JACK

I sneak through the city hall. Slappy's changed it so much. It hardly seems like the original town hall! The mayor's office is now a throne room. The halls are full of scary paintings. And the records room is now a library!

As an invisible man, I'm able to sneak through with ease. It's even easier since I'm a ghost. I can phase through the walls for quick searching.

Something so personal can't possibly be in the records room. So I searched Slappy's Throne Room. He's not in at the moment. Good. He must be so focused on finally capturing the resistance.

I open various drawers on his desk. Most of them are empty. All but a single secret compartment. I open that, and that's when I see something. A big yellow book with an aged cover. The words KEEP OUT are on the front, and there's a lock.

The key…where's the key?

I check the entire room. Nothing. Slappy must keep it on his person at all times! Clever…but that won't stop us.

I replace the diary with a fake but completely identical copy via a spell I learned from the mages. That dummy really WILL be a dummy if he doesn't know the difference.

I rush out of the office with the book, which is just floating there in mid-air. Brent manages to take care of the alien guards when he sees the book.

"Yes! Come on!"

We rush out into the town, where Dylan manages to meet up with us. He downs another gnome by chucking it like a football. That's the last monster in this area. We're all clear.

"Get the diary back to Dead House." He says. "We'll keep Slappy occupied here."

"I saw some monsters that I could've sworn we rescued back during the Eternal Night." Brent stated. "Why does he have them under his control again?"

"Those aren't the real monsters." Dylan states. "I figured it out. Slappy's strong enough to create copies of every monster we've ever faced before, in both THIS timeline and the last. His army is endless, but the advantage is that we've faced them before. We know their weaknesses. And I'm teaching the resistance how to beat them. We may be outnumbered, but we're stronger and smarter."

"Copies?" Brent asks. "Well, at least they're not the real deal. They sound a lot weaker."

"Good luck, Dylan." I only say. "Hopefully your resistance didn't suffer any losses."

"I had everyone pull back. The monsters and their numbers were too much for those less experienced to handle. Hopefully you know how to open that."

"Oh, we do."

Dylan conjures a portal back to Dark Falls, and the two of us leap through.

"Just hold out a little longer! We'll be back in about 2 weeks!"

"2 weeks? That's nothing. We've got enough supplies to last a year!"

He closes it behind us, and we make our way back to Dead House. That's when I noticed the time on the old clock tower.

"It's almost midnight…" I note. "We should hurry. I bet the others have had a long day themselves."

"Good thing Operation: Ghost was a success!" Brent adds. "We should do stealth recon more often!"

Yeah…I don't see the harm in that.

SLAPPY

How irritating. So, those resistance chumps think they can outsmart ME, huh? Playing a little game of diversion while they invade my new home and make off with MY diary?! How DARE they! It was a gift from my dear brother Snappy!

This book is just junk! I'm not sensing any magic! Those twerps think that they could fool ME?! How…

How stupid

"Uh…remind me WHY you're smiling again?" Curly asks.

"It's simple, my bone headed buddy!" I cackle. "Snappy said that this was a MAGIC book! Once those dummies open it up…well, it's really got a way of PULLING you in! Hahahahahaha!"

"Ooooooh! Heh heh heh heh…good…then The Gold can KEEP them there!"

Those fools. They have no idea what's in store for them. In the end, Slappy ALWAYS wins! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

CORY

We stand with the diary on the desk of R.L. Stine's study the next day. As I work my magic to open the lock, I can't help but voice my concerns.

"Maybe it's just me," I say. "But didn't that operation seem a little too easy? I mean, he left his diary unguarded! He'd NEVER be stupid enough to do that!"

"Well, this has gotta have SOMETHING." Stine says. "Maybe the complete incantation we need."

"Yeah, Mr. Mummy's got a grudge with Slaps, and he wants to settle things, like, NOW." Mr. Black adds. "The sooner we get that incantation, the better. Hopefully we're all trained up to take back our home by then."

"Just gotta unpick this last latch and…"

For the finishing touch, I conjure a magical key that inserts itself into the lock and turns with a click.

"There! Alright, let's see-."

Suddenly…the book begins to glow green. And the words KEEP OUT begin to fade.

"What…the…?"

Almost immediately, the book flies open, the wind and vortex roaring forth!

I hear various screams before I feel myself get yanked inside! And everything goes white…

When I wake up, I notice we're all still in one piece. But…everything around us is…a completely white space!

"Uh oh…" Jack Black gulps. "Uh, guys? I…I think we're in the book!"

"A Mystic Manuscript!" Van Helsing gasped. "A corrupted one!"

"I've never been pulled in so hard before…" I noted. "This isn't like the others…"

"He made his own diary into an enchanted book to suck us in!" R.L. Stine realized. "No wonder it was so easy! It was a TRAP!"

"You mean we're STUCK here?!" Lisa asks. "How do we find a way out?!"

"Well, if we don't," The Monster Hunter noted. "There's a high chance we end up losing all our memories. Just like Dylan did."

"Oh no…we gotta get outta here!" I gasp. "How do we do that?!"

"That's odd…I'm picking up another magical signature." Abe noticed. "That HAS to be a way out!"

I'm picking it up too. It's faint…but there. There's no time to waste! We rush towards the signature.

As we do, I see various writings come into view around us. Slappy jotting down all previous owners and how he tortured them…his various encouters with the Van Helsings and Midnight Society…something about The Gold and a Coldman House.

It feels like we're going in circles. The signal gets fainter, forcing us to go another direction. Eventually, we make so many turns, I forget where we're even going! Wait, forget?! CRAP!

Our magic is limited here. We can't use any of our magic. But given how there's suddenly enemies, like an ice man and a bunch of sentient vines, this HAS to be the right path.

Eventually, we managed to make it to the signature. It's…another book?!

"Uhhhh…so, wait, are we gonna get sucked into a book…INSIDE another book?!"

"OR it could be a way out." Abe answers Jack. "A risky choice, but it's better than getting a mind-wipe."

He's right. What choice do we have? I move forward when…

ZZZZZZZZZ-IIIIIIIIIII!

A golden bolt of magic streaks right in front of me, striking the white void. And then, there's a cackle.

"As if it was that easy, you klutzes!" A high-pitched crazy girl voice says. "You ain't leaving this place, EVER!"

Well, at least that confirms the book. I turn, and that voice belongs to a doll. But this isn't Mary-Ann or Abigail. She has a wild hive of curly blond hair, bright blue eyes, a short snub nose, and red lips. She also wears a flowered top with a black skirt and tights.

"Goldie." Van Helsing presumes. "The fifth child and only sister of the Slappy Family."

"Hmph! That brat thinks he's BETTER than me?! His pesky control can't hold me forever! If I was able to turn back from being turned into a rat, this is NOTHING! So once I use my diary to leave this trap, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"

Her magic…it almost equals his! It's like Darkwell made her to be his equal. If not his superior if she was heavily favored.

"Then again…he's too focused on TOYING with the victims!" Goldie giggles. "If you want something done right, you hafta DO IT YOURSELF!"

She readies her golden magic with a laugh and fires! I ready my Monster Armor and block an orb. This is gonna be a tough fight, I can tell…

I dodge a freezing spell and various golden lightning bolts, with my magic able to resist a mind-control spell. However, Goldie ends up making my sword WAY too hot, and I yell in pain before I'm forced to drop it.

Goldie is even able to control this entire landscape! The very floors move around to make us lose our balance, and she summons even MORE monsters! She even has OTHER rats as minions, and our magic prevents her from turning us into rats as well.

I only use the best of my Ultimate form's abilities. I go invisible as a ghost to possess some summoned monsters and turn them on her, but she only vaporizes them. I use my Cyberspace abilities and superhuman intellect to easily take down more of her minions. But even now, I feel my evil intent surging forth. So I try to suppress it as much as I can. Lest I start to lose myself again.

I look back at Lisa. She's continuing to struggle in the mind, but that hesitation is only for a split second. Still, I worry. I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out.

Magic prevents Goldie from hypnotizing us as well, and I block blasts of hot air and more golden bolts that she fires at us. She's not holding back in the slightest. She's like all four of her brothers, combined into one! Slappy's power, Mr. Wood's personality, Snappy's trickery, and Wally's determination!

Yet still, this book is HUGE! I'm not sure how long we've been here. Our memories could be wiped at any second!

Well…maybe THIS should help! I have to say it before I forget it!

"Ka-!"

Instantly, I feel myself go mute when I try to say it. Damn!

"Ha! Nice try, humie!" Goldie laughs. "But if you think saying 'em will do ya any good, YER WRONG! I'm gonna MURDERIZE all of ya! Hahahahahahahaha!"

I only smirk. Then I bring up the audio recording I created a few years ago on my phone and press Play.

"Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano."

"What?! NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo….."

Before Goldie can react some more and try to stop it, she drops to the ground like a normal doll. About time. There's no more to waste. Time we get out of here!

I even notice how the recording could be interrupted midway. Maybe I should play it at double speed. Or what if the dummy doesn't hear it? I have to work on those flaws. But in the meantime…

I take the glowing golden book and open it. Instantly, there's a bright flash of light that envelops us. Similar to how we left a book back when we met Dylan…

And sure enough, it works. My vision clears to see that we're all back safely in Dead House! And Goldie's inanimate state ends up back here with us.

"Well, THAT was a bust." Lisa sighs. "So much for trying to find an embarrassing secret."

"We gotta be careful if there's another trap like that." I state. "Hopefully this didn't end up as a homing beacon either. The last thing we want is one of his elites coming after us."

Just so be safe, I burn the diary and vaporize it instantly into ashes. And Goldie's as well, because one can't be too careful.

"What about Goldie?" Jack Black asks. "If she's got magic strong enough to match her brother, there's a chance she can come back from the dead too."

"Well, I've kept many artifacts back at the mansion." Van Helsing says, picking the doll up. "I decided to bring a soundproof glass case as a prison for Slappy, so he can't hear the magic words once he's inanimate. For the time being, I guess Goldie will have to fill that vacancy."

He heads to the basement with the still doll, and once again we find ourselves back at square one. Sigh…

I don't even have to jinx it to even BEGIN to suspect that things could get even worse…

SLAPPY

"So…they're in Dark Falls, eh? Ooo…I remember that place."

Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…that's where it all began. The first scream. The first scare. The first twist. All in that old house. I heard the townsfolk are just DYING to get some new visitors.

Well, I guess that last-second enchantment worked after all! I should make backup plans more often!

Let's see…what monster do I want to send over there to crush them? The mantis? No, that's too easy? The gnomes? Too stupid. The werewolf? Most likely to kill.

So many monsters, so little time…

Ah…that's it.

A smile forms on my wooden lips. I get it now…

Sometimes, if you wanna go into a KILLER town, you'd have to be a MANIAC to do so! Hahahahahahahaha!