A street was entirely deserted as a bag flew by. The five were all running one by one, panting as they were chasing a monster down the street. It had several mouths and claws and feet. It roared as it jumped over a crashed car.

"We're not gonna make it, friends!" Quint shouted in a panic to the four. The monster roared again as it ran down the sidewalk. They kept an eye on it, but weren't close enough to get its essence. It ran past a clothing store.

"Can't let it get away," Jack said in determination.

"We haven't gotten the essence of a mouth breather yet!" Quint called out.

"We are so bad at catching monsters today!" June added in.

"How about canning the chatter til we catch the thing?" Dirk asked, glancing away. "Sheesh, you talk more with three mouths than this big ugly does with 15!"

"Okay, okay, we get it," May retorted in annoyance. "We just need a plan to catch it!" The mouth breather crawled past a car with a roar. It then ran up to Stuff Mart, and the five ran around the corner to follow it.

"It went inside the Stuff Mart!" Jack shouted as they ran inside.

"Grab its essence!" Quint called out and then realized...he didn't know what it was. "Wait! What is his essence?"

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" Jack flipped through the book while running. He bumped into a bin and dropped it. June ran up and held out her spear to catch it.

"Maybe you should look where you're going?" She retorted as she tossed the book into his hand.

Dirk huffed as he placed his hands on his hips. "What is essence anyway?"

"Wait," May ran up, looking around. "Where's-"

A screech interrupted her as the mouth breather bumped into a shelf. Dirk lunged towards it. "What is a monster's essence?" Quint questioned and then he held up the bestiary while in front of the camera. "Well, Thrull's bestiary makes it clear that it's unique to each creature," He opened it up and showed the page with a big smile. "The leathery skin of the Winged Wretch, a Dozer's gnarled toenail, the Wormungulous'...goo," He gave a blank look as something blue and slimy hit the chalkboard behind him. "You're hilarious, Jack."

His best friend just laughed while Quint rolled his eyes. "You said goo."

The mouth breather ran away as Dirk landed on the ground. "I got it! I got it!" Quint offered immediately as he ran past Dirk. The mouth breather crawled up a shelf, disappearing in front of him. "I don't got it," He sagged his shoulders as the creature ran on top of the shelves.

"Give me a leg up!" May turned to Dirk, who stood up and held out his hands. She planted down her foot and he gave her a boost as she landed safely on the shelves. She started running across them to catch up with the mouth breather, impressing Quint. June and Jack stuck to running across the aisles.

"June! Catch!" Jack tossed the bestiary to her between aisles and she caught it to look up its essence. Jack leaped as the mouth breather jumped, taking a picture. He landed against a shelf, looking at the camera. "Got the photo!" Several items fell on him and he looked up to see the mouth breather standing right above him. May came to a stop at the shelf in front of Jack, narrowing her eyes. It disappeared and she leaped, landing on the other side.

"Now we just need a...tooth!" June reported to them.

"On it!" Quint stated as the mouth breather hit the shelf that May was standing on and then jumped out the window. May yelped as the shelf wobbled and started to fall in the opposite direction. She slipped and then Quint ran over to her to catch her. But then she fell on his back and both of them groaned. Dirk and June arrived at the broken window. "He went that way," Quint said in pain while pointing to the window from the ground.

They all pushed open the door. "Dirk, flank left. I'll cover the right. Jack, go high. May, go straight ahead. And Quint, if it doubles back, don't let it get past you," June ordered all four of them.

"You got it!" Quint assured as they all ran off. "Wait, how am I supposed to do that?"

Dirk, June, and May chased after the mouth breather as they had caught up with it in an alleyway. Dirk leaped forward and grabbed its tail. "Gotcha! You're not goin-" The mouth breather kicked him twice in the face, causing him to let go. June stood behind it and it looked up to see May standing to the left. It then jumped and started crawling through the wall. "He's wall crawling! C-can he do that?" Dirk asked in disbelief as it ran in the other direction.

"Come on, Quint," Quint paced around from the back alleyway. "You can do this! Gotta impress May." He heard a roar and looked forward to see the creature heading straight for him. He took out his hose for his ball launcher, but fumbled with it and his ammo fell to the ground. The mouth breather roared as it got closer and Quint activated his machine. However, his foot was stuck in the goo that the balls were made out of it and he screamed, even his hose getting stuck. He landed on the ground, screaming as the monster jumped over him.

"Surprise aerial attack!" Jack jumped down from a building, Quint screaming from the ground. Jack landed on the creature, riding him like a bull. He yelped as he tried to control it, and it turned around, its teeth snaring at him. He threw his slicer into the creature's mouth, getting it stuck. It then threw him off and he landed on the ground.

"Jack, hold on!" Quint tried to break free, but the substance was particularly sticky. June, May, and Dirk arrived.

"I got it!" Jack shouted happily as he held up his slicer, which had a tooth stuck inside. The mouth breather roared and then ran away.

"We did it!" Quint grunted from his spot, attempting and failing again to break free. "Yay," He smiled weakly from the ground.


They all walked down the street together, Dirk whistling a few times. He threw a stick and Rover ran for it. "Perfecto teamwork," Jack started off. "I loved how June was all 'Dirk, flank left, six o'clock. I'll go right commando style. May, go straight'."

"I don't sound like that," June retorted to him.

Jack just gave a small laugh. "You so do."

Rover came back with the stick, giving it to Dirk. "Heh! And Jack, the way you rode that thing like a rodeo rider!" He exclaimed with a smile while petting Rover.

"The way we cornered that thing like people who corner things!" June chuckled and they shared a fist bump. "And May, I'll admit...your cheerleading skills came in handy the way you ran across the shelves," She shrugged a little, not sounding too nice or too mean.

"Wasn't my best effort since I fell," She rubbed the back of her neck. "But thanks."

"Yeah," Jack pointed at them with a smile, turning to Quint...who had goo all over his clothes. "Oh, and Quint, you...you got stuck in a tough spot there, dude," He removed his hand and the goo stuck to it. He removed it and Quint frowned.

"Oh! Quint, thanks for the save, but you didn't have to hurt yourself trying to help me," May bit her lip nervously. "At best, I would've gotten a slight sprain, and I've dealt with those a lot during cheerleader practice."

He whined as he sagged his shoulders, confusing the girl. He had tried to impress her by trying to save her, and it didn't work. Dirk tossed the stick again and June came to a stop. "Wait," She held up a hand. Guys? Listen," She looked down the street and they only heard the whistles of the wind blowing.

"I don't hear anything," Dirk raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Exactly. There's a serious lack of undead groaning in the air," June pointed out, hands on her hips as she looked around. "Usually this area's full of zombies. Don't you think that's weird?"

"Maybe?" Jack shrugged at her while Rover ran around. He handed the stick back to Dirk. "But what isn't weird these days?"

"Me," Dirk ate the leaf off of the stick for some reason and threw it again. He gave two big thumbs up and a large grin.

"I mean, what haven't we seen?" May rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "We oughta be used to it by now."

"Uh, hey, friend," Quint spoke up from behind Jack to get his attention. "The whole thing that just transpired, with the mouth breather, did I...?"

"Yeah, that was crazy, huh?" Jack smirked a little.

"It's just, uh I-I don't think I helped much," Quint confessed nervously. "I'm-I'm feeling a bit like a Mortimer Biddle."

"Who?" June wondered as she didn't know what that was.

"From our comic book, Ninja Space Avenger in Space!"

In the comic, Jack was the Captain while Quint was part of the crew. "Mortimer, intruder alert! Unknown vessels approaching, and it looks like ninjas. Space ninjas!"

"Don't worry, Captain. I'll defend the ship!" Quint pointed a gun at it...but it sounded like a fart. He groaned at this.

"You're no Mortimer," Jack nudged his friend, trying to reassure him. "You're Captain Banner."

"Is that comic why you guys kept slacking in art class?" May rubbed her chin in thought. She used to have art class with them, and so she'd always hear them giggling or reciting lines to write down. She usually didn't pay much attention, but she could remember them not doing the assignments.

"No!" Quint waved his hands rapidly. "W-We didn't make a comic! We're cool!"

She just tilted her head in confusion, wondering why he was acting so weird. June and Dirk glanced at each other.

"Here, Quint, I know how you can help," Jack took the bestiary out of his backpack. "Hold this." He held up the tooth and placed it on the page. It glowed and he slapped the picture on the left page. "That's monster number 12!"

"That's disgusting," June pointed at the tooth and he turned to her with a teasing look.

"You got a problem with melting teeth?"

"Not that," She corrected, pushing past him. "You just slapped the picture in there...crooked. Don't you care how it looks?" She nudged him a bit.

"Uh-oh!" Jack feigned panic. "The editor of the Parker Middle School Gazette is back," He sagged his shoulders while walking off. Quint closed the book, looking annoyed.

"I feel so useful," He deadpanned at Jack. May walked next to him and he glanced at the girl awkwardly, rubbing his arm. "Um...so May, about that comic-"

"Ahh," She looked away briefly. "I actually think that's cool you made a comic," She confessed and he perked up. "I'm not sure if I'd read it, but you've got ambition going for you. And there'll be other monsters."

He paused as he looked away, remembering what she said earlier. "...I-I didn't save you because I wanted to get hurt, I did it because-"

"Hey, presentation is just as important as accuracy," June argued to Jack, who just shrugged. May turned to look at them and Quint sighed at the interruption.

"Says who?"

"Oh, I don't know, hundreds of years of journalism?" She retorted back as they made it back to Big Mama and Dirk groaned.

"Enough playful banter. So are we gonna go look for more monster essence or what?" A large shadow loomed over them and they looked up to see a giant sand monster in the distance. They all screamed and hid behind the car, looking up ahead. June flipped through the bestiary to look for it.

"That's...Grravel," She stated as they looked up and it knocked over a car.

"Grravel. 30 feet tall, 10 feet wide, or 10 feet tall and 30 feet wide. Depends on its mood. Can shapeshift into whatever it wants."

They flinched as the car landed right near them and Jack glanced at his friends. "Maybe we can tackle Grravel another day," He stated nervously since right now...it was rampaging across town and they'd lose very easily trying to get its essence. "Pizza break?"

"I could eat," Dirk raised a hand. June, May, and Quint all nodded in agreement with him.


They went to Joe's Pizza with May driving, Bruce still there trying to break free. It saw them run out of the car. "Hey, Bruce."

"Brucey, still doing the usual!"

"Hi, Bruce."

"Greetings, Bruce."

"What's up, Bruce?" Dirk grinned and Bruce groaned while waving his arms. They walked around the diner, Jack holding up the bestiary.

"Thrull!" He called out as the monster was sitting at the cool table. "We got another five pages," He reported happily, putting the book in front of Thrull.

"Excellent! It is vital that the bestiary be completed soon. You've done well."

"Oh, not just me," Jack smiled at his friends. "Dirk tackled one, June wrangled another, May kicked one down. And Quint..."

"I did nothing," Quint lamented, looking towards the ground.

"Stop saying that!" Jack argued to him.

"Yeah, Quint was behind us all the way," Dirk placed his hands on his shoulders. "Way behind us! And he got hurt trying to save May!" He laughed as June greeted a monster and left. May glared at him with a hand on her hip. "I'm totally kiddin', dude. Let's celebrate with some hot garlic sammiches," He walked off, but in the end, he did nothing to assure Quint.

"Yay. Celebrate," He remarked, holding up his own bestiary. "I'm gonna celebrate with the original bestiary," He walked off, Thrull staring at him with a deep frown. May sighed a bit before seeing Skaelka and waving, walking over to her.

Quint sat alone at a table, only for a monster to sit up and knock him off the chair. "Oh! Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to squash you. Guess my mind was somewhere else." The little monster raised a brow at him. "It's just...I don't know why filling Thrull's book is such a priority right now. No one cared that much about my bestiary," He opened it up and showed it. "See? Pretty cool, huh? Sure, it isn't magic, but mine...has Velcro," He demonstrated this and the monster...ate him whole. He struggled inside and Thrull pulled open the mouth, pulling him out. Quint groaned in disgust as he was covered in pink goo.

"Just breathe," Thrull placed a hand on his shoulder in assurance. "You'll be fine. You must be immersed in the Scrandena's stomach acid for minutes before it dissolves human flesh."

He looked up and gave a weak smile. "Good to know."

"You are the one called June, yes?" Thrull guessed incorrectly.

"Quint," He told him in annoyance, sitting down.

"June," Thrull sat across from him. "Do you know how important it is to complete this bestiary?"

"I do," Quint answered while trying to get the goo off. "It has invaluable research potential."

"This is true."

"I just—I'm not much of a team asset, not compared to the others," He glanced at his friends eating pizza. "And...And I want May to see me. Like really see that I can be on her level. When you guys landed in our world, she protected me without a second thought, she didn't even know me that well. And I wanna repay that, but I can't the way I am!"

"Hold your words. I am not an expert on human emotion, nor do I care to be, but I do know this," Thrull grunted as he placed his hand on Quint's shoulder, staring at him in the eye. "Each member of a tribe does what he can. And every bit helps." Quint smiled up at him. "Here. This is for you," Thrull handed him a small crooked bone of sorts.

"Wow! Does it glow when monsters are nearby?" Quint asked him hopefully. "Or grant invisibility?"

"Ah, even better," Thrull told him. "It is...symbolic."

"Oh," He looked a bit disappointed.

"I bestow it upon you in the belief that you have the strength to be indispensable. You just need to tap into it, June," Thrull poked at his heart.

"You think so? Wow! Okay! I will make every effort and prove to my friends that I am brave, strong, and Quint-essential! ...And prove to May that I'm cool too."


The next morning, it was time to go looking for monsters again as they headed to a power plant. "We're bestiary questing, questing for beasts!" Jack sung out while the others just walked behind him. "We're gonna take their picture, and maybe their teeeeeth!" He mimicked teeth using his fingers.

"Eww," June commented in disgust while walking past. "Don't do finger teeth. It's...weird. And are we decided on bestiary questers? Cause kinda lame."

"Hmm, I agree, except for the kinda," Dirk added in.

"Plus I don't think we need a tune for it," May waved a so-so hand. "Seems kinda 90s. If you start calling yourself Captain Bestiary and us the Bestiary Questers, I'm out of here," She jerked a thumb behind her.

"I like it!" Quint grinned widely, taking the lead. "Bestiary questing is the life for me! Well, maybe not. But if it's lame, I can do without the tune," He winked at May, baffling her.

"Um, okay?" She murmured to herself, making a mental note to ask what was going on with him later.

"Still no zombies," June pointed out, turning around to Jack who just shrugged.

"Maybe they staggered south for the winter."

"They're zombies, not birds," May rolled her eyes. "They don't hibernate."

"Look," June held up her notebook to show them. "I started keeping a log. There were zero zombies at the park, none by the school, and only one by the mall. That's hundreds of zombies—vanished! Look at this," She grabbed Jack's camera, dragging him along with it. She scrolled through photos to show the power plant, which did have zombies around. "The power plant then and now. Then and now," She moved the camera up and down to prove her point.

"Let me see!" Quint went around Dirk to take a look.

"Then and now," She demonstrated again while Jack let out a cough. "Then and now."

"Sheesh."

"You make a painful point," Jack snatched the camera back, coughing. "But I'm still not sure what the problem is."

June sighed at him in exasperation. "You wouldn't get it. Reporter's instinct. I just know there's something about this that's not right! I'm gonna get to the bottom of this." Meanwhile, Grravel just happened to appear, roaring down at them. "Uh, a little bit later."

Quint looked nervously before glancing at the little bone Thrull gave to him. "I can do this." He took out his hose. "Let's do this!" Before he could make a move, Dirk grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Uh, dude? Not sure we're ready for something that big yet."

"Oh, darn!" Quint faked disappointment, though was silently relieved. They ran off as Grravel started growling, staring after them. They walked around the forest together and they heard sounds of hooting. June gasped and pointed to a creature in front of them getting water.

"There, look! We got that one yet?"

"Um, Water Fowl!" The Fowl looked up and glanced at them. "We will momentarily," Jack put away the bestiary, the Fowl hooting and running off.

"Yeah, we will!" Quint cheered in encouragement. They all chased after it, following the creature to a small hill. Jack looked around as they could see Lumber Party in the distance. Jack then caught it running around the parking lot.

"I see it!" He slid down the hill, followed by the others as the creature took off again. Jack peeked behind a car, looking around as the Fowl ran behind a blue car. "It just ducked behind that car! And that Water Fowl's got my name on it," He bragged to them.

"Fine," June quickly dismissed. "We'll do what we always do. Come up with a great strategy, each do our parts, close in. And then at the last minute, Jack will ignore the plan and just rush him," She looked annoyed saying that last part.

"Love it!" Jack cheered at this.

"No!" They all turned to Quint in surprise. "Not this time. This time, I rush him!"

"What?" Dirk laughed a bit. "Look who put on his big boy pants."

"Dirk," May looked up at him with a small glare.

"You sure?" Jack raised a brow.

"Not literally, Jack! He's clearly wearing the same pants. When would he have changed pants?"

"Ugh," May facepalmed at him. "Look, Quint, if this is about earlier-"

"One hundred percent ready, big-time!" He interrupted her. "It's my name written on this Fowl!"

"Okay," She held up her hands in defeat. "I won't stop you."

They all split up, noticing the Fowl run right past. "Another prime zombie location," June pointed out over walkie-talkie. "Another place devoid of zombies." She took a look around and there wasn't a single zombie around. Even though the last time any of them went to Lumber Party, there were definitely zombies. "This isn't freaking you guys out?"

"I don't know," Jack confessed, flipping over to hide behind a truck. "There's only five of us left here to eat." He then leaned against the car. "Not exactly a zombie smorgasbord." He then ducked to hide behind another car. "Maybe they moved on to, you know, meatier pastures."

"If that's true, why not bug out weeks ago?" June couldn't help but wonder; they had passed through several locations where there were zombies and now there weren't any. They all seemed to stay in one place, especially since there weren't any other humans around to go look for food. "Why now?"

The Fowl slurped from a water puddle and then ran off. "I take it you have a hypothesis?" Quint wondered while sneaking over using a cart, keeping his eyes on the creature. It ran up a ramp of wood and then ran off after reaching the other side of a pile of wood.

"What if there's a monster out there that we haven't discovered yet? Something ancient. A huge one that's developed a taste for human flesh." She could just imagine it now.

"Uh, guys?" Quint spoke up while holding his hose. "Not to derail the debate...but I've got eyes on the Fowl!" He watched it play it another kind of hose. They all gathered around him. "It's go time! This is gonna be great. This is gonna be serious! It's gonna be post-awesome apocalyptic-ness of awesome! Of-of-"

"You done, bud?" Jack questioned from the other side of the car.

"...Yep."

"Okay, guys," Jack spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Move in on five, four-"

Quint charged forward with a yell, the fowl hissing at him and spreading out its fins-like ears. He screamed and then fell. "It startled me!" He cried out as the others ran right past him. "Did you know it could do that? I didn't know it could do that!" He shouted as he got on his feet. The fowl hissed at June and slipped between two cars. She flipped over the hoods as May cartwheeled over them, sliding to a stop in front of the Fowl to corner it. June caught it in her hands and Jack plucked the feather from it.

"And now go free, my fine-feathered friend," She grinned widely as Dirk held up the bestiary.

Jack laughed in triumph and placed it on the page, the four cheering. Quint just sighed a bit after seeing this. "Okay, minor setback. But this next one is all yours, Quint Baker," He said in determination while placing the hose behind him.


A small monster was raiding a toy store, stomping on them from the broken display window. Quint came out of hiding from behind a car and approached it. Before he could do anything, it was snagged by rope. Quint looked behind the window to see that Dirk had caught it and started tickling it.

The next one had a flower bud for a back and when Quint tried to catch it with a net, it opened up the flower. He screamed as a vine snatched it. June poked at it with her spear and Quint groaned as she got a small bump from the monster.

Next up was a large monster with teeth and Jack leaped down from the trees from a rope to grab its essence. The monster roared and quint fell back as it ran away. "Yeah!" Jack cheered happily, May holding the rope.

Next was a pink monster with a gem on the end of its tail. Quint held his hose in front of the tail to get the gem, but May suddenly threw a net over it, disappointing him. She plucked the gem off with ease and stood up with a smile.

Another one was at a lake and Quint stepped forward, ready to catch it...until he saw it was a huge sea monster. "How am I supposed to get that?" He asked in disbelief and the monster spit out goo on all of them.

"Got it!" Jack put the actual goo in the bestiary as that was the essence, making it the most easiest monster ever and Quint never even did anything.

"Another one! Another one!" He repeated this several times while putting all the essence into the bestiary. He closed the book as Quint looked exasperated from behind. "This bestiary is getting filled!"

"Oh, come on!" Quint looked away with a pout, crossing his arms. June approached Jack from behind as she noticed him.

"Hey, uh, what's up with Quint?"

A growl was heard in the distance and they looked up. "Oh, no," Jack murmured as Grravel was up ahead. "W-What's up with that Grravel?!" It destroyed a car and then shifted into a blob, the others hiding behind Big Mama as it went right past them. "Not ready yet." They all left and Quint narrowed his eyes as they got into the car.

"Uh, we've covered this area," Quint reported to Jack. June and Dirk were in the back while May was sitting behind the boys. "So let's try here next, north of the school."

Jack nodded in agreement. June sharpened her spear, Dirk giving himself more sports tape. He watched June stare at her spear, then sharpen, and then she repeated this. "I, uh...I think that's, uh, as sharp as it's gonna get."

"Oh. Yeah," She then sighed a little. "It's just that I'm worried. What if whatever is taking these zombies tries to take one of us? I'm even worried about May for once in years..."

"I think you're right."

"You do?" She turned to him in surprise.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's a monster taking them," He whispered so that the others didn't hear.

"Seriously? Then what?" She whispered back. He looked around and then leaned in.

"Alien abduction."

"Pfft!" She laughed this off. "Oh, come on! Little green men? You read way too many comic books."

He cringed and then looked back at the bots in front. "That's all those two nerds have in that stupid tree house! I'd kill for a cookbook. I've killed for less." She raised a skeptic brow, wondering where this was going. "Look, I'm serious! When my mom was still around, she'd tell me about some freaky things that went down when she was a kid, serious close encounter stuff."

"Are you messing with me?" June gave a deadpan look.

"No, just ask Quint. With all the planets and all the stars and all the galaxies, there's no way we're the only ones in the universe. Heck, these monsters prove that."

Jack drove through a box in the road, a monster going by from it. "I...guess so," June hesitantly agreed. "But why would aliens want zombies?"

"Experiments."

He could just imagine a UFO taking some, putting them on a lab table, and then about to drill into one. "Yeah...let me write that down," She wrote it as a possibility, but not the real threat since...they already had monsters and zombies around.

Quint glanced back at May nervously as she looked at her shovel claws. She didn't look up as she looked at the back of them. "Heh. So, May, uhh...how's it going?" He asked awkwardly and she looked up, raising a brow.

"Fine...? We're filling up the bestiary, at least."

"You know, Quint's getting real good at bestiary questing," Jack winked as he nudged Quint, trying to make it better but Quint just pouted, looking away.

"Um," She bit her lip at him. "About that...Quint, are you feeling okay? You seemed upset earlier."

"I'm fine!" He grinned widely. "Doing a-okay! Just great!"

"Huh?" She gave a look of confusion, probably even more so than earlier. "Why do you keep acting like that? Do you have a fever or something?"

"No, no," He shook his head in defeat, looking away with his arms crossed. "Never mind..."

Her eyes saddened a bit at him hiding it, since she had been nothing but honest with him. It hurt a little that he didn't trust her in the same way. Jack looked between the two, feeling somewhat awkward that it was a botched attempt for Quint to impress her.

He parked Big Mama at a train station. "I guess we're here," June glanced around a bit awkwardly. They all stepped out of the car.

"Let the bestiary questing resume," Jack smirked a bit. "Keep your eyes open for the Bindlesaurs. This is their turf." They all split up, June and Dirk going one way, with May, Jack, and Quint going the opposite direction. "Ah, we're doing great with essences, but we still need photos of some of these guys."

"I'm sure we'll run into them again at some point and we can get pictures then," May shrugged a little. Jack then realized something.

"Wait a minute. Quint! Do you have your book?"

"Oh, cool, yeah!" Quint stood up happily that Jack wanted to use it. "I got it right here."

Jack took it and opened it up. "Thanks, buddy." He put down the books, opening them up.

"I knew it was gonna be useful." Then Jack ripped a page from his own, causing him to wince. "Noooo!" Jack took a picture from Quint's and put it into the other, doing this several times. May looked down in shock at Jack for even doing it.

"Sweet!" He tossed the pages behind him. "See? You're a huge help," He walked past Quint, who looked disappointed as a page flew onto his pants.

"Quint..." May murmured in sympathy, holding out a hand. "I'm so sorry. It looked like you did a lot of hard work on your bestiary..."

"I'm...fine..." He mustered up, clenching his fists. "Don't worry about me."

"But-"

"I said I'm fine! I don't need you protecting me!" He snapped a little and she recoiled back a bit in alarm. He gasped as he realized what he said. "Wait, May...I-I didn't-"

"Alright," She backed away from him. "If you say so. I'll go this way then." She walked off to the side and he grunted.

"Stupid...! Okay, that's fine. I'm fine. Yeah, everything is great!" He took a page and crumpled it as Dirk and June approached. "Everything is just great!"

"What are you-"

"It's great, okay?!" He snapped at them too, running off past them.

"Seriously, what's up with him?" June wondered as they stared after him.

He kicked a few rocks behind a crate, sitting down. "Ow! What is-?" He pulled out the little bone Thrull gave to him.

Symbolic...June...

"I'll show them," He declared in determination. "I'll show them all what Quint Baker can do! But how?"

He heard a growl and looked in the distance to see Grravel forming. He chomped on a pipe and walked off. Quint narrowed his eyes and chased after it.

Dirk opened up a train car, turning around to June who jumped out of one. "No Bindlesaurs in there," She reported as they heard a noise, already on alert. Jack came out of hiding.

"Hey, uh, have either of you guys seen Quint or May?" He looked around and the two glanced at each other before looking worried.


Quint was using one of the train cars as a make-shift lab. He restocked his ammo, turning around and stepping out. He leaped and then stood in the distance from Grravel, narrowing his eyes. The monster growled and moved around. "You can do this," Quint readied his machine and yelled as he charged. Grravel turned and noticed him. He immediately swung at Quint, who flipped to the side. He fired his ammo, and the spot he hit hardened. "Quint Baker's quick-drying ping-pong glue-nade! Patent pending!"

Grravel then picked up a train car and threw it. Quint screamed as he ducked out of the way. The others heard the crash, including May who was on the opposite site of them. She whipped around in alarm upon hearing it. "What was that?" Jack wondered and they followed the noise.

Quint looked worried, but shrugged it off as he ran while firing. Grravel looked at his feet as they stayed in place from the glue. He let out a loud roar. "And that, friends, is how Quint Baker-" His eyes widened as he saw Grravel sink into the ground. Then multiple Grravels appeared, inching towards him. "Oh, funnel cake..."

He screamed as he ran off. The four freeze as they heard the scream and then started running. "Quint! What was he doing out there? Why did he go out on his own?" Jack asked between Quint's screaming. "How does he scream so high?"

Quint looked up at a Grravel nearby and continued running as the Grravels split up. He ran around the corner and then took off as two followed him. He then ducked underneath a train car, which wasn't easy to do with his machine on him. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" He said in pain while dropping a key. He looked up as he was now cornered by the Grravels.

"Quint!" Dirk shouted as the others arrived, May running across train cars.

"Don't move! We're coming!" June called out.

"I can do this," Quint narrowed his eyes, racing towards a clone and then diving forward...but then he got himself stuck inside the Grravel's body. He wiggled his legs around trying to break free. The other Grravels glanced at each other and then merged just as the others arrived.

"Quint!" May called out in worry.

"What do we do?!" Dirk looked at Jack as they all winced; if they tried attacking it, they could hurt Quint!

"Grab hands!" Jack put his slicer away with a glare. "We're going in!"

They all moved one by one as they headed for Grravel. Jack went in first. "We are in way over our heads-" June didn't finish her sentence because she was already in Grravel's body. May cringed as she stepped in. Dirk held on at the rear and inside Grravel, it was like a sandstorm. Jack struggled to see as he reached around, eventually grabbing Quint's hand. Dirk pulled as hard as he could and got them all out. Grravel roared as they ran off, panting.

"What were you thinking?!" Dirk shouted at Quint.

"You could have been killed!" June added in.

"For no reason at all!" Jack finished as all three looked angry. May glanced at them and then at Quint.

"Guys, I think it's important to ask why Quint did what he did," She gestured to him.

"Not for no reason!" Quint argued while spitting out sand. He stood up and revealed Grravel's essence.

"He got it," June realized as she turned to the others. "The creature's essence was in his mouth!"

"That's a sentence I never thought I'd hear," Dirk commented with his hands on his hips. Jack took out the bestiary, walking up to Quint, who smiled.

"You do the honors, Quint."

He was about to place the essence on the page when Grravel lifted up the train car they were hiding behind. He tossed it and they screamed while backing away. "Stand back, friends!" Quint stood in front of them, firing his ammo. Eventually, though, he ran out and looked at his pack in horror. "I'm out of ping-pong balls." Grravel reached out a hand to him. "Gonna have to switch strategies," He looked at his side and realized something. "Oh no! Where's the key?"

Grravel reached forward and they all leaped out of the way. Grravel directed some sand underneath May, causing her to go flying. Something snapped as she landed in front of Quint and she yelled in pain, clutching at her ankle in pain. "My ankle!"

Grravel removed the glued arm and regrew another one, hitting the ground in front of the trio. Quint looked up as Grravel was about to attack May next and he leapt forward, carrying her bridal style as he smirked. "Hey! I've got a bone to pick with you!" He held op the key Thrull gave him and put it in the keyhole. He then put May down behind him, standing in front of her. She couldn't help but look up at him in awe of his actions and bravery. "It's time to vacuum up this mess!" He turned his pack into a vacuum, stepping forward as Grravel attacked the trio again. He was about to finish them off when he noticeably got a little smaller. He turned around to Quint vacuuming him up. He tried running away and even shapeshifting, but Quint persisted. Eventually, he vacuumed up every single one, sighing in relief and sitting next to May. Jack looked to Grravel in the pack and took a photo. The glass broke and Grravel, now small, shook an angry fist as it slithered away.

"Whooooa," Dirk commented in awe as Quint stood up, helping up May. He put her arm around his shoulder to support her. "That was awesome!"

"You okay, buddy?" Jack asked in concern as Quint let out a small breath, looking up.

"Yeah, I'm excellent. Now that I retrieved this," He held out the essence. "I knew I could prove myself."

"Prove yourself?" Dirk scratched his head, June looking surprised.

"Wait, is that what this was all about?"

"Uhh..." He looked away nervously as May raised a brow.

"Quint?" She asked and he looked at her, seeing her give a small frown.

"No?"

"You don't have to prove anything to us. Don't you know? Buddy, you rule!" Jack said happily. "Brilliant mind, amazing inventions, steadfast support! And my best friend," He pointed at Quint's leg, confusing him.

"Why was that last one pointing at my leg?"

"That's where the core of our friendship resides," Jack told him with a smile.

"In my leg?"

"Absolutely," Jack put his own arm around Quint and once they stepped forward, May winced in pain.

"Ah!" She wobbled a bit as Quint turned to her in worry.

"You okay, May?" Dirk asked as they looked concerned.

"I must've sprained my ankle while we were dealing with Grravel. Hurts a ton," She confessed while looking at her right leg that she was holding above ground.

"I can look at it when we get to Joe's Pizza to celebrate," Quint stated as he and Jack stood at her side to help her walk.

"So the lesson here today is...don't ever do that again!" Jack shouted at Quint, and if he could, he'd hug him. May looked annoyed that he was shouting in her ear.

"Jack, my leg's already hurt, I don't need to go deaf too."

They got into Big Mama, Quint in the driver's seat. "We're bestiary questing," Jack and Quint started singing.

"And questing for beasts," All of them joined in. "We're gonna take their picture, and maybe their teeeth!"


All of them ate happily at Joe's Pizza, Quint walking up to Thrull. May had her leg elevated for the time being, sitting at another table next to them. "Thanks, Thrull, but I don't need it anymore," He smiled as he held up the bone. "Turns out I am Quint-essential."

Thrull took it back, smiling with a nod. He walked back to May, bending down to inspect her leg. "Hmm," He looked it over as he wiggled her leg a little and she winced in pain. "Sorry," He smiled awkwardly, taking out a medical kit he managed to find in the kitchen. "It doesn't seem that bad, but I'll bandage it and take a look when we get back to the treehouse," He informed as he took out a cloth and started tying her ankle.

She stared down at him in silence. "...Quint, I-"

"May," He interrupted with a sigh. "I'm...really sorry for the way I acted with you earlier."

She looked away briefly and then back at him. "Why, Quint? What was it that made you feel so angry?"

He sighed as he finished tying her leg. "I wanted you to...see me. You know, see me as your protector. I-I feel like I owed it to you since you saved me and Jack. Two people who were seen as dorks. I'm sorry. I just wanted that assurance, t-that I felt like you appreciated that I wanted to be that person."

"Quint..." She smiled at him. "That's really sweet. But you don't need to feel obligated to pay me back. I saved you because I was trying to do the right thing: to help as many as I could. Our friendship is enough for me," He smiled back at her. "Earlier...it felt like you didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on with you, and-"

"Of course I trust you! I just...didn't want you to know, that's why," He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Dude, even if it involves me, you should say what you're feeling," She smiled in amusement.

"Ahem," They looked to the others as they were smirking. "We've been sitting right here, you know," Dirk teased and they both blushed, looking away from each other with small smiles.

They all left as the sun was starting to set. "Hey, Bruce."

"Hi, Bruce."

June came to a stop...as Bruce was nowhere to be found. "Wait. Where's Bruce?" She gestured to the coat, which was all that was left.

"Aliens got him," Dirk told the others and they listened further to hear screeching. Zombies started walking down the street, following the screeching...