Crawling out of the screen, Pennywise lunged for me. I dived down, dodging his hand, and sprinted for the exit.

Unhooking the gas container on my air gun flamethrower, jury rigged already to be explosive, I tossed it at his face. I was off target by about a meter, but his head was pretty huge. Explosive liquid spoiled out, burning his face further.

I sprinted out, dodging a blind slap of his hand as I slammed my way out of the door. Cure was right… ahead of me, running much faster. Lucky bastard, with four legs.

Into the corridor outside. Old movie posters for 80s movies hung across the wall. Back to the future, Terminator, The Princess Bride, Top Gun. They were showing a lot of good oldies.

I spoke to Maturin again, as I ran. "You oversee fate. Why didn't get protected by his brother's ka-tek? The psychic link of fate which binds families, securing them even against mighty supernatural entities."

Maturin spoke, his voice deep, booming, powerful, slow. I could see his reptilian head, vaster than worlds, and his glowing scales, in many colours. "It was not his fate. I could not protect him. He had his place, as do we all."

"As does IT?"

"Energy is eternal, my otherworldly friend. You must be able to see that."

"How can you tolerate evil like him! He told me about you. How you were kind" Shouted Georgie in my head.

I spoke. "The cycle continues. The world spins on."

"You understand. I can't change it all. It continues." He didn't sound happy. I think I could find an edge in there.

"Some things disrupt the cycle. They weigh upon the world, breaking it. With each day, the world gets heavier and heavier on your shoulders. Your death is coming, you know?"

"I will die. And live again."

I spoke, cutting in sharply. "Are you sure? The Red might win. Their breakers might crack reality and fracture it, and end it all. This may be the final cycle."

"Then so be it." I was missing something. He sounded… hopeless. Learned hopelessness.

"You've tried to help before, haven't you?"

Georgie spoke. "They don't let you help, do they?"

"When my focus is distracted, they strike elsewhere. My power vanishes into them, consumed, and the world ends a bit faster. It's better to be surgical with my interventions. I am alone, in a long long war." He said. "Go, rejoin your brother. I will aid him when the time comes. Tell him of my brother. Stay out of the sewers, and you will be safe now."

I could imagine. An ancient, powerful being. Beset on all sides by enemies. Stephen Kings worlds were harsh and painful places, where more often than not the good lost. Pain and suffering ruled. Maturin had lived in that world. Been rebuffed countless times, slowly fading from the world. The cycle of the dark tower repeating over and over as he died, again and again. A divine turtle corpse, still fantastically powerful, but impotent before the sheer breadth of threats.

So, he trusted in fate. Stayed with the safe course, the most likely course to survival. Doing nothing new. Some like Georgie faded- but he had many responsibilities. Perhaps if he intervened to save him he would disrupt the fate that stopped Pennywise, or be distracted long enough for even more to die. He was slow, careful, and methodical.

Could he read my mind? He was saying no more. Perhaps Maturin respected me enough not too. I needed to show my respect of him.

"You're wrong about something. You're not alone. You're in the fight with me and Bill. You're our family, no matter what strings of fate say. Our Ka-tek. And we can stop your death."

As I said that, I heard a sad laugh, as the roof rocked. Slowly, it was torn off.

"The eagerness of children. No, I have seen the lines of Fate. My death is fated. I will perhaps be reset but-"

"Did you see me?" He paused.

"Your fate is tied to a being weaker than me, but he acts on the commands of one stronger. I can't see your fate." He admitted. "But you can't destroy Pennywise. His energy is eternal."

"I am from your future. I know all the trouble spots, before they happen. And we don't need to destroy Pennywise. Energy is eternal, but it can change."

The ceiling of the cinema corridor was ripped off, and Pennywise's massive mug was in there. The light flickered. I could see him crawling towards me. It flickered again. He was closer, mouth wide.

"Help me, and we'll help you." I called out. "Be a part of our family, and we'll take care of you." I sent a party invitation to Maturin.

Georgie gave an appeal. "We need you. Be our friend."

And Cure did too, sending a sense of family, warmth, and care.

Party invitation accepted. Ma-Tek energy overflowing.

My fist glowed white, hotter than stars. My eyes burnt like fire. I felt the divine strength of Maturin fill me. I saw IT for what it is. A clown. A spider. The manifestation of horrors. A void of hunger and need, from beyond the stars. Fixed in a form of horror. He was feeding off the terror of those who had come to this place and seen horror films. He knew the law of shapes. He had taken a massive form so that he would be resistant to my weapons. The penetration was small, and he would survive, no matter what beliefs we held.

It was time to show him. I stepped forward, and rammed my fist into him. I didn't hit with strength, or perks, or anything like that. I hit him with the immobility of the turtle, with the bond of desperation we four had forged. A lost dog, abandoned to die in a poisoned house, a boy destined to die to inspire his brother, a scientist locked without tools in a toilet, and the last good god in a world of horror and pain. Together, we hit him.

300,000,000 damage done! Critical hit!

He slammed around my fist, immovable to his simple horror, and fell, clown sized, on the ground. I kneeled down, and began slamming my fists repeatedly into his face, making the white skin run red and black with blood, venting all my frustration on him, each blow hard enough to smash a mountain. I scratched, punched, slapped, all with cosmic force.

I saw his status.

Pennywise. Race, Deadlight. Divine status. Demigod. HP. 0/2000. Backup HP. 9*10^70/10^70

It was a lot, but we were unstoppable. Still, I could feel Maturin's power draining. He wouldn't sustain this forever.

I rammed one fist into his chest, and grabbed his true, black void form in the macroverse, while grabbing his arm with my other hand. With a powerful tug, I ripped it off.

I could see deep into the macroverse now. I could see the currents of power. I could feel how the universe worked. It was almost in my grasp- yes. Stories. Ideas. Flooding around me. Narratives. The world ran on them. Ideas and concepts. But that wasn't all. Form meant substance. Pennywise became a fairy, cold iron harmed him. But with his strength why. I felt I almost had it-

Then it vanished. The insights and ideas and knowledge seeped away. Pennywise teleported away, armless, snarling, and I was left alone with Maturin.

"So." I said, holding up the arm, as Cure slowly came back, from his hiding spot behind a Arnold Terminator paper character. "Power is power, energy is energy. Think you can sustain yourself off your old enemy's power?" This had been my idea. Pennywise could eat psychic kids. Vampires could eat psychic kids. Why did that have to be one way? Why not have Maturin, the good god, eat an evil god?

Maturin grinned before me, and reached down with his turtle head, snapping up the fragment of Pennywise. He spoke, his voice no less clear for the food in his mouth.

"I'm not as helpful a master as your old one. I will be busy. And I cannot override the system entirely. One stronger than I is under their sway."

I shrugged. "I need a solid basis. You can do that. And I can supply all the cosmic horrors you want to eat and feed from, and slay those that disrupt your foundations. You don't have to die. In this family, you eat well."

He finished consuming IT's cursed flesh, with a burp.

"I want the harem anime as well. Belief of children is strength. Make much media of me, so that my strength my returns"

"It's… not for children. Anime. It's mostly adults."

"Then why is it a colourful cartoon?" Georgie sent a note of agreement. "Just do the harem anime." commanded Maturin.

"How many turtles should be yours, then?" I asked

"All of them."

"Deal, Maturin Senpai." I said. And I felt a rush of power into me.

Gamer interface, upgraded. Integrating Pennywise and and Maturin power sources.

This should be good. I leaned against a poster of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, braced myself- and a powerful agony ripped through my body. Every part of me flooded with energy. It was happening.

Maturin the harem anime is ago. What should it be called?

Dragonbornthesam. Could be fun. I was thinking of doing penalty levels at some point, and that could work as a setting for one.

Thorison1080. Derry is still ongoing, but in the film it was months before pennywise started fucking around, and now he's just been beaten up and had his arm ripped off and eaten.

Pokelover. His power got eaten by Pennywise. He tore it out, but some fragments of Pennywise, a cannibal clown, were left. He is feeding the perks to the cannibal clown so he can buy them again to reuse them.

Incognitominerals. Yeah the old system was fucking with his head a lot. He'll be able to think clearer with this.

See you next time as we return to Derry Maine.