Chapter 26

chapter twenty-six I leap back. Way back. I might have just created a new Olympic event: the backward long jump. I stammer. "You said that, right? That came from your mouth? It wasn't delivered through the hand, or, like, from within my own brain? I mean, I saw your mouth move—but I wanna clarify, because—" "Yes..." Ghazt says. A shiver runs through Rover, and he nuzzles into me. I inch forward. "So, you're... alive?" "Not for long." "Hey..." I start. "That sounds like something I should be saying to you. Like a cool hero quip just before we square off or something." "There will be no more 'squaring off' between you and me." His voice is rough, like he's been eating rusty nails and washing them down with bubbling acid. Which is actually not out of the realm of possibility in this nightmare fortress. "But... you were dead." Ghazt's whiskers flick again. "No. I was only... dying. It is a slow process for a Cosmic Terror." Hope soars through me, and I clutch the table.

第二十六章我向后一跳。 回来的路上。我可能刚刚创造了一个新的奥运项目：倒立跳远。 我结结巴巴地说。“你是这么说的吧？” 那是从你嘴里说出来的？ 它不是通过手传递的，或者是从我自己的大脑传递的？ 我是说，我看到你的嘴动了——但我想澄清一下，因为——”“是的……” Ghazt说。罗孚浑身打了个寒颤，他把鼻子贴在我身上。 我向前一寸。“所以,你…… 还活着吗?”“不会太久的。”“嘿……” 我开始。“这听起来像是我应该对你说的话。 就像我们决斗前一句很酷的英雄妙语。” “你和我之间不会再有‘争吵’了。” 他的声音很粗糙，就像他一直在吃生锈的钉子，然后用冒泡的酸把它们冲下去。 这在这个噩梦堡垒里是不可能发生的。 “但是……你死了。”Ghazt的胡子又抖了一下。 “没有。我只是…死亡。这是一个缓慢的宇宙恐怖过程。” 希望在我心中升起，我抓住桌子。

You tricked Wracksqw, didn't you? That stuff he took from your brain wasn't really the secret to finishing the tower, Was it Ghazt You won't rascal you. I pat myself on the back—we didn't lose at all! We can still win, still gonna win, still— "The Tower Schematics were real, Jack," Ghazt says. "The Tower was my weapon! But now... it is Thrull's. He has all he needs to complete and activate the Tower." Well, shoot. Talk about whiplash. "Then what... I don't understand... What am I doing here??" "Come closer," Ghazt says, and it feels like a trick. Suddenly, it seems like all of this has been a trick... I take a step forward—but the ground rumbles beneath my feet. Behind Ghazt, a section of the floor

你骗了拉克斯，是吗？ 他从你脑子里取出的东西并不是完成塔的秘密，对吧，加斯特你不会耍你的。 我暗自庆幸——我们根本没有输！我们仍然可以赢，仍然会赢，仍然——“塔图是真的，杰克，”加兹特说。 “塔就是我的武器！”但现在…… 这是Thrull的。他拥有完成和激活塔所需的一切。” 嗯,开枪。说到鞭打。 “那么…我不明白…… 我在这儿干什么——？”“靠近一点，”Ghazt说，这感觉就像一个骗局。 突然间，这一切似乎都是一个骗局…… 我向前迈了一步，但脚下的地面轰隆作响。 在Ghazt后面，是地板的一部分

is cracking open like an egg. Something is forcing its way up through the floor. Some creature... I gasp. One of the Sentinels—but different. This one has been horribly augmented and brutally altered by Wracksaw. It's like... -THE MEGA-SENTINEL spike covered hull, three cannons instead of one extra shooting, an arm taken from something big, A sound that is simultaneously gooey-wet and razor-sharp blares through the theater.

像鸡蛋一样裂开了。 有东西从地板上挤了上来。 一些生物…我感到喘不过气来。一个哨兵——但不同。 这个被Wracksaw做了可怕的增强和残酷的改变。 这就像……-巨型哨兵覆盖的船体，三门大炮而不是一门额外的射击，一只手臂从一个大的东西上取下来，一个既黏糊糊又锋利的声音响彻整个剧院。

Another searchlight lowers—this one covered in a hundred jagged spikes and blades. Dirk won't be doing any swashbuckling swings off of that one... The light flashes over us. Whatever Ghazt and I are supposed to talk over, hash out, work through—we can't do it now. Because the Mega-Sentinel is stalking forward, about to— "MUSCLE BUDDIES!" Three figures suddenly burst from the shadows, appearing at the bottom row of stadium seats surrounding the operating floor. My friends leap from the overhang, sailing and crashing onto the Mega-Sentinel. The monster makes a creaking sound as it staggers to the side.

另一个探照灯低了下来——这一个覆盖着一百根参差不齐的尖刺和叶片。 德克不会在那个球上做任何虚张声势的摇摆动作…… 灯光在我们头顶闪烁。 不管加斯特和我该讨论什么，讨论什么，解决什么，我们现在做不到。 因为超级哨兵正在逼近，准备“肌肉伙伴”三个人影突然从阴影中冲了出来，出现在围绕着操作层的体育场最后一排座位上。 我的朋友们从悬挑上一跃而下，航行着，撞到了超级哨兵号上。 怪物摇摇晃晃地走到一边，发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。

Whatever you are going to do, Jack, do it quickly like yesterday. Don't even go there with the time travel talk June Rover snarls and gets low, eager to leap into the fight—but I grab him by the scruff. "No, Rover. Stay by my side for this... Please, buddy. I'm... scared." Behind us, the Mega-Sentinel screeches. I hear Dirk's sword clang to the floor. "OK, my friends and I gotta move. It's escape time," I say to Ghazt, trying to catch my breath. "But we'll bring you. Somehow..." "NO!" Ghazt roars, crashing against his restraints. The fury in Ghazt's voice causes me and Rover to jerk

不管你要做什么，杰克，动作要像昨天一样快。 甚至不要去那里和时间旅行的谈话June Rover咆哮着，低下头，渴望跳入战斗-但我抓住了他的颈背。 “不,罗孚。留在我身边…… 请好友。我…害怕。” 在我们身后，巨型哨兵在尖叫。 我听到德克的剑落在地上的声音。 “好了，我和我的朋友们要搬家了。 我对Ghazt说，试着喘口气。 “但我们会带你去的。不知怎么的……” “不!”Ghazt咆哮着，撞到了他的束缚。 加斯特声音中的愤怒让我和罗孚都抽搐了一下

back. A dying Cosmic Terror is still a Cosmic Terror. One of Ghazt's mangy paws shoots up, grabbing me, pulling me close. His eyes are cloudy—but they flash with urgency. Like he has a lot to tell me but there's not enough time to tell it all. His paw tightens, balling around my coat collar. "Jack, you think stopping the construction of the Tower will end this," Ghazt says. He doesn't quite smile—but there's something almost taunting in his voice. Like "look how much I know and how much you don't." "But you are wrong," Ghazt says. "The Tower will be completed—"

回来。垂死的宇宙恐怖仍然是宇宙恐怖。 Ghazt的一只脏爪子猛地伸出来，抓住我，把我拉近。 他的眼睛浑浊，但闪烁着急迫的光芒。 好像他有很多话要跟我说但时间不够。 它的爪子紧了起来，在我的衣领上绕来绕去。 “杰克，你以为停止建造伦敦塔就能结束这一切，”加兹特说。 他没有笑，但他的声音里几乎有一种嘲弄的味道。 比如“看看我知道多少，你不知道多少。” “但是你错了，”Ghazt说。 “伦敦塔就要完工了——”