Angel: For those who don't know, I wanna do something like a Discord Q&A or something similar, so if you want that, you can answer the poll on my profile about it. Or if you have any ideas similar to it, let me know through PM or through reviews because I really want to give back to people who have made me the fanfiction writer I am today.
The four all looked terrified as Bardle approached the cage. He growled as he raised a sword at them. "NO!" Jack cried out as they braced themselves and he swung at them, but nothing happened. Turns out he had just sliced the lock open and the door creaked open. "Wait, what?" Jack asked in utter confusion.
Bardle put away his sword, Rover licking at his face. He scratched at the monster dog's chin. "Wait, what?" Everyone except May asked in unison. The girl just smiled, crossing her arms knowingly.
"Your owner came to me for aid," He gestured to Rover, patting him on the head.
"So, you're not one of the bad guys?" June wondered while Dirk looked around the cage.
"Yup, definitely claustrophobic. Move it or lose it!" He shouted and everyone stepped out. He gasped in relief once they were out.
"Have I not said in the past that he might not be the bad guy?" May asked knowingly, proud that she was right the whole time. Jack reached up and hugged Rover.
"Thanks, furball," He told the pet gratefully.
"With the strange events surrounding the undead, Thrull's behavior has been suspect to me, something only she suspected," He pointed right at May.
Both June and Jack looked annoyed by the reminder. "Ugh, he tricked us into helping him, and now he's got Quint!" Jack exclaimed at him.
"And the bestiary!" June added in.
"We gotta move so that we can get him back! I-I mean, him and the bestiary back," May darted her eyes around awkwardly once getting some looks. She laughed nervously while rubbing at her arm, wanting to sink into the floor.
"A bestiary, I should have known. And now that Thrull has fed Rezzoch, he will perform a ritual using the completed bestiary," Bardle told them, even though they already knew that from spying on Thrull.
"Yeah, duh!" Dirk retorted to him.
"Duh, indeed," Bardle remarked back, narrowing his eyes. "Then Rezzoch will come."
"And we just handed Rezzoch the key, literally!" Jack stated and May bit her lip, hugging herself. June glanced at the girl as she couldn't help but notice May was really on edge. She had a feeling it had something to do with Quint. Jack ran off to grab his slicer, jumping onto Rover. "I'm going to rescue Quint—now!"
"Alone?" June stepped in front of Rover, stopping them. "I don't think so!"
"You are not going off on your own again, Jack Sullivan! Remember the other times you did that?" May exclaimed in defense, clenching her fists. Jack felt a bit terrified from her reaction, not wanting to find out what would happen if he did go off on his own...
"No. If you truly wish to succeed, we all must aid in this endeavor," Bardle spoke to them.
"How? Thrull took Big Mama and we can't all pile on Rover," Jack gestured to the pet. "I'm not waiting around for you to figure out a plan while that-that-that thing has my best friend!"
"You think we wanna prolong the amount of time Quint is with him? You can't take him on your own, I won't let you!" May seethed at him, the others backing away from her as she looked just as angry as Quint did not too long ago.
"Whoa, calm down," June placed a hand on her back and she took a deep breath, rubbing a temple.
"Sorry. I just...I'm not feeling okay right about now," May looked away sadly, as she felt guilty for not doing something right then and there when Thrull threatened Quint's life. She had no choice but to surrender, but she could've prevented this...
Suddenly the ground started to shake and they looked at the rippling water. They looked around with unease as they had no idea what was going on. Then the ground right underneath the tree house started to rise as the Wormungulous revealed itself with a shriek.
"Whoa!"
"Hang on!" June warned everybody as they all stepped backwards. The tree house was now on top of the worm as it fully got out of the ground.
"Wait, what?!" The four exclaimed in unison yet again.
"Wait, what?" Even Bardle was surprised by this.
"Wow! The Wormungulous got big!" June's mouth opened in shock.
"I think he's here to help," Jack remarked, pumping up his fists. "Instant mobile home!"
"Hmm, fascinating," Bardle commented as the worm shrieked.
"This must be because we helped him at the mall," May gave a weak smile, the worm slamming the ground.
"Oh, man! I just planted parsnips over there!" Dirk whined, gesturing to the worm.
"Dude, at this point, just have a mini garden somewhere either in the tree house or behind it," May rolled her eyes to the back of her head. It was the third time already, and she was getting tired of his complaining when they had a rescue to pull off.
"Okay! Load up the weed killer, hoses, cannons, everything, and quickly! We gotta get Quint!"
June, Jack, May, and Dirk pulled on a rope, gathering barrels of weed killer. Dirk placed down blasters full of the, Jack connecting the back of them to the barrels. Dirk gave Jack a thumbs up. June then planted a bottle launcher full of them. May then grabbed a huge water blaster full of weed killer. "Whoa, that's actually a lot in there," June commented to the girl. "Are you sure you can-"
"No one kidnaps Quint and gets away with it," The girl interrupted with a death glare, cocking the gun and holding it over her shoulder. June held up her hands and backed away a bit.
"Time to tunnel right through Thrull's evil plan!" Jack pumped a fist, whistling and pointing forward. The worm screeched and took off, moving along. Jack yelped and bumped into Bardle, rubbing his head as the worm went through the street.
June looked to May, who kept her eyes forward. "Um..." She pulled May aside to talk to her. "Are you sure you're okay? You're acting like Quint when Jack was all..." She didn't finish her sentence as she was acting angry like Quint, but also a bit distant like Jack. "Is...is it because you had to stand down in front of Thrull?"
"...June, I was a lot of things to you back when we were enemies. But the one thing I was not is a quitter. So standing down to him was the hardest thing I ever had to do," May said after a few seconds.
"Is it because you like Quint?" June questioned with a playful smirk, earning a deep blush.
"Well, I wouldn't say I hate Quint," May laughed off awkwardly. "Who's Quint, I don't know a Quint-" She froze as she noticed that she wasn't fooling June and she groaned, rubbing a temple. "Is it that obvious?"
"Uh, yeah! Why haven't you told him?"
"Look, I already 'dated' Dirk, and that freaked him out. I honestly don't know what I feel for him, but Quint...Quint means a lot to me. It'd...it'd be a little weird if this feeling is what I'm thinking it is," She confessed to June.
"So don't make it weird."
"But it is. I just knew him as a victim of Dirk with only one best friend, everyone else thinking that they were nerds," May gestured to herself. "Before this apocalypse...I didn't really think he'd be on my radar, you know? I wasn't the typical popular mean girl, but I never paid much attention to him either. And now that we're friends...I don't know, it just gets awkward to think about sometimes. Especially since he's really not that good at hiding it," She blushed a bit, holding her cheek. "But I don't wanna rush anything either."
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. But if you ask me, only your take on it is the most important. Of what happens now, not what it was like in the past," June patted her shoulder and May gave her a grateful smile for her advice.
The worm let out a screech, Rover opening his mouth to let his tongue fly. Everyone looked straight ahead as they mentally prepared for what was to come. The worm then went into the forest, knocking down trees along the way.
"Slowly, now," Bardle held up a hand, whistling as the worm stopped at his command. "Listen."
They looked up ahead and saw in the distance Thrull. He was standing in front of the Tree of Entry, where they could hear him chanting something. However, it was in another language, so they couldn't understand what he was saying. "The summoning ritual begins," Bardle stated and Jack ran over to the telescope. He looked around and then saw Quint tied to a tree gagged.
"No. Quint!"
"Where?" May went over to the telescope immediately and then took a look herself. She growled as she saw him tied up. Jack then smacked the telescope away from her, going up to the others.
"Guys, we need to act, now!" He narrows his eyes angrily.
"Tree of Entry, hear me!" Thrull spoke up as the tree came to life. "With this key, become the door through which Rezzoch the Ancient One, Destructor of Worlds will enter. Tree of Entry, hear me!" Quint muffled something, trying to break free while Thrull held the bestiary in his hand. "With this key, become the door through which the Ancient One, Destruc-"
"Thrull!" Bardle interrupted him with a glare, causing the monster to look up.
"Bayurok!" He narrowed his eyes.
"This is madness!" Bardle stepped up to him, clenching his fists. "I implore you, it is not too late to turn from this path."
"You interfere where you should not, Bayurok!" Thrull grabbed his mallet, pointing at his now-enemy. "I will finish this! Rezzoch will devour all!" He held up the bestiary, power going to the book. Bardle gritted his teeth, pulling out his curved sword. "And I will rule by her side!" Thrull slammed down his mallet, a pulse coming from it thanks to the book. It sent Bardle flying and he hit a tree, landing with a weak groan. Thrull then growled angrily at him, turning around and continuing. "Tree of Entry, hear me! With this key, become the door through which-"
A roar was heard, interrupting him as he looked back to see the Wormungulous coming into view. "Wait, what?" He exclaimed in the same manner that everyone else did earlier. The worm roared at him, Quint leaning back with wide-eyes to see him. Music played from the tree house, June using a bull horn.
"I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?" She questioned while he gritted his teeth at her. "Don't you just hate it when that happens?" Quint looked to his left to see May and Dirk hiding behind a tree. They gestured for him to be quiet.
"You think you can distract me with such nonsense? Cease!"
"What?" June put a hand to her ear, pretending to not hear him. "Did you say crank it up louder?" She turned up the music and danced to it.
"No! Lower! Lower!" Thrull held his head, hating the sound. He turned around, Dirk and May ducking to hide quickly. He then looked to Quint. "Not to worry, Squidling. You are being saved for Rezzoch herself. And she will arrive hungry."
May looked so angry to hear this that she actually ripped off some bark from the tree, thankfully quietly. Dirk gave her a wide-eyed look, remembering to be careful with how he treated Quint from now on... "Hey! Two legs!" Thrull turned around, growling again by the interference. The Wormungulous then dove into the ground, disappearing into the dirt. "No one treats my friend like a tater tot appetizer for some inter-dimensional ding-dong!" Jack declared at him.
"Darn it, Jack! We were supposed to go down there together!" June exclaimed in annoyance, pushing the amp.
"And also, you stink!" Jack gritted his teeth at the monster he once thought of as a friend. He then turned to his friend with a causal smile. "Hey, Quint!" He couldn't hear what Quint was saying, though. Thrull stood near him, daring for Jack to make a move.
"If you want your friend, come and get him!" He pulled out his hockey stick as a weapon. They stared each other down, the wind blowing the leaves. The two growled at each other before Jack came charging in. He jumped up and attacked, Thrull pushing him back. He ran in, but got blocked twice. He slid underneath Thrull and then hit him from behind with his slicer. He then kicked Thrull from behind.
"Huh! How do you like getting stabbed in the back?"
Thrull grunted and took his slicer, dragging Jack along with it. He tossed him to the tree, stomping towards the boy. He loomed over him, raising his hammer as Jack seemed to be down. However he opened an eye and ducked out of the way. The tree shrieked in pain once it was hurt, shocking Thrull long enough for Jack to knock him to the ground.
Dirk and May tiptoed over to Quint. "Hey, little buddy," Dirk pulled at the vines.
"Are you okay?" May asked in worry and Dirk ripped off the vines.
"Dirk! May!" Quint exclaimed in relief. Dirk got out a mini cannon of weed killer with a duck on it and squirted it to break him free. "Adorable squirt gun!" He then fell into Dirk's arms.
"Okay, come on!"
"We've got a monster to get revenge on," May smirked a little at Quint, who grinned knowingly. She then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, earning a look of surprise from both of them. She gave Quint a small smile. "I'm glad you're okay, Q."
"And I'm glad Thrull held me hostage..." He sighed dreamily while touching his cheek.
June watched the fight from behind a tree, but then came across the injured Bardle and gasped. "Bardle!" She ran over and helped him up.
"We need reinforcements," He told her urgently and she pointed to the forest.
"Go! We'll do what we can." Bardle nodded and ran off. May, Dirk, and Quint peeked from one of the roots that went to the tree.
"Yah!" Thrull slammed down his hammer, Jack leaping backwards to avoid it. "Your usefulness to me has ended, foolish boy!" The three ran past, with Thrull not seeing a thing as his back was turned. He roared angrily at the boy.
Bardle arrived at the entrance of the forest, coming across Big Mama. "Ah...now, if I can just figure out how to work the wheeled metal beast." He managed to start it up and started driving a bit recklessly. But then again, he didn't know how to drive since they didn't have cars in his world... "I do believe I'm getting the hang of this thing." He crashed into a car and trash can, hitting more stuff along the way.
Thrull and Jack clashed their weapons as they were sort of evenly matched, since Thrull was bigger and stronger. He growled as he pushed the boy back again. "You're joking if you think you can stop me!"
"Oh, I'm not joking. You taught me to be serious, remember? And right now, I'm as serious as a sad clown painting," Jack retorted back to him, earning a sneer. "You also taught me this!" He spun his slicer around and lunged forward. "Rising Anguish!" As he leapt forward, however...Thrull simply moved out of the way, causing him to miss. Thrull laughed and punched him so hard that he landed in front of the tree. "Ugh! Ah—chest pains!"
"You do not understand how out of your element you are," Thrull tossed away his hammer.
"Well...obviously, you're a lousy teacher," Jack bit back while struggling to stand.
"Then allow me to educate you, boy!" Thrull grabbed him by the back of his backpack. "Have a glimpse of what's to come, Jack Sullivan," He snarled and hurled Jack inside of the tree. He looked around, gasping in horror as he was surrounded by blue and rocks, and that was it. However, there was this eerie noise he kept hearing and then Rezzoch's face appeared before him.
"I am coming for your world," She declared to him, blue in his eyes as he looked in horror.
"No. No!"
He was then pulled back by Thrull, gasping sharply.
"Now you understand!" He tossed Jack several feet away and he slid to a stop, his backpack flying off. His friends all gasped sharply at this, Thrull laughing evilly as he stepped forward. The four rushed over to Jack, his ears ringing as his body was shaking.
"Jack! Jack!"
"Aah!" He screamed, sitting up and holding his head. "I can't," He whispered as they stepped forward cautiously. "Can't do this! I saw!"
"You saw Rezzoch, didn't you?" Quint guessed correctly. June, May, and Dirk glanced at each other, not knowing what to think.
"Guys...it's about to get super worse," Jack spoke up gravely, June stepping up to him. "I...I can't stop this!"
"You're right," June said as she helped him stood up. "You can't. But we can. Together," She smiled softly at him.
"Yeah, dude. Anyone tries to do the apocalypse on their own is an idiot," Dirk rubbed the back of his neck, remembering when he saw the boys and May when he saved them from a wretch. "Been there, done that."
"Ditto," June said in agreement.
"Besides, you're not the only one who wants to see Thrull taken down a peg," May grinned while gesturing to him.
"Okay. No more solo," Jack smiled at him and then noticed someone was missing. "Wait, where's Quint?"
They looked up ahead to see him pick up a backpack with weed killer. "Quint!"
"What?! Are you trying to get fed to that tree?" May called out as she rushed over to him.
"What's he doing?" June winced, the other two with the same reaction.
"Did he not just hear me say, 'no more solo'?!" Jack exclaimed in disbelief. Quint growled as he stepped forward, pulling out his bestiary. He narrowed his eyes as he snarled, still wanting revenge for what Thrull did to him and his best friend. He put the backpack over his shoulder, May tripping and looking up at him.
"Quint, stop!" She pleaded, but he didn't listen to her.
"Tree of Entry!" Thrull started off, unaware of what was going on behind him. "With these words and this key," Quint flipped a page, stopping at the one with the eye monster. He removed the quill he kept. "I now-!" He then poked Thrull with it, earning a growl.
"Maybe a hairy Eyeball quill will shut you up!" Quint declared bravely, tears falling from Thrull's eyes.
"Ah!" May looked up in shock, beaming proudly. "What have you done?"
"Become indispensable."
"No!" Thrull cried out while kneeling, his vision getting blurry. "I must see the book!"
"Whoa!" Dirk exclaimed as June helped up May.
"Did Quint just-"
Jack laughed, interrupting her. "He sure did!"
Quint snatched the bestiary and ran off with it. "No!" Thrull shouted as he held out a hand.
"Hopefully, yes!" Quint smiled as he went back to his friends.
"Yeah, Quint! Score!" Jack cheered and then Quint tripped, all of them cringing. He stood up and gave the book to Jack.
"Quint!" May leapt forward and swung him into a hug. "That was awesome! Except for the part where you fell, but that was still really brave of you!"
"R-Really?" He asked her hopefully as his eyes shined. "Y-You think that I'm-"
"Okay!" June interrupted and he pouted for her interrupting the moment. "We gotta keep that book away from Thrull," She grinned as they ran off, and unfortunately for Thrull, Rezzoch had witnessed everything.
"You have failed me, Thrull!" The Tree of Entry turned back into its normal creepy self.
"Rezzoch! No!" Thrull shouted in dismay, snarling at how the five had once again gotten in his way. "Hah, I will not be defeated. Tree of Entry, I unify my body with yours, from two beings into one!" He roared as he placed his hand inside the tree, a blue glow coming from it. He then inserted his other hand, veins crawling onto his arms. A large blue energy came from the tree, the five hiding behind some rocks. The energy zapped Thrull, lifting him into the sky. The roots from the tree grabbed onto his limbs as he let out a scream. Then smoke engulfed him and the tree.
Quint got onto his feet. "We gotta get this away from Thrull!"
"Quint, you got this!" Jack assured him just as Rover came up with June riding him.
"Need a ride?" She offered him and May. He grabbed June's hand first and she hoisted him up. Then he bent down to help up May. They looked back to the tree as the smoke got bigger...Thrull roared as he was now as big as the tree, having merged into a tree monster. They all screamed in alarm as he reached out a hand to him.
"Let's go, girls!" Quint urged them as Rover ran off. Dirk ran off with a yell, Thrull following after the four. May glanced back up at him, annoyed.
"I knew I was right not to trust him," She grunted as Rover sped up. Thrull continued to go after them as they went past the treehouse. Jack and Dirk stared before Jack whistled. The worm emerged from the ground, lifting up the treehouse and the boys with a screech. They hopped back into the treehouse.
"Follow that tree—man—uh, monster," He ordered before whistling again. The worm screeched and then slithered off. It crashed into the trees.
Meanwhile, Thrull had crashed them into the streets. "He's right behind us!" Quint exclaimed as the Wormungulous came up from behind. "There he goes!" Jack cried out like a pirate with a grin. Thrull looked down at the worm, both of them screeching. "Dirk, it's weed killer time!" Both of them held water guns full of it and fired. Thrull held up his hand, smoke coming from his arm as he tried to push the treehouse away. The worm bumped into him and he slammed into the street, causing the treehouse to wobble. "Aim for his legs!"
They did so, and it started to slow him down. He fell to his knees after being hit with it, before letting out a sonic screech. Suddenly zombies popped up out of nowhere, the five covering their ears. "Oh, man, he's doing the shrieking!" Dirk shouted over the noise.
"It's a zombie back-up call!"
They emerged from the smoke to surround the one calling them. Thrull took a bunch of zombies into his hand, surprising Jack. He then tossed the zombies at the treehouse. "Incoming!" Jack shouted with his slicer ready. He flinched as one got super close and ducked out of the way. He swung the zombie to Dirk, who grabbed two and tossed them into the streets. More of them landed on the treehouse, however.
"Enough with the zombies already!" Dirk screamed in exasperation. Thrull growled and continued moving, the worm slithering after him. The boys attempted to get the zombies away when Dirk noticed Thrull. "Ah, Thrull's getting away!"
"Oh, ho-ho, I don't know about that! Look!" Jack pointed forward as Thrull was heading for Joe's Pizza. All of the monsters there had armored up, prepared to fight. Thrull gasped as he stopped in place. Rover stepped in front of the restaurant.
"Okay! It's go time!" June cried out.
"Monsters ready?" Quint asked them and May pointed forward.
"CHARGE!" She screamed to the monsters and they rushed forward. Thrull roared as he walked forward, Biggun throwing a car at him. That car was Big Mama with Bardle and Skaelka inside, which landed on Thrull's face. Bardle pulled the lever to make the wheels skid on Thrull, enough to distract him. Big Mama landed behind him and drove forward. Bardle jumped out of the car to kick a zombie, rushing into the fight. Chef defended himself using some spatulas.
"I've been itching for a fight!" He lifted up the zombie. "And I'm gonna use your face to scratch that itch," He tossed the zombie to send him flying, laughing. The little pink monster attacked, though wasn't getting many hits. She seemed to be enjoying herself until she was kicked onto a zombie's face. She glanced around with wide eyes before Biggun came in flying, knocking away all of the zombies.
"Ay! I knew Thrull was bad from the start," She jumped onto Biggun's hand. "I just didn't say anything! Get him!" She declares while pointing at the giant tree monster. Thrull slammed down a hand as vines grew from the ground. Biggun flinched and then was captured first. The other monsters attempted to fend themselves off, Bardle cutting one free, but he was still grabbed. Skaelka drove Big Mama to pile through the vines, swinging her axe.
"Ha! I would enjoy this as a daily past time," She said happily while cutting down vines. She skidded to a stop before continuing. "Very fun!"
Rover ran to a vine so that June and May could cut them down. The three jumped off of him, protecting themselves and Quint. Jack and Dirk cheered from the treehouse, seeing their friends approach.
"Yeah!"
A vine slithered from the sewers, which Jack noticed. "Behind you!" He warned, Quint looking back. His legs were grabbed by Thrull and then he was pulled backwards.
"Quint!" May shouted in alarm, June looking back.
"Hey!" She protested at this. Thrull dragged the boy over to him.
"The key!" He reached out to the screaming boy.
"Quint!" Jack narrowed his eyes, looking down at the brunette. "May!"
She glanced up and nodded as he jumped out to the sky, slicer ready. May sprinted past vines, Jack sliding down some of them. May flipped over some, cartwheeling and then landing on her hands. She did a cartwheel over a vine, glaring up at Thrull. Quint screamed in terror as he was being brought closer to Thrull. Jack ran up and cut down a vine, May stabbing it with her shovel claw. Quint was thankfully released, and he landed on Rover. He ran past Biggun attacking the root-like legs of Thrull. Rover ran past May, who jumped and landed behind Quint.
"Thanks, May," He told her gratefully.
"Anytime," She winked at him before narrowing her eyes a bit playfully. "Now let's kick his butt."
"Right," He nodded as Rover took off again. "Thrull can't get the book! Bestiary keep away!" He glanced back at Thrull, who was reaching out to the duo. He tossed the book and Jack leaped up, catching it. He swung down using a vine. "Great catch, my friend!" Quint called out to him.
"Thanks, buddy!" He then realized he was heading right towards Thrull! He yelped and then ducked just as Thrull was about to grab him. He rolled onto the grass and ran off with the bestiary. Thrull pushed away the other monsters attacking him, attacking the boy. He was thrusted forward by the tree monster slamming his fist into the ground. "Don't think so, splinter face!" However, he was stopped short by some vines appearing in front of him. Thrull grabbed him in his fist, pulling him forward. June sliced herself free.
"To me!" She called out and he threw the bestiary into her hand. She ducked from a vine and ran off.
"Sorry! Got nothing for ya!" Jack taunted his former friend, who threw him into the treehouse. He groaned as he sat up. "My whole body is a bruise!" Thrull stepped forward, going past all the monsters to focus on June.
"Dirk! High pass!" She threw the book into the air and he leapt off the treehouse, catching the book and heading for Thrull. He landed on the monster's back, screaming as he slid down to the street. He landed in the middle of some zombies, pushing past them.
"Out of my way, dead heads!" He then ran around Thrull's feet, who was trying to step on him. "Don't even think about it, termites for brains!" He fell back as Thrull blocked him off, the boy getting grabbed by vines. He heard a whistle and looked up as May was now riding Rover, Quint behind her. She held out her hand and Dirk kicked the book into it. Thrull got hit from behind with weed killer.
"Hey, Thrull! En Garden!" Jack put on a helmet while blasting the weed killer onto him. He roared in anger, Jack gasping in alarm. Thrull then smacked the treehouse to make it fall off the Wormungulous. Jack screamed as he fell, shocking the others.
"No!" May shouted at this.
"JAAAAAACK!" Quint cried out, the treehouse falling and being surrounded by dust. Dirk ripped the vines right off of him while Rover went past, grabbing him. June was already climbing up the worm by the time they reached it. They climbed up to the top, looking down at the destroyed treehouse. Jack was nowhere to be seen.
"Jack!"
Thrull saw this as the time to strike, stepping towards them. "The key!" He shouted and Bardle noticed this.
"We must buy them time," He told the other monsters.
"Then we attack!" Skaelka declared while rushing forward, the others running after her.
"Right behind you, Battleax!"
They all started to attack Thrull, who threw Skaelka off of him. She flew backwards and landed safely, laughing at the challenge before her. Thrull then smacked all of the incoming monsters away in one fell swoop. They came charging in again though, as they wouldn't let this deter them.
"We're coming, Jack!" Quint shouted as they dug through the rubble to locate him.
"If you don't come out in 10 seconds, I'm gonna bury you myself!" Dirk declared, earning a small slap on the arm from May. Rover dug furiously and then noticed the helmet Jack was wearing. He removed the plank on top of Jack and then licked at his body, revealing that he was alive. His friends all crowded him.
"Jack! You're okay!" Quint smiled in relief as his friend stood up. "And apparently you've leveled up."
"Ugh, luckily the suit saved the old noggin," He tapped the mech arm against his head, showing no pain as he sighed in relief.
"Well, I'm glad of that, friend."
"Me too," June smiled at him, helping him up.
"We've gotta put an end to this. He destroyed our treehouse and could've killed Jack. That's where I draw the line," May glared angrily as she glanced back at Thrull.
"Dirk, how much weed killer do we have left?"
"Five barrels," Dirk pointed to them nearby.
"But without the soakers, there's not much we can do," June reminded everyone, Jack walking past her and Dirk.
"Look guys, after what I saw of Rezzoch in the tree," He started off as they all stepped towards the barrels to dig them out. "There's no going back."
"So what do we do?" Dirk wondered as they all held one barrel.
"Looks like we have one last bestiary quest to complete," Jack said, looking at all of his friends and then narrowing his eyes. "Thrull!"
"Yes!" May pumped a fist happily. "I never liked Thrull!"
Together, they suited up with the one he got from the mall, putting all five barrels around him or on his back. They held it together with a seat-belt, giving him a firecracker. He then stood there bravely with his four friends. He fell backwards a bit, the boys and May helping him keep his balance. He looked to June and gave her his slicer.
"Here, take care of her."
They looked towards the monsters still holding off Thrull, who sent Biggun flying. "Biggun!" June lunged forward with the slicer ready, stabbing Thrull in the leg. He growled and turned around to her as she ran back to Jack.
"Here it is, Thrull!" Jack goaded him, holding up the bestiary. "Your key! Come and get it!"
"Relying on others makes you weak, Jack Sullivan!" Thrull boomed while glaring down at them.
"Really? Cause it doesn't seem like you'd be anything without Rezzoch," The boy challenged back to him. "Heck, you needed five kids to finish your stupid book!" Thrull roared angrily at him. "I mean-" Jack groaned as Thrull snatched him, shocking the others. "You couldn't even fight a bunch of kids by yourself!"
Thrull let out an angry roar as he held up Jack, the others looking panicked for him. Jack tossed Quint the bestiary, which he caught. "You had to morph with a tree just to keep up!" Jack continued taunting him.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Thrull then prepared to eat him, tossing Jack into his mouth. He screamed as he fell inside a dark abyss, Thrull closing his mouth. Everyone gasped in horror at this, Thrull just laughing it off. Suddenly yellow smoke came out of his lips, and he started to feel pain. Jack emerged by holding up the jaw, pouring the weed killer into Thrull. All his friends cheered at seeing him alive, Quint spinning May around in joy.
"I hope this suit is strong enough," Jack struggled to keep the mouth open while the weed killer was pouring. "Or we're both gonna end up as mulch!" Thrull leaned backwards, roaring as he looked up. Jack removed the rest of the barrels and they fell. He then took out the firework, firing it at the barrels. He watched the firework soar to the bottom and explode. Thrull screamed as he then exploded himself, Jack falling and screaming. Rover ran and caught Jack by the mouth. "Thanks, bud." There was no sign of Thrull as his tree form was near gone, some tree roots left behind as they fell. And with that, the zombies all retreated, the monsters stopping their attack. Rover went over to May, June, Quint, and Dirk.
"Nice catch, Rover!" Dirk praised him, and Rover dropped the boy to the ground. Quint bent down in front of him with a smile.
"Happy to see you made it out alive, friend!"
"I didn't doubt it for a second," June added in with a smile.
"Way to stick it to Thrull for all of us," May winked at him.
"Thanks, guys!" Jack smiled at them, glancing around in alarm as smoke came from his body. "Am I still on fire?" He doused himself in a panic, the worm going over to them. They turned around to face Wormungulous. "Thanks to you too, big fella! You and me, buddy! Worms!" He then hugged the giant worm, the others gathering around as they had won.
Biggun replanted the treehouse right next to Joe's Pizza, as they were now moving next door to be with the monsters. He put some soil around it, Bardle helping piece it back together with his magic. "Oh, that reminds me. May, that wondrous metal beast of yours is in need of repair. It seems I...went a bit overboard."
"Wait, what?" She flinched in alarm, turning around. Big Mama fell apart almost instantly as smoke came from the car. May opened her mouth in disbelief, her eye twitching. "That's...great...a whole lot of work for me with the car now..." And by the look of it, it was gonna take her at least a few weeks.
"I'll help you, May," Quint smiled at her softly. "That way you can get done faster and...maybe we can spend more time together," He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh...oh!" Her eyes widened as she gave a small blush. "Yeah...I'd really like that," She smiled back at him.
June walked up to Jack, who was holding the bestiary. "So, guess we better put this puppy somewhere safe."
"Indeed," Bardle walked up to the duo and took the book, actually smiling for once. "You have all done well. But I will tell you this...stopping Rezzoch indefinitely will be difficult. Her servants are forever relentless."
"And so am I!" Jack smiled, jerking a thumb to himself.
"Pretty proud of yourself, huh, Sullivan?"
"Um," He chuckled at June. "Maybe. And you, that was, uh, cool running and slicing."
"Yeah, you too," She laughed, giving a small smile. "Uh, we just freaking-"
"Blew up a tree!" Jack finished for the girl.
"I know!" They exclaimed in unison, hugging each other while giggling.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" A monster pushed past them and the two blushed, looking away while laughing now awkwardly for how it seemed...Dirk looked around at some monsters, May and Quint looking up at the treehouse. Dirk smiled at the two nearby.
"Guess we live next to Joe's now. Cool."
"We can hook up the zip-line right into the restaurant!" Quint suggested, May gasping sharply. "And the line could even run over a huge pile of garlic knots, so we can just land in it like a ball pit!"
"That would be so awesome!" May's eyes shined at this. "But blegh, I hate garlic," She stuck out her tongue in disgust.
"We'll use parmesan instead," He told her and she smiled, the boy looking away awkwardly because he knew beforehand she loved parmesan.
"That's crazy! But if anyone can do it, you can," Dirk replied and Quint raised a brow at the compliment, smiling.
"Dirk! What's gotten into you? You don't usually compliment anyone," May placed a hand on her hip, having a teasing smile on her face.
"Look, I know I pick on you sometimes, uh, but you made a real difference today. I'm proud of you, dude," He placed a hand on Quint's shoulder.
"You may even say I was Quint-essential," He smiled in a dorky way, earning a chuckle from May as she thought that was adorable.
"Don't press your luck," Dirk warned him.
"I oughta start using that word, I love it," May said while walking off, Quint grinning widely with a blush.
They all celebrated with a feast, Chef bringing over some pizza for the five. "Pies for the prize, human scum. Decent victory, adequately fought. But don't get cocky," He pushed Dirk's face into the pizza, May rolling her eyes at him as he slithered away.
"Selfie!" Jack held up the camera as they all gathered around for the picture.
Radical new treehouse location, cool monster neighbors, loyal house-broken pet! Uh, sorta. And one awesome team...of friends...family. Jack smiled at all the pictures, especially the last one of him and his friends. Let me tell ya, if you gotta do the apocalypse, I don't recommend doing it any other way. He closed Quint's bestiary as the others held a slice of pizza. He took his one and chowed down, but there was some black gunk dripping from his slicer onto the road. Past all the zombies, the forest, and underground...was Rezzoch...
