck in the dirt.

  “Big mistake,” Steve’s mom said.

  The mecha-mole erupted. “Your worm of a child has insulted my royal heir.”

  Steve hovered away until he was with his mom. She was gripping another shuriken and had a pepper-powder bomb ready to throw.

  “Take care of the mission,” said President Ninja, hopping down from the tree and walking right for Eldin. His posture was rigid, and even though Eldin was way taller than President Ninja, the two of them seemed equal.

  “But, sir, we can’t leave you on your own,” Steve’s dad said.

  “Shut up,” said President Ninja. “I fought all kinds of mecha-moles the last time around. While Raheem was fighting the Mole Emperor, I was keeping the royal guard at bay, including Eldin. I can handle these four, no problem.”

  Eldin shrugged. “I’ve become stronger. You’ve become an old man.”

  President Ninja clapped his hands. “You’re wrong, Eldin. In the meantime, my soldiers have orders to follow.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Steve’s mom.

  President Ninja said, “It was meant to be an operation for the two of you. But now I realize that it would be better if all of you went together.”

  “No one’s leaving,” said Eldin, and that was the signal for an attack.

  The mecha-mole closest to Steve and his mom dug into the ground and popped up to the left of Steve’s mom. She took the pepper-powder bomb and shoved it right into the mecha-mole’s mouth. The powder bomb burst, Steve shot back on his hoverboard, and his mom cleared out before the cloud of burning dust could touch her.

  “Follow me!” Steve’s mom said. “Your father knows where to meet us.”

  Steve listened, but he said, “What about Nora and Marcy and Sam?”

  He looked back over his shoulder. Sam used his earth-shake magic to throw a mecha-mole off balance, Darcy jump-kicked it in the chest, and Nora used the spell of eight sneezes. They ran off in the opposite direction, with Steve’s dad bringing up the rear.

  The last thing Steve saw was the squad of mecha-moles surrounding President Ninja.

  Steve’s mom summoned her own hoverboard and once she and Steve had zoomed off, she made a bird call. A crow dipped down from above and perched on her shoulder.

  “President Ninja is fighting Prince Eldin and three brute mecha-moles. Send backup immediately.”

  The crow squawked and took flight.

  “Mom, is President Ninja going to be okay?” Steve asked. Lately, Steve hadn’t exactly been the president’s biggest fan, what with the jail sentence and all. That being said, even at his angriest, Steve would never have wished for President Ninja to get smacked around by four mecha-moles.

  “The president is a tremendous warrior,” Steve’s mom said. “You should be worried about those poor mecha-moles, not him.”

  Steve nodded. That was a good point. You couldn’t be the president unless you were a supremely talented ninja. After all, you needed enough people in Ninjastoria to believe that you could run the village and protect it, if needed.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Mom,” Steve said.

  She hovered closer and put an arm around him. “Your father and I, your teachers, every adult in Ninjastoria is going to do everything possible to end this as soon as we can and get everyone’s lives back to normal.”

  Steve let out a big breath. “Yeah.”

  “Let’s go meet up with your father. He and I always have meeting places for times like this. We have a critical mission to complete and you’ve been assigned to join us.”

  They met up twenty minutes later at an old windmill in a field of pink potatoes.

  His dad hugged him. “Good work back there, big guy.”

  Steve was about to tell him not to say embarrassing things like that, when a crow flew down and landed on Steve’s shoulder.

  “Tell Sam that he’s in trouble,” the crow said, before taking to wing once again.

  “What’s the mission?” Nora asked, not wondering at all what the crow had talked about. She was no longer carrying the backpack full of nunchakus, so they must have found a way to deliver them, after all.

  “I still don’t know if we should be taking you,” Steve’s dad said, and Nora frowned.

  “It was an order from President Ninja,” said Steve’s mom. “I’d prefer to follow it.”

  “Fine. The mission is a secret visit to—”

  Steve’s dad stopped.

  There was a whooshing of a hoverboard, followed by a clanking of armor as someone approached.

  It was Samurai Sam’s dad.

  DARCY

  Although Darcy’s time at the bureau had taught her the names and faces of many important political figures, the samurai ambassador to Ninjastoria had not been one of them.

  Samurai Sam’s dad wore dark blue armor that seemed to absorb the moonlight. His shoulder pads had small spikes, and his helmet was carved to resemble an armadillo’s head—the most revered animal in Bushido Gardens. There was a sword in a sheath on each of his hips. He spoke with a crisp voice and his face was stoic.

  “Son, you ran away from home during a time of war. I had to enlist the help of the ninjas and their crows in order to track you down. You’ve dishonored both me and your mother. You know that we are leaving Ninjastoria,” he said.

  Darcy watched as Sam lowered his gaze to his boots. She could tell, right away, that Sam was used to obeying orders.

  “What do you mean?” Ninja Steve asked. “You can’t make him leave.”

  Samurai Sam’s dad crossed his arms. “Unlike your parents, Ninja Steve, I’ve taught my son some discipline.”

  Darcy couldn’t believe that he would throw an insult like that when Ninja Steve’s parents were right there. It was not especially fitting behavior for an ambassador to another country.

  “I don’t appreciate that comment about our parent
ing, Karl,” said Ninja Steve’s mom. “That was uncalled for.”

  “It doesn’t matter right now,” he said. “My orders are to get out of this place until the war is done. That means my son is coming with me and my wife.”

  Darcy saw the sadness hit Ninja Steve.

  “But this has been your home for years,” said Ninja Steve. “You’re going to leave it? Just like that?”

  “This has been our post, Ninja Steve,” said Sam’s dad. “Our home is in Bushido Gardens. So you can say ‘goodbye’ and then we are gone. Just like that.”

  Darcy wondered if the samurai ambassador kept his heart encased in armor, too.

  “I’m sorry, Steve,” said Sam. “This dumb war is ruining everything. I knew we were leaving, so I ran to the school so that I could spend some more time with you and Arjun and Marcy.”

  “I’m glad you did it,” said Steve. “Don’t worry. We’re going to win this war so fast. We’re going to stop those moles and then you can come right back here. Got it?”

  “You got it,” said Sam.

  Steve gave Samurai Sam a crushing hug.

  “We need to leave, Sam,” said Sam’s dad. “Our secret transport is waiting. Your mother’s already there.”

  Sam waved goodbye to everyone as he and his dad hoverboarded away.

  “I’ve always wondered how Sam turned out to be so nice,” said Steve’s dad. “Karl’s a real sword in the mud.”

  “Don’t talk like that,” said Steve’s mom. “Yes, he’s stern. And rude. And I don’t like him. You know what, never mind, he is a sword in the mud.”

  “Let’s go,” said Ninja Steve. His fists were clenched and his posture was rigid. It was, to Darcy, a disquieting sight.

  “Only if you’re ready, Steve,” his dad said. “You want to say anything first? Talk it out, maybe?”

  “Yeah, Steve, that was messed up,” Nora said.

  Darcy didn’t say anything. This was what a family could do. She felt, then, a small crystal of ice in her chest. It was awful, she told herself, to feel jealous at a moment like this. But it was true. Darcy could have mentors and teachers and peers. There was a chance, though, that she would never have a family again.

  “I want to get going,” said Steve. “Whatever this mission is, let’s get it done so we can get back here and end the war. Then Sam can come back.”

  Steve’s parents didn’t press anymore. They activated their hoverboards. Steve’s mom took the lead and his dad was the rear guard. That put Darcy in the middle with Nora and Steve. As she glided along, Darcy knew what she needed to say, yet she struggled to say it. What good would it do to say, “I’m sorry,” to Steve? What would those two words mean, when Steve had said goodbye to his best friend?

  She finally dug up the courage to say it. Darcy hovered a little closer, and the words were on her lips when she saw that Steve had tears running down his face. He was trying hard to look straight ahead and to look serious.

  He sniffled and wiped his face.

  “I’m embarrassed,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be embarrassed about and you have nothing to be sorry about. Today is a terrible day,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re going to get through it. We’re going to get through it,” she said, surprising herself with how much she sounded like Lead Agent Evelyn. Or was it Ninja Gertie?

  “Thank you,” Steve said.

  The trip was silent after that. Darcy got more and more anxious as they got closer to the border wall. The faint shapes of black-uniformed ninjas were darting around atop the wall. Every now and then, she’d catch a glimpse of a feline silhouette or a swooping crow.

  Steve’s mother signaled for everyone to halt. The night was quiet, and aside from the whoosh of their hoverboards, Darcy never would have guessed that the country was at war.

  “We need to talk about this mission,” said Steve’s mom. “President Ninja has given us a vital task. It’s something that will alter the course of this war, so everyone listen up.”

  Darcy noticed that Nora’s mood had significantly improved. She was eager to hear the details with an enthusiasm that normally only Steve would muster.

  “This is highly classified information, so there’s no written document. Our mission only exists because President Ninja told us. There will be no backup, and there won’t be a second chance if we fail,” Steve’s mom continued. “We have reason to believe that the mecha-moles are close to opening the Nexus.”

  That word again.

  Darcy said, “What is it? No one will tell me.”

  Steve’s mom cleared her throat. “It’s another dimensional realm. The Nexus is on the other side of a portal. It is…not a nice place.”

  “Why would anyone want to open it up, then?” Steve asked.

  “Steve, you know that Sensei Raheem defeated the Mole Emperor all those years ago, right?” his dad said.

  “Of course. That’s why he’s a hero,” Steve said.

  “The Mole Emperor had grown so powerful that no one could defeat him the normal way. We had to open up a portal to the Nexus and seal him in there.”

  “This is for real?” Nora asked.

  “Yes, sweetie,” her dad said. “You need to collect a few enchanted objects in order to open up the portal. President Ninja has learned that the mecha-moles might need only one more object before they can open it up and bring back the Mole Emperor.”

  A heavy silence fell on all of them. Darcy was having a hard time believing what she had heard. A world that you could enter through a portal? How could that have been kept a secret all this time? It seemed like a thing that should only exist in one of her Allison the Darkwalker novels.

  “Exactly how many enchanted items do you need to open the Nexus?” Nora asked. “I hope it’s not some clichéd number like four.”

  Darcy knew what Nora was talking about. People loved writing stories that always relied on the number four. Goldenlocks and the Four Bears. The Four Little Pigs. A lot of stories had magical wish-granting creatures that allowed for four wishes. Four was, indeed, an overused number.

  “Three,” said Steve’s dad. “So, no, it’s definitely not a storybook cliché.”

  “What is our actual mission?” Darcy asked.

  “We know that the moles already have one Nexus key. Our mission is to ascertain whether or not the moles have gained possession of a second Nexus key, and if so, we are to find a way to take it back.”

  Darcy bit her lower lip. “Can you tell us what the object is?”

  It was an incredibly important detail and yet Steve’s parents were being very careful not to say what it was. Was it some kind of weapon? A dangerous animal?

  “The Nexus keys are random,” said Steve’s dad. “The last time we gathered them, we had a pearl from the bottom of the Bottomless Sea, a painting of a walrus, and a bicycle helmet. Once we used them, they lost their powers, and three new objects gained them.”

  From a mission intelligence standpoint, this was a disaster. They were looking for something…and that special something could actually be anything. Surely, there had to be some pattern or some way to trace a magic signal.

  “How did you ever manage to find the three objects in the first place?” Nora asked, stealing Darcy’s question.

  “That was the bureau’s job,” said Steve’s dad. “Whatever technology they developed, we asked them not to share it with anyone, not even us. The fewer people who could find the Nexus objects, the better.”

  That didn’t make things any easier for them at the moment, though. The mission still sounded impossible.

  “What is our destination?” Darcy asked.

  Everyone was all ears.

  “We must go into mole-controlled territory,” said Ninja Steve’s mom. “We need to get into the Bureau of Sneakery.”

  STEVE

  “Wow! We get to go to the Bureau of Sneakery,” said Steve. “Why would the moles be keeping a Nexus object there?”


  Steve’s dad said, “The bureau had one. Since the moles have taken the campus, however, no one has been able to get in touch with anyone from the bureau. President Ninja said he couldn’t wait any longer, so we are going in to see if we can confirm if the moles have found the object. Also—”

  There was a lot of shouting from the ninjas up on top of the wall. Everyone turned to see what was happening. Three mecha-moles were on rocket-powered gliders; not even the best ninja archers could reach them.

  “On four,” Steve’s mom said. “One.”

  “Two,” said Steve’s dad, who performed the spell of one puffy cloud.

  “Three,” said Steve’s mom, who performed the spell of cloud-angering.

  “Four!” said Nora, who performed the spell of the tiny tornado.

  The mini tornado fell from the sky like a spinning top, and it whirled the mecha-moles around before tossing them away from the wall. The last time Steve had seen that technique had been during a professional bowling match. It hadn’t ended well.

  “Let’s move,” said Steve’s mom. “Details later.”

  Steve’s parents zoomed ahead, keeping close to the ground. When they got to the wall, Steve’s dad got off of his hoverboard and head-butted the wall. Part of the ground let out a hiss and slid aside to reveal what appeared to be a hidden elevator.

  “That was awesome,” said Steve. “You have to head-butt the wall to access the secret passage? No one would ever think to do that.”

  “It’s actually an eyeball scanner hidden in the wall. I do the head-butt to impress people,” his dad said.

  The gel-grips of the hoverboard surfaces released their feet. One by one, they all went into the elevator. The secret opening was covered once more.

  There was a one clear, square tile beneath their feet. There were four metal walls and a metal ceiling. When they were all standing on the tile, there was a noise like crickets chirping.

  “Wait a minute,” said Darcy. “How did you get this?”

  “President Ninja worked out a deal,” said Steve’s mom.

  Steve was trying to figure out what was so special about this room that sort of looked like an elevator.