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One week ago, Quint and I made it out of the monster dimension, though Globlet, the small pink monster that went with us, got lost somewhere. Luckily, we were dumped out in New York and far enough from the tower where Thrull’s goons weren’t patrolling around. We found Dirk and June. We also learned that all their families were there. The reunion of Quint and his parents was pretty emotional. They all cried, and seeing my friend cry made me want to cry too. After everyone calmed down, we got to talking. Talking about all of our sick adventures the four of us had while apart. I was so happy to see them again.
I’ll make sure we don’t get separated like that ever again.
<===>
I stroll through the abandoned streets littered with cars and broken roads. Buildings had roofs blown off and windows shattered. I hear the screech of a wretch, probably around four blocks away. Zombies watch curiously at me, but don’t approach. I guess that’s a perk of being the Cosmic General, though, how scary that may be. Hiding the Cosmic Hand is a lot harder than I thought it would be. The glove I wore kept ripping, and the hoodie was threatening to tear. I came out here because I needed to get out of the repurposed bomb shelter. The avid monster disdain worried me a bit… Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely reasonable. I’d be like that too if I were captured by creatures from another dimension and put in those weird pod-thingies for Rezzoch’s arrival. But if any survivor, except for maybe my friend’s parents, found out about the Cosmic Hand or my zombie-controlling abilities, they might freak out big time, and then, I don’t know what I’d do.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts when I notice the road has ended. The road caved in, and now there’s a giant sinkhole the size of a Dozer, maybe two. The stench of evil surrounded the missing ground. Glowing blue vines cover the surface of the crater. They were different from Thrull's vines. They pulse as if they were breathing and move like the world’s longest snakes. The vines lead into the center. It’s as if there was something there…
I turn around to leave. I mean, I’ll come back, eventually, but those vines only cause trouble. I shouldn’t mess with these on my own. The Cosmic Hand pulses, and the vines that were previously focused on the hole were now moving toward me. I pull out the Louisville Slicer from its sheath and start cutting vines as they approach.
I back away fast. I knew going alone was a bad idea! But I did it anyway… I should have brought one of my friends with me or at least some goo-slime to defend myself against these overgrown plants. I didn’t want to disturb any family time, though.
I can’t lead them back to the shelter, so here I am. Against mutated vines. On my own. I can do this, though!
The vines lunge like a cat leaping out of a hunting crouch.
SLICE!
I cut the first wave of them quickly, but another surge reaches out and wraps around me with great force, and the sucker grip of the Cosmic Hand holds onto the Slicer as I’m sucked into the sinkhole. I can’t move. The sky gets covered by vines as they envelop me. They continue to tighten around me, and I can feel a shift in the atmosphere.
I know this kind of shift.
I’m going through a portal. A rip-tear… where am I going? I start to feel sick as I’m pulled through two more tears. It’s like a roller coaster I got forced to be on. There’s one final shift as I reach the unknown destination, still unable to see anything other than otherworldly plants. I realize I’m floating.
Though I’m still tied up by vines, the extra ones dissipate, and I can see where I’ve been taken. The entire dimension is blue or some form of the color. It’s like an ocean that stretches on and on forever, but it’s made of a fog-like substance that glows in cyan tones similar to the vines.
I recognise this place. And that smell. Pure Evil. The worst smell you could ever imagine. Rezzoch the Ancient Destructor of Worlds appears in front of me. He blends into his environment, but is much more defined. Though his gaseous body still conceals his true form.
“Jack Sullivan… What a surprise.” He rasps. “I did not expect it to be you who was captured by my vines.”
“Those are yours? Well, I’m clearly not your intended target, so if you don’t mind, you could just let me go and I’ll be out of your hair… or whatever you have.” I suggest.
“No,” He answers plainly. “I could make do with this.” And with that, his body transforms. I’m confused until his form starts to solidify. Some vines leave me and join him. He takes a human shape. Spiky brown hair. Sapphire blue eyes with a dark red hoodie… Wait. He looks like ME.
“What are you planning to do, Rezzoch?” I try to speak with confidence, but my voice cracks with uncertainty.
“Now, why would I tell you?” He responds tartly. “Goodbye, Jack.” I was about to retaliate, but I was interrupted by a stabbing sensation in my shoulder. I cry out in pain, holding onto the Slicer with an iron grip. He leaves through the rip-tear I entered through. My shoulder hurts, and it throbs with what feels like an everlasting pain. The Cosmic Hand digs into my arm like a dog bite. It twitches. The vines stop. I drop the slicer to the ground with a light clatter. Then, BAM! The Cosmic Hand bursts into a spear just like it did on the train against the Splotchers. It cuts the remaining vines that held me, and I’m free.
The Cosmic Hand turns back into a semi-normal monster arm, and I try to move before blacking out.
{---}
The air is freezing. My mind is a bit cloudy. I rub my shoulder as I inspect it. It’s sore, and bloody flakes come off where the wound was. Wait. Was? It was healed. Somehow. I realize the Cosmic Hand has grown up my shoulder and now touches the bottom right side of my neck. Fistcuffs. That’s gonna be hard to hide. I spot the vine that stabbed me about five feet away. The end of it was covered in my blood. The Slicer floats close to it. I push myself toward it and grab the splintered, charred baseball bat, which feels so at home in the suction grip of the Cosmic Hand. I put it back in its sheath on my back. It was time to get moving… or gliding… I guess.
Rezzoch’s Lair was the same throughout. I play eye-spy to try and calm my nerves. What’s he doing? Is he hurting my friends? I have too many questions and too few answers.
“Eye spy with my little eye something…blue.” My gaze goes out to what seems like nowhere. Cyan haze. Blue Ground. Blue sky. “I wonder what it could be.” I feel like I’d die of boredom before I made it to the end of this place.
It feels like a million years have passed before I stop moving. At least, when I try to stop moving. The newly-discovered portal is drawing me towards it. Even if I wanted to get away from it, I couldn’t. I’m worried about where this will lead me, but it’s my only way out of here. I get covered in a shroud of space dust as I’m transported between worlds once again.
The In-between is blank. I know there's an end, but I can’t see it. I also don’t get split apart this time. That’s nice. Last time I was here, I was fished out by Peaches, Dave, and Cannonhead, aka the Goon Platoon. They were in the Forbidden Forest before being taken back to the Monster Dimension with it.
There’s a dark rip in the side. A way out! I reach for it with the Cosmic Hand. Please don’t send me to some weird, unforeseen dimension! I make contact with the rip, and I’m swiftly transported through it.
The inky portal gives way to a dark sky. It was in the air, so gravity quickly kicked in, and I fell to the ground with a loud THUMP!
“Ow…” I groan. The orange dust settles, and I sit up. The ground rumbles like an earthquake. I hear rapidly approaching monster-footsteps behind me. It’s Mamooph! That means… the Goon Platoon!
“We really need to stop meeting like this.” Peaches calls out.
<===>
“Hey, June! We need to talk to you.” I hear Dirk call out from the other room as he pushes the blanket that’s working as a makeshift door. Quint appears behind him.
He stops and scans the room. “Have you seen Jack lately?” He asks.
“Nope.” I grumble, “He’s probably run off again doing who knows what.”
Jack has been acting weird for the past couple of days. At first, it was only a small change. He started wearing cologne, but more importantly, he started observing everyone. He already did that, but he talked to us, made jokes, asked what we were doing, and helped if he could; Now he was only watching from afar with a blank expression. It was creepy… Sometimes I’d catch him flashing an almost wicked smirk before resetting his face to a dead calm.
I try to put together some clues. “He’s hiding something, but what? Where is he going?”
“He started acting differently after he went out a couple of days ago, and Rover can tell something’s up.” Dirk points out. Rover is basically Jack’s big monster dog, and they had been inseparable after Jack and Quint got back from the monster dimension, but now Rover’s been avoiding him, letting out a low growl when he gets too close.
“Indeed, friend. Jack was also supposed to help me test out the capabilities of my Conjuring Cane, but when he came back, he had completely forgotten,” Quint adds.
“Something happened out there. Something big, and he’s not telling us.” I start impatiently tapping Blasty against the table, the Swiss Army Knife of weapons, the metal glove Jack got me for Christmas before we left Wakefield.
I look at the window. “I’m going to ask him about it when he gets back,” I conclude.
Quint quickly shuts that down. “We can’t do that. If we confront him about it, he’ll just hide the problem even more. We need to investigate him without him knowing.”
“But if he finds out what we’re doing, then he won't trust us. We need to be able to trust each other if we want to win in the fight against Thrull.” I reckon. I can see the gears turning in his head. He knows I’m right.
Dirk rests his hand on Quint’s shoulder. “I agree with him. Yeah, if Jack finds out about this, he’ll be mad, but it’s still the better option.” Begrudgingly, I realize he was right.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way.” I concur.
<===>
I’ve been traveling with the Goon Platoon for about two days now. No new rip-tears have opened up since I found one in Rezzoch's dimension. The Cosmic Hand has grown up my neck some more, which is…not the greatest. I’ve seen some of the places Quint and I passed last time we were here, like the now-destroyed museum that showcased Thrull and his old team. They helped defeat Rezzoch and other cosmic terrors before…I wonder why Thrull is so evil now. The rubble is covered in strayfur blood. Wracksaw is nowhere to be seen.
Sitting near the back of the deck, I stare out into the bare scenery. We pass some mutated trees scattered throughout the land, but there are only a couple. My friends are probably looking for me. No…Rezzoch currently looks like me. They probably don’t know I’m gone. Or they figured it out already. He’s probably either hurt them or maybe he’s waiting. Waiting for what, though? The tower to be finished? Does he know I’m trying to get back? What if—
“You know, you’re going to tear off your skin scratching like that.” I turn around to see Dave holding some sort of spear with one of his pincer hands. I feel a painful stinging sensation and realize that I’ve been clawing at my normal arm. It’s red and bleeding in some spots. I wince at the sight and quickly shove my sleeve back down. Dave stands next to me. He has one of those knowing looks as his beard slightly moves in the cold wind, and he begins to remind me even more of Bardle.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just hard. My friends could be getting attacked, or accidentally giving Thrull all our battle plans, and Rezzoch’s using my face to do it.” I worry. “I need to help them!”
Dave sets his open pincer on my shoulder. “You can’t help them if you don’t help yourself first.” I stare at him blankly for a moment. That was… strangely wise. He’s right, though.
“I guess that’s true.” I agree. I feel a sudden burst of determination. When I see him, I’m going to rip my face off of him. Standing up, I head toward the front of the deck to Peaches and Cannonhead.
“Jack.” Dave starts. I look back at him. “Remember what I said back at the fortress, too.”
Oh, right.That. “You got a little bit of the other side on you. My suggestion is… lean into it, man.” I recall his words. That’s what he told me. It scared me at first, but leaning into it might be what I have to do.
“Ok.” I finally respond.
We come to a stop as electricity cackles through the air as if we were metal in a microwave. The Cosmic Hand squirms and twists around my arm with the same urgency as the last time a rip-tear opened up.
“It’s your lucky day, Jack!” Cannonhead yells.
Rip-tears open all around us. It’s time for me to go.
“Time for Mission Operation: Stop Rezzoch’s Evil Plan!” I exult as I hop off the deck.
“Good luck out there, kid.” Peaches holds one of her sword-hands up toward the sky.
I walk toward the rip-tear, but midway, I stop and turn around. “Thank you guys, I hope I see you again.”
“It would be bad if you did.” Dave chuckles.
They all wave goodbye. This is it. I’m getting back to my friends. I take a deep breath and walk into the rip-tear. Just you wait, I’m on my way.
{---}
I’m thrown out of the rip-tear into a wall of a brick alleyway, landing with a thump before sliding to the ground. A giant crack stretches from the concrete to the top of the building in the back of the alley. I get up and dust myself off.
A rat runs out from the dumpster I landed near. I didn’t know rats still existed. Nice.
Dirk and June exit the store just outside the alley, holding shopping baskets full of snacks. They’re ok! I want to jump out, hug them tight, and never let go. I almost do, but I stop myself. Rezzoch follows them out, his hands in his hoodie pocket, walking calmly.
“Come on, Quint!” He calls out. He sounds just like me. No wonder my friends haven’t noticed, he’s like a carbon copy of me! I slip through the back door of the store. It creaks with age and rust. The inside is… neater than I expected. Vines creep through cracks, and it smells like mold, but it’s not totally trashed. Quint is searching the aisles for something. I hide behind the counter.
“Psst. Quint. Over here!” I whisper. “Don’t make any sound, though.” He stares at me, shocked, and glances back at the front window. Rezzoch, standing there, talking to June and Dirk. He crouches down next to me.
“Friend, I’m glad to see you. The real you. We figured out he was an imposter a couple of days ago. Where have you been?” Quint inquires.
“It’s a long story short, I got taken by Rezzoch’s vines, and now he looks like me. I can tell you the rest later,” I explain.
Quint stayed still for a moment, “...Rezzoch?” If I weren’t running on adrenaline right now, I’d be more freaked out now too. He is a destroyer of worlds.
“Yeah. I don’t know what his plan is, but it can’t be good.”
He looks back toward June and Dirk, “We need to tell the others.”
“Yeah, I have an idea. He has these vines in a sinkhole. He’s also using some of those vines to keep him solid. We destroy them, and we win!”
The store bell rings, and we both freeze. I peer over the counter and see June.
“Quint?” She asks, “You doing ok in here?”
Quint appears over the counter, “Yes, and I have both good and bad news.” He speaks in a hushed tone.
She makes an audible “huh?”
“Jack has returned, but the Jack out there is Rezzoch.” He motions toward me, and I peek above the counter.
“Hi, June.” I smile.
“Rezzoch?—I owe Dirk a pretzel.—Wait, what happened to you?” She questions me.
“Long story. Quint and I have a plan—” The bell rings. Rezzoch stares in shock. Then angry. Everyone sees him, and they see me.
Dirk stands baffled. “Jack?”
“Jack.” Rezzoch seethes.
Drooler, the little green goo-slime creature, meeps. Dirk pulls out his World’s Largest Dagger, pointing it toward Rezzoch. June, Quint, and I take out our weapons and do the same. He looks around at each of us, then rests his gaze on me.
Without any words said, vines from the walls reach out and throw me through the building’s glass door. Glass is flung, most painfully in my arms and back. The Slicer slips from my grip. I hear my friends call out for me paired with twisting vines as I hit the road briskly. My vision blurs and I hear static and sizzling. My body sears in pain.
Quint runs out of the store to help me up, and gasps when he reaches me. Makes sense, I probably don’t look the greatest right now.
“Jack! Oh my… are you hurt too badly?” He frets.
I wait a second to answer while the static clears. “I’ll live, buddy. Let’s get back to the others.” I slowly confirmed. I need to get up. I almost trip, but I catch myself and grab the Slicer.
June and Dirk are firing goo-slime at the incoming vines. Rezzoch fights with no mercy. He still wears my face. The Cosmic hand tightens and pulses. I watch it expel the glass from itself. The shards shatter into even smaller pieces.
The once neat shelves are thrown against the walls. Rezzech spots me and reacts quickly. I cut through all the attacks, my body screaming in protest with each movement. While he was distracted, June shot a goo-slime grenade at him.
The vine wall that appeared in a split second didn’t get enough time to form. Some of the illusion is partially broken and replaced with moving vines. He boils and pops but doesn’t break. Vines swing and my friends and I are ensnared.
“Enough games,” Rezzoch growled. “It’s time for this to end.” Too bad for him, no evil speeches today! Drooler melts through the vines as if they’re butter, and Dirk drops to the ground. June cuts herself free with Blasty while Rezzoch’s distracted. I try to focus on the ongoing battle. I need to escape this trap, but I’m not doing so well. My right arm, the Cosmic Hand, hurts noticeably more than anywhere else. My vision starts to blur again as I struggle. My friends need help! Rezzoch’s relentless attacks occupy June and Dirk. Come on, Jack! Get it together! I reach out, well, I try to. My arms are bound to my sides at the moment.
The Cosmic Hand hurts. It squirms and then—
FWOOSH!
It rips through the air toward the ancient being, grabbing him with shocking force. I feel my feet touch the ground. Everyone gapes at me. At my amalgamation of an arm. I share their reaction. Everything feels still for a moment.
Dirk makes good use of this moment and holds Drooler over Rezzoch. Goo-slime pours off him in gallons. Rezzoch screams with great anger. He tries to escape my grip, but the hand holds him in place. I wince as it’s stabbed, some parts drawing blood. It doesn’t last long, though. The vines break down, and they eventually stop moving. Fog ebbs out of the spot where he once was. The cosmic hand shrinks back down to its original size.
“Jack, I don’t know how you did that, but it was just the tri—” Dirk moves his gaze from the destroyed vines to me and stops. “Are you ok?” He walks towards me.
“No…” My voice cracks. All the adrenaline fades away from my body, and all the pain returns. It hurts a whole lot more than it did before.
“I — uh, — I’m just going to take a nap. Like, right now.” I warn them wearily. In the next moment, I’m out. I almost fall to the ground face-first, but Dirk catches me.
{---}
I wake up in a cot. And not realizing how unsteady I am, I get tangled in the fabric like an insect in a spider web. Great. Bandages betray me as some rip after getting caught on something. I toss and turn, trying to unweave myself from the unintentional trap. The cot suddenly twists, and the wooden floor welcomes me as I fall to the ground with a loud THUMP! My entire body hurts.
After a moment of catching my breath and waiting for the pain to subdue, I stand. My friends–June, Dirk, and Quint– along with some familiar voices, are chattering just down the long hall. Before I reach them, Rover, the big monster dog and the cutest thing in the world, bursts out from the room beside me. He slobbers and barks with joy.
“Aw, hey buddy!” I pet him, grinning.
I travel slouched down the hallway. Was it always this long? When I push the makeshift curtain door, June looks over at Rover and me. She’s covered in bandages; So are the rest of my friends.
“Jack!” She blurts. Everyone stops and looks at me before my friends rush in for a hug. I’m squeezed and reciprocate the sudden gesture. Quint and June’s parents watch with a light happiness.
“Hey guys! Uhm… How long was I out?” I ask.
They all let go and share the same look between each other.
“3 months.” June recounts.
“WHAT?! I- How- What-” I stammer. My friend's faces change. They’re giggling.
“Don’t worry, dude, you were only out for 2 days max,” Dirk reveals.
“You should’ve seen your face!” Quint chuckles. I start laughing with them. It was pretty funny. Rover licks us, and we laugh even harder.
We still have so much to do. But… It can wait. Just to stay in this moment a little longer.