Agatha H. and the Airship City

a doorway where they had been hiding. Sleipnir stepped forward. “Thank you for taking care of Zulenna, sir.”

Klaus looked uncomfortable. “Not a word about her revivification. We shall talk about this later. Now stand aside. I have—”

“No, Herr Baron.” It was Hezekiah who spoke up. He was sweating profusely, but stood tall. “You’re trying to capture

Agatha,  yes?”

Sun Ming chimed in. “Please, just let her go.”

Hezekiah nodded. “She’s a good person, sir. She won’t cause trouble.”

“She didn’t even know she was a Spark.”

“Or a Heterodyne.”

Z looked at the Baron’s face. “But you aren’t going to let her go. Why?”

Klaus sighed. “Because you hardly know her and still you rally to her side, even in defiance of me. If all of you—who have studied under me for so long, and have the best chance of understanding what it is that I have built and how terribly fragile it is—will do so, imagine what the populace at large will do?”

The group of students looked at each other uncertainly, which was when Klaus slipped the mask over his face and activated a new canister of C-Gas. They dropped to the floor and the great clank delicately stepped over them.

“I think it time you all returned home,” he sighed. “Your use to me is ended. I can only hope you’ve learned your lessons.”

Agatha and Theo followed Krosp. Theo suddenly called out, “This isn’t the way to the docking bays! We’ve gotten turned around!”

Krosp paused. “No. I know where we are, but there’s someone we have to bring with us!” Again he took off, leaving Agatha and Theo no choice but to follow. Everywhere there were signs that things were not going well aboard the great airship. In every corridor, lights were flashing orange, and swarms of people were rushing about in a surprisingly orderly fashion.

“Krosp,” Agatha called out, “where are we going?”

“It’s Monday! He’ll be in the chemical locker,” Krosp replied unhelpfully. They reached a large door marked “CHEMICAL STORAGE & DISPOSAL LOCKER 55.”Krosp motioned to Theo. “Open it.”

Theo did. Inside were racks and racks of metal shelves, holding endless canisters and glass tubes. Halfway down the second aisle, the large, hulking figure of Dr. Dim pushed a small cart and delicately wielded a feather duster.

“Papa!” Krosp cried as he ran up and leapt up onto Dim’s cart. The man smiled at the sight of him, and patted his head.

“Hello, Krosp. Are you hungry?” He saw Agatha and DuMedd, and a guilty look crossed his face. “This is a good cat,” he said defensively.

Krosp patted his hand. “It’s all right, Papa. They’re friends. They are here to help us. It’s time for us to leave Castle Wulfenbach.”

Dimitri looked confused. “Leave? I don’t think we can do that.”

“Yes we can. I have a ship, I have a crew, and the Baron is distracted. We have to take this opportunity to escape.”

Dimitri took a step away from his cart and then stopped. Conflicting emotions played across his face. “But, I haven’t finished dusting.”

Krosp stared at him. “Forget the dusting, Papa. It’s not important. We’ve got to—”

The man slammed a hand down on the cart. “You forget yourself, cat.” His face was filled with a cold arrogance that Agatha had seen on any number of Sparks when their knowledge or competence had been questioned. “I am Dr. Dimitri Vapnoople!”

At this declaration, DuMedd started, and looked from the large man to Krosp, and Agatha could see connections being made.

Vapnoople continued: “The Baron assured me that I would continue to do important work. Work worthy of my genius! And I have done my work and I have heard no complaint! The Baron’s secretary saw me in the corridor last week, and do you know what he said to me? Do you? He said, ‘You are doing a good job.’ That’s what he said! To me!” At this, Vapnoople hunched over, grinned, and whispered, “And he still does not know that I continue my real work! Here! In the very heart of his own castle!”

Krosp glanced at Agatha and DuMedd and looked distressed.

“Yes, Papa, we know. But now we have to—”

“I have been constructing my armies! Here! Out of sight! And I have learned! I have learned from the Baron’s own books and laboratories! I have improved my work! Each creature I build is better! Much better than the last!”

Throughout this tirade, DuMedd had gotten more and more nervous. “Dr. Vapnoople was famous for creating intelligent animals,” he whispered to Agatha. “His armies of wolf/men controlled hundreds of square kilometers. It took the Baron almost three years to defeat him and capture them all.”

“And Wulfenbach killed them!” Vapnoople roared. “He absorbs all sorts of half-finished trash into his service, but my creations he said weren’t good enough! They had to die!”

“I believe, Herr Doctor,” Theo said carefully, “that the Baron judged them as being… too good at what they did. Plus he was unable to break their loyalty to you. They couldn’t accept a place in the Baron’s forces.”

A tear ran down Vapnoople’s face. “Yes. I always did know how to build in the loyalty, eh Krosp?” He ruffled the top of Krosp’s head. The cat’s ears were flattened, but he still leaned into the big man’s hand. “But I learned. Even at the beginning, when Wulfenbach was first engaging my glorious creations, I saw how it would go. I saw that I would have to do better the next time, and I have! BEHOLD!” With that he whipped open a small door in the cart and displayed a small patchwork bear made from rags. “My beautiful bears,” he crooned. He picked it up, and holding its little paws, made slashing and growling noises before putting it back in the cart. “They will overrun Wulfenbach and send his oversized castle crashing to the ground! And you—” He patted a slumped Krosp on the head. “You will lead them to glory!” He pointed to Agatha. “I remember her. She said she would help.”

Krosp and Agatha looked at each other.

Vapnoople picked up his duster. “And so you see why I cannot leave. Now, I must get back to my important work, so that the Baron does not suspect.” So saying, he turned away and, cackling occasionally, returned to cleaning.

Agatha gently put a hand on Krosp’s shoulder and whispered, “We have to go.”

Krosp addressed Vapnoople’s broad back. “I’ll come back for you, Papa. I’ll take you and… your bears and we’ll go somewhere safe. I promise you.”

Dr. Dimitri waved a hand without looking around. “I’ll save you a fish.”

Krosp was quiet. Several times DuMedd had to prod him to get him to tell them the correct turn to take, but quickly enough they opened a large door and found themselves in one of the hundreds of airship docks that peppered the sides of the vast dirigible. This one had bays for over a dozen mid-size ships, and from the debris that littered the deck, it was obvious that there had been a great deal of activity a short time ago. The only ship in evidence was a tiny two-engine pinnace. The three headed towards it, but stopped dead when they found a half- dozen Wulfenbach crewmen, unconscious and neatly lined up next to a fuel barrel. A faint whistling was heard, and to Agatha’s amazement, a cheerful Othar straightened up from behind the ship where he was coiling some rope. He spotted them and his face broke into an easy grin. “Ah! Excellent! You made it!”

“Othar!” Agatha exclaimed. “You’re alive!”

“As always!” he replied.

Theo’s eyes widened. “That’s really him? You know a talking cat AND Othar Tryggvassen?”

“But… he… Gilgamesh…”

Othar waved this off with obvious disdain. “I knew you’d choose the side of good in the end.”

This snapped Agatha out of her confusion. “I’m not here for you—!”

She was cut short by Krosp shoving her towards Othar. “No time! Come on!”

“Yes!” Othar agreed. “Come on! It’s time for adventure!”

Agatha looked at him levelly. “Get on the airship.”