“Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

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This place reeks. Can we go?

Thaddeus growls and looks around at the muck in disgust.

At least there’s no pissed off trees trying to kill, Dawk!

Dolly giggles.

Don’t piss off the trees, Dawk.

I was ambushed.

The party travelled for what seemed like forever. The day cycles in this place appear longer, as well. It was hard to see through the thick forest, but Doc doesn’t believe the sun has moved from its original place in the sky from when he and the girl entered.

Dolly pushed them along for quite some time, then after a while began to relax again as they must have started making better time.

Thaddeus’s frustration and restlessness finally gets to him and he goes back to leaping through the tree limbs and travels ahead. Corey follows him and appears to be playfully chasing after the feline. Thaddeus, like a typical cat, acts unamused but plays along anyway. Dolly laughs and watches as the two always seem to be one step ahead of the other.

Like a couple of kids....

Doc cocks an eyebrow and smirks a bit down at his little companion.

This swamp is huge. How much further?

Dolly shy’s away again and tries to hide the puzzled look on her face.

Well…

Doc is taken a bit by Dolly’s reaction.

You’re… unsure?

It’s kind of up to you, Dawk.

What?

Why are you going to the mountain?

Doc’s steps begin to get heavier and his head becomes lighter. He stops and shakes it off then faces Dolly.

What does that have to do with it?

A loud splash followed by a squeal/growl/hiss and laughter can be heard as a tree limb apparently failed on Thaddeus and he took a dirty spill into the swampy water.

Do you even know why?

The lightheadedness returns accompanied with a couple excruciatingly painful pulses and Doc almost falls backwards.

Dawk?

He shakes it off again and finds his footing.

You mentioned before there was a way around the swamp. Why did you take us through it then?

Of course there was a way around it, but this is the best way. Going around we could get lost…. AND we wouldn’t have found Corey!

I didn’t know we were looking for Corey.

Dolly laughs and continues to walk ahead. Doc watches her walk away, shakes his head, then follows.

You guys have a lot more in common then you think, so you should really stop worrying about them and focus.

On what exactly?

Another wave of pain and dizziness overtakes Doc and the world at his feet meets him in the face. He walks through a wall of water and static fills his ears with a flash of light.

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A man and woman share what appears to be a small waiting room. They sit in silence in a room of silence surrounded by silent hallways. It’s the middle of the night, three… maybe close to four in the morning, but time no longer matters at this point, because it’s gone. Lost time can never be recovered.

Silence is not the only thing filling this room. Anger, sadness, and denial all cram themselves into this space, too, where they weigh down and prey. The man stares at the floor, thoughtless, while the woman with melting eyes stares through him.

Another man enters the room and removes his glasses.

“It’s time.”

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A man and woman stand on each side of a bed where a small, frail child is burrowed. There are no monitors. No IVs. No beeps. No medical equipment in the room at all. They stand apart in waiting.

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You’re right. He does sleep weird.

Corey pokes Doc in the forehead with a slimy, leathery finger.

It’s literally all he does. He was sleeping when I met him.

Doc grumbles to himself and opens his eyes to see all three from his party staring down at him. Dolly smiles and leans further down towards his face.

Ready to go, sleepy head?

Doc blinks and rises to his feet.

What happened?

What do you mean?

This place reeks. Can we go?

Thaddeus growls and looks around at the muck in disgust.

At least there’s no pissed off trees trying to kill, Dawk!

Dolly giggles.

Don’t piss off the trees, Dawk.

Deja vu? Or trapped? Doc’s dreams or visions have become more vivid now and stick with him at all times. He remains silent as the party continues on. He watches the cat-beast mumble something and leap into the trees. It’s shortly followed by the frog-beast and the two jump around in the trees after each other. Doc glances at Dolly.

Like a couple of kids…

Doc laughs, but for a different reason this time.

Would you like to know why I’m going to the mountain?

Dolly smiles and shrugs.

I already know why, Dawk. Do you?

I think so. Wait, you do?

Yup.

Doc looks surprised and Dolly looks at him with a cocky smirk.

Do tell.

Hmmmm…..

What now?

I think you want ME to tell you cuz you don’t know. DAWK.

A tree limb snaps and Thaddeus plunges into the water below. Dolly and Doc squeak with laughter as Corey mocks him from above, too. Just ahead it appears the swamp finally opens up and has some dryer land. Thaddeus scowls and shakes the muck off of himself and jumps back into a tree.

A black tar begins to make its way through the muck and rushes after Doc and Dolly. It moves like an oil spill in the water and like ooze on the ground. Once it gets close to Doc, it curls up like a snake and wraps around his neck like a tentacle! Dolly screams and flies backwards evading a strike from a different tar-like whip. It cracks in the air loudly and throws itself around Doc’s neck, too. Corey rushes over through the trees and leaps towards Doc to aid him but is cracked by another tentacle and shot back and into a tree. Thaddeus was right behind Corey and actually made it to Doc. He is grabbed by his ankle and whipped hundreds of feet into the air! His roar disappears then reappears as he falls quickly towards his death in the Swamp of Denial!

Doc wrestles the two around his neck while four more come into the picture and wrap around him. Corey yells out to Dolly and points to the air as Thaddeus nears the ground. Dolly screams and throws her arms out bending several trees in the area down to catch the falling feline like a wicker basket trampoline. Doc is pulled under and fast through the water as if he was tied to a speedboat. He gurgles while the vines choke him, crushing his esophagus as he drowns.

DOLLY, THADDEUS, AND COREY HAVE LEFT THE PARTY

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Well, aren’t we glad that this week is about over with, hm? For anyone that hasn’t done their homework, Charlie Nickles has been on MY case for quite some time…. I’m dating back before I shoved him into the chimney during Savage Solstice…. He’s been on my case to get a shot at the XWF Tag Team Championship. He and Jim felt they were ready and wanted the chance to show the world that they could take this division up onto their shoulders! Well, while I DID beat around the bush a bit. I never once denied them boys a shot. I’m a more conservative champion. I don’t just hand out title shots like cheap candy like the boy does. I have nothing to prove, while HE apparently does. Don’t confuse us because we share the titles, my friends. We’re in this for completely different reasons.

Anywho, after months of crying and moaning, picking and prying, barking and whining… YOU FINALLY GOT YOUR BIG SHOT! Now, I DO apologize that I was absent from that match, sir. But look at it like this.

We make this up by being against each other in the VERY FIRST ROUND OF MARCH MADNESS!! Isn’t that exciting? The thing about losing to me is you don’t have to make excuses in the end. There’s no surprise. There’s no OMG moment. Everyone already knows the ending. So, instead of wasting your time with this whole King of the XWF thing you’re nowhere close to worthy of, you can focus on your Television Title and becoming the best at something no one cares about. It’s an easy way to make a name for yourself for the time being until another hot shot comes along.

Now, I paid very little attention to whatever those ramblings were that you jumbled out earlier in the week. That’s what they were… ramblings. Charlie Love. Demos. Nickles. It doesn’t matter. Bring them all if you have to. I told the same thing to Chris Page and Robert Main back when I ended them. Through those ramblings, however, I did catch a little bit about being overrated, basically old news and what not. You know what’s overrated? Saying that I’m overrated. YOU, sir, may believe that all you want. But, anyone and everyone that heard you say that that knows ANYTHING laughed and wished you the best. You not already knowing better is laughable enough, Demos. Next time you’re interrogating poor Charlie, why don’t you have him point out a few of the scars that I left from the last time. And don’t worry, they’ll be plenty more added to that.

It’s odd that you and Charlie are butting heads so much because you both seem to kind of go that type of thing. He jumped at the occasion to fight me knowing that he stood no chance and agreed to the most violent terms. I’ll always respect that about the boy. He takes his knocks well and keeps coming back for more over and over again! You’re doing great, my friend. You’e. Doing. Great. Keep that record nice and tidy because I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle in that second column. I’ll mark it up one more tick for you this week, knock you back down where you belong, and watch you go back to your winning ways as King of XWF’s “You SHOULD be this tall to ride this ride” Division. You set a good pace for everyone else, Demos. The XWF needs guys like you to shove down chimneys and place our boots upon as we rise as we please. The XWF needs guys like you because you’re good enough to be the loud mouth that you are, you’re good enough to back it up, and you’re good enough to keep the rest in check. Good enough, Demos. Charlie. Weirdo.

So, yes, my friends. I’m sure if anyone at all is going to be happy to see this week to end, it’s going to be Demos. Sir, in the long run, you’ve gotten everything you’ve asked for. In one week you will have lost to the entire group of Continuum. The two other gentlemen handled you and your Jim friends. And for good measure, I’ll handle you. You’ll see one more time that I am more than capable of spreading the same terror, reigning down the same hell, and crushing the same dreams that I was back making all of the stories you hear about today. Do you want to know WHY there’s so much time in between when I come out to do what I do, Demos? I thought it would be obvious, but it’s to give you all a chance. Do you think it’s laziness? Do you think I’m tired? Look at what Corey Smith does every week. Do you want me doing that, as well? I believe the guy does it just to do it and if I’m out here beating all of you over and over again because I’m bored then you’re in some real deep trouble. Do you think your chances to win the Tag Team gold were better or worse with me not in the match? If you say better, they couldn’t have been that much better. HA! The fact is, there wasn’t an equation possible where the result was DDS walking away with the titles. Come back again sometime, months from now, of course, and maybe I’ll even join the fray and beat you a third time. Who will you be then? Peyote Chuck?

I can’t really say it’s over for you though. I really have no real control over THAT, I suppose. There is the second chance battle royal that will throw you right into the final match. Sounds more like a shortcut if you ask me! So, don’t count yourself out too soon, sir, because if any loser can beat a bunch of other losers it’s definitely you! The centerfold of mediocre. A true step stool for the bottom feeders. A rite of passage for all those who think they have what it takes to even walk through our doors into this FINE federation. It will, of course, be for nothing since I will be crowned KING when this tournament is over. Then you will be just like all of the others, Demos. You’ll be like Shawn Warstein. You’ll be like Betsy Granger. You’ll be like Jenny Myst, Shawn Wylde, and Melanie Childs. Not failures. Not at all. I don’t look at it like that. Just as I said before this is all expected. The only ones that don’t believe in the good doctor are the ones in denial, my friends. They are the ones with the highest of hopes and the biggest dreams!

I crush hopes. I destroy dreams.

I take what belongs to me. The throne calls to me just as it did all those years ago. It is time for me to answer its call. It is time for me to take my place at the top of the mountain once more.

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WE GOT A LIVE ONE!

Doc feels the water from his stomach and lungs push out through his mouth, nose, and ears. He gags and coughs and tries to get up but is pushed back down by force.

Hey, woah, fucker! Take it fucking easy! HEY! CHECK THIS ASSHOLE OUT!

What is it? I’m busy!

Put the chicken down and get over here!

A seven-foot green troll with a big belly that hangs over his belt buckle tucks the live chicken he was wrestling into a cooking pot under his arm and walks down the beach. A much shorter blue troll with a matching belly kneels over Doc holding him down. Doc’s eyes open and sees the big, ugly, blue face close to his. He goes bug-eyed and tries to squirm away but it’s impossible to move.

Hey, it’s a guy.

The green troll sniffs at Doc and snarls.

Smells like shit, I know. What the fuck happened to you, guy?

Doc tries holding his head as it spins.

I’m not… Ugh… Where am I?

You’re on a fucking beach? See the fucking sand?

See the water?

Is that a chicken?

It’s MY chicken!

Fucking chill! Anyway, I’m Thunder Knuckles. This is my partner in crime, Bob.

Doc looks around and sees the beach stretching for miles down the coast. No sign of Dolly, Thaddeus, or Corey, but the mountain is in plain sight past a large body of water that sits in front of him. Doc stares at the mountain and can feel it pulling him.

What the fucks up with this fucking guy?

Bob has gone back to stuffing the chicken into the pot, which he succeeds. TK turns around and looks out to sea where Doc is looking.

So, you gotta fucking a name, guy?

Doc looks at his new blue friend.

Doc.

Dawk? What kinda fucking name is that?

What was it?

DAWK!

Duck?

What kind of name is Thunder Knuckles?

WHAP!!

TK slugs Doc close fisted across the jaw sending a dozen stars swirling around Doc’s head. He spits out a mouthful of blood and gets up off the ground.

Consider yourself lucky. He usually---

Doc holds up a hand.

I… I get it. Spare the details.

Bob shrugs and goes back to his pot chicken. Doc looks over the vessel from a distance and watches TK bumble around the small campsite the two have set up on the beach.

So, I’m guessing this is your boat?

Good fucking guess!

Doc bites his lip and laughs to himself.

Any chance that you will be departing any time soon?

Bob and TK both stop what they’re doing and look over to Doc.

We just got here!

Hold the fuck up, Bob.

TK rubs his hands together and is obviously plotting something. Doc cocks an eyebrow and looks back and forth at the two beasts.

What are you fucking asking, Dawk?

I’m trying to reach the mountain.

That fucking mountain?

TK points to the only visible mountain.

Correct.

A voyage over the Bargaining fucking Sea? Hmmmmm….. It doesn’t look like you have much as far as scratch on you… What’s fucking in it for us?

Doc reaches into his pockets knowing there was nothing there. Inside his jacket is a ruined pack of cigars and wet pack of matches.

Well, it’s hard to say at this point. I assure you, once we make the trip I can make it worth your while.

How? You rich? You a fucking King or something?

It’s funny you should ask.

BOB AND THUNDER KNUCKLES HAVE JOINED THE PARTY