How quickly comedy can turn to horror, and how quickly horror can turn into comedy. Isn't it beautiful?
"And using the Luna Stone's power, we're able to power our own lab for eons to come with only a single stone." Osmond finished, showing Max one of the various generators scattered throughout Luna Lab. "Isn't it neat?"
"Yeah...* Max started, yawning. "Really great.."
"You alright there Max? You seem tired."
"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.. Me and Monica were looking through Zelmite Mines for any actual Zelmite. We didn't find any, and I barely got 4 hours of sleep before you called us here."
"Ah, well sorry about that.."
"It's fine Osmond, you didn't know."
"Hmm. I think I got something that might help..." He mumbled, looking through his pockets. "Aha!" He pulled out a gumball sized blue sphere from his pocket, offering it to Max.
"Huh?" He said, grabbing the sphere. "What's this thing?"
"It's something we're working on. If eaten, it makes the person feel extremely well rested. It'll be very useful for us here at the lab, since we don't get a whole lot of sleep either. " Osmond finished, with a chuckle. "Science stops for no man!"
"Right. So, do I just eat it or..?"
"Yep. " Max shrugged, eating the pill, shuddering.
"Tastes very bitter.."
"It's a pill, to make you feel refreshed, what did you expect it to taste like, sugar coated chocolate?"
"Well...no."
"Good, because that tastes horrible."
"Max?" Monica called out. "We're done here, we can go now!"
"Alright!" He said, shaking Osmond's hand. "Thanks Osmond." He said, accidentally pulling off Osmond's hand. "Bwuh!"
"Hehe, that doesn't get old." He laughed as Max dropped the hand and left the room. He rummaged through his pockets again, his hands brushing against another sphere. "What?" He thought, pulling out the second sphere, a slightly darker blue one, same size as the one he gave max. "Wait...this is the well rested pill..." He dropped the pill to the floor in shock. "I gave Max the NightMare Pill..." A small smile crossed his face, before he began to laugh maniacally.
With Monica and Max, back in Max's time, just outside of Parn's old house
"So, what should we do now Max?"
"I don't know about you, but I feel exhausted." He mumbled, yawning. "I could go for a nice nap." Monica let out a soft yawn as well.
"Great, now you got me doing it." She giggled, poking his face. "Let's go to your house and sleep."
"My house? Why my house?"
"Because my house is 100 years in the future and I'm too tired to head back to Ixion. Please Max?"
"Fine, but I get the bed this time if you sleep in my room again.." Max said, noticing something odd about Pan's house. A single black crow was sitting on the roof ot the house, it's eye crimson red. It was staring straight into Max's soul.
"Aw, but the floor is so hard." Monica whined, making Max break eye contact with the crow. He turned back to look at it, only it was gone.
"Hey, Monica...Did you notice a crow on Pan's roof?"
"Hmm?" She turned, looking at Pan's roof. "I don't remember seeing anything on his roof earlier, why Max?" Max just stared at the spot where the crow was, shaking his head.
"It's nothing, I'm probably just imagining things." He mumbled, letting out another yawn. "Come on, let's go." Monica shrugged, walking towards Max's house, him slowly walking behind.
"Max, come on!" She said, grabbing his hand. "You alright?"
"I'm just exhausted." He said, yawning. 'I thought Osmond's pill would work by now.' Looking around, he noticed something odd.
In Morton's field, the normal pumpkins that were there were replaced by, what looked like heads of Himarras. He headed towards the field, staring at the Himarras' heads, which all turned to stare at him. They opened their mouths unnaturally wide, rows of sharp, green triangles for teeth, a vile smelling green acid dripping from each of them. He backed away from them slowly, before they let out a eardrum shattering screech, as two pairs of green, torn looking Himarra hands grabbed his leg. With a loud yell, he jumped backwards, tripping upon a rock and landing on his back.
"Max?" Monica said, picking him up off the ground. "What happened?"
"Monica!" He said, looking at her face, hoping to avoid the Himarra's death glare. "There's Himarra heads in Morton's garden!"
"Huh?" She said, looking upon Morton's garden. "All I see are pumpkins.."
"What?" He yelled, looking at the garden. Indeed, as Monica said, there was only Morton's regular pumpkins. "But...there were Himarra heads.." Monica looked at Max, a slight look of worry crossing her face. Max buried his head in his hands, sighing.
"Maybe you're imagining things? You're really tired after all."
"Maybe..." He shook his head. "I don't know.." Monica stared at Max, before grabbing his hand.
"Let's get you home Max. I think a rest is what you need."
"Yeah..." He mumbled, the images of the rotting Himarra arms still stuck in his head.
"Come on!" She said, pulling him hard to his house. "Let's get you into bed." Heading into Max's home, Monica opened the doors, dragging Max inside, and up the stairs to his room. "Well, here we are!" Max nodded, before walking over to his bed and collapsing upon it.
"Thanks.."
"Get some rest, alright?" She said, smiling softly. "I'll be in the downstairs guestroom if you need me, just yell really loudly."
"Alright...Thanks Monica." He smiled, covering himself with his blankets. She walked up to the head of Max's bed, planting a soft kiss onto his cheek, Max blushing red.
"Sweet dreams." She giggled, leaving the room, leaving a still blushing Max in his bed. Max yawned, his blush slowly fading away.
'That felt nice..' He thought, his eyes slowly closing.
"Aw, you're taking a nap." A dark, bone chilling voice spoke, Max's eyes opening wide in response.
"No...no, it can't be." Max mumbled, staring at the dark, shadowy figure at the foot of his bed.
"It can, and it is!" The dark shadow boomed, the shadows slowly growing, the Dark Element appearing in the center of them, streaks of blood and rotting flesh sticking on his staff. "I've returned to finish what I started.."
"No, no no no. We defeated you, we destroyed you!" At this, the Dark Element let out a blood curdling laugh.
"That's what I wanted you to think, Maximillain. You really think a bunch of kids could defeat me, the Dark Element?" He laughed maniacally. "And now, it's time for you to suffer." Snapping his fingers, 4 sets of blood stained metal chains bound Max to his bed, preventing him from moving.
"Stop!"
"Let's start with your dear Mother." He chuckled, Elena appearing, tied up with thick ropes, a gag in her mouth.
"Get away from her!" He screamed, pushing against his chains with all his might. Laughing, the Dark Element levitated Elena off the floor. Slowly, dark magic started surrounding his staff. With a wave, several slashes of dark magic cutting through her body, blood splashing upon Max's bed, the thick ropes holding her soaking up the blood. Elena let out a loud scream, trying fruitlessly to free herself.
"You humans are far too fragile." The Dark Element chuckled, stabbing Elena's chest with his staff, Max screaming loudly.
"Mom!"
"Oh, don't worry about her. She got to die very quickly." He chuckled, throwing the body against the wall, a large splotch of blood sticking to the wall. "You, won't get that pleasure." He slowly floated towards Max, brandishing a pure black blade. He slowly dragged the blade across Max's cheeks, blood flowing out, Max screaming.
"It burns!" He screamed, trying desperately to free himself. "You bastard!"
"Good." He slowly tore Max's clothes away, black fire surrounding the knife as he plunged it into Max's chest. With a agonizing scream, Max tried in vain to free himself.
"MONICA! HELP!" He screamed, red slowly filling his vision.
"She won't be able to save you now." He pulled his blade out of Max's chest, slowly bringing it over Max's face. "Now, die!" He said, plunging the blade into Max's forehead as Monica entered the room.
"Max? What's wrong?" She said, gasping as she saw Max, thrashing madly upon his bed.
"IT BURNS! IT BURNS!" He said, flailing madly. He looked at Monica, fear in his eyes. "HELP!"
"Max!" She said, grabbing Max and shaking him. "What's wrong?"
"T-the Dark Element!"
"What?"
"He killed my mom! Cut her and threw her into the wall...Stabbed me in the chest..it burns"
"Max, what are you talking about?" She said, looking around the room. "No one's in here, and there's not a drop of blood anywhere..." She slowly lifted up Max's shirt. "I don't see a stab wound on your chest.." She mumbled softly, hiding her face, a blush creeping on it. 'What a horrible time to be blushing..' Max looked around the room, fear written on his face.
"But...It felt so real..." He looked at his wrists, half hoping the chains left a mark on him. However, his wrist was fine. "The blood...Mom.." He sat up, hugging his legs, hiding his face. "Why me...Ever since I took that pill from Osmond..."
"Pill?"
"It was a pill that was supposed to make me feel refreshed..."
"Uh...huh.." Monica said, her hands clenched into fists. "Max, we're going to go visit Osmond right now..."
"But.." Max started, stopping when Monica wrapped a blindfold around his eyes.
"What you can't see can't hurt you...right?"
"I guess...but how am I supposed to get to Ixion like this?"
"Just hold onto my hand and don't let go." She said, placing her hand in his. "Alright?"
"Alright...I trust you Monica.."
In Luna Labs, Lab 2.
"Hm." Osmond hummed, going over his research notes on the NightMare pill. "Psychological damage that increases over time...Could be useful for interrogation, or just for scaring the hell out of anyone." He chuckled, flipping through the pages. Hearing the lab's doors open, he put his notes away, only to see a blindfolded Max being led by a angry looking Monica.
"Osmond!" She screamed, picking him up with her free hand, lifting him up a few feet off the floor. "Is this another one of your sick jokes? Torturing Max like this, what the hell?"
"Monica, I can explain everything...As soon as you put me back on the floor." She growled, but set him on the floor. He dusted himself off. "Well, to start, I didn't mean to hurt Max. I truly wanted to help him..but, I gave him the wrong pill...Instead of a well rested pill, he got our experimental NightMare Pill."
"NightMare Pill?" Max mumbled.
"It's a pill that makes you hallucinate things that might frighten you. It starts off relatively weak, but as the pill lasts longer, its effect become stronger."
"Is there a cure for it?" Monica interjected. "Because if not, you better start working on one, otherwise you're going to be missing you OTHER hand."
"Jeez, angry little one, aren't you." He said, heading to his desk. He gave Monica a snow white pill. "This is the antidote. Just make Max eat it, and he'll be fine."
"Max, open your mouth, okay?"
"Um, are you sure that this is the right pill, Osmond? Not another mixup?"
"I promise on my life, this is the correct pill."
"Alright..." He opened his mouth, Monica popping the pill into his mouth. He swallowed the pill, seemingly unchanged for a few seconds, before he yawned, and collapsed onto the floor.
"Max?" She said, gently shaking Max.
"He'll be fine...That pill is a 3 in 1 pill. Cure, Sedative, and Amnesiac!"
"Why a amnesiac?"
"Well, he wouldn't want to remember what he saw, now would he?"
"I guess..." She picked Max up, before kicking Osmond square in the face with her foot. "Don't ever test that stupid pill on Max ever again." She left the room, leaving a disoriented Osmond behind.
"Well well, seems like I shouldn't try testing pills on Max then..." He laughed a bit. "But then again, he is one of the few who survived prolonged effects of the NightMare pill...It would be a shame to just let him go free without testing a few more things.." With a chuckle, he headed towards his desk, grabbing a bright pink pill and a bright orange pill. "Oh yes, this is going to be fun."