What sleeps in between

[Reply #40 on:]

Pretty darn good story.

A non-edited TOTPD.

[Reply #41 on:]

Thanks everyone !

Just one question... What does "TOTPD" means, exactly ?

[Reply #42 on:]

It means "Top of the page dance."  It's what we do whenever we post at the top of the page.

[Reply #43 on:]

I've only gotten as far as Leela breaking the Captain's neck and finding out that he's not dead.

So it's got the best of the two genres that I love:  Sci-Fi and Supernatural (I'm a legit UFO chaser and ghost hunter so I've been wanting a supernatural episode of Futurama besides The Honking).

I bow to your originality - just don't make it a sad rip-off of a Scooby-Doo episode.

Leela:  Just as I thought - the demon was really Mr. Sweeney... 

[Reply #44 on:]

New chapter, where you can see what my references are.

And no, Scooby-Doo is not one of them. 

What sleeps in between (chapter 10)

Fry, Leela and Bender were sitting on the floor, facing Tyron who was still standing up. The young man had posed his flashlight on his side, lighting the undead, and was concentrating on what Tyron was about to tell them, just as his colleagues. Tyron cleared his throat before beginning his tale.

“- Everything began more than 200 years ago…
- 200 years?! Said Bender. Well, that explains why everything looks outdated in here!
- Shush, Bender! Said an annoyed Leela. Let him speak!
- Thank you Leela, said Tyron, a bit disturbed by the robot’s interruption. After many years in the DOOP fleet, I got transferred in this ship after my previous commander died in a battle. This is how I met the captain Kalt. I quickly understood he was one fine authoritarian son of a bitch, always turning his orders as if they were coming from God himself, but it didn’t prevent me from admitting he was quite a competent officer, probably the most competent I had ever met, and also a very well-educated man. It took some time before we finally got a mission, so he and I had plenty of time for getting to know each other. And after a few talks together, he gradually started to tell me about his passion for the occult. It dated back to his studies in the military academy, where he learnt the existence of some dark secret tomes, written millennia ago by half-mad people who are supposed to have been contacted by unknown beings living in a dimension far out of our reach. As time went by, he became more and more convinced that all those stories weren’t just fairytales and were in fact based on a truth that had been hidden from mankind by superior civilizations who were dominating Earth before the apes learnt to stand on their feet. In fact, he even told me that those creatures managed to pierce the secret for altering reality itself – a phenomenon the ancients called “magic”. Of course, at first, I didn’t believe him, but after a few days, he showed me some of the ancient tomes he found which were revealing all those secrets. He never told me how he found them, but I had to admit those books weren’t looking like counterfeits; all of them were centuries old, and it was a miracle they were still in one piece. But he quickly explained that some of them were in fact copies of more ancient books, sometimes translations of them, which would also mean that some elements of the truth they were revealing had been altered. I had a lot more problem believing, however, that the original versions of some of them were dating back to ancient alien civilizations…
- Er, why exactly? Asked Leela. We do know about the existence of alien creatures for a long time now… Even at your era, the DOOP had existed for centuries…
- Yes, I know… But he was talking about civilizations that were so old that they disappeared far beyond the beginning of history, none of them being known today. Some of those books were even talking about creatures which colonized Earth millions of years before the birth of mankind. I guess you can have an idea of how I felt at the moment… I thought all this was just some folklore that was however letting a deep impression on my superior.
- But… You changed my mind pretty quickly, I guess?”

Tyron looked at Leela. It looked like remembering all this was a harassing task for him.

“- Not really… But I had the surprise to discover that Kalt wasn’t the only one in the DOOP to believe in those things. In fact, a special secret service had been created for investigating any signs of occult activities, and Kalt was a major actor of this service. He gave me access to their files… And I had the surprise to realize that many of Kalt’s activities were revolving about the observation of secret cults that were revering indescribable entities, foreign not only to Earth, but also to the entire Universe. That’s when I heard about What-Sleeps-In-Between for the first time.
- Hey, I remember this! Said Fry. You warned me about it when you jumped on me!
- Yeah, what’s this crap about? Said Bender. What’s that lazy thing you’re babbling about?
- I see you don’t know what patience means… Said Tyron. But it’s alright. What-Sleeps-In-Between is one of the most important of those entities I was talking about, perhaps their master. The various writings are sometimes contradictory. Anyway, you do know about the other Universe, right?
- Yeah, replied Bender. I can’t stand their cowboy hats.
- Then you certainly know there’s a space between them, through which we can look at the other universe, but we can’t get in.
- Uhuh, said Leela. What does it have to do with it?
- Everything. The two universes are contained in another one, much wider and bigger… But also governed by different laws of physics, completely impossible to imagine for us as it’s completely stranger to our conceptions and senses.
- Wha? Said Fry, completely lost.
- Take a bubble in a glass of water, for example. The water and the air contained in the bubble are two completely different environments, right? It’s the same with the various universes. The two we know are the bubbles, and the space between them…
- … Is in fact another one with different rules, said Leela. Got it.
- It doesn’t end here. This unknown space is populated with various creatures… And as the rules of physics that governed their creation are different, they’re gifted with capacities we cannot imagine, making them god-like creatures in our sphere. And What-Sleeps-In-Between is one of them… A monstrosity with unlimited power, completely foreign to the concepts of good and evil or even sanity, and largely indifferent about the fate of the native creatures of this universe which are nothing but mere ants to its eyes… Or what is the closest for it to eyes anyway.
- Wow… Said Fry. Doesn’t sound like a nice guy…
- It’s an understatement, young man. This creature considers this universe as being his toy. Should he ever manage to get its hands on it… And the universe would fall into an endless era of madness and destruction, dooming any life forms into oblivion as they would fall in the darkest pits of insanity. In fact, nothing in this universe is strong enough for keeping it away from us.
- Okay… This is getting far beyond my tolerance for mystical gibberish… Said Leela.
- I know how you feel, said Tyron. I was exactly like you during my living. But some elements forced me to change my feelings.
- Wait… Said Fry. If that thing is so powerful, what’s keeping it from taking this world? Last time I checked, the entire universe wasn’t just filled with loony bins…
- Boy, do you think before talking sometimes? Said Bender. It already is!
- I mean, not to such the extent he’s talking about…
- Tell me young man, said Tyron, what is the name of that creature again?
- What-Sleeps-In-Between, why are you…”

Fry finally got it.

“- Ooooooh…
- Exactly. Nobody knows why, but that creature went into a deep sleep millions of years ago. We’re lucky its sleep can last billions of years… But it doesn’t make it less dangerous. While sleeping, it’s still dreaming, and even in this state it can somehow interact with this world.
- What? Said Leela. You’re completely losing me on this one!
- I said this creature obeyed to extremely different rules and has god-like powers. That’s how it can affect our reality without being active. Now you’ve got an idea of this thing, I hope.
- Yeah, pretty much, said Bender. Now, what’s the point of talking about it?
- Because this beast is in the center of our troubles, said Tyron. But let me finish. So, Kalt and I were appointed to look at those cults… And more precisely to see if anything in their possession could help the DOOP. In my time, the Omicronians were threatening the entire universe of going to war, so our leaders thought that any weapons, including black magic, could be useful against them. And one day, Kalt managed to contact the leader of a cult dedicated to What-Sleeps-In-Between.
- What?! Said Bender. There are lunatics who are worshipping a big evil thing that wants to eat us all?
- Yes. As I said, despite being asleep, this creature can still interact with this world. It invaded some people in their dreams and pushed them into forming a cult dedicated to it. Kalt went at a meeting with this leader, alone and making the man believe he wished to join the cult. He killed him during the meeting, but not without having gained some valuable information. And having changed drastically…
- What do you mean? Asked Fry.
- From this moment, Kalt became stranger than before, completely obsessed with his missions… And also a lot more frightening. He always was rude, but after this, it was as if he couldn’t care about humanity anymore, or feel anything. But he quickly described what happened during the meeting, and I understood that the Kalt was gone for good.
- Oh that’s getting good! Said Bender. Go on.”

At this time, Tyron sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was really looking exhausted, and Fry began to think they were asking too much for a corpse to handle. He began to think that they…

“I would go on, if you would STOP INTERRUPTING ME EVERY FIVE SECONDS!!!”

Bender backed off, as he wasn’t expecting this burst of anger one bit. Leela was still neutral. In fact, she knew perfectly what Tyron was thinking. She had experienced the robot and the young man enough for having an idea about how he was feeling.

“- Alright, alright, I’ll shut up, said the robot after a moment.
- Good, said Tyron, relaxing a bit, but still looking at Bender with angry eyes. Where was I?
- Kalt’s meeting with that cult leader… Said Leela.
- Ah, right. Before he killed him, Kalt made the priest talk about a mystical library, hidden on a planet not so far away from here, and which was revealing the entire knowledge of an ancient race which disappeared eons ago. Apparently, this people deliberately colonized a planet which was located next to a ripple in the force field which prevents our Universe to merge with the Space behind it. They were guarding it, in fact, as it would be the place where What-Sleeps-In-Between would manage to get in our Universe, and as they realized they were doomed to disappear, concealed their souls and their entire mystical knowledge in there so that anyone who would take their succession as guardians of the border would have the weapons for fighting against it. The cult couldn’t have access to it because all their members’ bodies were tainted by the mark of the creature, and there was some kind of self-defense system in activation in the planet that was preventing them to put a foot on the planet’s soil. This library, however, represents a knowledge far greater than any human would ever learn about the mystical arts, and would represent a magnificent source of power for the DOOP in their potential war against the Omicronians, so as soon as Kalt made his report, our superior gave us the order to find the library and to retrieve the sacred tomes to Earth. But that’s not what changed him…”

Bender was about to ask Tyron what did… But luckily he stopped before he activated his voice unit.

“… The cult leader made him enter in contact with What-Sleeps-In-Between.”

This sure made Fry, Leela and Bender react.

“- Wait a second… Said Leela. He talked with this creature?!
- Not really. The ritual induced the ingestion of various drugs and some sort of sacrifice, and in the end, Kalt’s astral form got transported to the spiritual realm, where the soul of What-Sleeps-In-Between relies. Kalt didn’t really see it, because of some mystical fog which was covering the beast’s form, but he could see how powerful and immense it was… And he had a glimpse of its true form. What he saw was so beyond any kind of imagination that his soul nearly exploded after this revelation. But I quickly guessed it however was enough for shattering his sanity.
- Man, that must be one hell of an ugly son of a…”

When he saw Tyron’s look, Bender immediately stopped.

“- It’s unfair! She talked, and you’re not mad at her!
- That’s because I hate you, mechanical one, said Tyron.
- What? Why?
- I don’t know, it’s just the way I feel. Anyway, we quickly found the planet, and as we thought, as we weren’t worshipping any of the creatures which are living beyond the limits of our universe we could get access to the library. We quickly discovered that the people which built it also prevented it from being displaced, however: as soon as we were trying to take the tomes out of the library, they would immediately go back to their shelves, no matter what we could do. We reported the situation to our superiors, who ordered us to copy the tomes as quickly as we could. As an answer, Kalt isolated himself in the library and studied the books during days, ordering us to say out of the ruins. I was really beginning to feel unease, as the captain was really becoming unpredictable and unaware of what his crew could think, but I still managed to prevent the rise of suspicion among our men. When Kalt finally got out of the library, he was looking… In peace, as if he had finally found what he had been searching for years. He was in such a good mood, so friendly, and he even joked with some of subordinates… I thought that he was finally back to normal, and didn’t discuss his order of flying away to get the appropriate equipment we would need for copying the books as fast as possible.”

Tyron made another pause. But this time, when he started to speak again, Leela could hear a bit of regret in his voice.

“If only I had been more careful… The very first night after our departure from the library’s planet, I suddenly awakened, having an awful premonition. And when I looked at my window, I saw the edge of the Universe. I immediately knew that something was wrong, because we were heading to it instead of going to the opposite way… I rushed to the cockpit, and there I found Kalt… And the dead bodies of the navigators at his feet. Kalt was now driving the ship right to the rip in the Universe’s structure, and as I looked a bit closer, I realized he had traced runes and drawn various mystical symbols in the room with the blood of his subordinates. When he turned to face me, I also saw he used the same blood for drawing some of those symbols on his own face. He was looking so calm despite the horrors he had perpetrated that for a moment I stood frozen… He used my brief moment of stupefaction for telling me that, among the lost secrets of the lost civilizations, was a ritual which would allow anyone to get past the rip and to reach the space beyond the Universe, should anyone be forced to fight What-Sleeps-In-Between in its own domain. But he wasn’t planning to fight the beast… He wanted to see it from his own eyes and to contact it, so he could finally get the ultimate knowledge, the secret of existence, which was supposed to be kept hidden from mankind and any other sentient beings apart from the gods from beyond. I knew what would happen to any of us would he ever continue his madness, and immediately tried to stop him… But I failed to notice he was still holding the ceremonial knife he used on the navigators, until he stabbed me in the chest with it. As I collapsed on the floor, agonizing, he got back to the commands, not taking care anymore about me as if I only was a minor annoyance. Although my vision was getting darker and darker, I could see the edge of the Universe coming closer from beyond the cockpit’s windshield, soon occupying the whole space in front of us. In the meantime, I could hear Kalt reciting the sacred words that, combined with the symbols he drew everywhere, would allow him to pierce the barrier, but soon my ears failed me, and couldn’t hear anything more. And at the very moment I passed away… The Crimson Monarch went over the edge of the universe…”

Leela, Fry and Bender were captivated by Tyron’s tale. At this point, even the robot wouldn’t interrupt the old man anymore, too willing to hear the end of the story for this. After a few seconds during which he got his breath back, Tyron spoke again.

“I don’t know what Kalt saw exactly, but I know the consequences. The rest of the crew had their souls shattered by the unnamable creatures which are living beyond the barrier and are serving What-Sleeps-In-Between, while their bodies got destroyed. Kalt, however, was somewhat spared by the beast. In its sleep, the god-like being felt the man’s successful attempt to reach it, which aroused its curiosity… It made him its servant and sent him back to our Universe, not without granting him great powers and immortality, with the condition of not getting out of the rip’s sector as What-Sleeps-In-Between powers can’t directly be effective too far away from this limit. Kalt quickly used his powers to resurrect his crew – but only their bodies, as their souls had been completely erased from existence… And since this day, the doomed captain wanders in this sector of the Universe, serving What-Sleeps-In-Between and turning it into his realm of terror…”

For a few seconds, the three Planet Express employees stood silent, trying to add all the elements together. That wasn’t really helping them, but at least they knew what they had to face, and had an idea of the kind of things they would have to expect. Of course, a part of them wasn’t really sure it was such good news.

“- Man… Talk about a story… Said Fry. You said that Kalt had super-powers or something like this… What can he do exactly?
- I’m not really sure, replied Tyron. I never had the occasion to see his limits. But at least, I know he has complete control over the ship’s structure and his crew, who are nothing but soulless tools at his service.
- That explains why I couldn’t find my way in the ship after he revealed his true nature… Said Leela.
- Exactly. Kalt has no benefits in letting you go, so he’ll try anything he can for catching you.
- And what about you? Asked Bender. You said all those blokes were zombies at his command, and yet you’re helping us…
- It’s a bit complicated, and I don’t have all the details… It looks like only those who were still alive when the Crimson Monarch entered in What-Sleeps-In-Between’s lair were turned to zombies; in 200 years I’ve never seen the navigators Kalt killed for his ritual. As for me… I guess that, as I died in the exact moment we got beyond the barrier, my soul got trapped by Kalt’s magic and was sent back to my body, without becoming his slave. Luckily he never discovered I was still alive, as I hid in those air conducts as soon as I resurrected and spent all those centuries in this network without being noticed by anyone…
- You spent 200 years in those conducts?! Said Leela.
- Well, when you don’t have to worry about eating, drinking or anything else you’ve got to do when you’re alive, it’s not as terrible as you can think. And you become quite easily accustomed to loneliness… Especially when you know that you’ll meet a terrible fate if anyone ever finds you.
- Bah, you’ll never beat me, meatba… Er, ex-meatbag, said Bender. I spent more than 1 000 years buried in a desert, once, and I just got fine.
- It’s not a contest, Bender… Said Leela.
- I never said it was, replied the robot. I was just saying that once again robots outclasses humans, even zombified ones.
- Is he always like this? Asked Tyron, losing his patience.
- Yeah, said Fry. And he’s only warming up.
- There’s still something that’s bothering me… Asked Leela. Did the DOOP do anything for recovering the library and knowing what happened to you afterwards?
- No, but it wasn’t their fault… Very shortly after Kalt’s madness, Omicron Persei 8 finally started the war against the DOOP, and the secret section we were part of got obliterated during the very first attack. It was a total coincidence as the Omicronians certainly couldn’t know our existence, but all the people who were still aware of our researches and were leading the mystic division got killed in a question of hours. After this, nobody could ever guess where the Crimson Monarch and its crew were. Which greatly eased Kalt’s schemes.”

Leela got up, and stretched out her limbs as sitting down in those conducts wasn’t exactly the most relaxing thing that existed. Soon, her friends and Tyron imitated her, and everyone was standing in the middle of the room.

“- Okay… There are some points I have troubles believing in this story…
- Damn, a freaking corpse tells us his past and explains us what’s going on, and you’re troubled by some parts?! Said Bender.
- Bender... I know the situation is pretty strange by itself, but there are still limits to my credulity, and I’d better wait to have more proofs for believing in every part of this… However, I’m convinced enough for trusting you, Tyron.
- Wise decision, replied the undead. I’m your only chance of getting out of here alive, so this will really help our relations…
- What can you do for us, now? Said Fry. I don’t really want to become Kalt’s slave…
- Of course. Listen… My condition granted me some powers, too. I’m far below Kalt’s level, but it would be enough for blocking his attempts to locate you without him noticing. Also, as I told you, I spent 200 years in those conducts. I can try to guide you to the docking bay where you’ll find your ship, and then help you to get out of the Crimson Monarch and escaping Kalt, even if he reconfigures the ship’s internal structure again.
- How? Said Leela. I’ve seen how deep the changes he can make are…
- He’s limited by the ship’s external structure. And after all this time, I have a clear idea of what his room for maneuver is. But enough chit chat… We must hurry, or else even I won’t be able to do anything for you. We’ll take this conduct, first. Stay behind me.
- Man, it’s a relief, said Fry. Thank you, sir. I was beginning to think I’d never leave this place…”

Tyron turned and faced Fry. This vision greatly decreased the young man’s optimism, as the undead was still looking extremely grave.

“Do not thank me yet, boy. As long as you’ll still be in this sector of the Universe, your life will be endangered. And you’re still in the mouth of Hell.”

[Reply #45 on:]

Its a little confusing, but after reading a few spots again I have to say........... Good update!

[Reply #46 on:]

Really freaky but great update.

[Reply #47 on:]

Wow.  This is great.  It's really well thought out.

[Reply #48 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 11)

Kalt gave a look at his lieutenant, who was still standing to attention in front of him. Since the beginning of the hunt, Kalt has been trying to maintain the attention of his entire crew so that they would all be doing the best they could. Usually, he only makes the men he needs fully active and puts the rest into sleep, as keeping all those dead moving and “thinking” was requiring high concentration from him, but this was a special occasion and he didn’t want any problems to occur. He was way too close to his goal for allowing a disturbance.

And he really was hoping the lieutenant wouldn’t report such a disturbance.

“Alright, lieutenant Winshaw. What’s the situation? Have they finally been caught?”

As the lieutenant was so close from the source of his pseudo-life, he was able to have feelings instead of being an empty shell… Which was explaining why he was terrified of what was about to happen.

“Hum… Not yet, sir… But we’re doing our best for…”

Winshaw stopped when he saw the expression on the face of his superior… And moreover what he saw in his eyes, especially the one made of fire which turned bright red.

“- ‘Not yet’? Winshaw, we’re talking of three people, and this ship contains hundreds of men at our orders. Why is it taking so much time?
- I… Don’t know, sir… I’m as surprised as you. Normally, we should have found them pretty easily, what with you changing the structure of the ship for getting them lost and transmitting us the new configuration of the corridors and of the rooms, but the fact is that… Well, they disappeared.”

Kalt got up of his seat, and at this very moment, Winshaw would have done anything for being able to run away of the room. But he couldn’t. Kalt was controlling all his moves – literally. He would never get out of the captain’s quarters until Kalt would have finished, no matter what he would want to do with him.

“- This is getting extremely unpleasant, Winshaw. They can’t have disappeared. Not in my ship. Hiding, surely. But I know everything that goes in and out of my ship, and I know they’re still on board.
- I… I know too, captain… Just give us a little more time, and…
- Don’t talk about time with me, Winshaw. 200 years. I’ve been waiting for 200 years. You? As soon as I let you go, you forget everything and turn back to your apathetic state. In fact, it will be the fact as soon as you’ll get out of this room. You didn’t live every second of those years. But I did, Winshaw. I must say this wait is beginning to turn me mad… Well, madder than I already am. And now that the end of this wait is finally coming, I can’t bear any more delays. I’m still human, after all… I don’t have His patience. Find them. And put a little more heart in it.”

Winshaw difficultly swallowed his own saliva. Sure, his memory was failing him every time his master released his hold over him, but the problem was that his memories were coming back each time he was close to Kalt again. And in such moments, he could remember the kind of things the captain could do when he was in a bad mood…

“I’ll do my best, captain. But… You have to understand that… It’s a pretty damn big ship, and there are hundreds of possible hideouts for them. It could take hours before…”

Kalt suddenly made a gesture in Winshaw’s direction… And the lieutenant spontaneously caught fire.

Winshaw screamed. Since his death, his nerves got destroyed, taken away by his decomposition, and yet he could feel his burns, the intense heat, and moreover the horrible and indescribable pain it was causing. The lieutenant fell on the floor, unable to stand because of his sufferings, and wriggled on the floor, rolling, still screaming. Incapable of thinking clearly, Winshaw could only wish his torment would end, even if it would be by his final death…

The flames disappeared as abruptly as they appeared.

Still shocked by the pain, but finally recovering his senses, Winshaw realized his clothes and his flesh were in the same state than before… He was still in his undead form, but at least he wasn’t even looking burnt. He looked at his master, and the cold expression Kalt was sporting was enough for him to understand it was just a foretaste of what he would really do to him if he wouldn’t do better in the future.

“- You don’t have hours, Winshaw, said Kalt, and the tone of his voice could have chilled the lieutenant’s blood if he still had some. Double the guards in the docking bay. I don’t want them to manage to reach their ship.
- Yes, master…” Winshaw finally managed to stand up, as the pain was gradually going away. “But… Can I ask you why we didn’t destroy their ship already? It would solve one part of our problems…
- Because I want to examine its technology, and to force them to explain us how it works. There are some elements in it that can be useful for us… And magic can’t always do everything. One last thing: I don’t really care in which state you bring the young man and the robot, as long as they’re still alive. But I want the woman safe and sound. She’s the final key, do you get it?
- Yes, master… I understand…
- Perfect. It’s imperative you…”

Winshaw wondered what happened. His master just stopped in the middle of his sentence, as if he felt something. Slowly, Kalt turned on his seat to look at a small mirror, posed on his desk, and despite his master’s self control, Winshaw could have sworn he brutally switched from anger to fear. Winshaw never understood how it worked, but he guessed it couldn’t be good news. Only one thing could have frightened Kalt, and if it was what he was thinking… Then he wished he would be as far away as possible…

“Get out, Winshaw, said Kalt, still staring at the mirror. Now. And next time I’ll call you, you’d better have found them.”

Winshaw didn’t wait that his master would repeat his order. He quickly saluted Kalt, before turning on his feet and immediately got out of the captain’s quarters, almost running. Kalt looked at his subordinate going away until the sliding door shut behind him. He knew he would forget most of what happened in this room, but he’d at least remember his orders, and it was enough.

But it wasn’t what was worrying him the most at the moment.

Somehow, when What-Sleeps-In-Between made him its servant, it also altered his senses so that he would instinctively know if the god from beyond would want to contact him through his sleep. And for allowing Kalt to contact it through the Spiritual Realm, What-Sleeps-In-Between gave him this mirror, which was looking just as another mirror in normal times, but which would immediately connect to the dimension where its soul was resting until the time of his awakening would come.

And a few seconds ago, Kalt felt the electric shock running through his spine that preceded each one of those communications.

Kalt stared at the mirror again, anxious. What-Sleeps-In-Between never called him just for the pleasure of having some news… If his God wanted to talk to him, he was surely in trouble.

After a few seconds, Kalt’s reflection faded from the mirror, which surface seemed to get troubled and to darken. And finally, dozens of red orbs appeared in the mirror, apparently placed randomly, and moving without any distinguishable pattern.

But Kalt knew it wasn’t just orbs. It was the eyes of What-Sleeps-In-Between, or more precisely a deformed representation of them as looking in the real ones would result in the eradication of whoever would face them, as the beast’s eyes were reflecting all the insanity that was composing the whole creature.

It wasn’t long before Kalt heard his God’s voice in his head.

“Mortal…”

Kalt gathered his courage. It wasn’t the first time it was happening, but even him couldn’t get through such an experience without being altered.

“- Yes, my Lord…
- How many?
- We’re about to get the lasts we need, my Lord. It’s only a matter of hours before…
- Hours… Mean nothing to Us. Time means nothing. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, millennia… Past, present, future… All the same for Us.”

Kalt wiped the drops of sweat that appeared on his forehead. The creature was using just a microscopic figment of its psychic powers for talking to him, and yet it was almost unbearable for Kalt to withstand it. It was as if thousands of elephants were going on a rampage in his brain. The god never quite measured the limits of its mortal servants…

“- It does for us, my Lord… For the moment, we still don’t have the last three, but it won’t be long.
- You don’t understand, mortal. Take as much time as you want. The only thing that matters… Is Our return. Would you fail… And We will take care of your soul.”

The captain tried to suppress his trembling. He knew too well what this threat could mean…

“- I won’t fail You, my Lord. I gave you my word 200 years ago.
- A mortal’s words have no value. Only their acts can make them interesting to Our eyes. Great rewards if you succeed, mortal. You will have the privilege of sharing Our glorious destiny. If you disappoint Us… The fate that awaits the rest of your kind will seem charitable compared to what you will live.
- I… I know, my Lord… But they’ll soon be in our hands. And I can swear to you the ritual will immediately be performed.”

The weight Kalt was feeling on his mind seemed to diminish. It was looking like his master was letting him go, but Kalt was overall concerned to know if What-Sleeps-In-Between was satisfied or not. When it “spoke” again, it was with a very faint voice, indicating it was indeed getting back to its slumber.

“- We shall get back to Our sleep now, mortal. Do your duty. One last thing: We felt an uncommon psychic activity in the dust you call your ship. It is getting stronger. And We think it is opposed to Our plans.
- An uncommon psychic activity? Said a surprised Kalt. You mean someone in this ship is helping them?
- Yes. It kept quiet until now for not being discovered, but it finally decided to take action. Make sure it will not interfere.
- I will, my Lord. He’ll regret having stood against You.”

The reflection of the creature’s eyes was slowly fading away, as the communication was coming to an end. Soon, Kalt saw his face again in the mirror. But the pressure wasn’t leaving Kalt’s mind; the god still hadn’t finished.

“We will awake. And We will claim what is Ours.”

Finally, Kalt felt the god going out of his brain for good, letting the fear and anguish that his presence was provoking in anyone’s mind in what was left of Kalt’s heart. The captain was now feeling completely alone in the room, as the simple fact of talking to his god almost gave it a physical form in this reality. It gave Kalt more room for thinking about what his Lord revealed to him.

So they weren’t alone. But who could have helped them? He was controlling every single man in this ship, and in 200 years, he never noticed any strange attitudes from his zombies. He knew too well about his capacities for thinking that one of them could have gotten free of his control.

Then… It wasn’t someone from his crew… But it could only be someone who was already on the ship when he broke the barrier and got in the space between the universes, otherwise he would have spotted him immediately.

A name came to his mind.

Tyron.

After all, he never knew what happened to his body… Maybe he indeed survived the travel…

Kalt frowned.

“Now, this is quite unpleasant…”

[Reply #49 on:]

Nice chapter.  That god sounds rewally horrible to bear.

[Reply #50 on:]

interesting update, but you need a beta (explaination for the normal person: someone to read through it and correct mistakes etc.)

[Reply #51 on:]

It just keeps on getting better and more complex with every chapter.

[Reply #52 on:]

A little something before we start : I'm about to go on vacations for 3 weeks in a place that still doesn't have any internet connections. Which means there won't be any new installments until I would have come back.

Sorry for this. I miscalculated when I started to post this story.

What sleeps in between (chapter 12)

Leela swore when her head hit Bender. Crawling in those conducts was already pretty unpleasant, and she really didn’t need something like this. But the robot didn’t give her the choice, as he brutally stopped in the middle of the way.

“- Ouch! Bender, why did you stop?
- Because Fry stopped! Answered the robot. Move on, dammit!
- I can’t! Tyron stopped as well! Replied Fry.
- Then push him! I’m becoming claustrophobic here!
- Hey, do you realize you’re asking me to touch a rotting corpse’s buttocks? I’m already doing my best for not seeing something hideous!”

Fry suddenly remembered that the “rotting corpse” in question could hear him, was sentient… And moreover was the only one who could help them to get out of the ship. It wasn’t a good moment for offending him and giving him the idea of abandoning them…

“- Woops, sorry… I didn’t mean to…
- It’s alright, replied Tyron, who was clearing the path for the trio and giving them the directions. I wasn’t attractive when I was alive, and I think it didn’t get better when I died…
- No shnit, Sherlock! Said a sarcastic Bender.
- Why did you stop exactly, Tyron? Asked Leela. Are some of Kalt’s men around?
- No, said their guide, it’s just… I felt a great mystical activity… “Surviving” the travel to the other space gave me a high sensibility for such things. I already felt something similar in the past, but I never knew what it meant.
- Uhoh, said Fry. Bad news?
- I can’t tell. But I think it’s nothing too worrying… We’d better move on, anyway. The sooner we’d get to the docking bay, the better.”

The group resumed its progression. They had been crawling in the conducts for very long minutes, even maybe hours, and they still weren’t sure of where they were. But at least, Tyron was… And they had to admit that without him, they would never have managed to find their way in this maze. The centuries Tyron spent in those conducts made of them his second home, and despite Kalt’s capacity to reorganize the internal structure of his own ship, their ally was indeed able to know what path to take, where they should turn, and where the difficult parts were. At some moments, they had to climb some vertical conducts, taking advantage of the narrowness of the passages; at others, they had to prevent to fall in some openings; and finally, they had to progress with extreme precaution and silently when the conduct was running through a corridor, for preventing any of Kalt’s men to notice their presence. For the moment, they were doing well, but Leela knew it was now only a matter of minutes before their pursuers would be looking for them in the ventilation system.

The young woman was bringing up the rear, as she was the only one brave enough for standing the idea that she would be the first the zombies would get if they would ever come from behind. In fact, she was as terrified as her friends, but at least it wasn’t paralyzing her. Because of her stress, she was paying attention to any sounds around them, so that she could hear anyone coming in their direction and try to react properly if so.

That’s how she heard the whisper.

“Help…”

Leela stopped dead. She was crossing an intersection, when she was sure she heard someone say this word in another direction than the one they were taking. Staying still, she pricked up her ears, wondering if she misheard or not…

“Help me…”

Her thoughts were confirmed. Someone in the distance was screaming for help. It was still very faint, but she could have sworn there was some distress in this call. And she was almost sure it couldn’t have been faked.

Bender finally realized that the Cyclops wasn’t following him anymore.

“Hey, big boots! What are you doing? Did you forget we’re trying to get out of here or what?”

Fry and Tyron stopped. They were as surprised as the robot was, but Leela couldn’t see their faces. She looked at the robot.

“Someone is calling for help!”

Leela could hear someone try to turn in the conduct. She quickly deduced it was Tyron.

“- Certainly just a ventilator activating. We must go forward.
- No no no, I’m sure it wasn’t a machine! Said Leela. Just pay attention, and you’ll hear it too!
- Oh come on, Leela, we don’t have time for…
- Please, help…”

If there would have been more space, the robot would certainly have jumped because of the surprise.

“- Holy crap, what was that?!
- I don’t know, said Fry, and I don’t want to hear more! Let’s keep on moving!
- I agree with this young man, said Tyron. Each minute that passes multiplies the chances of Kalt to find us! We must hurry!
- Certainly not! Replied Leela. Someone there is in danger, and I would never let someone in the hands of this maniac!
- I would! Replied Bender.
- What if it’s a trap? Said Fry. It could be one of those monsters… Or even Kalt himself!
- Your friend is right! Said Tyron. This man is capable of everything for finding you! You’re too precious for him!
- What do you mean, precious?”

Tyron suddenly stood silent. Leela couldn’t see his face, but she was sure he didn’t like this question. The suspicion she first felt against him reappeared.

“- I mean… He won’t let you go…
- Why exactly? Asked Leela, who was beginning to wonder if it really was a good idea to trust him. You didn’t really tell us what he wanted to do…
- Well… Evil deeds… Those kinds of things… He’s bad, it’s all you need to know.
- Yeah, end of the intermission! Said Bender. Now, let’s get back to our program: “Escape from the ghost ship”, starring all of us! Let’s move on!
- Not so fast! Replied Leela. If Kalt is as cruel as I think he is, there is no way I would let anyone behind!
- You don’t even know if it’s someone! Said Tyron.
- Listen to me, Tyron… Maybe it’s one of Kalt’s tricks. But there is still a small possibility that it’s someone who is desperately waiting for getting out of his hold! And I’d rather be sure that there were no real reasons to get worried than living with the idea I let an innocent die a horrible death without doing anything!
- And here comes the Good Samaritan story again… Said Bender, sighing. Let it slip, Leela! I’m sure this guy can do well by himself!”

Just at this moment, the voice could be heard again.

{I]“Somebody, help… I can’t take it anymore...”[/I]

An awkward silence took over the group.

“He’s bluffing. I bet it.”

Leela gave a look at the conduct where the voice was coming. Wherever this person was, it certainly wasn’t too far away. She looked again at the rest of the group.

“- Like it or not, Tyron, I’ll take a look. Follow me or wait here, I don’t care.
- Leela, no! Replied the undead. That’s madness!”

But the young woman wasn’t listening anymore. She got in the conduct where the voice was coming from, hoping that the calls wouldn’t stop until she would have located the person who was calling for help. She quickly had to turn to an intersection, still crawling.

Meanwhile, her three companions were still where she let them.

“- Well, she’s gone, said Bender.
- What?! Said Fry. Oh crud! I’m going with her!
- Are you all insane or what? Said Tyron. You don’t even know what you’ll find there!
- Hell no, but I won’t let her alone!
- Oh man, not this again! Said Bender. Can’t you just give up about this?
- About what?
- You and her!
- What? Asked Tyron. You mean that she and he are…
- No, replied Bender, but he’d like to. It was cute when it started, but now it’s just boring…
- Mind your business, Bender! Said Fry. Move on, or lemme pass, but don’t think I would give up!
- Okay, okay, I surrender, said the robot. We’ll follow her. Geez…”

The robot began to crawl back to the intersection Leela took, and got in it. Fry followed him closely, even pushing the robot in front of him. Only Tyron was still in the same place than before.

“Stop! Stop now, fools! You don’t know what you will… Hey, are you listening to me? Come back to your senses!”

No answers. The undead sighed. The stake was way too important for letting them alone, so he reluctantly began to follow their paths.

“I didn’t want this. They’re not ready. Why do they have to be that stubborn?”

As for Leela, she wasn’t taking care anymore about what their ally could think. She didn’t know exactly what his problem was, but after those years with Bender, she knew when someone was trying to hide something to her, and her “sixth sense” was alerting her that something in his attitude was wrong. He was not telling everything, and she had the feeling that what she would discover was part of those things he wanted to keep secret.

Now, of course, there was the possibility that he was acting like this because the thing in question was dangerous…

“Help meeeee!”

… But this voice was telling another story. Leela knew she was coming closer to where it was coming from, and she couldn’t be mistaken anymore: whoever was calling for help was indeed desperate. She tried to go faster.

After a few more minutes, she finally reached a grid, leading out of the air conditioning system. She waited a bit, fearing that one of Kalt’s men would be around… But the room she was about to get in was looking deserted. And as the person who was calling for help screamed once again, she knew she was finally where she wanted to be. There were no possible mistakes, the person was in this room. Carefully, she tried to open the grid silently, which proved to be particularly easy as it almost immediately opened up. Leela got out of the conduct with difficulty and stood up. Now, she had to be quick, before someone would come in.

“- Hello? Said Leela, as softly as she could. Is anyone there? I’m here to help you!
- Over here! Oh my God, help me, please!”

The voice was now extremely close from her, but it was still a bit muffled. Leela tried to locate where it was coming from, but she couldn’t find anything. The room she was in wasn’t particularly wide, and yet, she couldn’t find where the person could have been…

“- Where are you? I can’t see you…
- Just in front of you! Please, hurry! I can’t take this anymore!”

In front of her? Leela looked more carefully, but she still couldn’t see anybody. In front of her, there were only some shelves, holding dozens of small bottles. In fact, the whole room was filled with such shelves, but there was no sign of a dungeon, or a cage, or anything that could have contained a prisoner…

And suddenly, she realized what was going on.

The voice was coming from one of the bottles.

“HELP MEEEEEEE!!!”

[Reply #53 on:]

No problem.  I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

[Reply #54 on:]

*sigh* Why do all the good ones have long gaps between the postings! Just so long as it gets finished. There's not much I hate more than an unfinished story. Especially a good one.

[Reply #55 on:]

Aww crud, now I have to wait to find out whats going to happen.  Oh well I'm sure it'll be a good update.

[Reply #56 on:]

I'm baaaAAAACCKK !!!!

Hahem, sorry... So, where were we ? Oh yeah, I remember.

What sleeps in between (chapter 12)

For a few seconds, Leela couldn’t move, as she was stunned by this event. She was expecting a man, a zombie, anything but that… She came closer to the shelves, trying to determine which bottle was talking to her. Pretty quickly, she distinguished a pale face inside one of the glass bottles. Considering the expression of fear it was sporting, she immediately assumed it was the person who had been calling for help all this time.

“- Oh my God… Whispered Leela. Are you… Are you in one of…
- Yes, I am! I’ve been stuck here for 20 years now! Please, get me out of here!
- I… It’s… What the…?!
- Please! Break this bottle, whatever, but I can’t…
- Oh, shut up, Josip! You’re just breaking everyone’s patience!”

In another bottle, not so far away from the first one, a pale face appeared, this one looking annoyed. Looking around her, Leela quickly noticed that other bottles were now containing a face. Some were looking angry, others were just curious… But moreover, they weren’t all looking human. Leela distinguished an Amphibian, an Omicronian, a Decapodian, and even one of those five-eyed humanoids. The one called Josip apparently wasn’t expecting this.

“- What do you mean, shut up?! How can you stay this calm, Patrick!
- Because I’ve been in this state for more than 150 years, now. You’re just overreacting because you’re still pretty young at this, but you know, after a while, it’s not that uncomfortable…
- WHAT?!? Are you kidding?! We’re nothing else but souls, trapped in those bottles, and you call this “not that uncomfortable”?
- You’re starting to piss everybody off, said a third one. Sure, I would love still having my body – or even being still alive, but it would be axing  too much – but at least I don’t have to cope with my wife anymore…
- Buck, you arrived here after me! Said Josip. Can’t you show some solidarity with me?
- Why should I? I quickly found the various advantages of our situation, and moreover, better being in this state than being alive when the end of times will come! And you, on the other hand, you’ve always been complaining and whining! “Boohoo, get me out of here! It sucks having no body! God, why did you do this to me!” Get over it!
- The puny human is right! Said someone who obviously was from Morbo’s species. Just act like one of our glorious race and suffer in silence!
- You do know we’re not suffering, Kelgo, right? Asked Patrick. We’re just floating in emptiness…
- Mph! Not thrilling enough for a warrior like me!
- Warrior or not, you were yet screaming like a little girl when the Shaaash got you…  Said another one, this one a Decapodian.
- Silence, worm! Silence, or I’ll…
- You’ll what, make your bottle fidgeting? Yeah, really frightening...
- Will the two of you stop?   Said Patrick. What did I say about yelling at each other?
- That it’s fun?   Said Buck.
- It sure is! Said another guy. At least it makes a little bit of animation here!
- Oh please, guys, be a bit more mature! We’ve got a guest!”

Leela finally seemed to awaken. During the whole conversation between the various spirits, she stood silent, dumbfounded. She already wasn’t expecting to meet incorporeal beings, but after her discovery, she was thinking they would be a bit… Well, frightened by their position. Once again, it looked like logic decided to take some very long vacations just before she was born, because she just couldn’t get what all of this could mean.

“- Okay, said Leela, this is just… Ah, forget it. Will one of you tell me what’s going on here?!?
- Ah yes, I guess it may be a bit strange…  Said Patrick. Let’s start with the beginning, alright? I guess you’re not one of Kalt’s men, but rather someone he picked up and now tries to catch, right?
- That’s a poorly done summary, but basically, yes.
-  What a coincidence! Everybody here was in the same situation!
- What?! Said Leela, surprised.
- Yeah, we all got caught by Kalt and he turned us into what you see now,   said Buck. I used to be a smuggler before, I tried to escape some DOOP patrol, I ended up in this sector, and Kalt quickly found me…
- I don’t think we should start making our biography, here. Lack of time, you know?   Said Patrick. You just have to know we all ended here, in this sector of space, and became victims of Kalt.
- And now we’re all like this!   Said Buck. More than 600, in those little bottles!
- But… How? How did Kalt do this?
- Pretty easily, human, said Kelgo. Kalt caught us, served us up to the Shaaash and then trapped our souls in those bottles just as we died.
- It’s not really comfortable when the eating part begins, said Buck, but after that, you don’t feel pain anymore, so…”

Leela noticed that Buck suddenly was looking surprised… But almost immediately he got back to his usual expression.

“- Right, I forgot… I can’t shrug anymore…
- The Shaaash? What’s this? And why is he keeping you in bottles instead of making you his slaves?
- Well, because he’s…
- Leela!”

The young woman turned on her feet, just in time for seeing Fry, Bender and Tyron get out of the conduct. The delivery boy was already standing up, and quickly joined her.

“- Is everything alright? Asked Fry. Did you find the… HOLY CRAP, WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?!?
- Shhhh, said Leela, you want to alert Kalt and his men or what?!
- But… But… Tiny faces… In bottles…
- Man, cool FX! Said Bender, standing just behind Fry now.
- Don’t worry, said Leela. I think they can’t harm us.
- Looks like we’ve got a genius here!   Said the Decapodian spirit. What makes you think this, our lack of limbs or the fact we cannot move?
- You don’t have to be rude, you know…  Said Patrick. Excuse him, he’s a bit grumpy since he’s here…
- Believe me, said another Decapodian, he already was during his living.
- Jacky! Replied the first Decapodian. Is that a way to talk about your father?!
- Maybe not, but I think I’m the most qualified here to say how you were before…
- Anyway, said Leela, trying to get back to the previous conversation, they all are prisoners of Kalt.
- Oh man… Said Fry. As if I needed another motivation for getting out of here!
- Exactly, said Tyron. You know what you risk now. How about getting back to…
- Hey, isn’t it Tyron?   Said Buck. How are you, old chap? Still hiding in the ventilation system? ”

Tyron looked at the spirit, obviously annoyed. He wasn’t looking pleased to be in this room, and everything in his attitude was indicating that he wanted Fry, Leela and Bender to get back to the conducts as soon as they can. Which reinforced Leela’s suspicion…

“- Exactly, said the undead. Let’s move, we’ve got to…
- Hold on a second, said Leela. Can you tell us what the Shaaash is?”

This time, Tyron tensed up.

“- I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, let’s…
- What? Are you kidding?   Said Josip. You’re the one who warned me about it!
- Yeah, why are you lying, Tyron?   Innocently asked Patrick. You’ve seen it! ”

Leela looked at the undead. She immediately knew that if he would still be alive, he would be sweating a lot.

“- Is it true? Asked Leela, who was getting more and more suspicious. Do you really know what this is?
- I… Well…”

Tyron looked at Leela’s eye, and when he saw her determination, he quickly realized it wasn’t worth hiding the truth anymore: she wouldn’t move until he would have explained everything.

“- Alright, alright, you won… Said Tyron in a sigh. The Shaaash is another servant of What-Sleeps-In-Between. It comes from the same dimension than its master… It’s a polymorph creature, with a very unstable structure, that has been created for accomplishing any hard labors that should be done for its master’s glory. It is too stupid for acting on its own, however, so it needs to be entrusted to another servant of the god. Kalt is its current owner, so it’s following any of his orders, but only because What-Sleeps-In-Between told him to obey him. It’s resting in a particular room of this ship, and only comes out when Kalt needs it.
- Oh… Said Fry. And… He’s bad news?
- Oh my yes! He’s strong enough for moving entire buildings, and nothing can stop it except the most powerful spells ever conceived. Plus, his body consists mainly of digestive juice. Touching it equals a slow and painful death, as you’d be eaten into by acid.
- Great, said Bender. Let me sum up: we’ve got to worry about an entire army of undead creatures, their leader who’s apparently a powerful warlock, and a walking stomach?
- “Crawling” would be more appropriate, said Tyron. And you’re forgetting the unspeakable horror they’re all working for.”

Bender gave a cold glare at Tyron.

“- You always were the mood-killer in the parties, weren’t you?
- This is why I didn’t want to tell you about it! Said Tyron. You really didn’t need to have your already diminished hopes being even more reduced because of such news!
- It may have been done for good intentions, but I don’t think you should have done this, said Leela. We need to know everything that could affect your chances of success, even if it’s unpleasant!
- I don’t! Replied Fry.
- Bah, why are you making such a fuss about it?   Said Buck. Sure, Tyron hid this from you, but you won’t have to worry about it before you’d eventually get caught by Kalt and his crew!
- And why exactly? Asked Leela.
- Because this creature only comes out when the ritual must be accomplished!   Said Kelgo. In fact, it’s its only use here, he can’t do anything else worthy in such a confined space! ”

Leela frowned.

“The ritual? What ritual?”

Now it was Patrick’s turn to frown… While Tyron was becoming even more tensed than before.

“- What? Tyron didn’t tell you about Kalt’s schemes?
- He only said he wanted to catch us… Said Fry. But now that I think about it, he didn’t tell us why…
- Who cares? Said Bender. He’s evil and wants to make us suffer, period! I can’t blame him, I’ve been dreaming of destroying humanity since… Errrrr, I mean, he’s evil, that’s all we need to know.
- Well, everybody cares!   Said Buck. He’s trying to…
- No! Screamed Tyron. Don’t tell them!
- … wake up What-Sleeps-In-Between! ”

The shock of this revelation nearly stunned Leela. Fry too had suddenly stopped counting all the bottles on the shelves (as some morbid curiosity pushed him to want to know how many victims Kalt had collected), and even Bender’s ocular sensors popped out of their sockets. Tyron mentally cursed, as it wasn’t really easing his task.

“- HE’S TRYING TO WAKE UP THIS MONSTER?!? Yelled Leela.
- And you’re surprised?   Said Kelgo. He’s worshipping it! Of course he wants it to come back to life!
- But this thing wants to kill us all! Said Fry.
- Yeah, but he’ll be spared and become a divinity, said Patrick. He’s got everything to gain by helping it!
- Man, THIS is hardcore! Said Bender. If he succeeds, I guess I’ll never be able to top that!
- If he succeeds, said Josip, it will above all mean he caught you, turned you into a spirit in a bottle, and then used you for awaking this beast!
- What do you mean? Said Leela. He’s keeping you in this state for his scheme?
- Yes, said Buck. What-Sleeps-In-Between revealed to Kalt how he could succeed. There is a particular ritual that is powerful enough for breaking its sleep. First, he needs to collect 666 innocent souls, each one separated of their bodies after having been devoured and digested by a creature from the space between the Universes – hence the presence of the Shaaash in the ship.
- When he’ll have collected all those souls, said Patrick, Kalt will then swallow them and incorporate them to his powers, and use them for breaking the barrier between the universes and maintain a portal which would be big enough for allowing his master to come in this world. Finally, he’ll wake up the beast and draw its attention to this entrance by using a lure. A living lure, in fact… What-Sleeps-In-Between, despite its divine nature, seems to like females…
- Oh wow… Said Fry. This really sounds bad! I don’t really want to know what he’d do to this woman!
- I don’t want to know either!   Said Josip. The poor victim would pray to be killed before the beast would ever touch her! ”

Leela thought all the things the ghosts had been revealing. So, Kalt was even more dangerous than she thought… He wasn’t just a local menace, he was deliberately working for accelerating the coming of Armageddon. In a way, it was explaining some elements he told her during this dinner, when she realized he was evil. His threat about the fact they would never reach Earth again, “because there would be no more Earth” or something along those lines. It was sure that if What-Sleeps-In-Between would ever come to this Universe, everybody would be doomed…

But the young woman suddenly remembered another part of this discussion she had with the undead captain. He said he had great plans for her… And that if she knew what he wanted to do with her, she would have to use a far much term for qualifying him than freak.

And now, those prisoners were talking about a woman who would be offered as a sacrifice to the evil god…

“- Wait a second… Said Leela. How many souls did Kalt gather so far?
- Exactly 664, said Kelgo. Buck is the last one he caught.
- What?! Said Leela. Oh my God, only two last victims and he will be able to free this monster!
- Exactly, replied Patrick. And something is telling me that your friends would be perfect for completing his collection.
- Then, said Fry, that’s another reason for… Wait a second… Bender too?
- It makes two, right?   Said Kelgo. Then yes, he’ll do everything he can for catching you. The fact that he’s a robot doesn’t change a thing.
- Bender has a soul?! Said Leela, genuinely surprised.
- Yes, most probably, said Buck. I know, it’s a bit surprising… In my time, if you would ever have said that mechanical beings have a soul, everybody would have…
- No no, said Leela, you don’t get what I mean… BENDER has a soul?!?”

The robot pretty quickly understood what his captain was implying.

“- Hey! Said the robot. I feel offended! I guess I’ll have to call my lawyer as soon as we’d be back to Earth!
- Wait a minute… Said Fry. If Bender and I are Kalt’s last souls, then who’s the final sacrifice?
- It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? ” Said Patrick.

At first, it wasn’t that much for Fry, but after a few seconds, the young man finally understood what it was all about.

“- WHAT?! IF THAT MONSTER EVER TOUCHES LEELA…
- Calm down, man, said Buck, there’s not much you’d be able to do. Great wizard, remember? ”

Leela, of course, was shocked, although she figured this “fact” much earlier than her friend. But there was something else that was making her angry… It was about their guide, Tyron. She faced him, looking like a fury.

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew about this ritual, and the part we’re supposed to play in it!”

Tyron wasn’t even trying to look in her eye… However, the expression he was sporting was somewhat indicating his resignation.

“ANSWER!”

The undead finally looked at her. And Fry could easily see regrets in his eyes.

“- Yes, I knew.
- Why did you hide this!? Said Leela. This is changing everything! Until now, the only thing that mattered was to get out of this ship, but now it’s different!
- It’s not? Asked Bender. Because frankly, getting out looks pretty cool…
- We’re talking about the end of the world! Resumed Leela, not even paying attention to the robot. We may escaped, but it would only be a matter of a few years before Kalt finds other victims! We can’t let this happening! Why didn’t you tell anything about this?!
- Because I knew how you would react, replied Tyron. I knew since the very moment I saw you from my hide in the docking bay that you were strong and willful, and would never let innocents suffer.
- And what’s the problem with this, exactly?
- You’re trying to find a way to stop Kalt. But it’s impossible. He’s way too powerful. Trying to face him would be like suicide! The only chance we have to prevent the awakening of What-Sleeps-In-Between is that you get out of this sector of the galaxy as fast as you can!
- And what do you make of the other potential victims? We’re not the only one he could be preying!
- I know… But besides helping them to escape, there’s nothing else that can be done.
- Oh yeah?” Leela pointed the bottles. “And them? Why didn’t you manage to help them? Did you really have to wait that Kalt would be about to succeed for finally moving your ass and trying to prevent this to happen!
- [I[Now you’re becoming rude, young lady[/I].”

Surprised by this interruption, Leela looked in the direction where this last voice was coming from. She quickly identified the guest as being a middle-aged guy wearing a monocle. There was something extremely noble in him, despite the fact he was never more than a floating face inside a glass bottle.

“- Excuse me?
- Tyron always tried to help us, said the man. You can ask every single one of us, he always tried to use his magic for getting us out of Kalt’s reach. But every time, he failed. Either Kalt caught us before he could have done something, either the captain and his men proved to be smarter than we thought they would be, or either we goofed and fell in one of their traps. It’s not his fault if we’re in such a state. In fact, I think you’re the ones who are doing the best so far. Tyron knows what he’s doing, young lady. And you should be ashamed to even think he could have tried to trick you.”

This disturbed Leela’s reasoning. Since the revelation about Kalt’s true nature, anybody was either a friend or a foe, but now she was facing something that was a bit more complex. She had to admit that she may have overreacted in this case, but she still had some trouble with the way he acted.

“- Is this true? Asked Leela to Patrick, now less angered.
- Yes, lord Carnavon is telling you the truth. Tyron jeopardized his cover every time one of them got trapped in this ship, and as all his attempts failed, he was getting more and more involved. Unfortunately, he always had bad luck.
- Oh man, said Fry. That sounds very awful…
- Alright.” Leela was feeling a bit unease after what she implied. “Look, Tyron, I’m sorry for having implying you didn’t really try to stop Kalt before…
- No problem, said Kalt. You’re tensed, afraid… And given your nature, I wasn’t expecting you to act differently.
- Still… Said Leela, crossing her arms on her chest. You should have warned us. It’s not only our lives that are at stakes now. We must find a way to stop Kalt.
- Hellooooo? Said Bender. Trapped in a ghost ship? Dark lord of the undead after us?
- It’s another reason I didn’t want to tell you this, said Tyron. I know you want to help, but nothing can be done…
- And the library?”

Now, Tyron was surprised.

“- What do you mean, the library?
- The one you explored before your death… The one containing all the secrets of this ancient civilization? If Kalt found there the ritual for getting in What-Sleeps-In-Between’s world and another one for awakening it, maybe it also contains some spells or weapons we can use against him?”

Tyron scratched his chin, thinking a lot about Leela’s proposition. He was apparently lost in his thoughts, turning every possibilities into perspective

“- Maybe… Said the undead. In fact, this is highly probable…
- You never thought about this? Said Fry.
- Of course I did! The problem was to get on the planet. But for this, the only way is to first escape the Crimson Monarch, which requires that your own ship would still be working.
- You think it’s not? Asked Bender.
- In the contrary, said Kelgo. During those two centuries, Kalt always kept his preys’ ships in one piece until they would have explained him how their technology works. Then, he dismantles them and keep the interesting parts for improving the Crimson Monarch. Your ship must still be able to bring you to the planet you’re talking about!
- Then it’s settled! Said Leela. We resume our escape, but as soon as we’re out of this ship, we’ll look for the library!
- But it’s still too dangerous! Said Tyron. We don’t know if we’d be able to reach it, and if we can, what makes you think we could find something against Kalt? He won’t abandon just because you would have managed to get out of the Crimson Monarch!
- It’s hazardous, I know, but it’s not like we’ve got other alternatives.
- You don’t even master magic!
- But you do. You’ll come with us. What would you do anyway, stay here and wait for the end of the Universe?”

Tyron took a few seconds for making his decision. Surprisingly, nobody had to wait too long. Even him wasn’t really expecting to decide this quickly.

“- Alright. This plan can easily fail, but this is the last one we’ve got.
- Great! Said Leela. And you guys?
- Will we be risking our lives again? Said Fry.
- Yes.
- But we’ll get out of this rotten place?
- Yes.
- Will there be some cool stuff to see?
- We’re talking about magic battle, so I guess yes…
- Great! Said an enthusiastic Fry. I’m coming!
- And you, Bender? Asked Leela.
- My impulse chip says “hell no!”, my rational processor says “you can’t pilot a ship anyway, so you’re bound to stay with the chick who can until she decides to take you home”…
- The people have spoken! Said Leela. Now, let’s hurry! We don’t have much time left!
- Indeed we haven’t, said Tyron. Follow me, please. Next stop: the docking bay. It’s been a pleasure seeing you again, guys.
- Same here, Tyron, said Buck. Good luck, you all.”

Fry, Leela and Bender answered with raising their thumbs, smiling. Tyron was the first to get back in the conduct, as he had to lead the way once again. The three Planet Express employees quickly followed, the last one closing the grid behind them. For a few seconds, silence took control of the room.

“- Well, looks like we’ll finally see the end of all this in any cases, said Josip.
- Good Lord, yes, said Kelgo. Finally an end to your whining!
- Hey!
- Cut it out, you two, said Patrick. We already made too much noise so far. I hope none of Kalt’s men will spot them…
- You expect them to succeed?   Said the Decapodian. If they’re the last hope of every living beings, then everybody’s doomed…
- I wouldn’t be that pessimistic, said Lord Carnavon. This young lady looks extremely competent. And they all look to be very bound to each other. They’re incarnating something that Kalt can’t compete against.
- What exactly?   Asked Buck.
- Friendship. Love. All those kind of things that What-Sleeps-In-Between or its servant never took into account. ”

Patrick smiled.

“Yeah… It’s not over until it’s over…”

[Reply #57 on:]

Hah! The Universerse could be destroyed and all Bender is worried about is toppping Kalt becoming a god? Well that's Bender for you. Bender has a soul? [Bender]That activates my hilarity unit.[/Bender] Great update totally worth the wait. Can't wait for more.

[Reply #58 on:]

I agree with Bendersfan! You've got Bender down to a T, whatever that means.

Interesting update. The story has definitely strayed from the usual Futurama genre, but it's still good, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Reply #59 on:]

Huzzah!  He's back with a great update!

[Reply #60 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 13)

“Are we there?”

Tyron sighed. He was wrong when he thought that only Bender would be a pain in the ass. First, Leela proved to be more stubborn than he thought. And now, Fry’s stress was getting so high that he was keeping on asking again and again if they would soon be at the docking bay…

“- No, patiently replied Tyron.
- Oh.”

A few seconds passed on, during which the four characters kept on crawling in the conducts.

“- And now?
- No… Said Tyron, his patience getting to his limits.
- Okay.”

A few more seconds of silence.

I swear, if he ever…

“And now?”

Tyron brutally stopped in the middle of the conduct, and tried to look behind him. As he pointed his flashlight at Fry, the young man immediately hid his eyes, blinded by the sudden light.

“- No, no, and no! Said Tyron, not trying to hide his irritation any longer. What are you, 8?! We won’t get any faster if you don’t stop axing me if we’ll soon arrive or not!
- Yeah, that’s getting tiresome, said Bender behind Fry. The only thing that has prevented me from throwing you in the hands of that maniac at the first occasion is that it would provoke the Apocalypse!
- Sorry, said Fry pitifully, it’s just that it’s starting to be very long, and I really want to get out of this ship…
- We all want to, said Leela behind him, but you’re not helping when you’re doing this. Stop annoying Tyron, now…
 - I can’t help it! Almost whined Fry. I’ve been in those damn conducts for too long, I’m… I’m suffocating here!
- Oh great, said Bender, now he’s about to panic. Remember the other day, when he got his arm stuck in the vending machine for 3 hours? Boy, that was embarrassing…
- It was entirely this stupid machine’s fault! Said Fry. He took my coin without giving me this Burkan bar, and he refused to admit I paid him!
- Yeah, of course, you goof, and it’s automatically the robot’s fault…
- He refused to let my arm go! The firemen had to shut him down temporarily for getting me out! And he was the same vending machine I met when I was in this robot asylum!
- So what? He just forgot to take his medications that day. You still kept on screaming and crying like a little girl…
- Will you just shut up?! Said Tyron. It’s a miracle we didn’t get caught with all the noise you’re making!
- About that… Said Leela. Have you got an idea of what she should do for getting to the ship? Something’s telling me that they won’t let our ship unguarded…
- I have some… Said Tyron, calmed down. But they would attract Kalt’s attention, so they wouldn’t give us a lot of time. And it would require the help of your two friends.”

Only the lack of room prevented Fry and Bender from jumping of surprise.

“- WHAT?!  They said in unison.
- We will all have to collaborate to succeed, said Tyron, as we’ve got an entire battle cruiser against us. I will need everyone’s competence for…”

Tyron suddenly stopped. Something caught his attention. It was still faint, but he could have sworn…

“- What do you mean, “every one’s competence”?! Angrily said Bender. We’re complete buffoons! Especially Fry!
- Shhh! Said Tyron, waving at the robot, despite the fact he couldn’t see him. Do not make so much noise!
- And why not exactly? You’re planning to use me for Skynet only knows what kind of stupid plan, and I should…
- Silence, dammit! I heard something, and this time it wasn’t one of the lost souls!”

Bender finally realized what their guide was implying. It immediately put an end to his ranting, as this time, it would probably not be a friend… Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron tensed up, trying to know what was going on.

And as soon as they all stopped any kind of noise, they finally could hear something coming in their direction, crawling.

They all began to sweat, devoured by their anguish. Tyron immediately lighted the flashlight off, as it couldn’t reveal him anything that was going on in front of him, and would only help their pursuers. It was impossible now to think that there was nothing at all, as the crawling sounds were keeping on getting closer and closer.

“- You… You think… Whispered Fry. You think it’s them?
- Without a doubt, softly replied Tyron. I’m just surprised they only decided now to check out the ventilation system. We can’t go further, let’s get back on our tracks.
- But… Where should we go?
- Listen, I’ll touch your left leg if we must go the left, and your right one if we must go to the right. I want you to do the same to your friend Bender, who will have to repeat the indications to miss Leela. Tell this to your friends, and please, please, we must be as silent as we can.”

Terrorized, but determined not to be caught by the zombies, Fry told Bender Tyron’s  intentions, who in turn told Leela what they had to do. The young woman didn’t say anything, she simply nodded – which, because of the obscurity, the robot couldn’t see – before turning round gracefully and silently, making a u-turn, and started to backtrack. Her three companions weren’t as acrobatic, but apparently their pursuers didn’t notice anything as Tyron didn’t hear them accelerating or any noises that could have indicating that they were chasing them. However, as he had a quick look at what was going on behind him, he saw, coming from a turn, the beam of a flashlight. It made him push Fry, who in turn pushed Bender, who pushed Leela. Their only chance for not being spotted would be to get out the way their pursuers were taking, and to get to a sidetrack that was still left unexplored. A very slight chance, but it was the only one they could get.

As a result, it was now Leela who was leading the group. She had an idea of the route they’ve taken before, but it was impossible for her to have a clue of where they would go. She hoped that the indications Tyron would give to her would be useful, but in any cases, this situation would slow them down, or even worse considering she was aware of the few chances they had to get out of this situation. The idea of being handed to some horrible unknown creature was a good enough incitation for her, though. Some may want to know how it would look like, especially guys attracted by Japanese porn and accustomed by some strange “situations” that can happen in those type of productions (and that we won’t detail, for the sake of anyone’s sanity), but not her. At the first intersection, Leela felt Bender’s hand on her right leg. She immediately understood what it meant, and as soon as she reached the intersection, she turned to the right, just as Tyron indicated her through Bender and Fry…

And she found herself face to face with one of the zombie.

The young woman screamed of surprise, which struck all her companions who weren’t expecting that something like this would happen. The zombie screamed too, as he couldn’t imagine that their preys would suddenly jump in front of him at the least probable moment, at the exact moment he thought that lighting on his flashlight would be useful… Leela tried to take advantage of the undead’s stupefaction for backing off, but unfortunately her attempt got stopped by Bender who hadn’t reacted to her actions yet. When the robot finally realized what was going on, Kalt’s minion got over his amazement, and was now trying to catch Leela, which wasn’t as easy as he thought, considering the young woman was desperately struggling for getting out of his grasp. She would certainly have the upper hand in a room or a corridor, but in those conducts, it wasn’t that sure…

“Oh crap! Screamed Leela. They’re here! Back off, quick!”

Tyron knew exactly what was happening as soon as Fry brutally stopped in front of him, and just as Leela was screaming, he already was trying to push Fry and Bender (who were at this moment paralyzed by fear) out of his way for reaching the Cyclops. The flashlight couldn’t reveal that much of what was in the conduct, but he could distinguish Leela who was trying to punch the zombie who was in turn trying to catch her. Tyron saw the creature trying to pull something out of his pocket. He didn’t have to see it to know what it could have been: a syringe filled with some tranquilizer. Kalt needed them to be in one piece for the ritual…

With difficulty, Tyron managed to put himself just next to who was too preoccupied by her opponent’s attacks for wondering what her guide was trying to do. She however noticed that something odd happened when Tyron touched the zombie’s forehead with his index. The creature seemed completely stunned by this contact.

“Stone!” Yelled Tyron.

Immediately, the zombie stopped moving.

Leela needed a few seconds for realizing what just happened. When she finally understood that the struggle was over, she stared at the zombie, her mouth wide open, as she still couldn’t believe what happened. Her opponent’s decomposition seemed to have spared the upper part of his skull, as his nose, eyes, ears and hair were still intact, but the rest of the flesh seemed to have disappeared. The creature had no lips or cheeks, and even a large part of its throat was missing.

“What the…”

But Leela couldn’t finish her question. Behind her, Fry screamed horribly, absolutely terrified.

Tyron immediately backtracked, and he knew what the situation was just as he went over Bender, who still hadn’t tried to do anything for helping or escaping. While he was busy saving Leela, the other zombies spotted them and caught them. And as Fry was just behind him before he went away…

It exactly was what he was expecting. Thanks to his flashlight and their pursuers’, he could see that two creatures appeared behind Fry, and caught him. The one which was holding the young man would have looked perfectly human if it wasn’t for his skin’s color (greenish, as any decomposed body has) and the fact he was missing an ear, and already was pulling a syringe out of its pocket. The second one was a completely rusted robot, with some parts of its body which had completely disappeared, and a few electric wires coming out of the various holes. Fry was panicking, crying, and screaming, and had completely lost control of his dignity.

“Lemme go! Lemme go! I wouldn’t make a good sacrifice! I taste horrible, I swear! Ask the Cannibulans!”

The creature holding Fry finally pulled his syringe out… But just as it was happen to sting Fry with it, Tyron tried to catch it. The needle went in the palm of his left hand, but at least Fry was safe. The zombie, however, had a moment of hesitation; Tyron took advantage of it and touched its forehead with his right index.

“Stone!”

Just as before, the creature stopped moving. Tyron let Fry try to get out of the creature’s grasp by himself, as it was still not over. The robot zombie looked in Tyron’s eyes, and despite the lack of facial features, Tyron knew it was surprised. He didn’t let it get over its amazement. Tyron immediately touched its forehead.

“Stone!”

Once again, the creature seems to have been paralyzed. Tyron looked behind it, afraid that there would be more of Kalt’s followers… He sighed of relief when he saw that it wasn’t the case. They finally were out of trouble.

For the moment.

***

Kalt raised his head and frowned. Something unusual just happened in the ship… What-Sleeps-In-Between was right, there were some strange mystical activities inside the Crimson Monarch, and for once he had nothing to do with it. He felt a weak disturbance just a few seconds before…

The undead wizard clenched his fist.

It looked like he had to take care of everything by himself…

***

 “- What… What happened?! Said Fry. What did you do?!
- A basic paralysis spell, replied Tyron. It will be enough for stopping them for a while. I know nothing that could have taken them down permanently.
- Wow, said Bender. Not too shabby. Can you teach me how to do this? There are a few applications that can…
- You’ll think of your future burglaries later, Bender, said Leela. Are we really out of danger?
- For the moment, yes, said Tyron. It will require a few hours for the spell to go off. But we definitely have to hurry, now. They may not be able to move anymore, but they can still hear everything and moreover they still remember what happened… As soon as the spell will fade away, they’ll tell their master where they found us, and Kalt will send all his forces in those conducts.
- Doesn’t sound good… Said Fry. How about we continue, then? Is it still possible?
- We’ll have to crawl on those two, said Tyron, pointing the zombie who caught Fry and the undead robot, but yeah, it’s possible. And we don’t have many choices left, anyway, that’s the only way.
- We can’t get access to the docking bay otherwise?”

Leela went near Bender and slapped him. Because of the lack of room, the robot’s head immediately crashed on the floor.

“- Ouch! What was it for, dammit?
- Congratulations, idiot! Said Leela. Tyron just said they can hear everything! Not only will they tell Kalt where we are, but they’ll also tell him where we’re going!”

For once, Bender didn’t complain. Especially as he couldn’t think of anything for his defense.

“- Whoops!
- Whoops indeed, said Tyron, his irrational hatred for the robot becoming completely rational after this. I would be the first one to punish you for your clumsiness, but we’ve got no time for this. There may be other groups, searching for us in the ventilation system. And we all agree that we should avoid more inopportune meetings, don’t we?”

[Reply #61 on:]

Another great update. Can't wait for more.

[Reply #62 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 15)

Tyron gave a look through the ventilation grid. This time, they finally reached their goal: the docking bay. He could see one of the very few fighters that were inside the big room, and that Kalt was keeping just in case he would have to send some of his men to chase one of their victims. As he looked to the left, he also saw the rear of the Planet Express ship. At least, one part of their plan succeeded, as he managed to bring them to their ships without being stopped by any of Kalt’s minions. But now a few more difficulties were going to happen, as he quickly had the confirmation of what he feared: since the moment Fry, Leela and Bender got on board the Crimson Monarch, Kalt increased the number of guards in the docking bay. He quickly counted four of them, but it was not impossible that there would be more.

“What do you see?” Asked Fry, behind him.

The young man was still pretty anxious about his plan, but he quickly recovered from the aggression from before and would certainly be able to play his part. Tyron turned a little bit to look at Fry.

“- Four soldiers, maybe more, whispered Tyron. None of them is guarding the grid, however, and there’s a fighter between us and them. We may be able to enter in the room without being noticed.
- Are you still sure about your plan? Asked Bender. Because I won’t stay unnoticed for long, and I’d really love to know I have a chance of getting out of this alive!
- I won’t lie to you: I’m not 100 % sure it will work. But despite the control Kalt has on those men, he couldn’t have thought of everything. There is a large probability that they will be completely disoriented by your actions, and won’t try anything for a while.
- Let’s just hope this “while” will be long enough, said Fry, because I’m not sure I’m the right man for this…
- We don’t have any other alternatives, said Leela. I’m the only one who can start the ship, and Tyron must sabotage their fighters while you keep them busy. You and Bender are the only ones here who can prevent them from looking where we don’t want them to look…
- Yeah, said Fry, but…
- I don’t like this either, Fry. Believe me, if I could, I would have set up a plan that wouldn’t jeopardize your lives. But I also don’t think we should be that pessimistic. You and Bender had already done this dozens of times, right? And each time, it was perfect. Just keep on doing what you’re the best at, and it should be okay.”

Fry looked behind him, trying to catch Leela’s look. He was doing his best for hiding this, but he was terrified about what he and Bender would have to do in a few minutes. There were so many unknown factors in this equation that it would only be in the middle of the action that they would know if it would work or not. But he managed to see Leela, somewhere behind Bender… A large part of his anxiety went away. The young woman was about as afraid as him, but she was still cold-headed, and was still able to act as the rational captain that she was, doing all she can for making her subordinates to work at the maximum of their capacities. But there was something else that strengthened his determination, something that Kalt would never manage to overcome: more than his captain, she was his friend, and maybe (only maybe, but Fry would always cling on this hope) even more. And when his eyes crossed hers, he realized she wasn’t saying those things just for making him do what she wanted him to do. She was trusting him. She knew he wasn’t always reliable, and yet she was giving a chance to prove he was way better than many people were thinking.

This thought gave him all the strength he needed.

“Alright. Everything will be okay.”

Leela smiled, and raised one of her thumbs for encouraging him a bit more. Fry smiled back at his friend, before really facing Bender.

“- And you, old brother? Are you with me on this one?
- Do I really have the choice? Said a completely resigned Bender.
- Thank you, Bender. Ready?
- Yeah.
- Perfect. Tyron, open the grid. Bender, give me my jacket, my stick and my hat. It’s show time.”

***

There were in fact five of Kalt’s men in the docking bay, circling around the Planet Express ship, but none of them spotted Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron when they got out the ventilation system. They didn’t even know they weren’t alone anymore until Fry and Bender appeared just in front of them. As soon as the duo appeared, they stopped their round and walked in their directions… But after a few seconds they stood still, looking insecure. Their master ordered them to arrest any of the three employees of Planet Express, and gave them a complete description of his preys.

He never told them that they would be wearing red-striped jackets, white shirts and black bowl hats, and would have sticks made of reed.

Despite their anguish, Fry and Bender were smiling as if they heard the funniest joke in the world a moment ago, and were leaning against their sticks. Fry quickly understood that the undead were destabilized by their appearance, just as Tyron thought they would be, and as a result gave a quick look at Bender for telling him they could go on with their plan. Bender opened a little hatch on the side of his head, from which a little loudspeaker got out. Fry snapped his fingers.

“1, 2, and 1, 2, 3!”

Just at this moment, the loudspeaker began to give out a little perky music, performed by a piano, a few banjos and some other instruments that Fry never managed to identify. Fry and Bender began to dance on this music and to juggle with their sticks, increasing the state of amazement of the undead, who definitely didn’t know what to do as their master certainly never expected something like this to happen. And as the musical introduction came to its end, Bender and Fry began to sing like those music-hall duets that had a lot of success at the beginning of the 20th century.

I have heard, among this clan,
You are called "The forgotten man"?
Now, what are they saying?
Well, did you evah?
What a swell party this is!
And have you heard the story of
a boy a girl unrequired love?
I’d like hear so far
I’ll make you cry
Tune in tommorrow
What a swell party this is!
What frails, what frocks (what frocks)
What furs, what rocks (they’re beautiful)
I’ve never seen such gaiety!
Neither have I!
It's all just too too risquée really!
This French champagne!
So good for the brain!
That’s what I was gonna say!
You know you are a brilliant fellow
Well, thank you!
That place ain’t got that class, my friend...

Kalt’s men were captivated by Fry and Bender’s act, and were doing absolutely nothing for stopping them. As Kalt was too far away from them at the moment, his hold over them wasn’t strong enough for allowing them to try to take some initiatives and to carry on his will. They were still mindless envelopes, filled only with Kalt’s recommendations, and none of them was telling them what to do if they would ever face a singing duet. In fact, some elements of their former lives, when they were still individuals and not tools at Kalt’s disposal, were somehow resurfacing, inducing various reactions among the zombies. One of them was completely lost, wondering what was happening and what to do. Three others seemed to like Fry and Bender’s performance, as they mechanically began to beat time, following the song’s rhythm. The last one, finally, was completely stoical. Fry, despite concentrating on his act, still couldn’t believe their plan was actually working, as the undead were staring at them, following them wherever they were dancing, and weren’t paying attention at all about what was going on in the rest of room. Which, of course was the purpose of the whole thing, as Tyron and Leela could do their parts without being bothered by the zombies. Fry and Bender were indeed manipulating Kalt’s minions so that they would look exactly where they wanted them to look, and as a result to not notice Leela and Tyron. While the young woman quickly reached the ship and began to prepare it for their escape, Tyron went from one of the fighters to another, messing around with their engines so that the little ships would explode for covering their escape and preventing Kalt from sending his troops against them. If he calculated everything right, they would explode from themselves in a matter of minutes.

Leela and Tyron were working as fast as they could, for two main reasons. First, it wouldn’t be too long before someone would hear the strange activity in the docking bay, and it wasn’t sure Fry and Bender would “hypnotize” newcomers just as they would come in… And of course, if Kalt himself would try to see what was going on, they would be screwed. And second, despite their training, Fry and Bender could probably not sing for too long. They already finished their song before Tyron had done everything he had to do, and had to restart immediately before the undead would come out of their apathy, but moreover their stress was still a bit diminishing their abilities. Fry quickly was out of saliva and got a dry mouth, while sweating much more than during his rehearsals with Bender. Bender whose limbs were menacing to fall off, as his articulations were trembling like they never did.

That probably wasn’t their best performance, but it was getting the job done, and it was quite enough.

After a few minutes, Tyron finally finished his task, and quickly joined Leela, still avoiding to be spotted by the undead soldiers. It didn’t take long for the two to finish preparing the ship, and pretty quickly, Leela looked at the cockpit’s windshield. Just as she expected, Fry and Bender were still dancing and singing, except they were facing her, while the zombies were turning their back at the ship. As Fry saw her, Leela indicated him that they were ready to go with a discreet gesture. Fry didn’t answer to her, still trying to keep the soldiers busy, but he hit Bender with his elbow for telling him they could go. The robot immediately understood what his friend wanted, and began to move so that they would reach the ship’s access while still dancing and singing. Fry followed him, and the two of them started a complex choreography for reaching the ship. As the soldiers were still staring at them, they followed them as well, except that they weren’t moving closer to the ship. In fact, Fry and Bender’s dance lead them just between two of the fighters which were still in the docking bay, and that Tyron sabotaged a bit earlier… As the young man and the robot set foot on the access ramp to the ship, each one on a different side, they were also coming to the end of their song.

What a swell party
A swell party
A swellegant, elegant party this is!

Just as their last note died, the fighters exploded quasi simultaneously with such violence that even Fry and Bender felt the shockwave. The explosions hit the zombies head-on, leaving them no hope of getting spared. The fugitives’ attack was even more a success that this was a complete surprise for the undead creatures. When Fry recovered from the blast, he quickly saw that Kalt’s minions were scattered all over the place, in the literal meaning as the floor was covered with all the limbs of the creatures. They obviously weren’t definitely dead, as the body parts were still moving, but they would certainly not be able to stop them. Tyron appeared on the access ramp, looking ecstatic.

“Get in, quick! The explosions have certainly warned the others!”

Fry and Bender immediately followed Tyron inside the ship, which was already buzzing as Leela was starting the engines. As soon as the trio got in the cockpit, Leela made the ship hover and was directing it to the exit, which by some extraordinary luck was still opened.

“Hold on something, guys! Screamed Leela. Next stop: the last planet before the edge of the Universe!”

But just as she was about to get the ship out of the docking bay, the temperature suddenly dropped of several dozens of degrees. Condensation was forming on the windshield, and Fry could see that ice was appearing on the walls, even to the point of making stalactites that were falling from the ceiling.

“What the hell is going on? Said Bender. I can hear my internal chips shaking of cold!”

At this moment, Fry was standing on the left of Leela, and he was about as panicked as the rest of his friends. As he was looking at what was going on in the docking bay, trying to see what could be causing this, Fry took a look at the left of their ship…

And he saw the wall opening up, creating a hole, allowing someone to come in the room.

“Kalt!” Screamed Fry.

Tyron looked at the direction Fry was pointing at. As the opening in the door was closing out, he immediately recognized his former superior. Kalt’s valid eye was indicating the immeasurable rage that was consuming him and which caused the sudden drop of temperature, while his eye of fire was burning as if entire Hell wanted to use it for invading this plan of reality. During a very brief instant, Tyron’s and Kalt’s looks crossed… And Tyron could feel the cold inside Kalt’s heart take over his mind.

“Leela! Screamed Tyron. Full throttle, before he…”

But just at this moment, Kalt made a gesture to the front of the Planet Express ship… And suddenly, the ceiling and the floor of the docking bay turned into teeth of steel that quickly grew to the point of blocking the way out of the docking bay. Leela managed to brake just before the ship crashed in the barrier. Shaken by the sudden stunts, Tyron needed a few seconds for getting back on his feet. Looking outside again, he quickly realized that Kalt was now walking in their direction.

“- We must get make a way out! Screamed Tyron. Quick, or we’re finished!
- Bender! Yelled Leela at the robot. Get a torpedo ready! Move!”

The robot didn’t wait for another order, and quickly jumped out of the cockpit. But Tyron knew that no matter how fast the robot could be, he would never be able to prepare the torpedo before Kalt would have done something else for definitely stopping them. Horrified, Tyron saw the cursed captain stop not so far away from them. This vision wasn’t reassuring Tyron, as it could only mean one thing: Kalt was preparing another one of his spells. And the wizard was indeed starting to raise his arm, and Tyron saw his lips moving, forming the first syllables of his spell…

When suddenly, the undead sorcerer got hit by a laser shot.

At first, Tyron, surprised, couldn’t understand what happened… But then, he realized Fry was missing. And he remembered he saw a laser turret on the top of the ship.

Soon, Fry’s voice could be heard on the internal communication system.

“They say in the movies you’ve got to shoot zombies in the head for killing them, but a Category 4 laser looks good enough!”

The shot managed to tear off Kalt’s left arm, the one he was raising a few seconds ago. The warlock looked at his stump, wondering what happened, but it definitely was not looking like this was painful or even that annoying. Fry shot him a second time, this time leaving a big hole just in the middle of his chest. It’s only when the third shot cut one of his legs that Kalt finally fell on the floor. But it apparently was still not enough: Tyron saw him trying to stand up, and he immediately realized that he was already regenerating. Burnt flesh and missing bones were already growing again, and his missing arm had already been reconstructed to the elbow.

“Torpedo’s ready!” Screamed Bender in the internal communicator.

Leela didn’t want to wait any longer: she immediately pressed the trigger that was commanding all the torpedo launchers. The barrier immediately got vaporized by the blast, leaving a big enough opening for the ship to get through.

“Now! Screamed Tyron. Now, before he recovers!”

Leela pushed the engines at their maximum, and the ship immediately jumped into outer space. The rear aileron scraped on the metallic fragments of the docking bay, but it wasn’t enough for stopping them. After hours of fear and horror, they finally were out of the Crimson Monarch.

Kalt’s leg was now regenerated enough for allowing him to really stand up. He looked at the Planet Express ship, which was still moving away. The scream of rage he shouted made the entire cruiser shake, from the nose to the rear engines.

The wizard looked at what was still inside the docking bay. He saw the remnants of his men, still trying to reattach themselves, and the debris of the various fighters that were still at his disposal. Nothing he couldn’t take care of. Kalt crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and quickly whispered some words that were in a language nobody talked for centuries. And in a matter of seconds, the entire room got back to its former appearance: the ceiling and the floor were flat once again, the fighters were in one piece, and his men were standing on their feet, as “fresh” as they were before. There were no more traces of the various explosions that occurred in the room. During a few seconds, Kalt’s minions looked at themselves, still insecure about what just happened, but soon, one of them came closer to his master.

“- Captain, we’re sorry, said the zombie, they… They hypnotized us and…
- Shut up, Jackson! Screamed Kalt, who was letting his monstrous rage take over. I will make you pay for your stupidity – all of you! You still have a chance of seeing the tortures I’ll inflict to you be less abominable than what I’m currently planning, however! Those who knows how to pilot, get in those fighters immediately and damage their ship so that they won’t be able to get out of this sector of space! If we manage to get them back, I’ll show you some mercy! And remember: I want them alive, do you hear me? ALIVE!”

All the zombies began to tremble with fear, but three of them got out of the group and quickly got in the fighters. It didn’t take them long for getting out of the docking bay and to start pursuing the Planet Express ship. Kalt didn’t wait for them to be out for getting out of the room himself, however. Dumping the rest of his subordinates, who were still quivering with fear, he was on his way to the Crimson Monarch’s commands.

There were no ways he would let the last sacrifices he needed go away that easily!

And he really, REALLY had to have a little talk with his former second-in-command…

I must tell you something : I have a problem with this part. See Fry's and Bender's song ? I wanted something from the 30's - 40's, you know, something from the music-hall and performed by men. But I couldn't find anything on the web, and I suck at writing lyrics (especially in English). So out of despair I used Roobie Williams' Well did you evah (which I think is a song which was primarily sung by Sinatra or someone of the same period), but I liked something more... Well, that sounds more music-hall. Can someone find me a good song ? I'll modify the chapter after wards...

[Reply #63 on:]

Another great update. Loved the dance number by Fry and Bender that's a great way to distract zombies. Can't wait for more.

[Reply #64 on:]

I don't know any songs in that category.  Good update.  That song still did good.

[Reply #65 on:]

I liked the song and dance number, purplefish.  I was a little worried the story was getting too much like "Pirates of the Caribbean," but you've sailed away back to your usual original plotlines.

[Reply #66 on:]

Yep. I totaly agree with JustNibblin'. It was getting a bit similar to POTC for a while, but it's now back to the good stuff! I didn't see anything wrong with the song, but maybe if you don't like that one you could try something from the ragtime genre. I don't know any titles, but it seems to be sort of showy music you might be looking for.
Another great update.

[Reply #67 on:]

Mmmmmh... Yeah, I can see where the PotC feeling could come from... When you want to make a ghost ship story, taking place in space or not, I guess you can't avoid the déjà vu all the time !

What sleeps in between (chapter 16)

“Whoohee! We’re free!”

Fry and Bender high-fived and began to perform some sort of victory dance that was just looking stupid but was still showing how happy they were to finally be out of the ghost ship. Leela needed incalculable amounts of self-control for not getting out of her seat and force them to calm down. Tyron, however, didn’t have the same patience.

“- Will you just stop that? We’re far from being out of trouble, you know…
- Maybe, replied the robot, but finally walking on a non-rusted metallic floor is enough for me to feel at home!
- For the love of…” Tyron was really getting to the end of his tolerance for the duo’s extravaganza. “This is just the beginning! We have to hurry until… But change yourself, dammit, I can’t bear those stupid outfits anymore!”

Fry and Bender indeed had no time for getting rid of the suits they used for their little singing act with all the agitation of the last minutes. They quickly got them off, and Bender put them back in his chest cavity where he took them in the first time. How they ever got there was another mystery that Leela wasn’t really sure she would ever want to have the answer… Bender also pulled out Fry’s T-shirt and jacket that he kept all this time. Later on, the young man would notice that the few nickels, the bubble-gum and the paper clip that he forgot in his pockets had mysteriously disappeared…

“- Alright, alright, Mr Angrypants, said Bender. Why are you that messed up, anyway? We’ve put quite a distance between them and us!
- Not enough, I’m afraid, replied Tyron. I don’t know exactly how far away from the rift in the barrier between the Universes Kalt can go… And moreover, Kalt was in the docking bay when we left. Which means he mustn’t have taken too much time for repairing the fighters and…”

Just at this moment, a violent explosion shook the Planet Express ship and made it rock. Fry managed to catch on a seat, but Bender and Tyron weren’t that lucky and fell on the floor loudly. Shaken at first by the blast, Leela quickly saw on the radar what was going on.

“Three fighters, behind us!”

Fry immediately ran out of the cockpit and got inside the turret. The fighters were still pretty far away, but he still could see they indeed were the same that were inside the Crimson Monarch’s docking bay.

“It’s them! Shouted Fry in the intercom. They’re closing in!”

When she heard Fry’s scream, Leela immediately started some maneuvers, so that the fighters would be confused and would miss them. Concentrating on her commands, she was doing her best for getting them out of danger, just like all the times they got engaged in a dogfight.

At least, it was more in her competences than all they did before. Fighting undeads and wizards was so uncommon, even for them, that she couldn’t do anything really special except that running away, crawling, and being forced to follow Tyron’s instructions. But a dogfight… It was a situation she lived dozens of times before and that she was accustomed to. Of course, there was still an element that was making the whole scene strange: the nature of their enemies…

“- How could they catch up with us? We destroyed their ships!
- Knowing Kalt’s powers, said Tyron, he must have repaired them quasi-instantaneously. I told you, he has a complete control on what was on the Crimson Monarch when he led it into the space between the universes.”

Suddenly, Tyron seemed to have an idea. The dead man began to scratch what was left of his chin.

“- But his control weakens when something gets out of his ship… I may be able to do something, if we keep on moving away from the Crimson Monarch. Of course, that means we have to deal with those fighters until then…
- Got it.” Leela grabbed the communicator. “Fry! Try to get them down!
- Okay!” Said Fry through the communicator.

The young man grabbed the trigger and started to aim the incoming ships, which were now really firing at them. He waited a bit that they would be more than mere points in his sight.

“If you can hear me from up there, daddy, said Fry, then let me tell you this: this is why buying that phaser gun and Duck Hunt for my NES when I was 6 was a matter of life or death!”

Finally Fry started to shoot back at the fighters. Just like Leela was doing with the Planet Express ship, they started to perform various stunts for avoiding Fry’s shots. A really hypnotizing dance between all the ships started; laser shots were now spread all over a sector of space that was until a few minutes before completely quiet and silent. In fact, logic would dictate that it would still be silent because of the lack of atmosphere, but very strange things altered basic physics between the beginning of the XXIst century and the XXXIst one… Things that gave massive headaches to Albert Einstein’s preserved head, gave him a depression and finally turned him totally insane. Albert Einstein’s head is now imprisoned in a completely soundproof room, where it keeps on screaming “WHY DID YOU FAIL ME, PHYSICS?!? WHYYYYY?!!!?” and on singing the Little House on the Prairie’s theme.

Leela was doing her best for shaking off the three fighters, but they were much more talented pilots than what she thought they would be. Very often, despite all her stunts, she could barely dodge their shots, and at her great surprise she had to admit it was a miracle they didn’t hit them until that moment. On the meanwhile, they were showing great skills in escaping Fry’s attacks. Despite the young man’s training he got with all the video games he played all those years and the other dogfights they got engaged too, he still didn’t manage to hit them a single time. At the very moment he was about to press the trigger, his target would suddenly change its course, as if it knew he was about to shoot.

And of course, for making things worse, they had the numerical superiority.

This ballet went on and on, until at one moment Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron’s luck ran temporarily out… And one of the fighters’ shots got them. Shaken once again, Leela, however noticed it wasn’t as strong as what she could have expected. But for a second, all the commands went mad, and switched off before restarting from themselves. It wasn’t something she already witnessed during one of their previous fights… Fry too got a surprise, as the laser turret suddenly jammed for a few seconds, before working properly again.

But the most annoying thing was that Bender suddenly sang behind Leela during this short period of time.

“- Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my daaaaaaaarling Clem…” Bender went back to his usual self as quickly as his crisis occurred. “Wow! What the heck just happened?!
- They’re not using casual lasers, said Tyron. Remember, Kalt wants all of you alive, so they can’t risk to destroy the ship and to kill you in the process.
- So what are they using? Asked Leela.
- A little something Kalt got in one of his victims’ ship. Their weapons are in fact shooting electromagnetic impulses, altered so that they would act on a very local perimeter.
- Basically, they want to jam all our electronic instruments, which would completely paralyze us…
- And they would only have to wait for the Crimson Monarch to catch us again, exactly.
- You know, said Bender, for a moment I thought they just wanted me to sing again for them… Great Skynet, I so hope it was only that…
- Just keep on dodging them for a while, said Tyron, and please don’t disturb me at all, no matter I would be doing.
- Why? Asked Leela. You’ve got an idea?
- Yeah… I just hope we’re far enough from Kalt for using it…”

Without saying anything more, Tyron sat on the floor, adopting the same position that those Yogis Bender saw on TV, with their legs tucked up and crossed on each other. The robot saw their ally pose his hands on his knees, lean his head and close his eyes. If Bender had a better deduction processor, he would have understood that Tyron was gathering all his mental and physical capacities and concentrating all his inner power for whatever he was about to do. But as he didn’t, all he saw was an undead guy act like one of those damn hippies at those boring meditating sessions, and talking to himself apparently as he saw Tyron’s lips moving without being able to hear anything he was saying. If it was the only thing he could do for them, then he’d better hope that Leela and Fry would do better…

The following minutes were one living hell for the robot. Despite their respective skills, Fry and Leela couldn’t do anything for getting rid of the fighters. In fact, their enemies were progressively coming closer to their goal… They managed to hit the Planet Express ship two more times, each time jamming it for a few seconds and forcing Bender to sing and dance again. Standing next to the young woman, Bender, stressed, was looking at everything that was going on outside, while Leela was grinding her teeth, pushing harder and harder on the commands for making the whole ship obey to her orders.

As a result, neither Bender nor Leela noticed that Tyron’s body was now enveloped in a strange green aura.

Fry was the first to notice that something wrong was going on with the fighters… Well, wronger than before. They were all enveloped in a green aura, and if he could see Tyron at this moment, he would have immediately known it was the same aura than the one surrounding the former lieutenant of Kalt. The pilots, despite their lack of individual mind, also noticed the phenomenon, and began to look on their instruments what could explain this.

Then, the ships started to disintegrate.

It started with some bolts and other minor components that came off, leaving a streak of debris behind the fighters. It wasn’t long before entire pieces were torn off. Fry, so fascinated by what was happening that he wasn’t even firing at them anymore, saw them lose their hulls, the rest of their outer shells, and then the entire wings, the engines, all the electronics inside… In a matter of seconds, nothing was left except for the cockpits, and even those parts began to go away, piece after piece. When everything got over, Fry could see the pilots, floating on nothing as their seats went away long ago, still flying in their direction as they were still subject to their former propulsions, looking completely dizzied and still holding their joystick – the only piece of their fighters that didn’t go away. As Leela made the Planet Express ship take another direction, Fry saw the pilots disappear in the distance.

“Ooooookay…” Said the young man.

Bender and Leela took a bit more time for realizing what happened. As they couldn’t believe their own eyes, they didn’t think it could have been Tyron’s work before a few seconds. When they finally looked behind them, the aura enveloping their undead ally was disappearing but they still could see it. Tyron finally opened his eyes and tried to stand up. It was apparently extremely tiring for him as he leaned on Bender’s seat and was looking like he was about to faint at any moment.

“- What the…?! Said Bender.
- We’ve been… Lucky…” Said Tyron with difficulty. He renounced trying to stand on his feet and collapsed on the seat, before getting a small piece of tissue out of his pocket for sweeping the big drops of sweat that appeared on his forehead. “The fighters were holding… Only thanks to Kalt’s magic… They should have… Gone in pieces dozens of years ago…
- Pfoohee! Said the robot. They chose the right moment for falling in pieces!
- They didn’t… Choose it, you dreg of a dump… I concentrated all my…Resources… So that they would finally get back… To the form they should have gone to… In the past…
- You destroyed them just by using your mind?! Said Leela, truly amazed.
- I certainly couldn’t have succeeded… If we weren’t that away from Kalt… His hold on the ships was greatly weakened by the distance… And yet, I barely succeeded… I need some minutes… For catching up my breath…
- Alright, Tyron, you can relax, now. For the moment, we’re out of trouble.
- For the moment…”

Just at this moment, Fry rushed in the cockpit, completely excited. He was exactly like one of those teenage girls who just came back from a concert of their favorite singer of the moment.

“Ohmygod! Did you see that? That was awesome! They were all, like, pshew pshew pshew, see? And also wwwwrrrrraaaaaooooo… And then they fell in pieces, and they were all like whaaa? And it was…”

Leela sighed. When Fry was in such a state, it was only meaning one thing: the following minutes would be extremely long. And irritating.

“- Yeah, we saw that, Fry.
- It was Tyron, right?” Fry jumped on the undead and began to shake him. “It was you? How did ya do it? How? Can you tell me please? Pleeeaaaase?
- Hey! Protested Tyron. Stop this!
- He did all this with his mind, said Bender, knowing that it would only reinforce Fry’s excitation and as a result be some sort of compensation for having been called “dreg of a dump”. Like Uri Geller, except it wasn’t a load of tosh.
- Whoa! Whoa!” Fry looked away, and saw his mug, on the console. He pointed it. “Can you make it float? Just a little bit?
- Fry, enough! Screamed Leela. Can’t you see he’s tired? Saving us required all his strength!
- Oh, said Fry, embarrassed. And a pencil? You can still make it float?”

Leela slapped her forehead, really getting a headache from Fry’s lack of common sense. She was about to tell him to let Tyron alone again…

When Kalt suddenly materialized in front of her.

Out of surprise, the young woman nearly dropped the commands. Her three companions immediately reacted to the apparition of the undead wizard, gasping and jumping on their feet. Even Tyron tried to stand up, preparing for a duel… But he quickly realized it wasn’t as serious as he primarily thought it was. He indeed could see through Kalt, and the outlines of the warlock’s silhouette weren’t as clear as anyone would expect.

“- Calm down, said Tyron. It’s not really Kalt, it’s just his astral projection.
- Oh yeah, sure, replied Bender, the freaking psychopath appears just in front of me and I should just act as if it was nothing!
- I said it’s his astral projection, Bender. Some kind of hologram, but created by magic. He can’t do anything to us…”

Just as Tyron stopped talking, Kalt’s image seemed to awaken. Leela instinctively got up of her seat and moved backward. Hologram or not, she couldn’t stand being near Kalt… The servant of What-Sleeps-In-Between wasn’t sporting an aggressive or an enraged expression on his face. In fact, he was even smiling politely, as if he was just welcoming guests. If he wasn’t a walking corpse, anybody could think he should be a pleasant guy and a warm host. But even with this mask, he couldn’t hide the little flame of insanity that was burning in his remaining eye. And the four companions could perfectly see it.

“- Greetings, Leela, said the image of Kalt, and its voice was as clear as if the real Kalt was standing in the cockpit. And greetings to you too, gentlemen. I hope you’re enjoying your little escapade…
- Yes, quite, replied Leela, trying to look stoical. It sure is really good to have some fresh air.
- I’m afraid I can’t understand, my dear Leela, as I haven’t breathed for a very long time… But I can tell you it’s extremely impolite to slip away like this when someone offers you his hospitality…
- Stop your little comedy right now, Kalt. You may talk and act like a gentleman, but we know the true purpose of your “hospitality”…”

Kalt’s expression was still frozen in this awkward smile, but Leela could see that something was definitely altering the captain’s mood.

“- I guess this dear old Tyron told you everything.” Said Kalt. He specifically looked at his former subordinate after this. “Long time no see, by the way, lieutenant. I really admire the fact you’ve managed to hide yourself from me during two very long centuries… But if we have to be completely honest, as miss Leela just suggested, let me tell you this: I don’t know how you survived, but I’ll make myself sure you’ll regret it happened. During approximately… Oh, let’s just say the eternity.
- That’s very kind of you, captain, replied Tyron, hiding his fear.
- Exactly what I thought, said the wizard’s image. I will be very brief: nobody makes fun of me. Nobody. I wanted to end all this pretty quickly, just like I did with the others, but you dared ridicule me and this… This changes everything. You can be sure I’ll catch you again… You have no chances of getting out of this sector before I would recapture you. And at this moment, I’ll make myself sure that all the elements of the ritual will be extremely long, painful, and humiliating, to the point that your minds will be shattered by everything you’ll live through… I just wanted you to really consider the fact that if everything will be worse than how they should have been, it would entirely be your fault.”

Leela and Tyron unconsciously tensed up. They knew perfectly that Kalt wasn’t bluffing… Being the victim of a madman was already terrible, but being the victim of a madman who has been annoyed was dozens of times worse. Behind them, Fry and Bender were shaking, almost falling to pieces as the ghost’s menaces were terrorizing them. Kalt could see their reactions, and he found a sadistic pleasure in contemplating their terror.

“We will meet again soon. Until this moment, prey your god, whatever it is, that you won’t hold long when you’ll be in my hands.”

Kalt’s image began to dissipate, and until the very last moment, the light of his eye of fire scrutinized them, as if it could see their souls.

The four companions needed a few seconds for recovering from this little event. Leela, at her great confusion, realized she was trembling from head to toe, and Tyron wasn’t in a better state. As for Fry and Bender, they were way too scared for taking care of their dignity.

“- What do we do now, Leela? Asked Fry.
- We stick to the plan, replied Leela. We go to this sacred library.
- Did you hear him or not?! Said Bender. He’ll slaughter us all!
- Another reason for going there, isn’t it? We need to defend ourselves from a maniac, after all…
- Aren’t you sure we can’t fly away? Asked Fry.
- I don’t think so, said Tyron. It’s impossible to know how fast the Crimson Monarch can go with Kalt’s magic. In fact, I don’t really know how far from the rip between the universes exactly does it stop. Maybe he indeed can catch us back no matter how fast we can travel…
- Then it’s settled, said Leela. Once again, it looks like the local library holds the key to a better future for us.
- It awfully sounds like a PSA, said Bender.
- It is. We still have some community services to do, remember?
- Pfuh, you accidentally land on a kindergarten once, and they keep on reproaching it to you again and again…”

[Reply #68 on:]

Another amazing update. This is really freaky. Can't wait for more.

[Reply #69 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 17)

At this period of its revolution around its star, the planet was so close to the edge of the Universe that its equator was almost scraping it. Leela was surprised to see how close to Earth it was looking like. Usually, the planets they were exploring, from space, were tainted with extremely strange colors for the water, the soil and the atmosphere, but this one’s oceans were sporting a very deep blue tone, and the continents were of all the various shades of brown, from a so pale one that it was almost yellow to the darkest shade possible. Even the clouds’ colors were matching Earth’s. Leela also quickly learned from Tyron that the planet was 1,003 times bigger than Earth. In other words, they were roughly the same size, which meant they had vastly similar gravities.

There was, however, one major difference with our planet: there were absolutely no traces of green on the planet. Despite all those similarities with Earth, this planet was a dead world… Absolutely no life form was still living on its soil, or in its oceans. The only trace that there had been life once was the cyclopean forgotten library that they were about to explore. Tyron himself had absolutely no idea of what caused the powerful race vanish into oblivion, which really troubled the young woman if the cause of their extinction were to be found in the secrets of the planet itself…

The trip to the planet wasn’t as long as she feared it would be, which was bringing advantages and drawbacks. Of course, it allowed them to quickly reach what may be their only chance of stopping Kalt. But it also meant they wouldn’t have much time before them if the warlock ever knew where they were and to find something useful in the library’s archives.

Tyron quickly guided her to the location of the library. As soon as they entered in the planet’s atmosphere, Leela was completely stunned by the strange scenery that was flashing by her eye. They were flying over gigantic areas of rocky deserts, completely empty of any kind of vegetations or life. She had a slight shiver when she thought that the Earth would certainly look like this if fate, or a god (depending of the reader’s beliefs), didn’t allow living cells to form on their planet and to evolve to make much more complex creatures. But it was the sky that was completely outstanding. The similarities between Earth and this planet were also to the point that it was blue on the sunny side of the planet. But the library was at this time of the day on the other side of the planet… The one facing the edge of the Universe. And as soon as they got in this part of the planet, instead of complete darkness, Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron were under a completely white and bright sky. When the curve of the planet was allowing it, they could still see a little of the usual atmosphere’s color, but they were completely dominated by the blank nothingness over their head. As a result, there was absolutely no nights on the planet when it was that close to the edge. It was only alternating between day and what Tyron called “the white phase”.

Fry and Bender, behind them, were nervously looking to the sky. Contemplating the limits of the Universe was already an indescribable show, but doing the same when you know that horrible and unconceivable beings which are violating the very fabric of Creation just by existing was giving it a much rather morbid signification… Fry was really, REALLY hoping this barrier would hold against those evil creatures. He just didn’t want to think of what would happen if it wouldn’t.

Covering the distance between them and the library once they entered in the atmosphere would be a matter of minutes. The complete absence of air traffic and of life behind them was indeed allowing Leela to fly way over the authorized speed limit of the civilized worlds. Leela wasn’t even thinking about slowing down before they would be at the library anyway, not only because they had to be there as quick as possible, but also (and she felt a little bit guilty about it) she was enjoying this situation. Years and years of scrupulously following law couldn’t prevent her from liking doing something that was usually forbidden.

“- You’d better slow down, said Tyron. If our instruments are right, we should see the library anytime soon…
- But I didn’t reach 0,5 lightspeed yet! Replied the young woman.
- What?
- Err, nothing, I don’t even know why I said that… You’re sure about the location? I’m quite surprised that you know where it could be on this planet…
- The first time, we found it because we knew the exact coordinates. And you didn’t adopt a new system for calculating coordinates during those 200 years, did you? Then it’s settled.”

Leela nodded, and began to make the ship slow down. They soon got to the usual speed inside an atmosphere, which would certainly be enough for reaching the building pretty quickly without missing it… After a short while, Leela began to distinguish something, at the horizon. For a few seconds she thought it was a rocky hill, but she quickly realized it was in fact the library itself.

And as they were getting closer to it, Leela, Fry and Bender got fascinated by what they were seeing.

They were expecting a single building, not especially big. But what they were seeing was of cyclopean proportions, covering a surface pretty much equivalent to Manhattan Island. The library seemed to come out of one of a dream, as nobody inside the Planet Express ship could exactly guess how someone could ever have conceived such a titanic work in his mind. The library itself was contained within a square surrounding wall, with a door big enough for allowing ten elephants to go through at the same time at the center of each side. Made of some dark-green that was reflecting the strange “light” from the Edge of the Universe, the library was shaped like a gigantic “plus” sign when you were looking from above, and was a complex layout of arches, minarets, bridges between towers, and of fortified walls, dominated at the center of the structure by one gigantic dome that could have housed at least three stadiums. There were almost no angles at all on the building, everything was round, even the colossal doors leading to the inside which never were rectangular, but were always finished at their top by arcs. The library seemed to be in a wonderfully preserved state, as if it wasn’t millions of year old but had been finished only a few days ago. No walls were falling, the stone was shining as if it had been polished for the arrival of its guests, and there were absolutely no weeds or moistures in the building… Which was only revealing the total absence of life forms on the planet’s surface.

In front of each wing, there was a paved alley that was running all the way and leading to the door in front of the library. The alleys were as wide as the doors, and were made of the same stone than the library, except that the paving stones were much paler than the rest of the building. Leela decided to land on one of them, not too far away from one of the door. As they were getting closer, she quickly saw that big statues were standing on each side of the alleys, a few meters away from each other. They were representing strange creatures that she never saw before, and she quickly deducted they were in fact images of the strange unknown race that built the library. Apparently, from their living, the creatures were looking like big cats, except they had six paws (but were only standing on two which turned through evolution to legs, the four others becoming arms), their eyes were completely deprived of any kind of pupils (but it could have been caused by the way the creatures were carving their statues; after all, the ancient Greeks too never put pupils and retinas in the eyes of their statues), and had little antennas just above said eyes. Leela quickly realized that there weren’t any statues that was having the same activity, or having the same pose. It was as if the creatures wanted to make an inventory of all the activities they were doing on this planet. According to the statues, they were doing such things as reading, writing, observing stars, discussing, philosophizing (one of the statue was indeed looking a lot like Rodin’s Thinker), but also doing much more trivial activities like playing music, doing sports, acting, and…

Leela thought she must have made a mistake. Why would a race which would want to represent its might and wisdom would show themselves eating junk food in front of something that was awfully looking like a TV set, playing pinball or smoking dope?

Anyway, after a very long trip, she finally could land the ship. Leela, Fry, Bender and Tyron were quickly out, standing on the strange paving stones facing one of the entrances of library. And for a few minutes, they couldn’t look away from the majestic doors that were in front of them. They had certainly been built for letting giants get in, as Leela could easily make the ship fly through them if they were open, and even allow another ship to enter in the same time. On each leaf, another one of those unknown alien had been carved, and those were wearing some kind of armor and shields. If they were here only for decoration or for guarding the library from any intruders, Leela couldn’t tell. A frieze was running all along the entire door, which was apparently representing some sort of ivy and other kinds of plants. Leela had to admit the frieze was particularly well detailed, as it was possible to see each veins on each leaves… But once again one small detail made her wince. Some plants had five very fine leaves, and as she took a better look, they were really looking like seedlings of hemp. She quickly got this feeling out of her mind. It must have been an alien plant that wasn’t hemp, and it was just coincidence.

But looking back at the two warriors carved on the doors, she also noticed that their hairs were braided, as if… Yeah, as if they were wearing dreadlocks.

Behind her, Bender whistled.

“- Wow, that’s a shame they did all this for stupid books…
- Stupid?! Said Tyron, truly offended. We’re talking about the largest mystical library in this Universe! Some of its secrets could change the fate of billions of living beings! And maybe you can’t feel it as you’re not initiated to magic, but the concentration of mana here is immeasurable!
- Still books for me, replied the robot. I’m not interested if they’re not illustrated.
- You don’t even read comics, said a perplex Fry. I’ve only seen you read dirty robot magazines…
- That’s what I said: illustrated.
- How can we enter? Said Leela, more for calming down Tyron who was looking weirdly at the robot than for anything else. Those things look like they weight tons… I don’t think any of us has the strength to open them.
- To be fair, I’m pretty worried myself, said Tyron. They were opened last time…
- What? Said Leela, troubled. If they were opened when you came and are closed now, it can only that someone closed them in the meantime!
- I know, replied Tyron. But I’m as lost as you. During those 200 years, Kalt never came back here, and none of his 664 victims came here either. I can’t explain how it happened…
- Don’t worry, dude. We closed them after Kalt left, when we understood he was not cool…”

Fry’s, Leela’s, Bender’s and Tyron’s eyes popped out of their socket (literally for Tyron, who’s undead condition had many drawbacks) when they heard the voice. They all slowly turned round… And froze.

Behind them were standing two creatures that were obviously from the race that built the library. They were wearing monk robes, and, despite what the statues were showing, had indeed retinas, but no iris.

But what was really astounding was that they were translucent, colorless and had no legs… Their bodies were ending with some sort of filaments, and they were floating.

One of them made the V of victory.

“Hey, dudes.”

[Reply #70 on:]

If this goes where I think it's going, there is greatness happening here. Not that it wouldn't if I guess wrong, but, y'know. Great stuff, you are a writing machine.

[Reply #71 on:]

Amazing update. I think I might have an inkling of where this is going but I'm most likely wrong. Update like real soon!!!

[Reply #72 on:]

Great and fast updates! (geez! You go away for a week and there's TWO updates when you get back! How good is that?!)
Definitely two of the best updates. Two particularly priceless lines:

 

Originally posted by purplefish*:
“If you can hear me from up there, daddy, said Fry, then let me tell you this: this is why buying that phaser gun and Duck Hunt for my NES when I was 6 was a matter of life or death!”

 

 

I’m not interested if they’re not illustrated.
You don’t even read comics, said a perplex Fry. I’ve only seen you read dirty robot magazines…
That’s what I said: illustrated.

 

Absolutely priceless! Great updates.

[Reply #73 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 18)

Although she was struck by this new twist, Leela kept her self-control and faced the ghosts. After all, they weren’t looking aggressive at all. She however had to catch Fry by his collar as he tried to flee to the ship as soon as he saw the two creatures. Tyron had to do the same with Bender.

“- Who are you? Asked Tyron. I’ve never seen your, and it’s not the first time I’m here…
- No wonder, dude, replied the one on the left who had three stars drawn on his chest, last time we didn’t think you would need us. But now… Wow! Quite a mess! Woops, sorry dude, I forgot to introduce ourselves… I’m Has-The-Hiccups, and this is Smells-Like-Cinnamon.
- Hey dudes! Said the other ghost, this one with a hexagon on the chest.
- Well… Err… A pleasure to meet you… Said Leela, a bit disoriented by their names and their attitude. I’m Leela, and this is Fry and Bender. I guess you already know Tyron…
- Hi! Said Fry, still insecure.
- Don’t eat me! Said Bender.
- Good to see you made it through here, sis’, said Smells-Like Cinnamon. Quite a fly hey? Kalt didn’t abandon easily…
- Sure, but…” Leela suddenly stopped. “Wait a second… You know about our situation?
- Of course, sis’! Said Has-The-Hiccups. We know everything that occurs in this sector! ‘Cause we’re here for that!
- Talking about this, replied Tyron, you still didn’t tell us who you were exactly.
- Right, dude, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. Totally forgot. We were the last high priests of this planet, and also the last Durganians, until we opened up our souls to higher spheres of consciousness…
- You died? Innocently asked Fry.
- That’s rude, dude, said Has-The-Hiccups. You’re closing off my chakras.
- Sorry…
- Anyway, resumed Smells-Like-Cinnamon, our mission was, like, way too important for us for joining all our pals in the Other World, see? Someone had to stay behind and take care of the library…
- Clean up the dust, put the books which may fall of their shelves back to their former place, look after the weapons against the Great-Devourers-From-Between-The-Universes, this kind of things… Said Has-The-Hiccups.
- That’s the name of those creatures? Said Tyron surprised. I never knew that…
- That’s how we call them anyway, dudes. And finally, we’re also here for helping anyone who would like to fight them and their servants.
- So you’re undead janitors? Said Bender. Man, if you needed a proof that death sucks… You have to go on with all the dirty tasks!
- We wouldn’t have to if we had someone to replace us, said Has-The-Hiccups. But we’re cool that way, dude. We couldn’t see anybody take our duty anyway, and especially not those bloody Nibblonians!” The ghost mumbled the rest of the sentence in his teeth… Well, his ectoplasmic teeth. “Stupid fascist little critters… Always acting as if they were superior…
- What my pal here says is that we were all way too worried about the rip in space-time continuum, just above our heads, for getting away just because we would have kicked the bucket… Said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. Very bad karma, see?
- What? Said Bender. That hole is just here?
- Sure, dude! Look!”

The ghost pointed to the sky. Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron immediately looked up, but all they saw was the blankness of the Edge of the Universe.

“- What? Said Bender. I see nothing!
- Look closer, dude. You see those ripples?”

The four friends paid more attention, and finally, they could see what the ghost was meaning. Up there, an area of the edge wasn’t as uniform as the rest… It was a bit hard to see with all the white structure of the edge, but there were some waves on the surface, undulating circularly from a central point. The first idea that came in Leela’s mind was like it was exactly as if a fish was just under the center of those waves and trying to get something that was on the surface.

And considering what was waiting beyond this point, the metaphor was certainly more than accurate.

“- So if What-Sleeps-In-Between would ever come in our universe, it would from this point? Asked Leela.
- Right’o, sis’, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. It’s why we decided to emigrate here. It’s better to be just in front of what you’re supposed to guard, see?
- Great, said Fry. So now, you’re telling me that this huge freaking monster is looking at us through this tiny ripple up there?
- No, it’s still sleeping, said Has-The–Hiccups. But yeah, it’s just beyond this point. Talk about bad neighborhood…
- Alright, that may be extremely useful, said Tyron. But we’re kind of being in a hurry… We must…
- … Prevent Kalt from gathering the souls of the dudes here and from awakening the deity with using the sis’ here as bait, said Has-The-Hiccups. Yeah, we know.”

Tyron backed off a little. Apparently, the answer of the ghost caught him off guard, especially as it was stated with so much calm that Has-The-Hiccups could as well have said he’d prefer some maple syrup on his waffles.

“- What?!
- Oh come on, dude, because we’re spirits we can’t know a damn thing about what’s going on in a sector of space we swore to protect even after our death? Said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. Stop it with your prejudices, dude, that’s gettin’ sickening… Of course we know that Kalt has gathered almost all the souls he needs for awakening his master!
- But how could you…
- Hey, dude, we were manipulating incredibly flashy spells way before your ancestors started eating bananas and throwing poo at each other! Said Has-The-Hiccups. That’s not too hard to keep ourselves informed of anything that could mean the coming of What-Sleeps-In-Between!
- Then why didn’t you try to stop him or something? Asked Bender.
- ‘Cause at the period we couldn’t guess he was a bad dude. He was our first visitor in millennia, and moreover the first human we met. When we finally understood he was bad news, it was too late for doing anything by ourselves. Our powers greatly diminished after our death, and we can’t do horsecrap in this form. The only thing we could do was to see how things would turn, and to push you to come here for fighting for us!”

Now, all the natives of Earth gasped of shock. Leela, from her part was feeling a lot more scandalized than the others.

“- You mean you forced us to come here?! Said the young woman. No way! That’s a decision we took alone!
- Sorry, sis’, but no, replied Smells-Like-Cinnamon. Don’t worry, we didn’t lobotomize you, we just took advantage of your willingness for making you coming here. Remember this little voice in your head saying “hey, it could be a good idea to go to this funky library and see if those old dudes had something interesting…”? My idea.
- Damn, I knew I would never say or even think “dude” or “funky”!
- Oh, pfew! Said Bender. If you got in our heads, I finally have an explanation to why I wanted to pick flowers and to make some bunches recently…
- We never told you to do that, dude, said Has-The-Hiccups.
- Oh… Bender suddenly looked at his friends, particularly embarrassed. Hehe…
- Sounds cool, though…
- Moving on… Said Tyron. You know why we’re here. So, I’ll be direct: can you help us?
- You’re the only one who can help yourselves, dudes…
- Ooooooh… Said Fry, disappointed.
- … But it will be easier if you use all the groovy magic items we stored in the library for such an occasion!
- Aaaaaaaah! Said Fry, excited.
- Follow us!”

At this moment, the four Earthicans looked at the doors, expecting them to open largely… But all they heard was a tiny click, and instead of having the two large door leaves open, a very, very small portion of the left leaf opened, just large enough for allowing a human to walk through it. At first a bit surprised by this pretty anti-climactic moment, Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron looked at each other… And finally, shrugged.

“- So everything’s inside? Asked Fry.
- Yep, replied Has-The-Hiccups.
- Okay. By the way, your names, you translated them for us?
- No, dude, that’s the real pronunciation.
- Really? Wow, funny that you were already speaking English millions of years ago!
- We weren’t, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. That’s just an amazing coincidence.
- Oh.”

[Reply #74 on:]

Dude! Great post!
By the way, I loved:
 

- Really? Wow, funny that you were already speaking English millions of years ago!
- We weren’t, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. That’s just an amazing coincidence.
- Oh.”

One of the biggest plot holes of all major Sci-Fi stories finally explained!   

That was, like, a totally awesome update to a totally awesome story! (sorry. I couldn't resist!    )

Edit: Wow! I found this update 10 minutes after you posted it! How good is that?

[Reply #75 on:]

Soo many dudes in that update. Can't resist using dude in reply.   

 

Originally posted by purplefish:

- Okay. By the way, your names, you translated them for us?
- No, dude, that’s the real pronunciation.
- Really? Wow, funny that you were already speaking English millions of years ago!
- We weren’t, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. That’s just an amazing coincidence.
- Oh.”

So funny, dude. Dude, great update. Amazing update, dude. Can't wait for more, dude.

[Reply #76 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 19)

When they finally entered in the library, Fry, Leela and Bender stopped walking and looked around them, amazed. Just as they thought, the walls were dozens of meters high, and the ceiling above them was looking extremely distant. But what they couldn’t imagine was that the books would be in shelves that would be climbing almost to the two-thirds of this height, this on almost all the surface of the library. There were sliding ladders that were allowing anybody to reach the books that were on the highest shelves, and above the shelves were candelabras, looking like flourishing bushes, that would most certainly light the entire library and were fixed on the ceiling. Fry had a stiff neck because of all the time he spent looking up.

It was most certainly the largest library that ever existed in the entire Universe. The whole place was containing billions and billions of books, all in a surprisingly very good state of preservation, and the three employees of Planet Express could almost feel the weight of all this wisdom and this knowledge crush them. The place was even completely free of any traces of dust, which was amazing Leela as she was expecting to be knee-deep in such dust. Even Tyron, who already got there, was still feeling impressed by such a miracle of architecture and by such a compilation of an entire specie’s knowledge. The four friends had the feeling they were troubling a fragile environment that had been preserved from corruption thanks to its isolation and that they were breaking a calm that had billions of years for implementing this location.

There were two, however, who didn’t seem to be disturbed by the building’s majesty. Has-The-Hiccups and Smells-Like-Cinnamon were already walking… Well, more exactly floating forward.

“Hey, dudes, will you follow us or not? Said Has-The-Hiccups. There’s a bit of walk for reaching the English section, and we don’t have the day, ‘kay?”

Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron finally got out of their admiration and began to follow the ghosts. However, as they were walking between the shelves, they were still looking everywhere, fascinated by the monstrous amount of books and documents.

“- That’s… Oh my God, I’ve never seen something like this! Said Leela. That’s beyond all words!
- Thanks, sis’, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. This library is our people’s greatest achievement. Good to see that even non-Durganians appreciates it.
- But… How could those books still be in one piece? If they’ve been here for billions of years, they should have turned to dust! And the whole place should have turned into ruins!
- Thousands of years of mystical and scientific knowledge, sis’, said Has-The-Hiccups. We gathered all our resources for creating matters that would never, ever be altered by time. The “stone” that makes the walls is absolutely, completely unbreakable and impossible to erode. The books aren’t as solid, but the matter and the ink we used have been designed specifically for standing all those years. If we didn’t make any mistakes, this library and all its content will still be standing when the End of the Universe will come. Neat, uh?”

Bender whistled.

“- And meanwhile we can’t make razorblades that last more than 5 shavings… Said the robot.
- Yeah, but you almost need a laser for opening your bags of coffee, said Has-The-Hiccups. Okay, dudes, let’s turn to the left, we’re almost there.”

The ghosts indeed finally stopped floating in the alley to get in one of the rows. Leela took the opportunity for looking more closely at the content of the shelves: looking at the titles on their edge, many of the books were apparently written in a language she couldn’t understand, but there was some kind of classification that she couldn’t understand either. She was beginning to worry about how they could find what they were searching for, when the ghosts suddenly stopped. Fry didn’t notice they were arrived until he literally went through Smells-Like-Cinnamon. When he realized what happened, Fry quickly looked at the ghost, embarrassed.

“- Sorry, said Fry, I didn’t mean to…
- No problem, dude, replied the ghost. But be a bit more attentive in the future. You may not feel anything, but it tickles us a bit…
- Anyway, said Has-The-Hiccups, welcome to the English section! We put all the magical books you’ll need on the lowest shelves, just so you wouldn’t have too much problem reaching them, but you’d still need the ladders for some of them…
- Hey, said Bender, now that I think about it, why are you calling this “the English section”?
- You didn’t get it, dude? Thanks to our oracles, we knew all the civilizations that would appear after ours, but we were unable to see which one would ever come here. So we copied all our mystical and historical volumes in the largest number of languages possible. That’s why the library is so big, dude: we have everything in more than 400 languages!
- You mean… You translated all this?! Said Fry.
- Indeed, dude, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. We’ve got a natural talent for languages. And our oracles also allowed us to master all those languages that didn’t exist when we got extinct.
- Wow… Can I ask you something?
- Yeah?
- How do you say “your ass is so big I could bounce on it” in Omicronian?
- Fry! Said Leela, shocked.
- “Kluta berato git mopso”, replied the ghost. More or less, their conditional is pretty hard.
- Ooooooh… And “Did I step on a dog poo, or is it you?” in native Decapodian?”

Bender, who was already beginning to feel blasé, let Fry try to enrich his vocabulary and took a better look at the books. It didn’t really entertain him one bit. Sure, at first, he was pretty amazed of the amount of books in the library, but very soon, his amazement disappeared. After all, those were just books. And with his luck there were no pictures in them. But after a while, something caught his eyes: a few feet above him, there were some books which were chained to the shelves, and next to them was a little sign saying “caution: read only if absolute necessity”. Now, this would probably be interesting.

“Hey, Has-The-Hibby-Jibbies or something!”

Has-The-Hiccups stopped paying attention to Fry and looked at the robot.

“- Yeah, dude?
- Why are those ones chained? Asked Bender, pointing to the books he noticed previously.
- Ah, I don’t think you’ll need ‘em, dudes, but they’re here if you ever need some extra information on your enemies, said the ghost. Those are the evilest books ever written, all of them dealing one way or the other with the Great-Devourers-From-Between-The-Universes. Reading them is enough for making you lose a fuse.
- Really? Said Leela. They’re that dangerous? Why do you keep them, then?
- So that no one else would have them, sis’, replied Smells-Like-Cinnamon. We’ve got Abdul Al-Rashid’s Metronomicon, the earl of Arlette’s Culte des moules, Von Buntz’ Die Schwachsinnige Kulten, the Panoramic manuscripts, the Cellophano fragments, Rupert Murdoch’s Why all the medias must be under my rule, Paris Hilton’s How to match shoes and handbags…
- Oh my God, no! Screamed Tyron. Kalt had all of those! Well, except Paris Hilton’s…
- Either he couldn’t find it, or even he has limits… Said Has-The-Hiccups. Anyway, now that you’ve found the books you’ll need, let us show you something else, dudes.
- What exactly? Asked Leela.
- Let’s just say we don’t only store books, here…”

Has-The-Hiccups and Smells-Like-Cinnamon began to retrace their steps (well, it’s just a way of saying…) and to head back to the central alley. Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron quickly followed them, and as soon as they got out of the shelves, the ghost headed to the center of the library. Leela wondered where they were taking them… She didn’t really pay attention to it before, as she spent most of her time looking up and on the sides, but now she finally realized that in the center of the building, was one closed room, like a large house inside the library, which was larger than the width of the alleys. As they got to the door of this room, she realized there were in fact four alleys in the library, each one leading to this room. The doors, although less high than the great ones leading outside, were still as wide as them and the alley they just walked on. Has-The-Hiccups made a simple gesture, and the door opened by itself. As the ghosts entered in the mysterious room, Leela, Fry, Bender and Tyron followed them.

The room was lighted by some strange stones that were stuck on the ceiling. In the middle, there was another large double door, but Leela noticed the pedestal that was standing just in front of them. On it, was posed a two feet long rod, made of some strange silvery matter that was shining and was emitting some kind of aura. It had a pointy extremity, but on its other side was some sort of star. Two four legged stars, in fact, that were intertwined, the biggest one looking like a + sign and the smallest one like a X. The ghosts faced the four fugitives, smiling, and designated the artifact.

“- Look at this, dudes! Said Has-The-Hiccups. You’re looking at the badassest magical artifact ever conceived by a mortal!
- Is “badassest” even a word? Asked Bender.
- We called it the Star Rod, replied Smells-Like-Cinnamon. We created it just after we finished building the library, using all our magical resources in the process. Whenever one of our bro’ died, the rod momentarily examined his soul, and all the good and pleasant memories of his life, all the positive feelings he ever felt got turned into pure energy and stored inside the rod. Isn’t it cool?
- Sure, said Leela, suspicious. Must be. If I had the slightest idea of what it means.
- Simple, sis’: this rod is filled with positive energy, enough for breaking any negative spell that could be used against you, and accessorily destroy anything powered by black magic, provided you know how to use it. We put the manual in the books.
- Shortly, Has-The-Hiccups, when used against a meanie, it has the potential of a nuclear weapon, powered by the good karma of millions of beings. And believe me: we, Durganians, were full of good karma!
- Except Eats-All-The-Marmalade, said his colleague. He was an ass.”

Bender whistled and scratched his chin. Now this was sure a lot more interesting than stupid books.

“- The power of a nuclear weapon, you say?
- Yup, dude, said Has-The-Hiccups. We also designed it so that only pure individuals could wield. Errr… By “pure”, I mean “good” as opposed to “evil”, right? You don’t have to be a virgin, or sober, or not being high for this…
- Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun, said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. Can you imagine a life without all those things? Booooooring!
- But why doesn’t Kalt have it? Asked Leela.
- He didn’t know it existed, and after he learnt about it when he made his pact with What-Sleeps-In-Between, he couldn’t touch it or destroy it anymore without being destroyed himself, said Has-The-Hiccups.
- Then maybe we’ve got a chance! Said Tyron, excited.
- Yeah, but it would be a bit hard for you beginners to handle it, said Has-The-Hiccups. We had prepared some of the Sacred Hemp that would have opened your soul to its power, but we messed up something and it didn’t stand all those years.”

Has-The-Hiccups pointed at a corner of the room behind the four fugitives, who looked in that direction. There were dozens of bags piled there, which were in a worse state of conservation than anything they saw in the library so far.

“- Millions of years old dope? Said Bender. If you want to, I can dispose you of it!
- What’s behind this door?” Said Fry, pointing to the strange entrance in the middle of the room.

The ghosts smiled once again. Without a word, Smells-Like-Cinnamon made a gesture which, somehow, forced the two leaves to open. Behind it, was a long and dark paved slope, that was going down to the bowels of the ground. The two ghosts began to float inside the passage.

“Another present that would help you defeating Kalt, finally said Smells-Like-Cinnamon. Follow us, dudes.”

Fry, Leela, Bender and Tyron looked at each other, a bit hesitating about what they should do, but after a while, they finally began to walk behind the two ghosts. The slope was much longer than what they thought… In the far distance, Leela could see some lights ahead, produced by the same kind of stones than in the room of the Star Rod. There was something just in front of them, next to the lighting stones… A door, apparently, but it was a bit too far from her for being sure.

“- Why would we need something else? Asked Tyron. If this Star Rod is that powerful, it should be enough for ending all this…
- You’re forgetting Kalt’s army, dude, replied Has-The-Hiccups. The Star Rod can only take care of one evil creature at a time, and then, it needs some time for fully replenish its capacities. You wouldn’t have any trouble if that son of a shmarg didn’t have hundreds of zombies at his disposal.
- Oh great, said Bender. Can’t we have some good news, for once?”

At this time of the conversation, as they were getting closer to their goal, Leela saw that there was indeed a large door ahead, which was about as wide as all the previous doors they took before. The young woman thought that the Durganians had some strange architectural conceptions, as whoever who would want to reach this door (for example, themselves) would have to follow this unnecessary slope…

Suddenly, a bell rang in her mind. Maybe the slope was here because there was something beyond this door that needed it for getting out…

“- Okay, so what’s that present? Asked Fry.
- Won’t tell you, dude, said Has-The-Hiccups. It’s a surprise.
- Oh please! Said Tyron. That’s not a very good moment for having secrets! We’re talking about getting rid of an entire undead army! You’re telling us that your ultimate weapon can’t be used against it, so unless we can get an entire army at our orders, we’re pretty screwed!”

Has-The-Hiccups looked at Tyron. This time, his smile was particularly joyful, as if he just had heard a great joke.

“An army, you say?”

Just like before, the door mysteriously opened by itself after Has-The-Hiccups made a gesture. And as the leaves slowly parted, and our four heroes saw what was beyond…

They had the feeling they got smacked on the head with a mace.

Fry needed some very long seconds for being able to talk again.

“Ooooooooooooooooooh…”

If we can call this “talk”.

[Reply #77 on:]

 

Originally posted by purplefish:
- Wow… Can I ask you something?
- Yeah?
- How do you say “your ass is so big I could bounce on it” in Omicronian?
- Fry! Said Leela, shocked.
- “Kluta berato git mopso”, replied the ghost. More or less, their conditional is pretty hard.
- Ooooooh… And “Did I step on a dog poo, or is it you?” in native Decapodian?”

I really hope that Fry is smart enough not to say “your ass is so big I could bounce on it” to Lrrr. It'd be funny though.

 

Originally posted by purplefish:
- So that no one else would have them, sis’, replied Smells-Like-Cinnamon. We’ve got Abdul Al-Rashid’s Metronomicon, the earl of Arlette’s Culte des moules, Von Buntz’ Die Schwachsinnige Kulten, the Panoramic manuscripts, the Cellophano fragments, Rupert Murdoch’s Why all the medias must be under my rule, Paris Hilton’s How to match shoes and handbags…
- Oh my God, no! Screamed Tyron. Kalt had all of those! Well, except Paris Hilton’s…

 

Amazing update. Can't wait for more.

[Reply #78 on:]

Funny thing, I was going to quote the exact same things as Bendersfan, but since she already has, I'll just say those were my favourite bits.
*Umbilical Brothers, the German comedy bit* Absolutely... Hilarious.

Yet another great update. Can't wait for the next one. (I really should find another way of saying that. It might get a bit monotonus - if that's the right spelling!)

[Reply #79 on:]

What sleeps in between (chapter 20)

“Planet in sight, master.”

Kalt didn’t reply anything to his subordinate. He was way too annoyed for keeping with his “sociable captain” act anymore. Those stupid worms were showing much more resistance than he thought they would do, and despite the terror he was inspiring to his men, they still couldn’t stop them from getting away. Such a situation never occurred during the past two hundred years, and that’s what was really making him furious: everything was going perfectly well, and it’s just when he was finally about to succeed that things were getting unnecessarily complicated! For the first time since their zombification, his men had a clear view of what he was able to do when he couldn’t control his anger anymore. The only ones who got spared by his insane torture spree were those who were vital for the ship’s maintenance and the navigators; during the last hours, the Crimson Monarch had been resounding with the screams of pain of the undead creatures. When Kalt found the three pilots he sent after them, floating in the spatial void, and when he realized they clearly had failed in their mission, he rescued them for two main reasons. First, although he had a complete control over them, he didn’t have an infinite supply of minions, and he had to preserve every single one of them for the following hours. Second, he hoped that torturing them himself would help him relax a bit.

It didn’t work. It was entertaining, but not to the point of getting reinsured about the following events. At least, because of his complete control on his minions’ mind, he didn’t have to worry about a potential mutiny.

But what really was driving him mad was Tyron. He should have known the very first time he met him that the lieutenant would be a pain in the neck. But it was too late for regrets. For the moment, the warlock was reduced to elaborating the various “games” he would play with his former second-in-command…

“Open the shutters”, said Kalt.

One of the navigators immediately pushed a button, and in front of Kalt, the shutters that were protecting the cockpit’s windshield slowly opened. The view he was having at this moment would certainly have enchanted the warlock’s heart if he would still be able to have positive feelings. The planet of the Durganians’ library was covering a large part of his field of vision, and he could even see the continents thanks to the total absence of clouds. The Edge of the Universe was also stretching just above the Crimson Monarch. Kalt scowled. They were here. He could feel their essence on the planet’s ground, just as he was expecting. The fouls. Instead of trying to fly away and to get out of the sector he was controlling (which was the most reasonable possibility, but would still be impossible to achieve), they decided to go there and to fight him.

Fine. It suited him that they were easing his work.

“Master? The instruments are recording a strange activity in the planet’s atmosphere… It’s as if its whole composition was changing… What are your orders?”

Exactly what he was expecting. Thanks to his altered senses, Kalt could see what was causing those disturbances. The planet’s self-defense “system”, put in place by the Durganians, got activated as the Crimson Monarch, and more precisely Kalt himself, was getting closer to the planet. A force-field, invisible for anybody who wasn’t well-versed in magic, was now preventing any servants of the Great-Devourers-From-Between-The-Universes to land on its soil by covering the entire planet.

Kalt smiled. He never tried to come back to the planet since his pact with What-Sleeps-In-Between, but it was because there was nothing else that would be useful for him on it. The magical force-field never worried him.

“- Slow down the ship to its minimal speed, ordered Kalt to his subordinates, and go on until the front of the Crimson Monarch touches the barrier. Be extremely careful, because otherwise we would crash on it.
- Alright, sir.”

The following minutes looked like months for Kalt, who was growing impatient to see all of this finally come to an end. Pretty quickly, the Crimson Monarch switched from its cruise speed of mach 12 to a mere 5 MPH… But even at such a slow speed, the entire ship got severely shaken when it came in contact with the force-field. It was as if they just ran on brick wall… A 100 meters thick brick wall. Kalt managed to stand still, but some of his men in the ship weren’t that lucky… And a loud and low-pitched roar, coming from the deepest bowels of the ship, indicated him that the Shaaash didn’t like this agitation either.

“- And now, master?
- Wait for my orders.”

Kalt walked to the nose of the ship, which was now touching the force-field, and stopped just a few feet before reaching the most advanced part of the cockpit. Just in front of him, the force-field was making everything look green, continents as well as seas. The warlock opened his shirt and got something out of the pocket that he added in it: the ceremonial dagger he used, centuries ago, for getting beyond the edge of the universe. A few blood stains were still tainting the blade, remembering him what happened to the sacrifices he offered to What-Sleeps-In-Between for contacting him. Kalt looked over him, and as he used a glimpse of his power, the ceiling opened up, leaving a passage to the outside. The undead captain then levitated for getting out, and as he got past the opening in the ship’s hull, the hole closed for allowing Kalt to stand on something solid. None of this caused a depressurization in the cockpit.

Kalt tried to pose his hand on the force-field, but he quickly retrieved it when a few sparkles hit it. His palm was now covered with burns, but he quickly regenerated those scratches. Amusing. Kalt looked again at his dagger. This force-field was certainly strong enough for repelling any low-grade servant of What-Sleeps-In-Between… But he was impregnated with a microscopic figment of his master’s power that was still making him a half-god, and the dagger acted like a key to his master’s realm. This barrier wouldn’t be too much trouble.

Kalt suddenly stabbed the force-field with his weapon. The force-field immediately reacted to its contact with an artifact charged with so much evil energy, and bolts of pure magic burst forth. Some of them hit Kalt, but the warlock withstood them without even looking injured. Instead, he began to concentrate his powers in order to transfer them to the blade. And as he proceeded like this, the dagger began to go deep in the force-field, as if it lost most of its solidity. Kalt concentrated a bit more, and this time cracks began to appear, starting from the point where the dagger was getting in the force-field. Some magical bolts were still bursting now and then, but the force-field was definitely weakening, unable to resist to such amounts of negative energy. The cracks kept on spreading on the force-field’s surface, and from a few meters away from the dagger, they were now getting to several miles around. Kalt could have done more, but he decided to keep his reserves for later… As soon as the force-field got cracked on a surface that was getting satisfying, he finally released his powers through the blade. Incalculable amounts of negative energy suddenly poured down on the force-field, which couldn’t withstand such a treatment any longer. And everywhere where it was already cracked, the force-field exploded as if it was made of glass, large chunks of its structure falling to the planet’s ground before dissolving in the atmosphere. There was now a large hole inside the force-field, a hole that was of several square miles large, and which was large enough for allowing the Crimson Monarch to finally enter in the planet’s atmosphere. Kalt opened a hole in the ship’s hull just under his feet, and quickly got back in the cockpit. He immediately faced the navigators.

“- Activate the engines, gentlemen. Get in quickly, the force-field will soon regenerate itself.
- Yes, master.”

The Crimson Monarch went through the fault in the mystical barrier… And for the first time in billions of years, the ship of an evil entity entered in the atmosphere of the planet.

The trip to the library took only a few seconds, and soon the majestic building appeared in Kalt’s field of vision. It was exactly as he left it two hundreds years ago, but as they came closer, some strange feelings took hold of his mind. It wasn’t fascination, anguish, impatience, or anything he felt during the last few hours… No, it was something he couldn’t really describe. Despite what he was seeing, he could feel that something did change in the library. Something was going on inside… For one second, he thought of a huge animal that was sleeping, but was now slowly awakening…

He quickly evacuated this thought. The only thing that would awaken would be his god.

“Land the ship in the alley in front of the library’s southern door.” Kalt activated the internal communicator. “Attention, attention: all the men must now get to the ship’s exits. I want all of you to be ready in 5 minutes. Only the navigators are allowed to stay at their post. Second classes Juarez, Slick, McBane, Oddjob-6 and Vogel: assemble our guests, and join me as fast as possible. Over.”

The navigators didn’t want to make their master wait any longer… In a matter of seconds, breaking the various statues that would be on its way, the gigantic ship landed in front of the library, in an astounding uproar, coming from the engines but also from the ship’s structure which was protesting to this treatment. Without Kalt’s power, the Crimson Monarch would have dislocated itself as soon as it would have touched the ground, but only the sound of cracking metal was indicating this fact when you were looking from the outside. The ship’s exit steps quickly got deployed, and instantaneously, waves after waves of undead creatures went out and walked towards the front of the ship. Kalt’s crew in full was now out of the Crimson Monarch for the first time in hundreds of years… Hundreds of zombies and rusted robots, all of them in various stages of decomposition, all of them still willing to carry on their master’s orders at all costs despite what he did to them, because they couldn’t do differently. They took their position, as a regular army would do, making a compact crowd. Kalt got out of the Crimson Monarch the same way he went out for breaking the planetary force-field, this time jumping on the ground instead of standing on the ship’s hull. His men immediately parted for letting him get to the front. And as he was walking among his men, the strange feeling Kalt had before came back. Something really wasn’t right… This was way too easy…

The warlock quickly got in the first ranks of his army. Despite his lack of humanity, he got a bit fascinated by the size of the buildings… The Crimson Monarch was at its climax one of the largest spaceships ever built, and his army was largely stretching behind him, and yet there was a vast open space in front of them…

Kalt made a few more steps on the paved alley, and finally he stopped. There were still dozens of meters between him and the great door to the library, but it should be enough.

“It’s useless to hide yourselves, gentlemen! Screamed Kalt. I know you’re here! Don’t even think of escaping: even if you start to fly away right now, I would still be able to catch you before you would have gotten out of the atmosphere! Show yourself and act reasonably, and maybe I will forget all the troubles you got me into!”

For a few seconds, the silence.

Then, a small door opened in the great gate. Leela, Fry, Bender and Tyron quickly got out of it. The young man and the robot were obviously devoured by fear, but the young woman and Kalt’s former lieutenant were looking much calmer. This started to worry Kalt a little bit… And it got a bit worse when he felt that something extremely powerful was nearby. The warlock also noticed Leela had her arms in her back, and that they were all wearing a talisman he never saw before, except for the robot… Those talismans, made of silver, were looking like a pentagram in a circle, and were indeed charged with mana. But nothing he couldn’t handle. It was something that was buzzing him off.

Kalt sighed. No, they really didn’t want to act reasonably…

“- There, we’re here, Kalt, said Leela. What do you want?
- Please, Leela, I thought that you were a bit more enlightened than your companions… Said Kalt.
- Uh? Said Fry. What?
- He says we’re dumb, replied Bender.
- As if I waited a dead guy’s opinion for knowing that!
- Quite amusing, worm, said Kalt. But maybe you should let the adults talk?” The warlock went back to Leela, letting Fry sulk in his corner and mumble about how everybody was always letting him out of grown-ups talks. “For answering your question, dear Leela… I want the four of you, of course. As for you, Tyron” and Kalt looked at his former lieutenant “your fate is much more trivial. After having met Leela here and have a private moment with her, I’m sure my Lord would like a snack.
- I must warn you, replied Tyron, this will certainly not please it. I taste horribly.
- Then I’ll have to find you another use. I’m sure I’ll think about one when the time will come. Oh, and don’t refer to His Holiness as “it”…
- Looks like we don’t have anything to gain in this negotiation, do we?”

Kalt snickered.

“- Who talked about negotiation? You surrender, and all this will be pretty quick and the less painful as possible, or we’ll do this the hard way. I just wanted to make everything clear. Besides, you’re not really doing it appropriately either…
- What do you mean? Said Leela.
- You came with a weapon. It’s not really in the negotiator manual. Would you please stop taking me for an idiot and show me what you’re hiding in your back?”

Leela didn’t seem to be troubled at all by what Kalt said, but as for Fry and Bender, they looked at each other with pretty worried expressions. Leela finally showed Kalt what she was holding… And when he saw the silvery rod shine in the strange light provided by the Edge of the Universe, Kalt tensed up a little bit.

“- Oh. The Star Rod. Of course. Too bad I heard about it way too late, I would have destroyed it before it would have been used by anybody.
- You would never have been able to destroy it, Kalt, said Tyron. It represents a power that even you can’t match.
- Tyron, Tyron, Tyron… As stubborn and impulsive as when you were alive! You know, sometimes, I miss all those talks we had together. We pretty often disagreed, but at least I was talking to someone who was almost as educated as me…
- Not me. I always thought you were a pompous bastard.
- A pompous bastard, maybe, but a pompous bastard with some class…
- Look, said Bender, it’s not like I don’t enjoy watching domestic quarrels, but can’t you admit you can’t have us? As long as we have this thingy we can blast your ass out to dust…
- Yes, you could, replied Kalt. But you won’t. First, you may have a powerful artifact at your disposal, but you’re not skilled enough for using it properly, not even you, Tyron (nice work with my fighters, by the way). I would have defeated you before you would even have started to raise it. Second, I know the limits of the Star Rod. And I know it can’t help you in a fight against… Oh, about 412 soldiers who are all under my command. So, unless you’ve got some surprise for me…”

And at this moment, Kalt knew he should have shut up. Only now, could he feel the vast amounts of mystical activities that were working inside the library and had mysteriously been kept secret to him until. And seeing the sarcastic smile on Leela’s face only reinforced his intuition.

The great door suddenly began to open behind the four fugitives… And as the leaves were moving apart, Kalt heard some worrying noises… He quickly understood it was a trample.

And finally, when he saw what was causing it, he bit his lower lip.

The Durganians were among the firsts to discover all the mystical secrets of the universe. One of them was how to give a semblance of life to an inanimate object. When they carved on a statue’s forehead the three letters of their alphabet that together were meaning “move” and perform some additional rituals, it would be able to move by itself, and to accomplish any tasks that their master could have ordered them to do. Gifted with the resistance of the matter that was used for making them and with the strength of a colossus, those animated statues were used by the Durganians for all the physical tasks that had to be done, and that the alien wizards didn’t want to do because it was over their limits or because there was something good on TV. Or because they were too stoned. Those statues weren’t alive in the strict meaning of the term, and as a result couldn’t feel pain, be wounded, fall sick, they didn’t need to drink, eat, or sleep; the only way to stop them was to erase the first letter of the sacred word on their forehead, which then would be changed into “nap”. The Durganians never named those creatures, but because of the strange similarities with an old jewish legendary creature, Leela decided to call them the golems.

But those golems could have other uses.

And when the Durganians disappeared, they let the last golems they still had at the disposal of whoever would have to fight an army of evil creatures.

Now, hundreds of those golems, each one made of the same green stone that had been used for building the library, looking like a bald grappler without any nose and mouth, and measuring more than 2 meters high were getting out of the library, taking positions. And as Tyron performed the ritual for awakening them, they were at the orders of the fugitives.

Leela smiled even more.

“Surprise!”