Chapter 10
In the city, citizens of the Neitherworld were all going about their business just like any normal city. Only in normal cities, the citizens aren't ghosts and monsters. But in the Neitherworld, unusual things are abundant. A werewolf was pushing an Eyes Scream cart that contained several screaming, eyeball creatures. A woman with pale green skin was selling dead flowers.
Suddenly, the citizens felt the ground rumble slightly. Then loud dance music blared from out of nowhere. The citizens looked down the street toward a bend and saw an unusual sight. Mecha-Reaper was marching toward them twirling his scythe like a baton twirler. Then, rounding the bend came the U.G.C.V with Dr. Grim behind the controls. The front part had opened up to reveal a blue glowing opening. He wore his maniacal grin on his face. Marching alongside the U.G.C.V were the Zombots.
Dr. Grim picked up a microphone that amplified his voice through a loudspeaker on his vehicle. "Mecha-Reaper, Zombots, its party time!" he announced. "Party! Party!" chanted the Zombots. The Zombots ran into buildings ready to capture any ghost, ghoul or monster within them. Mecha- Reaper strode up to a nearby vampire. He shocked him with his scythe, picked him up, and tossed him into the blue opening.
Dr. Grim cackled madly. "Things are going exactly the way I planned. I didn't expect the Neitherworld to have such a variety of creatures. What an army I'll have!" he laughed.
Through the windows of the buildings, the Zombots blasted through on jets that were built into their feet. Each of them was carrying some sort of unconscious Neitherworld creature. They flew down to the U.G.C.V and dropped them into the opening. The opening was the entrance to Dr. Grim's giant containment unit where the creatures were broken down into a gelatinous ooze-like substance for storage. Dr. Grim had plenty of room for a lot of creatures.
"I think we need more Zombots out here," said Dr. Grim as he pushed a button. Flaps opened up near the bottom of the cubic trailer in the back and several mechanical body parts spilled out. The parts started to move on their own and piece themselves together into more Zombots. They immediately started chasing after the creatures.
Dr. Grim danced to the beat of the music. He'd never had this much fun. Then he spoke through his loudspeaker. "Mecha-Reaper!" he yelled. Mecha-Reaper had just hooked a purple ghoul with his scythe, grabbed him, and tossed him over his shoulder toward the opening. "Yes, Master?" he responded. "We're making good progress. But I think we should find some place to set up a headquarters. I can do some research on how to control these creatures while you and the Zombots scourge the entire Neitherworld. Toss someone up here so I may inquire about an ideal place," said Dr. Grim.
Mecha-Reaper hooked a nearby zombie and held him to his shrouded face. "My master wishes to speak to you," he said as he carried his captive to the U.G.C.V. and climbed up to Dr. Grim.
"Pardon me, my good uh. man, but would you know of a good place for me and my colleagues to set up headquarters? We'd prefer some place big and roomy," said Dr. Grim. "Well, there is the castle of Prince Vince. It's roomy," said the zombie in a shaky voice. He was obviously frightened of this horrible human who was bringing terror to the Neitherworld. "Thank you. Now would you have a map?" he asked. The zombie reached into the pocket of his ragged pants and took out a map, which he handed to Dr. Grim.
"Thank you. Because you helped me, I'm going to let you go," said Dr. Grim. "You are?" asked the zombie feeling relieved. "Yes. Into my containment unit!" exclaimed Dr. Grim as he laughed manically. Mecha- Reaper tossed the zombie into the opening as Dr. Grim opened the map. "Mecha-Reaper, we are setting a course for this castle. On the way, let's draft a few more ghouls. We can never have too many in this invincible army," he said as they continued down the streets of the Neitherworld.
Later, Lydia and Dr. Notrub entered into the city. "I've never seen a Neitherworld street this empty before," said Lydia growing more worried. "There's never been giant tank treads from a horrible machine designed to catch ghosts," said Beetlejuice's voice from Dr. Notrub's body. "Where could Dr. Grim be heading? We have to find him and quickly. I'm starting to feel a little funny. I think I'm starting to vanish," said Dr. Notrub regaining control. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance," said a voice from up above.
Lydia and Dr. Notrub looked up and saw a flying creature coming down. It landed in front of them. It was a living gargoyle made out of white marble. He had clawed hands and feet. Sharp fangs protruded from the mouth of his horned head. A pair of wings was on his back. He was wearing clothing similar to that of a mobster.
"Where did you come from?" asked Lydia. "From up there," said the gargoyle pointing to a rooftop of one the buildings. "The name's Rocky. I'm a member of the Morbid Marble Mob. It's an organization of gargoyle gangsters who run this neighborhood. From the sound of that voice coming from within you, I assume that you are harboring Beetlejuice, the Neitherworld's most bothersome ghost," he said to Dr. Notrub. "Yes. It's me in here. Now you said you can help us," said Beetlejuice's voice.
"Hold on for a second, Beetlejuice. Why do you want to help us?" asked Dr. Notrub. "The boss don't like what those creeps have done to our neighborhood. And he ain't happy with you either. He blames you because he thought you brought that creepy human into the Neitherworld since you're the only one who has the powers to do it," said Rocky. "For once, I'm not behind this. He stole my powers and used them to come here," said Beetlejuice. "Now I may be able to clear this up with the boss. But only if you get rid of that creep who has been kidnapping the creatures," said Rocky.
"You got it, stone dude. Now will you tell us where that guy went?" asked Beetlejuice. "I overheard him talking about going to Prince Vince's castle to set up a headquarters. Now I expect you'll get rid of him as soon as possible," said Rocky. "Don't worry. Once I get my powers back, I'm going to juice him really bad for what he did to me," said Beetlejuice. "See that you do or else." stopped Rocky as a Zombot dropped out of the sky onto him.
Lydia screamed, as did Beetlejuice's voice. "What is that thing?" asked Dr. Notrub's voice. But Beetlejuice had taken control of Dr. Notrub's body and started to run alongside Lydia just as more Zombots pounced on Rocky. Two of them started to chase after the duo. "Those things are robots that Dr. Grim created to hunt ghosts," said Beetlejuice's voice as they ran.
"So they're machines. Let me take control for now, Beetlejuice. Lydia, we have to use the Fear Inducing Rays. Even though those things are machines, the F.I.R. will scramble their circuits," said Dr. Notrub as he pulled his F.I.R. pistol out of his pocket. Lydia pulled hers out. "Let's hope these work. You did say that these haven't been fully tested yet," said Lydia. "Just aim and squeeze the trigger," instructed Dr. Notrub as he aimed the pistol at a Zombot and squeezed the trigger. A beam of green light emitted from the pistol and contacted one of the Zombots.
The Zombot stopped running and started to shake violently as it fell apart. Its companion took a giant leap at Lydia. Lydia jumped backward and fired her pistol. The moment the beam hit the Zombot; it fell onto the ground and shattered into its separate parts. "Wow! I didn't know my F.I.R. was that powerful," said an astonished Dr. Notrub. "Nice gadget you have there, doc. But Dr. Grim mentioned that these robots can repair themselves," said Beetlejuice. "Are you serious?" asked Dr. Notrub. "Dead serious," replied Beetlejuice.
Lydia and Dr. Notrub stared at the Zombot pieces. They were starting to wriggle around and attach to one another until the pair of Zombots stood up once again. "Blast them again, Lydia! The F.I.R. must disrupt their systems so they fall apart," commanded Dr. Notrub. Lydia followed the doctor's instructions and fired the pistol again. Dr. Notrub did the same. Soon, the Zombots had shaken themselves to pieces again.
"Did Dr. Grim mention how they are able to reassemble themselves, Beetlejuice?" asked Dr. Notrub. "He mentioned something about a device hidden in their parts that sends out some sort of signal to the other parts and they reassemble themselves," replied Beetlejuice. "We must destroy those devices by smashing their parts physically," stated Dr. Notrub as he rushed toward the wriggling parts and stomped on a head. The head broke apart. But the remaining parts continued to wriggle.
"The device must not be in the head. It must be in another part. Good thing these parts are very fragile," observed Dr. Notrub as he stomped on a leg. Lydia joined him in the destruction of the Zombot parts until all of them had stopped moving. "The parts of this robot stopped when I destroyed one of the arms," said Dr. Notrub. "That's funny because when I stomped on one of the legs belonging to the other, they stopped," said Lydia. "Dr. Grim must've built these things with the reassembling devices in different places for each of them," said Dr. Notrub.
"We've got to hurry. We've got to get to Prince Vince's castle and get my powers back," said Beetlejuice. "I know the way," said Lydia as she ran off in one direction. Dr. Notrub ran after her.
In the city, citizens of the Neitherworld were all going about their business just like any normal city. Only in normal cities, the citizens aren't ghosts and monsters. But in the Neitherworld, unusual things are abundant. A werewolf was pushing an Eyes Scream cart that contained several screaming, eyeball creatures. A woman with pale green skin was selling dead flowers.
Suddenly, the citizens felt the ground rumble slightly. Then loud dance music blared from out of nowhere. The citizens looked down the street toward a bend and saw an unusual sight. Mecha-Reaper was marching toward them twirling his scythe like a baton twirler. Then, rounding the bend came the U.G.C.V with Dr. Grim behind the controls. The front part had opened up to reveal a blue glowing opening. He wore his maniacal grin on his face. Marching alongside the U.G.C.V were the Zombots.
Dr. Grim picked up a microphone that amplified his voice through a loudspeaker on his vehicle. "Mecha-Reaper, Zombots, its party time!" he announced. "Party! Party!" chanted the Zombots. The Zombots ran into buildings ready to capture any ghost, ghoul or monster within them. Mecha- Reaper strode up to a nearby vampire. He shocked him with his scythe, picked him up, and tossed him into the blue opening.
Dr. Grim cackled madly. "Things are going exactly the way I planned. I didn't expect the Neitherworld to have such a variety of creatures. What an army I'll have!" he laughed.
Through the windows of the buildings, the Zombots blasted through on jets that were built into their feet. Each of them was carrying some sort of unconscious Neitherworld creature. They flew down to the U.G.C.V and dropped them into the opening. The opening was the entrance to Dr. Grim's giant containment unit where the creatures were broken down into a gelatinous ooze-like substance for storage. Dr. Grim had plenty of room for a lot of creatures.
"I think we need more Zombots out here," said Dr. Grim as he pushed a button. Flaps opened up near the bottom of the cubic trailer in the back and several mechanical body parts spilled out. The parts started to move on their own and piece themselves together into more Zombots. They immediately started chasing after the creatures.
Dr. Grim danced to the beat of the music. He'd never had this much fun. Then he spoke through his loudspeaker. "Mecha-Reaper!" he yelled. Mecha-Reaper had just hooked a purple ghoul with his scythe, grabbed him, and tossed him over his shoulder toward the opening. "Yes, Master?" he responded. "We're making good progress. But I think we should find some place to set up a headquarters. I can do some research on how to control these creatures while you and the Zombots scourge the entire Neitherworld. Toss someone up here so I may inquire about an ideal place," said Dr. Grim.
Mecha-Reaper hooked a nearby zombie and held him to his shrouded face. "My master wishes to speak to you," he said as he carried his captive to the U.G.C.V. and climbed up to Dr. Grim.
"Pardon me, my good uh. man, but would you know of a good place for me and my colleagues to set up headquarters? We'd prefer some place big and roomy," said Dr. Grim. "Well, there is the castle of Prince Vince. It's roomy," said the zombie in a shaky voice. He was obviously frightened of this horrible human who was bringing terror to the Neitherworld. "Thank you. Now would you have a map?" he asked. The zombie reached into the pocket of his ragged pants and took out a map, which he handed to Dr. Grim.
"Thank you. Because you helped me, I'm going to let you go," said Dr. Grim. "You are?" asked the zombie feeling relieved. "Yes. Into my containment unit!" exclaimed Dr. Grim as he laughed manically. Mecha- Reaper tossed the zombie into the opening as Dr. Grim opened the map. "Mecha-Reaper, we are setting a course for this castle. On the way, let's draft a few more ghouls. We can never have too many in this invincible army," he said as they continued down the streets of the Neitherworld.
Later, Lydia and Dr. Notrub entered into the city. "I've never seen a Neitherworld street this empty before," said Lydia growing more worried. "There's never been giant tank treads from a horrible machine designed to catch ghosts," said Beetlejuice's voice from Dr. Notrub's body. "Where could Dr. Grim be heading? We have to find him and quickly. I'm starting to feel a little funny. I think I'm starting to vanish," said Dr. Notrub regaining control. "Perhaps I could be of some assistance," said a voice from up above.
Lydia and Dr. Notrub looked up and saw a flying creature coming down. It landed in front of them. It was a living gargoyle made out of white marble. He had clawed hands and feet. Sharp fangs protruded from the mouth of his horned head. A pair of wings was on his back. He was wearing clothing similar to that of a mobster.
"Where did you come from?" asked Lydia. "From up there," said the gargoyle pointing to a rooftop of one the buildings. "The name's Rocky. I'm a member of the Morbid Marble Mob. It's an organization of gargoyle gangsters who run this neighborhood. From the sound of that voice coming from within you, I assume that you are harboring Beetlejuice, the Neitherworld's most bothersome ghost," he said to Dr. Notrub. "Yes. It's me in here. Now you said you can help us," said Beetlejuice's voice.
"Hold on for a second, Beetlejuice. Why do you want to help us?" asked Dr. Notrub. "The boss don't like what those creeps have done to our neighborhood. And he ain't happy with you either. He blames you because he thought you brought that creepy human into the Neitherworld since you're the only one who has the powers to do it," said Rocky. "For once, I'm not behind this. He stole my powers and used them to come here," said Beetlejuice. "Now I may be able to clear this up with the boss. But only if you get rid of that creep who has been kidnapping the creatures," said Rocky.
"You got it, stone dude. Now will you tell us where that guy went?" asked Beetlejuice. "I overheard him talking about going to Prince Vince's castle to set up a headquarters. Now I expect you'll get rid of him as soon as possible," said Rocky. "Don't worry. Once I get my powers back, I'm going to juice him really bad for what he did to me," said Beetlejuice. "See that you do or else." stopped Rocky as a Zombot dropped out of the sky onto him.
Lydia screamed, as did Beetlejuice's voice. "What is that thing?" asked Dr. Notrub's voice. But Beetlejuice had taken control of Dr. Notrub's body and started to run alongside Lydia just as more Zombots pounced on Rocky. Two of them started to chase after the duo. "Those things are robots that Dr. Grim created to hunt ghosts," said Beetlejuice's voice as they ran.
"So they're machines. Let me take control for now, Beetlejuice. Lydia, we have to use the Fear Inducing Rays. Even though those things are machines, the F.I.R. will scramble their circuits," said Dr. Notrub as he pulled his F.I.R. pistol out of his pocket. Lydia pulled hers out. "Let's hope these work. You did say that these haven't been fully tested yet," said Lydia. "Just aim and squeeze the trigger," instructed Dr. Notrub as he aimed the pistol at a Zombot and squeezed the trigger. A beam of green light emitted from the pistol and contacted one of the Zombots.
The Zombot stopped running and started to shake violently as it fell apart. Its companion took a giant leap at Lydia. Lydia jumped backward and fired her pistol. The moment the beam hit the Zombot; it fell onto the ground and shattered into its separate parts. "Wow! I didn't know my F.I.R. was that powerful," said an astonished Dr. Notrub. "Nice gadget you have there, doc. But Dr. Grim mentioned that these robots can repair themselves," said Beetlejuice. "Are you serious?" asked Dr. Notrub. "Dead serious," replied Beetlejuice.
Lydia and Dr. Notrub stared at the Zombot pieces. They were starting to wriggle around and attach to one another until the pair of Zombots stood up once again. "Blast them again, Lydia! The F.I.R. must disrupt their systems so they fall apart," commanded Dr. Notrub. Lydia followed the doctor's instructions and fired the pistol again. Dr. Notrub did the same. Soon, the Zombots had shaken themselves to pieces again.
"Did Dr. Grim mention how they are able to reassemble themselves, Beetlejuice?" asked Dr. Notrub. "He mentioned something about a device hidden in their parts that sends out some sort of signal to the other parts and they reassemble themselves," replied Beetlejuice. "We must destroy those devices by smashing their parts physically," stated Dr. Notrub as he rushed toward the wriggling parts and stomped on a head. The head broke apart. But the remaining parts continued to wriggle.
"The device must not be in the head. It must be in another part. Good thing these parts are very fragile," observed Dr. Notrub as he stomped on a leg. Lydia joined him in the destruction of the Zombot parts until all of them had stopped moving. "The parts of this robot stopped when I destroyed one of the arms," said Dr. Notrub. "That's funny because when I stomped on one of the legs belonging to the other, they stopped," said Lydia. "Dr. Grim must've built these things with the reassembling devices in different places for each of them," said Dr. Notrub.
"We've got to hurry. We've got to get to Prince Vince's castle and get my powers back," said Beetlejuice. "I know the way," said Lydia as she ran off in one direction. Dr. Notrub ran after her.