They were gathered in an open grassy area of the ruined park, ignoring the hundreds of people who had evacuated Chu’s mountain building. Most of them stood in silent huddles, staring back at the black structure, probably in shock at how close they’d come to dying.

“Gonna be just fine, he will,” Mothball announced, kneeling next to Tick. “Sofia ’ere may ruddy well win a medal from the old man for this.”

The crowd of Realitants broke into applause as Sally bellowed a long-winded cheer that echoed across the park but made absolutely no sense. Paul thought he caught the words “rabbit” and “coon dog.” Sofia showed no reaction to anything, staring at a blank spot in front of her.

Mothball reached across Tick and grabbed him around the torso, lifting him up with a heavy grunt. His body flopped over her shoulder with no sign of life, his arms and legs dangling.

“Come on,” she said. “Chi’karda spot’s only a ’undred yards up yonder.” She nodded her head in the direction away from the destruction.

As the others started following Mothball, Paul reached down and offered Sofia a hand. “Let’s go, Miss Italy. Tick’s gonna be fine, thanks to you. You can beg me for forgiveness later.”

Sofia took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. “Forgiveness for what? Killing more spiders than you did?”

“No. For not telling me you had a super-secret mission to put Tick in a coma.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry that Master George thinks I’m better than you.”

Paul sighed. “You’re forgiven.”

A shout from behind turned both their heads. A dark-haired man, his clothes ripped to shreds, his body battered and bloody, was limping along as fast as he could, yelling something unintelligible. Sofia recognized him before Paul did.

“It’s Chu!” she yelled. “Mothball! That’s Reginald Chu!”

Mothball turned and ran back toward them, Tick still slung over her shoulder. “Right, you are. Reginald Chu! Sally! Grab the monster!”

Sally had barely taken a step before an even louder shout came from a cluster of trees to their right. Another dark-haired man bolted from the shadows, his fist raised in the air, screaming obscenities that made Paul wince. Then, in disbelief, he saw who it was. Paul looked back at the other man.

Two Reginald Chus were running straight for them.

“Whoa,” he whispered.

“Oh, no,” Mothball said, standing right next to Paul. “Oh, no!” she said louder. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Run! Everyone run!”

Without waiting for a response, the tall lady sprinted for their Chi’karda launching point, Tick bouncing up and down on her shoulder, the other Realitants right behind her.