by Grimm, thedoctor and GoozX
Grimm struggled against the invisible bonds that held him silent and immobile. He tried in vain to warn his new friends that this man speaking to him was not what he seemed. As he watched, the man broke character and walked toward him, the others never noticing.
"How is it you still resist me? You... and that damnable monk! You should be completely in thrall to me, and yet you are not. I sense there is more to you than even you possibly know. Now speak! How is it you resist my illusions?"
"Go to hell... you bastard. I've been mind-fucked... by the best... and you've got... a long way to go... to even rate on that scale..."
"DAMN YOU!"
Mr. Smith backhanded Grimm and sent him falling to the ground, even as an illusion of Grimm remained standing next to the MBL Consulting members.
"A little late for that one..."
"Oh, really? Well, then, let's see how you like being lost within the Castle of Crossed Destinies! Let's see if you can find your way back from a myriad of possible realities!"
And with a wave of his hand, Grimm vanished.
Dirk Bell felt the hard cold against his face. As his eyes opened, he noticed that his body was on a metal floor. Most of the pain was gone, but some still remained. Reaching up, his hand grabbed hold of a rail and pulled himself to his feet. As he looked around, a feeling of deja vu filled him.
The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall. A man in a tan uniform marched down the corridor toward him. Dirk couldn't believe his eyes. His head shifted upward to see a plaque. "Blue D... oh, fuck!"
"BELL!" the man yelled as he stopped in front of Dirk. "I'm going to throw you into the brig for what you've done. You won't get out this time."
"Listen, Frank..."
"That's Commander Harris to you, Bell. I've got you this time. You'll be on this ship 'till the day you die."
"Like hell," Dirk responded as he threw his foot up into Frank Harris' crotch. "You've been beggin' for that since I stepped on this tub, you rat bastard." As Harris collapsed to the ground in excruciating pain, Dirk walked off down the corridor, looking for his escape.
"Of all the damn places I could have ended up, I'm back on this rust bucket." The gunslinger tried his best to get his bearing within the gigantic ship that he now found himself back in. It had been a while since he had left this place to get away from those who inhabited it.
It took some time of running down one corridor and the next, but he was finally able to remember where he was and where he wanted to go. As he was approaching the escape pods, the unrhythmical sound of multiple footfalls invaded the hallway. "You can't leave here! That'll be desertion," the man in the lead yelled.
"Fuck you," Dirk yelled back. "You bastards fired me, anyway, just because I'm willing to do something, and you just sit on your asses and put Earth in danger. Piss off."
"You can't escape the reality of the situation," another man shouted toward him.
"I'm not. I'm just following MY reality." He jumped into a pod and pressed the launch button.
As he accelerated away from the massive ship, it suddenly disappeared. Dirk couldn't believe his eyes. A ship the size of an entire city just vanished before his very eyes. "Something's really fucked up here."
"Mom?" Sam Dawson smiled as he ran and hugged his mother with all his might. "I've missed you so much!"
She hugged him back and, with a curious expression, said, "School wasn't THAT long today, now was it?"
Sam paused and looked up toward her. "No, I guess it wasn't."
"So how was your day?"
"It was okay, nothing special." Sam threw his bag on the floor and sat by the kitchen table. "I don't think Michelle's going to forgive me for the.... uh, stunt I pulled at her parent’s party."
"No? Well, I'm pretty sure she's going to."
"How do you know that?"
"Mothers just know these things. Ever since you two were young, you've been attached at the hip. Some things are just meant to be."
"You think so?"
"I know." Sam's mother paused and smiled. "Plus, she called twice while you've been gone."
With a laugh, Sam jumped to his feet and quickly walked toward his room. "Thanks, mom."
"Anytime, honey. Just don't tie up the phone too long; your father's waiting for a call."
Sam entered his room and right away pulled the cordless telephone off the receiver. Dialing Michelle Campbell's number, he laid back onto his bed.
"Hello?" The voice on the line was very sweet.
"Hey babe, again, I'm so sorry about the other day."
"Hold on, Samuel. I'll go get Michelle."
"Mrs. Campbell?" Sam hit himself on the head and waited for Michelle.
"Hey, Sam."
"Michelle, I'm so sorry about the other night--"
"It's no problem. I overreacted, anyway. I mean, it lightened up the party some."
They both laughed. Timmy, Sam's younger brother, entered the room. "Can I borrow a few of your Smasher comic books?" he asked, anxious to see them. Sam responded with a wave of his hand. "Come on, bro! I'll be careful with them this time! Promise..."
"Hold on a sec--" Sam covered the phone with his hand. "Get the hell out of here, I'm BUSY!"
Timmy left, saddened, and Sam continued his conversation. A few moments later, smoke gently flowed from under his door. Curious, he asked Michelle to hang on for a second. As he walked closer toward the door, reality stopped. He couldn't move. Sam could only watch as his younger self opened the door, burning his hand.
"No..." he whispered to himself, "...don't go in there!"
His younger self couldn't hear him and opened the door. Flames rushed out, burning his arms and knocking him over. He dropped the phone, still on.
Rushing back toward the flaming hallway, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "MOM! DAD! TIM?" He moved into the hallways, the smell of burnt wood filling the air. Dropping to his knees, he made his way toward the main room. Sam was frozen. His parents' bodies lay on the floor, motionless, the flesh burning from their bodies, their appearance beyond recognition.
Looking around, he didn't see Tim. "Tim?!" he cried out, finally getting a response. From the corner of his eye he saw him across the room in pain, trapped by a fallen column.
"Help..." his brother attempted to yell out. Sam stepped forward into the burning flames. The flesh on his face and chest burned as he attempted to save his brother. Another piece of the roof fell in. His brother was dead. His family was dead. His heart and soul felt dead.
Sam dropped to his knees, no longer observing but now in the place of his younger self. His flesh burned as he could only cry.
The shadows once again engulfed his body.