Writing Passage 50.

[Brasil]

?EPICITY?
~Narrations Of Cinnaminsonia

Passage 50.
?Mundane Destruction?

Their journey was long and hard,
So very long and so very hard,
But now they were at the tip.
They were at the topmost portion of their quest;
They had reached their climax;
They had reached Presai.
Now they walked mysterious boards
That creaked underfoot and smelled
Of old beer, soda, and hot dogs of grease.

Paul had taken point,
His Raptorness acquiring odd glances
And his tail swishing back and forth.
But strangely, the passerby took
Looks of a quick and almost
Nonchalant nature. Perhaps,
Perhaps they have seen worse horrors
Upon these liquid-soaked boards?

Were our heroes so odd, or not odd enough?
They seemed to blend in with
The freakish and beastly board walkers.
Brian glanced about,
Taking in all of the ones around him.
He caught an eye, finding himself
Locked by this penetrating gaze.

He stopped, wishing to draw closer
To this hypnotically glorious leather-clad being;
He was drawn to it, like a moth to the flame,
Like a sailor to The Sirens.
He was strangely attracted to this
Leathery creature of the boards.

The creature continued to penetrate his eyes,
Motioning with a hairy arm to come.
Brian began to him but was saved,
For Matt had caught sight of this happening,
And in his good knowledge,
Quickly pulled Brian from the beast,
Dragging him away from certain temptation.
Brian was safe for now, Matt understood,
But Matt still was worried,
As he would not be there to
Guard Brian in the future.

Tom, growing impatient at the walking,
Desired a faster method of travel,
Catching sight of a mechanical device
Trolling down a passage of the boards.
?Fellows, look! A transporter!? he exclaimed,
?Let us go on it, for my footing is most tired,
And I do not feel like setting foot any farther,
As our quest has been a long one,
And I sense an evil bunion on my toe.?

The friends did agree with Tom and caught the trolley.

The Conductor greeted them in a manner
Of the norm for the boards,
As their garb did not surprise him,
For there were many more disturbations
Of these boards, and a handful of men
Dressed in Halloween costumes was the least
Of the Conductor?s qualms.

The friends, those bandmates of Wangarang,
Boarded the trolley, inquiring of the Conductor
A question. They asked,
?Please, sir, Conductor of the trolley,
Master of the mechanical movement,
Where would we find the Golden Plunger Of Presai??

The Conductor thought at this,
Understanding their question
But not believing it at the same time.
Were they the ones the Elders spoke of?
The Conductor knew of a plunger on the boards,
Unsure of it being their desired plunger,
He replied,
?I know of a plunger,
But I know not if it is the plunger
You five quest for.
I shall take you up the boards
To its location, but I do not
Offer assurance of it being proper.?

Matt thanked him;
?Conductor, my friends and I bid thee thanks
For your guidance and support in our quest.
We wish to call you by name, but do not know it.
By chance, perchance, what be your name,
So that we may call you it??

The Conductor said his name
But was unheard from his fit
Of hacking and coughing.
?Phlegm?yech? he muttered between
His putrid and vile oral eruptions.

?Ah, so we shall then call you Phlegmyach.?

And the heroes were off to the finale.

The mechanical transport reeked of
Rottenest meat, sour and aged sauerkraut,
Spirits of an eldest nature, and the
Stomach-churning stench that only
Board walkers of Presai could discharge.
Twas truly a most horrid smell,
And Wangrang was in agony
But stood their ground,
For their most glorious quest was almost ended,
And to fail now would have them
Meet certain death or castration.

They rode the vessel long,
For an hour that felt like eternity,
Passing horrible creatures and
Robotly dragons that elicited
Banshee and ear-splitting screams
From those riding.
Those that did not board the dragons
Stood in awe of the mechanized monstrosities,
Letting their grease dogs slide out of their hands,
Landing on the boards with a wet splat.
Sweat fell from their brow,
Dampening their hair, matting it down.
Their skin glistened in a disgusting
Greasy biker way, sending shimmering glows
Over the strange runic symbols etched into their hides.

Presai was a mechanical wonderland,
Filled with imaginative things,
Modern day dragons, run on today?s energy.
Leather-clad greasers populating the land,
Freakish musicians in a head-banger band.

But the quest is done; our boys are finally here,
The game they?ve won; let the people cheer.

The plunger is near,
Its resting place lit by
Crackling golden bursts of neon,
Illuminating the boards with
A harsh visual assault on sensitive eyes.
Hark, what sounds?

A barker.

He yells, attracting adventurers to
Test their strength and pull an
Instrument of piping from a
Pedestal Of Porcelain.
Many attempt, and fail,
For they are not ordained by Joe,
And only those blessed by Joe
Can attain the Golden Plunger Of Presai.

The barker consoles the gullible ones,
Those who believed themselves able to rip
This plunger from its resting place.
The barker plays no favorites,
Letting the mammoth beast of men cry on his shoulder,
And at the same time giving kind words to
Younger folk who strived to impress their companions.

The barker addresses the crowd again:
?Come, be there no man among you gatherers
That can pull this plunger from its stand?
Step forward those that are able;
Test your might!?

Another hulk giant came,
Boasting a giant boast of
His gargantuan strength.
He sent a few pieces of gold to the barker,
Then stepped up to the pedestal.
He glanced back at his clan.
They cheered him on.
He looked back at the plunger.
?Bah,? he expressed,
?This is but a simple task,
Menial in nature.
I shall withdraw it easily
From this stand!?

His claim was ill-advised,
As in gripping the plunger, he felt
A painful twinge in his hands,
Yet kept his hold.
He yanked up, the plunger giving none.
The onlookers laughed at this man,
This man who had boasted so well and heartily
Of his sure victory over this plunger.
The man tried again with worse luck than previously.
The plunger again did not budge,
And this giant lost his gripping,
Falling back to the ground with a
Resounding crash.

His clan stood silent.
Had they just witnessed their compatriot
Failing most horribly in a test of strength?
No, that cannot be, for he is the strongest here,
And there is nothing he cannot do.
But the truth is most spiteful,
And bit the man?s confidence off.
He shrunk back into the grouping,
Withdrawing from center stage.
His manhood had been chopped down,
Cut in twain, struck down.

The barker again said to the crowd:
?Ah, the strongest one of you fails?
What kind of beings are you, that
Your strongest fails in a test of strength??
The crowd replied in an angry uproar,
Throwing the aged beer and hot dogs of grease.

The barker continued,
?Is there not one among you?
I call for one of you to pull
This plunger from this pedestal.
Is there anyone??

?I can.?

The crowed parted, gasping at who spoke.

It was Tom.

The barker made sure of this:
?What do you say, young one?
You can yank this plunger well?
Better than the mountain of man here??

Tom replied, ?Yes, I am the chosen one,?
Then motioned to his Wang armor,
And the red W on his forehead.
?I have the power to pull,
And have pulled many times.
I shall pull here now, pulling
Most well this plunger.?

The crowd was silent.
They had never witnessed such
Strength of word, always surrounded by
Drunken boasts of titans.

The barker motioned Tom near.
?Now, young one, try and pull this plunger.
I will give you three tries.
Should you find success in three tries,
I will give you wealth upon wealth,
Women upon women,
And hordes of juice.?

Tom sent the barker to the side
And stepped to the Pedestal Of Porcelain.
He muttered, chanting,
?I am here now to do Joe?s bidding.
Kind winds, blow me to performance.?

Tom took hold of the plunger,
And in keeping with the dangers,
The sky turned red, the seas began to churn.
Lightning shot through the sky,
The mechanical dragons froze.
Tom was unaware of these atmospheric happenings,
Concentrating only on fulfilling the quest.
He was to retrieve The Golden Plunger Of Presai.

Tom withdrew the plunger easily,
Sending the crowd into gasps.
He turned to the barker, smiling smugly at his victory.

?NO!? a voice cried out from within the crowd.

It was Alex.

?You fool!? he screamed.
?You have done what was forbidden!
You have now undone the world!
What man are you, that goes
Following a crazy man in a fig leaf?
We have given you warning enough,
And yet you still did not heed our advice.
The world is coming to an end now,
And you are the one at fault.
You did not listen to us,
Disobeying our rules and casting aside our fears.
Look what happens now!
Look there!
See that sea boiling?
See the night air ablaze?
The world is crumbling apart
Because that plunger,
The plunger that no man has ever
Pulled from that Pedestal Of Porcelain,
Is now separated from its home!?

Tom now saw the chaos.
He saw the buildings collapse,
Crumbling and sending chunks
Of wood and steel and brick onto
The heads of innocent townsfolk.
The mechanical dragons came to life,
Breathing fire and brimstone down upon
Those who stood in awe just minutes before.
The riders of the dragons sat screaming,
But their screams were not of excitement and joy.
Their screams emanated from a primal fear
Driven by extinction.
The mechanical dragons heard the screams,
Glancing back at their sources,
Then spun violently, throwing them down,
Some into the sand of the beach,
Some into the boiling sea,
Whereupon splashing, their skin became immolated,
Torched into cinders.
Others were thrown into condos and beach houses,
Becoming deadly projectiles that caused earthly destruction
Of many summer resorts.

Tom was scared beyond rational thought,
Only sounding, ?Oh my God.?
Then words came to him,
And he spoke them.
?Damn you, Joe!
You deceiver,
You purveyor of lies!
Why did you wish this?
Why did you order us upon this quest,
Knowing well what the consequences were?
Cursed be thy name,
I spit at you!
I bite my thumb at you!
You are a horrid man.
Show thineself, so that I may trounce upon you more.?

The barker began to laugh
And addressed Tom:
?Ah, so Tom is upset!
He wishes to speak to Joe.
Now, then, speak, Thomas,
For you are looking at Joe.?

Tom did not understand.

?Perhaps,? the barker continued,
?Perhaps you would prefer a
Face of a more familiar nature?
Perhaps the face of a loveable
Band director??

The barker waved his arms about,
Creating smoke and ice around him.
The space glowed radioactivity around him.
Maniacal laughing was heard,
Then the cackling transformed into
A comforting chuckle.

The smoke dissipated,
The ice melted into black steam,
And out stepped Ed Cook.

Tom was horrified.
?NO! It cannot be!?

?But it is, and it cannot be changed.
Did you honestly believe that the true
Ed Cook would simply HAND OVER keys to
The mammoth bus, The Beast?
You have been a pawn in my scheme,
Nothing more.
Nothing you have done was surprising to me.
I have planed for everything,
Planned for every contingency,
For I??

The ice and smoke formed again,
The center glowing a bright green,
Following the same procedural happenings
As moments before.
A naked man covered by a fig leaf was visible.

?For I am Joe.
Look to your gods.
See, they can do nothing!
They stand there with their hands tied,
For they are no match for my power!
Alex, Scottric, surely you have a magical solution
To this extreme situation?
You have always had a way out,
Always had an emergency procedure.
But now you are silent?
Now you are mute?
HA! You are lost in my face.
Thomas, look at that horizon.
See the horrors you have unleashed?
Look to that gaping, black hole in the air.
It seeks to suck everything here.
It seeks to engulf your world.
Look at the swirl, look at its vortex of vacuum.
Your world is gone, Thomas!?

And then,
The land was pulled to the hole in the sky.
Bodies were stretched to infinity,
One end deep in the hole,
The other still planted at the origin of life.

There was no hope for our heroes,
They were slurped up by the emptiness of the air.

Joe stood there cackling,
Admiring his evil and darkly mischievous work.
He knew there was nothing to do
To stop this, and this pleased him deeply.

Alex and Scottric looked to each other,
Understanding full well of this world?s Fate,
But both knowing where the hole leads.

Alex spoke,
?Scottric, I have had a most excellent adventure
With you on this plane.
Now our time has come.
We are to meet again,
In another world,
In another time.
See you on the other side, Scott.?

Scottric replied,
?Yes, Alex, twas a most glorious run,
And we shall meet again in memory,
For we are both onto a new adventure.?

Alex could not help but chuckle.
?Yes, a second quest,
As in Legend Of Zelda or Super Mario Bros,
A second quest in which the land is radically changed,
Where nothing we knew before will assist us.
This is a new journey ahead,
And I bid thee farewell.?

Alex and Scottric shook hands one last time,
Then the vortex inhaled them.

Alex felt nothingness for a short while,
Floating with no body, but yet
Having a consciousness of himself.

This lasted for a few more seconds,
Then he landed with a thud.
He looked around.
He was in a movie theatre.
Various posters lined the walls,
Of things that were strangely familiar to him.
What was this new beginning?
Whatever it was,
Alex was indeed sure that
His second quest was going to be fun.

?Tis End.