The children stood up and dusted off the debris. They were in a huge room, a forum, where until a year ago the representatives of the different regions of the world met to discuss relevant issues. The seats and tables had been removed, only a huge bare space remained. Tur was on the podium, on top, on an imposing and threatening throne that clearly did not belong there. Beside him on both sides were the leaders of the eight most influential countries, bound with ropes.

Tur gave them a few seconds to recover and leaned forward. He appeared calm, in total control of the situation despite the children appearing from the ceiling. In contrast, the world leaders were dumbfounded.

—Ah, good to see you again!— he greeted them— since you are here, I assume you defeated my subjects. You impress me, kids.

The children looked around; a large number of soldiers had them in the sights of their rifles. Above their heads, several drones hovered, watching them through their lenses. They were cameras.

—What are you trying to do?— Erica asked.

The noni shrugged his shoulders.

—What do you think? Didn't you see my announcement?— he then encompassed the elders next to him— I'm going to execute these bunch, so I can take possession of the people and the land of this world. I've already done it in practice, of course, but conquests sometimes require certain formalities, do you understand me?

—We won't let you do as you please, Tur!— shouted Erica— We've come to save this world from you and take the power the Chainer gave you!

—And to take revenge for the suffering you have caused!— seconded Liliana.

—And to lift the rewards you put on us— added Arturo.

Tur burst out laughing. Then he gave them a round of applause, a slow and sarcastic applause.

—So vigorous, so energetic! Now I see how my most precious generals fell before you...— then he looked at his men— Soldiers, fire!

All the nonis around held their rifles tightly and began firing lasers at the children. Immediately Arturo erected a circular wall that would protect them for a few moments.

—Damn Tur!— said Erica.

—We had to fight anyway— resigned Arturo.

Liliana nodded.

—It's true. He's probably planning something, let's finish with those soldiers quickly and then let's go get him.

—Yes, let's go!

The wall came back to the floor and the children took off at full speed towards three different corners of the room. Erica ran to her side and finished off the soldiers like they were pins in a bowling alley. Arturo protected himself at all times with a rock barrier, disassembled the rifles into all their pieces and at the same time plunged the nonis into narrow holes in the floor, leaving barely room for them to breathe. Liliana ran at full speed, dodged the lasers raining down on her with Brontes' skills and put the nonis to sleep with accurate slashes.

In less than two minutes there were no soldiers left in the large room, just Tur, the world leaders and the children. The latter gathered in the center, congratulating each other. Then they turned to Tur, who was resting comfortably on his throne.

—What's going on?— exclaimed one of Mother's leaders— Are those kids with us? How did they eliminate those noni?

The First noni tried to think of an appropriate and short answer, but nothing came to his mind. Effort, dedication and a bit of luck, he thought, but he supposed the "luck" was due to something or someone bigger than that situation alone. It didn't matter. He stood up.

—Very well. I see you're not the same kids who let yourselves be captured by the Chainer—he held out his hands, palms up, as if offering them something— But I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about the invasion of your world.

—Why?— Erica yelled.

Arturo folded his arms.

—He's right.

—Haha, what's the matter? Didn't you think it through?— mocked the First— Come on, it's not that hard. Look, even if a miracle were to happen and you could defeat me, the only thing you'll get is my ring; the power granted to me by the Chainer. I am only one man, but my army numbers in the hundreds of millions. The three of you will never save this world or get me to raise you that bounty.

—What if we capture you and use you as a hostage?— Erica ventured, though even she understood that idea was too crazy. Tur laughed at her suggestion.

—Go ahead, give it a try. If it came to that, I would cease to be the First and the Second would take control of the entire militia.

—What?!— yelled the children.

—That's noni politics; there are no hostage leaders. Either you are free or you are dead.

—That's too much...— Liliana said, but she couldn't argue with the norms of another culture, let alone a different species.

—Are you saying we can't win?— asked Arturo.

Tur bared his teeth. He had been waiting for that moment.

—No, you can't, unless we make a bet.

This caught the children's attention.

—What do you mean?— grunted Erica.

—All that stuff you said; your world, your freedom and my ring. If you beat me in a fight, I'll give you all three.

Just what they wanted, though it was too good.

—And if you win?

—Ah... — Tur could not suppress a grimace of excitement, like a child who is about to be given a new toy — if I win, you three must swear allegiance to me and serve me. You will become my slaves for life and obey my every command.

—Never!— said Erica.

—Wait, wait, there's something wrong with that bet— said Arturo— Why risk all the resources you've put into capturing Mother for the three of us? Surely there are far more capable people already obeying you.

Tur put a hand to his chin, meditative, without removing the excited smile from his face.

—Good point, Arturo. Can you really think of no reason?

The boy frowned in annoyance. He had already thought about it, but he wanted to make sure before jumping to conclusions.

—It's because of the Chainer. You're planning to turn Erica in to give him access to the Core.

Tur shrugged as he laughed, showing off his muscles.

—This time we'll make sure you kids can't escape. If you're my slaves, you won't be able to disobey my orders anyway. I think you understand what I mean.

Liliana put a hand to her neck, remembering her time as property.

—So that's what you intended, huh?— snorted Erica— I won't let you enslave my friends again!

—No, wait— Arturo stopped her— it's a really good offer.

—What?!

—No doubt there's some kind of trap in all this— added Liliana— but as it is, we can't refuse it.

Erica watched them for a while, admiring their determination. It was nothing new, but she never tired of seeing them like that. Then she turned to Tur, ready.

—We accept your stupid bet.

—That's the spirit! Come and give it a try— the noni bellowed— I'm Tur’non, the dancing noni!

Tur pulled out his timitio to cover his entire body and made it grow to more than twice its size. His arms became thick as mattresses, his hands grew to the size of backhoe claws, his horns lengthened and his muscles bulged like bubbles. From one moment to the next they found themselves before a giant timitio monster.

—What is that?!— yelled Liliana.

—Is it a territi?!— asked Arturo.

—No, that's his timitio armor!— said the brika— Tur is still in there, we'll have to go through his armor if we want to defeat him.

Without turning her back, Erica held her friends' hands for a moment. Liliana and Arturo looked away from the giant timitio for a second. The girl swallowed saliva.

—Listen: No matter what happens, I promise you that the three of us will get out of this. Don't be afraid.

They both squeezed her hands lightly to comfort her, they didn't need to say anything more. Then they let go to get ready. The final fight started.

Tur ran towards them, like a train without brakes.Erica immediately grabbed her friends and jumped aside to dodge the giant forteme. He continued on his way because of the inertia it was carrying and smashed the wall, passing to the other side.

—Let's follow him!— urged Erica.

The three of them headed for the hole he had made in the building. Before them they found the palace gardens, ruined by the attacks and occupation of Tur's army. The First lay on the ground, somewhat confused. He had expected to take at least one of the boys with him with that onslaught.

Quickly Arturo lifted the part of the ground they were on to descend into the gardens. There they climbed down and surrounded Tur, who contemplated their simple strategy with disdain.

—Come on, don't you want to defend your world?!

He raised an arm to the sky, from which a weapon emerged. This weapon of timitio grew and grew until it became an axe larger than a pickup truck. Then he grabbed it with both hands and swept the floor with it, cutting the air with one swift motion. Arturo jumped over it, propelling himself with pieces of rock, Liliana dodged it with the help of Brontes, but Erica prepared her timitio in her arms and feet, and blocked it. The tremendous blow sent her flying.

Tur noticed that Erica was far away and turned to Liliana to lunge at her, but she gracefully evaded his blow and counterattacked. Brontes' blade pierced the timitio a few centimeters, but failed to hurt him.

Taking advantage of the moment, Arturo stepped forward and brought up a long, thick stake from the ground, which he fired towards Tur's center. He dodged it, but the stake went through his timitio anyway and grazed his side. The First cried out in surprise. In that moment Erica appeared out of nowhere, jumped at his head, spun around and hit him with an axe kick. She sent him straight to the ground.

Tur's huge timitio body shrank back to its original size. The timitio hid inside its host.

—Lili!— Erica shouted.

Liliana knew what her role was; if anyone could knock Tur out easily it was her, she just needed to pierce his neck with Brontes and her phantom blade would numb his nerves.

—This is my chance!— she said to herself.

Tur was lying on the ground in front of her, she just needed to get close enough and cut him with Brontes, then it would all be over. Suddenly, however, the noni stood up. He looked angry.

—LILI!— her friends shouted.

Arturo took control of the ground around Tur, while Erica threw herself to protect her. Liliana feared for her life for a moment, but then she realized that nothing had changed, Tur was still in front of her. She only needed to hit him once and everything would be over.

—Here I come!— she said to herself.

Determined, she slashed with Brontes. However, he saw her coming. With his fingers he caught the blade in the air.

Liliana froze in surprise. Then she looked at Tur, she realized that something had changed drastically; out of nowhere a protective layer had appeared on his skin. Tur was wearing blood red armor, covering him from head to toe. Even his fingers were completely protected.

Suddenly he let go of Brontes. Liliana thought about retreating, but decided to attack again. Unsure, she raised her scythe and charged at Tur, but it was enough for Tur to block the blade with his forearm to stop her, almost effortlessly.

—It can't be...— the girl grumbled.

Then the ground beneath him jumped up and caught him as if it was a giant hand made of rock. At the same time Erica appeared from the side at full speed to lunge at him. However he blocked the brika's blows with one hand, and with the other he smashed the rock that held him as if it were made of cookie dough.

Erica stopped attacking, realizing that her blows were not reaching him, and gained distance. Arturo caught up with them. The three children stood together, stupefied. Tur was grinning from ear to ear.

—What is that?— asked Erica, bewildered.

—Do you like it? It's been a while since I've used it— he admitted— it's called nomitio, it's the evolution of timitio. It's a bit complicated, you'll understand it when you're stronger.

—Yes, I know about it— said the brika.

Then she jumped towards him again to kick him, but Tur stepped forward, blocked Erica with his leg and punched her. Erica tried to block it with timitio, but Tur's fist went through her defense and into her chest, transmitting all his momentum to her. Erica's body fell like a bullet, bounced off the ground and flew a great distance.

Liliana and Arturo lunged at Tur, but neither Brontes' blade nor the compressed rock stakes managed to pierce his armor. The noni kicked Liliana and slapped Arturo, sending them flying as well. After that he found himself alone, but not for long, as Erica returned to the fight at full speed.

She dashed towards Tur as fast as she could, materialized a timitio axe and attacked with all her might. Both were dragged a good distance by the momentum she was carrying, but then she noticed that Tur had blocked her attack with the handle of a red nomitio axe.

Erica planted herself on the ground and attacked at full speed, with all her strenght, again and again. But Tur blocked her lunges with equal force. They both made sweeping movements, the clashes of their weapons erupting in earth-shaking booms. Suddenly, Tur saw an opening and deflected Erica's attack to tilt her body to the side. With that he left the girl's entire side exposed, so he clenched a fist and struck her with his tremendous strength. Erica was sent to the ground, where she was dragged in a straight line for several meters.

However, Tur did not have time to breathe, for at that moment another giant hand made of rock emerged from the ground, grabbed him and slammed him to the floor. Then Liliana approached and pointed Brontes at Tur's face, which was the only place he left uncovered. The noni understood her intentions and rolled away before the girl buried her scythe in his nose, but then a huge mass of rock rammed him and threw him against a wall in a powerful impact.

The emperor quickly stood up, trying to gain a breather, but then Erica appeared from the side, furious, and attacked him with a timitio bat that he blocked again. Liliana and Arturo followed her closely, relentless.

Their fight went on for a few minutes; Tur had a small advantage, but the children would not let themselves be defeated despite the impacts and pain, and continued attacking even though he sent them blows that knocked them to the ground or broke their bones.

But suddenly the First had enough, he couldn't be losing with youngsters like those, so he grabbed Erica’s knuckles and used her own momentum to send her flying away.

Next Liliana approached him, looking for openings in his armor to hurt him. But Tur ignored her quick slashes, came up to her, grabbed her head and with all his strength kneed her. Liliana was propelled backwards by the blow, but before letting her fall, Tur grabbed her ankle, slammed her to the ground and then spun her around to send her flying.

Immediately Arturo appeared, irate, but the First lunched at him before he could form anything with his magic and punched him in the stomach. The impact sent him flying into one of the walls, where he crashed with a clatter. However Tur knew he would only recover after that hit, so he lunged towards him again, grabbed him by the head and started running parallel to the wall, smashing the rock with Arturo's head. Finally he pulled him off and threw him in another direction, well away so he wouldn't show himself again for a good while.

Finally the noni breathed.

—Their teamwork is pretty good— he said to himself, as he gasped— but on their own, they are nothing.

Then he turned around, and just as he expected, he found Erica, sliding towards him at full speed.

—TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUR!— she yelled, furious.

Erica readied a bat, the First formed a sword. The girl jumped up and swung with all her might, but Tur blocked it without any problems. Still, the brika didn't stop there: she continued to hit him, changing her weapon to whatever suited her; a rapier, a shield, an axe, a bat, a dagger, a gauntlet. However it was not enough. Soon Tur saw an entrance and with his sword slashed her abdomen. Immediately he hit her in the shoulder with an axe, and not letting her rest, he pummeled her face with such force that he sent her backwards to the ground.

After receiving numerous blows, Erica felt torn to pieces, but she still got back to her feet. Her wounds on her side and shoulder hurt enormously, half of her face was covered in constant blood pouring from her forehead and blocking the view of one eye, one arm was so battered she couldn't move it, her mouth was red from the wounds and she was struggling to breathe. Tur was breathing agitated, nothing more.

Then the First smiled mischievously.

—It seems that these are the last hours of freedom you have left. Would you like to say something before you become my slave?

Erica gritted her teeth in frustration. She wanted to smash him with her fists, grind him until there was nothing left. She was weaker, but she still wanted to keep trying until the end. So, she raised an arm to form a weapon. What could it be, a saber? Yes, a saber, a big, thick one. With her timitio she materialized the sturdiest blade she could and attacked Tur, but he struck her arm to dematerialize the timitio and then her face to push her back.

—It ends here, young lady! Soon you will die to form the key!

Then Tur gathered all the nomitio he held in one hand, turning it into a huge dark red fist. With no resistance from the girl, he raised his fist and punched her with such strenght that it shot her backwards. Erica crossed the length of the palace gardens into the adjoining building, where she crashed. The impact blew tons of concrete, part of the building collapsed and fell on top of her.

The children had been defeated, Tur won.

Seeing himself victorious, he turned around to head for the cameras. For a moment he forgot where they were, but then he remembered: on the street outside the gardens, where he had told them to wait.

As he walked there, he examined his body. He was surprised to see several wounds. That fight had been harder than he thought.

—But I've already won, so it doesn't matter!