Jack was running across rooftops during the morning while the sun was rising. "Dun, dun, dun, dun, leap!" He slid across a roof and then slid across the edge of another one. "Dun, dun, slide! Dun, dun, parkour!" He leaped across a small gap, slipping and sliding down a roof. He yelped in alarm, hanging onto the roof just barely. "Ah, I can't hold on!" He cried out as the pipe fell. "If I fall, I'm...I'm..." He was actually a few feet above the ground. Rover was sitting nearby just watching him. "I'm out!" He whined, the creature grabbing him by his backpack to put him on top of a trashcan. "Aww, thanks, boy," He turned around to pet him, accidentally touching one of his wounds. "Oops! Sorry! Sensitive wretch wounds, forgot."

He got back onto the roof by jumping onto the dumpster. "Gah! Gotta get back on top," He clawed onto the roof. June suddenly landed in front of him.

"Okay, drama king, it's just a game," She retorted while putting her spear on her back. "A game that I will dominate!" She declared while pumping a fist.

"I don't think so!" Jack crawled back onto the roof. "It's the streets are lava, June. I've never been out first. Never!"

"Reserve that excitement for Big Al's!" Quint called out from the opposite side. "We'll be finding omnidirectional amplifying antenna. For..." He snapped his fingers, pointing at the others.

"The radio!" They all exclaimed except for Jack.

"Oh, right. The radio," He grumbled as he'd rather just forget about it. "All anyone cares about is that stupid—whoa!" While kicking something, he lost his balance, falling onto a canopy. He grabbed the edge, but it ripped in half, causing him to fall to the floor and to be out first. He blew off the piece that caused him to fall.

"Oh, no!" June chuckled as she saw the whole thing. "You're out for reals this time, Jack."

"Ahh, but I'm never out first. Ugh, stupid lava," He complained while standing up and dusting himself off. He perked up a bit as he saw May walking by June. "Well, why don't we ask the former cheerleader herself what the rules are?"

"Uh, by cheerleader logic, you're out, dude," She retorted back in annoyance.

"You okay, May?" June raised a brow at her. "You've been acting weird lately."

"I just...wanna get this over with. I have things to tend to," She said in a vague way, which also made them suspicious.

"Like what? A manicure?" Dirk snorted a bit and she rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha, hilarious. Are we done yet or you have more to throw at me?" May said in an uninterested tone and took the lead. The others glanced at each other wondering what was going on, and Quint just shrugged cluelessly.

They walked on top of the roof of a general store. Quint looked up ahead and gasped. "There it is!" What they were heading towards...was the local dump. With a bunch of zombies down below surrounding it.

"Oh, looks like we're not the only ones looking for a nerd-tenna," Dirk commented as there were dozens of them.

'See? See?" Jack gestured down to the horde. "They touched the ground first. I'm never out first. NEVER!"

"Jack?" May crossed her arms and he grinned.

"Yes, judge of this competition?"

"You know it doesn't change the fact that we all saw you land on the ground first, right?" She pointed out and everyone laughed except her and Jack.

"Geez, Ms. Joykiller today," Jack grumbled to the girl. June put down a picnic basket, taking a snack from it. She walked over to the other side of the roof, Quint watching the zombies with his binoculars.

"Hmm. There must be a way in. But there are considerable obstacles between us and where I hope to find an antenna," As he was talking, Jack was eating a protein bar, looking away bitterly. He'd rather be anywhere else than here, even if they weren't looking for the antenna." June gave him a snack while she took a look herself.

"Man. Barbed wire? Zombies? This is gonna be a bear."

"Oh, you know Ber, too?" Dirk spoke up while putting salt on his kabob.

"No? Wait, are we talking about the animal?" June said in confusion, Quint glancing at May sitting away from everyone. She hadn't said a word in a while. Dirk opened his mouth to slide the kabob into.

"No, Ber," He swallowed his food so he wouldn't choke. "She's a super cool monster," He then laughed it off. "You wouldn't know her."

"Hey, I might!" June protested while shoving the binoculars over to Quint. "I know cool monsters. Me and Globlet do Monday movie nights."

"May?" Quint walked over to her and she flinched in alarm, hugging the paper she was reading tight to her chest. She glanced over her shoulder and he chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. Are you alright? You haven't been yourself lately."

"...I'm fine," She dismissed while looking away. "It's just...stuff that I don't know what to do about."

"What do you mean?" He asked and she didn't answer. "May, what's going on? Since when did you get so secretive? I can't help you unless you tell me, and I want to be there for you."

Her eyes softened as she paused, sighing. "I-"

"Oh, hey! We should know more cool monsters," Jack smiled while glancing between Dirk and June. "New quest!" He then turned to leave, hoping to get their focus off of the radio.

Quint looked at May in defeat and stood up. "Our most vital quest lays directly in front of us, my friend," He pointed back towards the dump.

"Yeah. The only thing we need to get the radio working is that antenna. And then we can contact other humans. See who else is out there!" June smiled optimistically of the thought of seeing her parents again. "So we won't be alone."

Jack sighed at her statement, none of them noticing that King Wretch had been watching them. It growled and then narrowed its eyes.

"Okay, team," Quint put down his binoculars. "Let's brainstorm how to get past that moat of zombies and into Big Al's.

"Oh, I've got it! We could dig a tunnel that comes up right inside the dump."

"Unless Wormongulous has other, angrier siblings down there," Quint pointed out to him.

"Wait, I know!" June smiled as she thought of something. "A hot air balloon flown over all the shenanigans and lands safely in-"

"A wretch's mouth?" Quint interrupted as a wretch could easily pop the balloon. "A hot air balloon is just a slow moving target."

"And even then, we don't have any materials to make one," May folded up her paper and put it in her back pocket. Quint eyed her doing so, and she swept her hands. "We could maybe barricade ourselves through zombies and into the dump."

"Yeah, but there's still the barbed wire, and we're walking lunch to those zombies. Jack, what about you?" Quint turned around to him. "Any ideas?"

"Eh, I don't know, a jet-powered pogo stick?" He shrugged as he didn't really care.

"No, that's a horrible idea, but it gives me a great idea! Okay, pogo sticks, sleeping bags, and the first thing we'll need is a fold-out couch," He smiled widely as he knew what to do.

"Uh, I don't think any of us expected him to say that," Dirk turned to the three.

"And I know just where to get it," Quint smiled widely at his friends.


The fold-out couch in question actually belonged to Bardle, who was in a deep magic trance. It was quiet and peaceful until the five opened up the garage door. "Bardle!" Jack cheered once they saw him, and he fell back onto the couch.

"Oh, sorry. Were you napping?" June wondered as they stepped inside.

"No. I was simply working on my mystic projection spells," He informed her, closing his hands.

"It's okay to say you were napping," She laughed it off and he clenched his fists.

"I wasn't napping!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, looking at them wide-eyed as they were all staring at him. He then cleared his throat. "I am mastering the ability to leave one's physical form behind and navigate the astral planes."

"Cool, cool. Fun, fun," Jack said and picked up something, sniffing it.

"What do you want?" Bardle pinched his nose wearily.

"Your couch, actually," Quint spoke up and he looked up at the boy. "We're attempting to build a device to-"

"To get into a dump," Jack finished while wearing a skull over his head.

"Long story short, it's surrounded by zombies and we have to get in there to find something essential," May explained to Bardle, Jack grumbling at the mention of the task at hand.

"Anyways, if you could help us, we'd be more than grateful."

Rover walked up to Bardle, who petted him. He then noticed the scars on his fur. "Your steed is injured," He examined the scratches.

"Yeah, the King Wretch did this to him," Dirk stated while holding a scroll. "King jerk!"

"Unfortunate..." He watched the three messing with his stuff while in thought. "Mm, you may take the couch, but I'd like you to retrieve an item for me in return. High-tensile tungsten steel."

"Uh, high-tensile what?" June wondered while looking at some jars on a shelf. She tapped one and it came to life, alarming her.

"Please step away from my jars," He looked up at her and she turned around, fake coughing while attempting to look innocent.

"Tungsten steel? That should be doable," Quint agreed while Jack attempted to get the skull off. "Though it would require Dirk's strength to carry."

"Ugh, come on. Really?" Dirk complained at this while sitting in a chair.

"Don't you know? High-tensile tungsten steel is one of the more denser steels out there," May spoke up, raising a brow. "We'd need a strong pair of hands just to carry it."

"It is quite heavy," Bardle chimed in, rubbing his chin with a knowing smile. "Perhaps a task more fitting for a monster."

"Hey!" Dirk protested at this. "I can do it!"

"Well then, let's get moving," June walked over to the couch, Jack finally managing to get himself out of the skull. Dirk stood on the other side of the couch while Bardle moved away from it. "On three." Jack bent down to help out. "Three!" They managed to lift it up, walking over to the door. Jack petted Rover, as they were going to have him stay here.

"Be good, body."

Rover grunted happily at him. "Bardle, I was wondering if you had a moment to help me with-"

"No," Bardle held up a hand once he saw Quint's complicated layout. "I take no interest in your frivolous contraptions. Magic is my focus," He held up his hand.

"Hey, my inventions are frivolous. For example...The Lorb! The light orb. Just take it out, smack it, and watch the darkness disappear. Observe!" He held up one and hit it, but the components exploded. Bardle and May ducked their heads, some of the substance destroying some jars. "See? I need help."

"I...I'd like you to leave now," Bardle pointed to the door. May placed her hands on Quint's shoulders to led him away.

"Maybe don't test out your inventions in his space anymore..."


The monsters were talking amongst themselves while June and Dirk moved the couch past them. "And that's why I have so many legs," Chef spoke to a group.

"Uh, you know what? I got it," Dirk offered his friends, chuckling and heaving it over his head. "Yup!" Some monsters stared at him, murmuring among themselves while seeming impressed. He then held it with one hand, losing his balance for a second. He then fell backwards due to the weight, dropping it onto a monster's tail. The victim screamed out loud in pain, throwing down a skateboard and storming off.

"No! Ber!" Skaelka called out to her and she skated away.

"Ah, you basket of brainless bile!" Chef shouted to Dirk. "You made Ber leave."

"Oh, that's Ber," June pointed to where she disappeared.

"Oh, man, she is cool!" Jack beamed and May sighed as they watched Dirk roll up his bandages.

"I'd offer to help, but his attempts at impressing them are just sad," She commented to them. He attempted to lift up the couch, but Chef stopped him, to his confusion.

"Oh, sure, you're strong enough to do that. Uh-huh, yeah, and I'm a professional ballet dancer." All the monsters laughed at the joke, Dirk glaring up at him.

"My hand slipped, that's all," He cleared his throat to try and make his voice sound tough. "I can do anything you guys do. I am a monster!" He glanced at the group, who just busted out laughing again.

"Look, honey, I get it," Chef spoke up to the boy. "You take one look at me and you think, wow, I wanna be that! You will never be a monster." All his friends gasped at this statement. Dirk grumbled while looking away. "But I'll tell you what, I'll give you three tasks to see if you're monster worthy."

"Name 'em," Dirk challenged the monster. "Doof-weasel."

"Number one, drag a slab of weighted metal for three groblons."

"Easy," Dirk narrowed his eyes with a smug smile.

"Number two, snap a pic of the elusive Gookazoo living in that Big Al's junkyard place," Chef jerked a thumb behind him. The crowd just 'oohed' for the drama.

"And number three?"

"Uh, let's just focus on the first two for now, merry sunshine," Chef told him while getting into his face.

"Pfft! Fine! Matter of fact, I'm headed to get some very heavy tongue, uh, twister steel, or whatever, right now," He was about to leave when Chef grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"But if you fail, you go crying home to Mama, and you never get to hang with the monsters again," Chef continued the deal.

"But if I succeed, I'm not just monster worthy, I am an honorary monster."

"Hah! Deal!" Chef then slithered away and he stormed up to the couch.

"Let's go!" He heaved while trying to lift it up. He then glanced back to his four friends. "Uh, can you guys help me with this?"

They loaded the couch into Big Mama, June sighing in relief. "Okay. One item down," Quint then sniffed his notebook. "I love the smell of achievement in the afternoon." Jack slid over and looked over the notebook.

"Oh, and yet, so many more items to get," He pulled out the giant paper attached to the notebook. "Uh, like you said, Quint, it could take days. No!" He jumped over to stand on the couch. "Weeks! Months! Decades."

"Jack's right!" June jumped off the truck. "We have to each take an item and split up."

"Yeah! Wait—split up?!" He recoiled back with wide eyes; he meant to try and spend time with them, not split them apart.

"Jack, you're full of ideas today," Quint smiled up at his best friend. He ripped a page and gave it to June.

"I'm full of something, alright," Jack said bitterly, jumping down and grumbling as he grabbed a page. Meanwhile, the king wretch was flying over the area, looking over and seeing what they were up to.


"Ugh! Stupid Chef," Dirk grumbled while checking a garage. "Stupid Chef's face! I'm just as strong as any of 'em," He took a car door and pulled on it until it popped off. He groaned as he took another one and then put his walkie talkie to his ear. "Tongue-don steel or whatever—acquired," He reported to his friends.

June was at the mall, or what was left of it. "Pogo sticks acquired," She smiled while hopping on one. "Whoo!" She cheered while going around the store. "How's it going at the camping store, Jack?"

"Boo!" He jeered while wearing a helmet and vest. "You guys clearly need a lesson in how to have fun with a quest," He was sitting in a canoe, at the top of the storage room for them. He was about to row off of the room.

"I'm having fun!" June said cheerfully back to him.

"Me too!"

"May and I are enjoying ourselves as well!" Quint added in, May standing behind him and looking over his shoulder.

"Seems to me that the only person not having fun is you, Jack Sullivan," She teased and he rowed off the storage units, yelping and going around. He bumped into the helmets section and several of them fell over him.

"Not as much fun as we could be having together," Jack complained while trying to get out. He rolled to the side, his cheek hitting the floor. He then sighed slowly, looking away. "That radio is already breaking us apart."

Back at the treehouse, Quint was at work. He looked into his toolbox. "Now, where did I put my wrench?" He smiled as May walked up to him. He smiled up at her as she was holding it. "And you were using this why?"

"Says the one who said I could borrow his tools whenever I wanted," She tossed the wrench into his hand. She was about to leave and he stared at her. It was now or never, he just hoped that it wouldn't upset her.

"Um," Quint cleared his throat to get her attention. "Do you know why I requested that you and I team up on this one?"

"Because I make it more fun for you?" She said with a small giggle and he rubbed his neck.

"Well...yes, but not that. I wanted to talk to you. See if you were okay. You've been acting strange lately, and at times, you seem focused on something else. I meant what I said earlier, I can't help unless I know why you're so closed off. What's going with you?"

May paused and then looked away. She slowly held up an envelope and he gasped as he saw it. "Your dad? He wrote you a letter?" He asked and she nodded silently.

"Yeah...seeing this just...brings back all the memories I had being stressed over grades, being perfect, and doing what he wanted of me," She narrowed her eyes a bit. "But it's like, do I read it, do I not read it? And this was dated before the apocalypse happened, so what could he say to me in this that he couldn't say before?" She frowned in doubt, holding the envelope. Quint walked up to her and she sighed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry I couldn't say anything earlier."

"It's okay, I get it. You don't know what to do. But from my perspective, you should throw it away. He still scars you, May, and I don't like seeing it."

"I know I should get rid of it, but he's also my father. Aren't you the least bit curious as to what it says? Could...could it be that he's still out there somewhere?" She gave a semi-scared look and he recoiled back a bit as it could very well be possible.

"...I don't know. But I do know that is whether he's alive or not, he can't hurt you anymore."

She gave him a gentle smile and then turned around. "I'm gonna grab some soda. Be right back."

She ran off to leave and he smiled as he watched her, something landing behind him once she was gone. He turned around, gasping as it was King Wretch. Quint chuckled nervously as he backed away. "You know, when I asked for a wrench, I meant wrench, not wretch." The eyes on top started glowing. "Wait!" His eyes turned the same color and he found himself surrounded by his friends in the junkyard. "Hey! We're in Big Al's. We made it! And I fixed the radio!" He held it up, and suddenly sombies appeared out of nowhere. "But I guess we didn't take care of the zombies...yet."

He smirked as he revealed a remote, pointing it at a part of the fence. Big Mama came through it, revealing a device in the back trunk. "Quint! What are you doing?" June wondered and he spun the remote a bit.

"Science," He smirked confidently and the lights turned on. The antenna flashed a bright light, turning all of the zombies back into humans. "Yeah! It worked! My dezombinator, it worked!"

"Yeah!" Dirk cheered at this. May hugged him and then gave him a brief kiss on the lips. He flinched and then smiled dreamily.

"Time to go accept your Nobel Prize," Jack snapped him out of it as a limo came up and Dirk opened the door. A red carpet came out of it. "Sir Quint."

"Whoa. Okay, come on, guys. Let's go!" Quint walked up to the open car door.

"No, just you," June told him and he turned around in protest.

"You'll have to do this alone," May narrowed her eyes a bit.

"But we're a team. We did it together!" He smiled at everyone, and Dirk's eyes changed to black with green pupils.

"Get in!" He growled out, which was unlike him. He flinched in alarm, looking conflicted. It just felt wrong to go on without them, especially since if it wasn't for them, they wouldn't have saved the world from Thrull. "No...no! Not without you guys."

"I said get in!" Dirk growled as he held out his hands.

"No!" Quint denied aggressively, and the four all faded into darkness. Quint panted as he looked around, the antenna's light flashing. Suddenly everything went back to normal and he let out a sneeze. He shook his head, snapping out of it. "Thanks for the wrench, May!" He called out as she was checking the generator. "Hey, can you go into town and get me some stuff?" He ran up to her as King Wretch watched them from the roof. It then flew away as Quint gave her a list.


June was in front of the mall, laughing while still jumping on the pogo stick. She jumped past several tires on it, sliding down a pole and jumping onto the back of a car. She laughed while jumping on the pile of cars, tossing up the other ones in her arms with a cheer. She landed safely while catching the other pogo sticks. "I would so dominate in competitive pogo-ing!"

King Wretch landed in front of her and she let out a sharp gasp. "Oh, boy," She murmured while dropping the items. The wretch roared at her while showing off its wings. It then activated the same eyes like with Quint and she got lost into them.

Once she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness for a few seconds. Then it turned into her neighborhood, with her friends standing behind her. She gasped as she turned around and saw not only her house rebuilt, but her parents standing in front of it. "Huh?"

"Hey, June-bug," Her father waved to her.

"Mom? Dad?" She asked in shock, since the last time she saw them, they were on a bus out of Wakefield.

"Come on, June-bug, give me a hug."

"You're home!" She said happily, running over to her house. She then turned around to the four. "Guys, come on!"

"No. Just you, June-bug," Her mother spoke up.

"They can't come. You have to choose," Her father added in, baffling her.

"Wh-what? But...they're my friends."

"I said, come on, June-bug," Her mother's eyes turned green with black behind them.

"Come here!" Her father's eyes turned the exact same way.

"No!" June backed away from them, as her friends' eyes were the same way. "My real parents would never make me ditch my friends! Never!"

"No!" Her parents cried out while being sucked into the house. June bent down and screamed as everything turned black.

June blinked as she was back in reality, looking down and smiling. "Oh yeah!" She hummed while picking up the pogo sticks, with King Wretch watching on the roof of the mall. He then flew away to go find his next victim.


"Stupid Big Al's stupid radio, stupid sleeping bags," Jack grumbled while pushing down a sign. "Stupid shadow—wait. Shadow?" He glanced behind him, yelping in alarm as a monster came out of the tent. He fell onto the ground as he looked up. "Oh no. It's...a Tormentosaur! Impenetrable hide, jaws of-" The Monster roared, interrupting him and showing that even the tongue had a face. "Okay, no time for that. That's a lot of nope." The monster roared again and he stood up in determination. "I've got no choice. So let's tango!" He held his slicer bravely.

Dirk was walking into town with the steel Chef asked of him. "Dununununununa-na-na! Smash, smash!" He used the car doors like cymbals, King Wretch flying above him. "Recovering heavy steel stuff like only a monster could do." The wretch landed behind him and then turned him around. He screeched down at Dirk, who backed away in alarm. He then got lost into the eyes just like Quint and June.

He saw all the monsters in front of Joe's Pizza running up to him. They all cheered him on, and Chef bowed to him. "I was wrong. You're not just one of us. You're the best of us," He smiled at Dirk, surprising the boy.

"You are very, very cool," Ber spoke up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just like me."

"Ber!" He smiled while nudging her arm.

"Let us celebrate in the new, monsters-only, Joe's Pizza!" Skaelka gestured to the diner, which looked more like a movie theater or something. It had red carpet, lights, and noticeably a no-humans sign. Dirk glanced back at his smiling friends, who didn't seem all that bothered by it.

"Um..." Before he could say anything, the monsters grabbed him and led him away. They all waved to him and he grabbed a pole nearby. "Wait!" He stopped all the monsters, getting back on his feet.

"Go in, chop-chop, or you'll never be one of us!" Chef told him, and when Dirk looked back, his friends had the black/green eyes.

"It's okay, Dirk. We understand," The four all said in unison. He glanced back at the monsters, and decided that it wasn't worth it.

"Without my friends—hard pass." The lights flickered behind him and he looked back, gasping. Suddenly there was no one at Joe's Pizza anymore. The door opened to reveal King Wretch, who opened his mouth and roared.

Dirk looked around once his eyes were back to normal. He noticed the car doors nearby. "Oh yeah! Got the high...pencil steel," He walked off with them, King Wretch watching from the exit. He then narrowed his eyes at Dirk.


May stared at the letter in her hand while walking with the groceries in her hand. It still left her very conflicted, and it was why she wanted to get the whole thing over with. But at the same time...it could do her some mental harm, and she couldn't go through that again. The struggles she endured at home were something she definitely didn't want a repeat of. Something landed behind her and she turned around. King Wretch was looking right at her.

"Whoa!" She yelped as she dropped the bag, backing away. "Heh, w-what brings you here? Doing some shopping too? I can recommend-"

Instead of doing anything, he just stared into her eyes and she blacked out. Once she opened her eyes, she was at her home, where her mother was waiting. Her friends were standing behind her. "Mom!" She cried out happily and ran up to her, giving her a hug.

"Come on, May, let's go in and catch up."

"Wait!" She glanced back at her friends. "But my friends, I want you to meet them."

"No, dear. Just you."

"What?" May asked, baffled at her mother's request. "I can't just leave them!"

"Go on, May. It's what you wanted," Quint told her and she glanced back in alarm.

"You don't need us," June smiled at her, their eyes changing.

"That's crazy!" The girl protested as everything started to swirl around her. "No, I'm not doing that to my friends!"

She opened her eyes as she was back on the streets. She blinked and looked down at the dropped bag. "Oh no, I dropped all the things Quint needed! I guess I should go back and replace some of this stuff," She hummed and walked off, the King Wretch staring after her from down the street.


"Okay," Jack started off as the monster roared at him. "You asked for it!" The monster lifted up its arm and he yelped, leaping out of the way. He rolled to a stop on the floor. "This would definitely be more fun as a group project." He leaped onto the shell, jumping into the air with his slicer ready. He struck against the shell, but it had no effect on it. He looked at his weapon in confusion, continuing to hit it until he realized something. "Oh yeah, impenetrable hide." He yelped as the monster moved to try and get him off. "This is the kind of thing Rover needs!"

The monster roared and Jack looked up as the tail was another mouth that got spit onto him. "Oh, no, that's just redundant!" He attempted to move, but the mouth grabbed him from behind and tossed him into some canoes. He tried to get up, one of the canoes landing over him. He then put his walkie-talkie to his ear. "Guys, I need your help!" The monster turned around to snarl at him. "Guys, this is not a drill!" He shouted into the walkie-talkie in a panicked voice. Jack put down the device and grabbed a canoe, tossing it at the monster. It went through its horns, and he used them like drills to destroy the canoe. "Oh, but those are...HELP!" He ducked out of the way before he could get hit by a drill. He ran to hide behind a shelf, wincing. "Sure, your back is all metally, but if I've learned anything from video games, it's this!"

He jumped over a canoe and ran forward with his slicer in hand. He slid underneath the body of the monster, spikes coming from underneath it. He poked his slicer onto the body, and it did nothing. "And life isn't a video game," He said knowingly on why it didn't work. The monster peeked his head down and roared at the boy, the tail doing the same. "And now it's time to run." He made a break for it, the monster roaring at him. Jack knocked over a shelf while running, but the monster jumped, and that was enough force to knock Jack onto the ground, his slicer too far away. The monster planted down its drill hands and roared. Jack glanced around and picked up a bottle, tapping it against the floor.

"Well..."

The monster roared down at him again. "At least I'll die doing what I love—fighting monsters all alone without my friends. Goodbye, cruel worl-" Something knocked into the monster from behind and he looked around in confusion. "Eh? What? Huh?" He was shocked to see King Wretch holding onto the monster, and Jack yelped, hiding behind another shelf. King Wretch threw the monster onto the ground, and it landed on its back. Jack watched as the giant wretch roared. "Whoa," He murmured quietly to himself. "Okay, that was pretty cool. Almost as cool as Ber."

King Wretch roared and knocked away the shelf. Jack backed away towards another shelf. "Oh, uh, now me. Hey, so, A—thanks but b—I gotta..." He faltered as the hypnotic eyes appeared and he got lost into them just like his friends did.

In his dream, all his friends were with him as they were in a world of candy and sweets. They enjoyed a ride, Jack scarfing down a big hot dog while riding. He then played a strength game, and won, candy bursting out of the top. They all cheered as they reached out to the candy.

Jack cheered while sliding down ice cream, soaring off of a giant dollop of whipped cream. He licked the ice cream he had in his hands and did a flip. He landed in an ice cream sandwich lollipop throne held by Ber and Dirk. Everyone cheered and Quint led a march down to the crowd. He turned around with a smile. "Jack, the world with you as king is even better than the world before the apocalypse."

"Yeah! We have all we need right here," May smiled while gesturing to all the sweets.

"And if you ever need a queen of the world to beat stuff up for you..." June offered, holding a gumdrop staff. Jack gasped happily and then jumped, landing in front of her.

"Enchante, mon petit chou," He kissed her hand.

"You speak French? Nice!" She complimented with a smile.

"I speak French? Nice!" He realized while pumping a fist. He then landed back on the throne. "Then, du...party-harty, my friends!" They all cheered while releasing confetti and he blew a kiss to Tiny, who fainted.

"Not until he wears his crown," Bardle held it out to him. Ber and Dirk put the throne down as Bardle walked over and bent on his knees. "Do you accept the crown? King Jack?"

He chuckled and reached out, but then stopped as he noticed Bardle's eyes were different. "Um, maybe my friends and I should all be in charge," He spoke up, as he remembered not to take his friends for granted, like when he was thought to be the sole hero. "Like, we did this together."

"Take the crown, boy!" Bardle angrily demanded him. Jack hesitated, looking back to his friends. They now all had the same eyes as Bardle.

"Don't worry about us," June attempted to assure him, but it wasn't working. He looked back to the others.

"We want you to take it," Dirk added in, Quint nodding in agreement.

"You are our leader, after all," May grinned widely at him.

"But...I don't-"

"Jack, take that crown or you'll never see us again," Quint threatened and thunder struck above them. Jack flinched and hesitantly held out his hand to the crown. He touched it, and there was a flash. Once it stopped, the crown came to life and grabbed his wrist. He screamed as the vines grazed his wrist.

"Hey, I'm stuck! Guys? Guys!" He turned to Dirk and Quint, who disappeared into dust. He turned around to June and May, the same thing happening to them. "GUYS!" He cried out, but they didn't return.

"Jack!" A female voice called out to him, and he could see a large shadow. "You wear your weakness so plainly," King Wretch appeared, actually speaking to him. And he'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Rezzoch!" He exclaimed in shock as she stepped forward.

"I can smell your fear." He whimpered a bit while recoiling back. Rezzoch let out a screech and lunged forward, his nightmare ending there. Rover was licking his face repeatedly and Jack snapped out of it. "Ugh. Rover," He looked up at Rover, lunging forward and hugging him. "Oh, good boy! Thank you! That was..." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the monster on his shell. "That was insane."

Rover barked and rushed forward, pushing the monster to spin around rapidly. "And that is also insane," jack commented at that. Rover snarled and barked as they left, the monster feeling defeated.


Quint sighed as he paced behind Dirk, June, and May. Dirk was eating, June was holding the walkie-talkie, and May was lost in thought. Quint looked at his watch as they were wondering what happened to Jack. "Where is he?"

"Ah, can't believe I'm actually worried about that dork," Dirk laid back and Rover barked as they arrived. Jack kicked the door open, holding five sleeping bags.

"Did someone say sleeping bags?" He threw one to Dirk, as all of them stared at him.

"No!" June spoke up, Quint ducking from one. "Nobody said anything because we were all waiting for you!"

"We were looking for you everywhere," Dirk added in a bit of panic. "We were worried, you jerk!"

"We called your walkie a bijillion times!" Quint spoke up and May held up her hands.

"Okay, okay, let's just all get an answer on why Jack basically ghosted us...jerk," She mumbled that last part to herself.

"One, I heard that," He glared a bit at May. "And two, uh, no! I called your guys' walkies until a monster drove through it with drill hands!" He demonstrated for them, but they just looked confused.

"...What?" Dirk asked after a few seconds.

"I needed your help. The—I-I was fighting this monster, alone!" He stammered and then groaned. "Ugh, and then the king wretch-"

"You saw the king wretch again?" June interrupted him seriously.

"Oh, no!" Quint exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Well...I..." He faltered a bit and didn't continue speaking.

"See? We should have been worried!" Dirk glared at everyone.

"Dude, take a chill pill. He's obviously fine," May tried to ease him.

"I saw it...flying...in the sky...where I was not," He backed away a bit. "And you...you didn't? None of you saw the king wretch?" He glanced at everyone, finding it weird since they were all out, and yet the King Wretch didn't go looking for them.

"I don't think so."

"Not me."

"I saw a bumblebee."

"Definitely never saw anything."

"Hah! Well, me neither, so, looks like that's a thing that happened to none of us," He glanced away, deciding to not tell them. Rover growled and left, rolling his eyes.

"...Okay. Well, if we're done here, I gotta go prove I finished the monster task," Dirk cracked his knuckles, grabbing the car door. "Dununununu-dun-dun. Smash! Smash!" Everyone stared at him, the girls particularly annoyed with him.

"Thank god he's giving away that steel so I don't have to hear that ever again," May rubbed a temple.

"Okay, I'm gonna take the springs off those pogo sticks for Quint," June left the treehouse.

"And I'm gonna check the zombie torches," Quint walked off towards Jack. "Then I'll meet you at Big Mama, and we're off to Big Al's. Everything's big!" He ran off and May stared after him.

"Wait, so why'd you have me get a bunch of food?" She held up several grocery bags in her hand.

"Oh, because Chef kept bugging me to grab more supplies," May gave him a 'really' look as he laughed nervously. "But also...because I wanted us to have a quick lunch together?" She blushed as Jack glanced between them, a bit impressed. "I-If you have time, of course."

"Sure, Quint," She smiled and then left the treehouse with the bags in tow. Quint grabbed some of them to help her out. Jack sighed as he was alone and groaned. He moved away his glove to reveal a scratch from his dream.

"It was real. What have I done?" He looked out in worry, as this would mean big trouble for all of them...


They looked up ahead to the still-surrounded junkyard. "Who's ready to get couch-a-pulted?" He smiled at everyone as something was in Big Mama's trunk.

"Couch-a-pulted?" Everyone but May asked in confusion.

"I told you they wouldn't get it," She sighed while shaking her head. Quint pulled away the sheet to reveal a couch, but it was like a catapult.

"The couch-a-pult! A pogo-stick-spring-loaded catapult. Attacked to a comfy couch! Safely welded to the back of any standard vehicle. Perfect for all your junkyard infiltration needs," He held up a diagram that was drawn on cardboard. "And now we have sleeping bags to absorb the impact after we're launched into the junkyard," He handed everyone a sleeping bag.

"That's what we were running around town getting stuff for?" June gestured to it. "That's-"

"Insane," Dirk finished for her.

"Ly genius! Great work, Quint," Jack smiled at his best friend.

"Oh, May helped me put it together, so it wasn't just me," Quint gestured to the girl, who smiled. She then held up a hand in front of both Dirk and June.

"Shut up," She said quickly in a warning tone before they could tease.

"And hey, if it doesn't work, we can come up with another plan in...pfft, two, uh, three weeks to try again," Jack offered as he of course wanted to put it off. The part for the radio was in there, and he'd much rather not do this.

"Nah-uh, no," June denied to him immediately. "Whatever it takes," She rolled out her sleeping bag. All of them got into their sleeping bags and got onto the couch.

"When you hit the ground, try to roll to absorb the impact," Quint informed them as the zombies were now approaching them.

"Roll? My arms are by my sides," Jack spoke up in confusion.

"Bundle yourself. Just sort of bunch up."

"Bunch or bundle? I'm getting mixed messages," Jack mumbled as he tried to process the instructions.

"Kill?!" Dirk's eyes widened, turning to May. "You helped built a death trap!"

"I did not, and you're in a sleeping bag, so you won't die," She answered as polite as she could.

"Hold up, guys, Dirk's got a point. Just how far and high is this thing gonna pult us?"

"We haven't actually tested it," Quint glanced away briefly.

"You haven't tested it?! You're Mr. Science! Isn't testing a big part of science?" Jack protested, glancing at May. "And you were okay with this?!"

"You forget I used to be a cheerleader. I got catapulted all the time, sometimes even if that meant my legs would snap," She rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "So yeah, I think I can stomach this pretty fine!"

"Actually, the hypothesis-"

"You guys talk too much," Dirk pushed away some zombies and then pulled the lever. They were all catapulted over the zombies, screaming.

Angel: I'm sorry that this story straight up disappeared, I was working on not only this, but Owl House, and that wasn't a good idea. Working on two 22-minute shows can be possible, but certainly not for me. I think in the future, that's what I'll start doing so that I don't have to stress myself out writing too many of those types of shows at the same time. Plus I'm still job hunting, so there's that.

And also tomorrow is my birthday!