Veggie leaned back in his recliner chair and put his arms behind his head. He smugly looked at the confused faces of the victims, and soon he would eliminate them all before sunrise. “As you can see, I’ve planned for this day for a long long time! Veggie was weak, so I destroyed him! Now I shall-“
“What are you, Darth Vader?”
Toasters voice rung out on a secondary screen next to the camera feed, and a tv monitor appeared in the break room to the survivors.
“Toaster?!” Liam cried out.
“Hey, Liam the Llama. So vegges, you Darth Vader now?” Toaster sarcastically asked.
Veggie slammed his fist down on the table. “Goddamnit Toaster!! I was just about to make my evil monologue and YOU RUINED IT! Also, I’m not veggie! It’s Tales!!! TALES!!”
“Like tales from the borderlands? Tales from Jesus Christ superstar? Tales from the Rule 34 Plant community?” Toaster asked.
“WHAT-NOO! JUST TALES! T-A-L-“
“You can spell!” Toaster said as if he was talking to a small baby. “Come one, spell asshole next! It’s A-S-“
“SHHHHHHUUUUUUTTTTT UPPPPPPPPPP!!!!” Tales screamed.
“Well, at least he’s capable of being amenable Veggie,” Nighthawk interjected. “Unlike other feathery -blam!-, I know.”
“Well being amenable is a two-way street, Seagull -blam!-er!” Eagle replied.
“Oh boy...” Aku in a high pitched tone nervously muttered.
“What’s the matter, Eagle? You couldn’t get any women?” Nighthawk teased.
“None as ugly as that seagull!”
“At least I got laid!”
“Laid what?! 20 eggs for Six to crack open on a Monday morning?” Eagle asked.
Six out our a hand in defiance. “Whoa now, why am I being brought into this shit? I did nothing!”
“Yeah, you’ve done nothing this whole night!” Eagle shot back at him. “You’re like less than the pink Power Ranger, and even that dude has a purpose!”
“Says the guy who dresses up in a suit who looks like he’s going on a first prom date!” Six insulted.
“I thought you were more respectable than this Six!” Liam jumped in.
“Excuse me but do I look like I want to be an Emperor Palpatine knockoff?” Six sarcastically asked. “Might as well have Toaster make you a Rule 34 actor and say you’re Emperor Palpatitties! At least then someone like Lee would like it! Oh, wait! HES DEAD AINT HE, NIGHTHAWK?!”
Timns stepped toward the monitor and insulted Veggie. “You’re a dumbhead!”
Everyone turned to look at Timns. He looked back at the group and shrugged, saying, “This is how we swear and insult right?”
“That was the single worst insult I’ve ever heard in my life, Timns.” Tales replied from the monitor. “No wonder Veggie gets along with you, you’re about as exciting as a rolled-up newspaper.”
“Newspapers can make excellent buttplugs though Veggie.” Toaster replied. “After all, you go to sleep with one stuck up your ass. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE-“
“MOTHER -blam!-ER!!!!! SHUT UP!” Tales yelled at Toaster.
Varvatos stood up, still delusional, but began pointing at Eagle. “You did this to me! I was at peace eating a tape! Until you made me barf it up you -blam!-!”
“That was nighthawk, not me!” Eagle protested
“OH gonna blame it on me again?!” Nighthawk yelled.
Eventually, the whole room began arguing with one another, no argument going anywhere, everyone blaming each other for different things, tensions rising. Even Veggie-[ERROR]-Tales seemed to loose sight of what he wished to do with them, resorting to petty comments and insults directed at everyone.
All the while, the lights inside of Giant's head, who laid still on the couch began to fade slightly from solid orange to a light purple. He felt his body become weightless. He was dreaming, and in his mind's eye, was standing in a pavilion. The flowers in the pot were purple, the road was purple, the leaves of the trees were black. Everything about this looked familiar, yet felt like a painful place.
Giant sighed. “Is this another nightmare?”
“Quite the opposite in fact.” A voice happily called out.
Giant whipped around to see three old friends, Tiger, Speaker of the Deep, and Lord Graviton. They all sat at a table, which was also purple. Tea was sitting in cups, still steaming. A fourth seat lay open.
“Speaker? Grav? Tiger?! But..how-“ giant stammered.
“Dude, these two are void demons who like to make the Deep their -blam!-.” Tiger stopped him. “Not to mention they dragged me here after I died.”
“I told you, Tiger,” Speaker said as he sipped tea. “Lay off Lee’s death sticks and maybe you won’t be such a fatass. Would’ve helped you with the treadmill.”
Tiger glared at him. “Says the dude who abandoned his God for Beekeeping.”
“Bee’s are superior!!!”
Graviton stood up and cleared his throat. “Both of you shut it. Ahem, Giantslayer! We have a message from beyond the grave!! The identity of-“
“You don’t have to act like the ghost of Christmas past, Grav,” Speaker told him.
“Yeah, and I know who the killer is. It’s Veggie! I overheard the others say his name. When I get my hands around his neck I’ll kill him for killing Titan!” Giant piped up.
Graviton looked so disappointed. “Aw man! Years of academy training, wasted!”
“Could be worse, you could’ve been Ringleader. Poor -blam!- got a whole load blown on him. But hey, at least he’s in Hello Kitty heaven now.” Tiger dipped his tea, then spat it out. “Oh god what the hell is this stuff!?”
Speaker raises his hands in defense. “Don’t ask me, it’s Aku’s special recipe. Speaking of which is he still alive?”
“I...I think so.” Giant stuttered. “I don’t get it, why are you here? Why am I here?”
Graviton sat back down. “What? Isn’t it obvious? You’re on deaths edge so we paid him a visit and told him to not kill you.”
“Don’t forget that we paid death $20,” Tiger interjected.
“Oh let’s not forget that. Guess death is a real cheap -blam!-. So before you return to the land of the living, here is a tip to help you survive and save everyone else. Just be sure to follow it to the letter. Ahem. Oh, wise and strong Giantslayer! The killer-“
“Grav, you’re doing it again,” Speaker said.
“Goddamn, you guys! You’re no fun! Anyways, Veggie is in the broadcasting center. Good luck.” Graviton sipped his tea, then spat it out. “Oh, good Deep! Why does this taste so awful?!”
“It’s 'cause you’re a void ghost. I find it to be quite tasty.” Speaker laughed.
Giant moved toward them, only for his soul (errr….body?) to be ripped away from this reality. He awoke, his chest still hurting from the bullets, but slowly he got to his feet. He looked up to see everyone still arguing, even Veggie seemed to forget all about killing them. Giant moved to the door, grabbing his ax, no one even batted an eye. “Broadcasting booth…” he mused.
With that, he exits the break room and begins walking down the hallway, limping every now and again as he clutched his chest. No one saw him leave. He rounded a corner and saw a small sign on top of the corner. The sign read “Broadcasting Booth: 4th floor.” Giant looked at a nearby elevator. As he approached it, the elevator dinged and opened its doors. No one was inside.
“Yeah, no,” Giant said to no one. “The stairs it is.”
With this, the ascent began. The ascent to saving everyone inside this damnable building. He got to the stairwell and looked up. Several stories laid before him, and he turned his head to see another sign. It read, “SUBLEVEL 4”. Giant sighed.
“It’s always gotta be stairs.”