I was smoke, and then I was flesh. I was outside my brother’s tower. Mystic Armor, check. Force Slave, check. Summon Djinn, check. Full complement of spells, check. I was ready. I looked to the blue djinn now the size of an apple.

“I will let you go when I am done saving my brother.”

The djinn nodded and I entered the tower. Through the rooms, I searched I found dismembered bodies strewn throughout the rooms and hallways. Blood was everywhere. First I moved up the tower floors, then down into the dungeon floors.

I was walking down a hallway three levels below ground when the floor vanished. I fell face-first into a sharply spiked pit. If it wasn’t for my Mystic Armor, I would be dead. I needed to be much more careful. Now how do I get out of this ten-foot-deep pit? I saw bodies down here. I tried climbing out but I wasn’t strong enough. I couldn’t pull my body up.

“Could you get me to the other side of this pit please?”

Once again my body became smoke that floated upwards to the other side of the pit where I became flesh again. I needed this genie. I knew that I needed to find a way to get it on my side. I needed a way to reward it for its time and effort. I didn’t know how now, but I knew I would find a way.

I should have read more of the Akashic Records on my brother Danny’s dungeon but I didn’t have time. I needed to get to my brother before anything bad happened to him. I was more careful as I walked on and searched for my brother Danny. I went deeper and deeper into the dungeon and after seeing all of the carnage they created, I found them. There were twenty people, and when I showed up twenty bows shot me. My Mystic Armor took the shots but has heavily weakened. They got ready for another round which would kill me.

“Stop people, I’m Danny’s brother Michael,” I said holding up my arms, saying, “I need self-regenerative armor.” I willed my helmet off so they could see my face. They didn’t kill me.

“That’s some powerful armor you got there Michael, Am I glad to see you. They promised to help me look for you in the tower by your school if I helped them with this tower. Now we don’t need to go to your tower,” Danny told me.

“It’s good to see you also Danny.”

Danny turned to the others, “Everybody this is my brother Michael.” He then turned to point at a large mountain of a man in plate armor and sword and shield, “This is Homer and he is the leader of this bunch.”

“That’s some nice protection you got there, boy, where you get it, Michael right?”

I nodded and told him, “I am a wizard and this is my physical protection.”

“Physical protection. I take it you have wizard protection too?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have protection from magic too? We were over fifty coming in, now we are twenty strong. We lost over thirty men and women to wizards who escape and traps. Those damn traps are awful. Some of the traps were magic also. Can you help us with that?” Asked Homer.

“No, not that I can cast yet. The wizard who goes first will win. I can’t help you there. I wish I could but I can’t” I froze, “at least not yet.”

“What do you mean?” Homer asked.

“I have another spellbook. It has those spells in it. I just need time to learn.”

“How much time?”

“I’d say one or two days.”

“Can’t wait that long. This is the last door on this floor of the dungeon and the boss of this floor will give a lot of loot.” Homer looked at the door we were all in front of.

“Well good luck to you, I’m taking Danny home now,” I said.

“Wha wait … you can’t take him, he’s one of my best people, this seriously weakens our power.”

“He’s a sixteen-year-old kid, and he isn’t going in that room without training.”

“I found my brother so now I’m going home,” said Danny.

“If the heroes won’t go to the monster, then the monster must go to the heroes,” said Homer who then glanced at one of the warriors. The warrior ran to the door, opened it and another used a bow and arrow on something I couldn’t see. They both ran back to the group. Monsters piled into the hallway.

I was about to give instructions to my djinn to take us home when my djinn vanished. My armor vanished as well as my Force Slave. I then became very afraid. I looked around to see at the far end of the fighting was a monster looking and doing at me. He had a medallion around his neck and it glowed. Did I lose all my abilities somehow? I felt inside my mind to find my spells still there. Now was this a dispel effect or an anti-magic field?

The fighting erupted all around me. Homer, the only one in plate mail was like a tank running over all of these cannibals as they were described by the Akashic Record. Two cannibals broke through the line to attack me. One was stopped by Danny while the other swung a two-edged sword at me. I ducked under the swing and tried to tackle him.

I failed as he pushed me to the side as if I were a five-year-old. I fell and rolled onto my back and cast Mystic Armor. Other than the mystic energy going away, nothing happened. He stabbed downwards and got me in the side. I screamed in pain as he smiled with saliva running down his mouth. In the distance, I heard someone laughing.

Impaled on his sword, I screamed and twisted my body, the pain was so great I almost passed out but it was my will to continue this fight. Grabbing the sword by the blade I tried to lay it down flat. I looked at the fight to see if I could get help, but we were outnumbered three to one. It was then that I saw the unbelievable. Homer in his plate mail broke through the lines and attacked the Mage Leader who stood back from the fight. The evil mage vanished and I felt a difference in my memorized spells. I summoned the Djinn who immediately engaged the drooling cannibal fighting me. Within seconds it was dead.

“I’m hurt bad,” I told the genie.

“Are you Master?” And with that, the pain was gone. I was weak from blood loss, but I knew I would live.

“Kill all the cannibals,” I commanded and it obeyed. It became a rotating ball of knives and one by one the cannibals died. It then returned to my side. I counted thirteen of us survived. And my favorite shirt was ruined.

“You people pissed me off,” I said to the survivors.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Asked Homer.

“Destroy their armors,” I commanded. And Homer’s plate mail was shredded.

“You idiot, we are supposed to be getting stronger to protect the Earth from what is to come! How can we do that now?” Screamed Homer.

At that moment I heard laughter. We were suddenly surrounded by zombies. I mentally commanded my genie to get us all to safety, and with that Danny, me, the others, and the genie became smoke.