Robin and the Horrorland Nightmare

Author's Note: Jumping on the Halloween bandwagon while October is fresh. Hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 1: Fortunate Souls

"And there you have it folks! Let's hear a final round of applause for the biggest Horrorland freak of them all: The Chicken Man!"

The crowd cheered with excitement as the cloaked character on stage spread his wings and gave a magnificent screech. The act was soon followed by a shower of fireworks and explosions, the mysterious Chicken Man taking off and soaring towards the brilliant full moon overhead.

Eventually people started dispersing back to the main area of the theme park, while a couple of janitors climbed up on stage and began cleaning up the mess of popcorn and confetti that had been strewn about. Although a few guests decided to remain behind, the next show wouldn't be on for at least another hour, which was supposed to be the midnight grand finale where all of the freaks of nature would get up on stage and sing some kind of contorted Halloween song.

At least, that's what the brochure said.

"Well that was certainly… something," mumbled Robin as he perused the map that he had picked up at the main gate. "I was expecting the elusive Chicken Man to at least resemble a chicken."

Ask anyone and they would probably tell you that chickens aren't the scariest things in the world. The clever minds behind the Horrorland theme park knew that as well, and thus paid no expense to have their own rendition of a man in a chicken costume resemble something much more grotesque. He had the beak of a vulture, the eyes of a turkey, and the feathers of a crow as dark as the very night itself. Coupled with a bloodcurdling screech and the swift shambling of the way it walked, it was no wonder the guests of the park found the display to be kind of disturbing.

It was Halloween though, so scares were always in good fun.

"I thought it was rather interesting," replied Lucina, looking up at the stage while one of the janitors was busy trying to pry some gum off the bottom of his shoe. "I admire the way in which the Chicken Man moves about with such grace. It must be dreadfully hot under that mask."

Robin kept his face plastered to the paper map, his eyes darting from one colorful attraction to the next. He was hoping that the last show would have been something eye-opening, but so far everything they did had been nothing but some cheap laughs and some even cheaper scares. It's not that he wasn't trying to have a good time; he just felt that some of these attractions were kind of underwhelming.

Every year on the night of the full moon, which typically fell on October 31st, a foggy mist would find itself drifting across the land. With it came an enchanted festival where people could celebrate their fortunes and friendships. More often than not however, people took it upon themselves to use the festival as an excuse to play pranks on their neighbours by dressing up as monsters and scaring the living daylights out of anyone they came across. Throw some candy into the mix and that's pretty much how Horrorland came to be. No one knew who ran the event or where they got their cleverly dressed employees from. Horrorland came and went with the mist, so anyone who was so fortunate enough to see it in person had huge bragging rights, or at least until the next year rolled around.

As it turned out, Robin and Lucina just so happened to be one of these lucky few, along with some other friends who just so happened to be with them at the time. They had heard great things about the event from other Smashers, but once you got past the cotton candy, the guys in skeleton masks, and the dollar store fog machines, the novelty kind of wore off.

The more Robin thought about it, the more he was starting to realize that this festival was nothing but a cheap Halloween party, only with game stands and funhouses. What was even more peculiar was that none of them had to pay a cent to get into this place, which made him wonder how on earth the people who ran this thing even made money.

"Come on, let's take a look around," said Robin, pressing on ahead as he shifted his gaze from the map to the path and then back again.

"Alright, slow down," responded Lucina. "No need to rush."

They made their way back out to street, people all around them occupying themselves with whatever colorful booth had stolen their attention. A group of teenagers were hanging out by one of the punch stands, while a young couple were currently busy trying to calm their screaming child down. Meanwhile, a funky rendition of "This Is Halloween" was playing idly in the background, the still air of the atmosphere allowing the artificial fog to roll across the ground, creating an illusion that hid everyone's feet in a blanket of clouds.

"Do you think we'll run into him?" asked Lucina.

"Run into who?" Robin wasn't really paying attention as he continued to locate a much more intriguing attraction.

"Dr. Z." Lucina pressed a finger to the shadowy man who had been unprofessionally photoshopped to the corner of the map. He had a hood over his head with a beaklike mask that covered everything above his mouth. His body, although draped in black and purple stripes, was posed ever so mysteriously, enticing Horrorland guests to grab his metallic hand as it appeared to reach out from the very paper it was embedded on.

Besides the main attractions, there was a mini game that the park played with all of its attendees known as the Dr. Z Meet and Greet Contest. The man in the mask, Dr. Z, presumably wandered about the park, blending in with crowds, and acting as a mere shadow among the masses of thrill seekers. His duty was to remain inconspicuous, only stepping out of the darkness to confront lucky winners of the contest, where he would then present to them a prize that apparently was yet to be announced but supposedly was worth a lot of money. Simply put, it was a game of chance, and in a park with hundreds of guests, the odds of either Robin or Lucina being chosen out of the pack seemed rather low.

"Doubtful," replied Robin plainly. "I'd expect the secret prize to be something like discounted tickets for next year's festival, or perhaps even a buy-one-get-one-free ticket at the Greasy Cauldron. Besides, the odds are a hundred to one."

"Never been one for gambling I take it?"

"Only when I'm sure I'll win." He smirked.

"I hope we get a chance to see him," said Lucina, her eyes catching a zombified clown giving out bloody meat balloons to a group of children. "Maybe it'll bring us good luck."

Although she didn't want to admit it, the thought of encountering Dr. Z in the wilderness was somehow exciting to Lucina. He was kind of a celebrity around this time of year, although very few people ever got to meet him, let alone play his game. He was like a spirit, passing through the streets, looking for some fortunate soul to sink his fanglike teeth into. It may have been a game of luck, but it was still fun to think about.

As Robin and Lucina walked, various game stand operators were calling out to them, trying to entice them to give their completely fair and totally not one-sided games a try.

"Step right up!" shouted a mustached man in a striped vest. "Step right this way! Hey you, young fella!"

Robin had his head down and continued walking, only to be stopped when Lucina tapped him on the shoulder. It took him a moment to realize that someone was trying to get his attention.

"I think that man is trying to talk to us," said Lucina, gesturing to the stranger behind the counter.

"Who, me?" asked Robin, noticing the man and pointing a thumb at himself.

"Yes you!" replied the man, using his cane to point at one of the stuffed animals he had hanging around his booth. "How'd you like to win a cute octopus for your sweetheart there?"

Robin nearly dropped his map at the man's words out of embarrassment.

"Ugh," he blurted. "Wait, she's not my—"

"Could we?" asked Lucina, wrapping her arm around his. They weren't "sweethearts" by any means, although she had to admit the thought did sound very nice. "I mean, unless you don't want to."

"Hey, I see that look in your eyes!" called the man. "Step right up and take a shot! Horrorland is home to one of many games of skill!"

"You really want to do this?" asked Robin. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of playing one of these childish games. They were probably going to make him toss a ball in a jar, or throw some generic object only to knock down a stack of more generic objects.

"Why are you so indecisive all the time?" was Lucina's response, and she kind of sounded disappointed with that remark. They had been in the theme park for only a few hours, yet they had really only seen a small handful of attractions. There was so much to do here yet Robin found himself thinking about what to do rather than just doing things. He was never happy with just settling for a yes or no answer if it meant he had to think about other possibilities. It was really just a bad habit being the war tactician that he was and it was surprising to Lucina that even during his downtime he could never truly relax until he had all the pieces of an equation tucked safely away in his robe sleeve.

Still, even if she was correct, he didn't want to hear those words.

"I'm not indecisive all the time," he replied. "I just… figured we could spend our time doing something more productive."

"Let's get a move on, son," said the man in the booth. "The night won't be young forever!"

"Alright, hold your horses," called Robin, grasping Lucina's hand and walking her to the booth. The sudden movement made her heart jump, but she was just thankful that Robin agreed to play.

Robin and Lucina were kind of in that awkward phase where they were really good friends, but kind of had a thing for each other while the other one didn't really know about it. Call it a high school crush, but neither of them were really comfortable acknowledging their feelings. Robin especially always preferred to play more conservatively, vouching to only make a move if he detected Lucina was in the mood at all. By contrast, Lucina's feelings tended to be pretty prominent, but she had a hard time expressing them. Having known him since she was a little girl, she always kept Robin in a special place in her heart.

And by the gods, if he was going to do anything for her tonight, he was going to win her a prize in one of the park's game booths. The mere thought of such an act was enough to make her tingle with excitement.

"Glad you wised up," said the mustached man, twiddling a dart between his fingers. "I was beginning to think you were going to let this poor girl walk home without an octopus."

"Nah, I'm not that coldblooded," replied Robin calmly.

"Not as coldblooded as an octopus!" blurted the man, followed by a slap on the knee and a chortle of laughs and hiccups.

Speaking of octopi, this booth had some really weird prizes hanging above their heads. Sure there were cuddly octopi ranging from red to blue with bulging eyes and fuzzy tentacles, but there were also some not-so-cuddly objects as well, like stuffed skulls with drooping eyeballs, spiders with plastic fangs, zombies with squeezable hearts, and warlocks with humanlike hair on their beards. In truth, the octopi looked like the only normal prizes out of the lot.

"So how do you play?" asked Lucina.

"A fine question that is with an even finer answer," replied the man. "All you have to do is throw the dart at one of my dartboards! Where you land doesn't matter, just so long as you hit it home. Choose the right dartboard, and my friend, you got yourself a prize!"

Lucina glanced past the man, noticing there were three orange and black dartboards lined up next to each other.

"Wait, so I only have to throw one?" replied Robin, picking up a dart and examining its needle-like exterior. He was no expert, but he recalled that traditional games of darts only revolved around throwing multiple darts at a single dartboard trying to land as many bullseyes as possible. In this scenario, he was given just one dart and multiple dartboards to throw it at. "And it doesn't matter which board I pick?"

"Doesn't matter where you land it so long as you do," said the man sharply. "Pick the right dartboard and the octopus is yours. Pick the wrong one… and well, you might be able to walk away with something under the counter."

"So it's a game of chance then," said Robin flatly. Lucina noticed as well that, much like Dr. Z's Meet and Greet Contest, this game was yet another one inspired by Lady Luck herself. They might as well have put a ball under a set of mixed cups, or played a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Couldn't they have come up with something more original, or something that at least took a little bit of skill?

"Well, not entirely," replied the man. "You still have to hit one of the boards. It's not that easy for some folks, believe me!"

"Sounds easy enough," said Lucina. "Go on, Robin; you can do it."

The smile she gave him threw whatever doubts he had about this game out the window. Sure it was just all luck, but perhaps that made things a little easier? With three dartboards, he had a one and third chance of picking the right one and it's not like he had anything to lose anyway.

"Alright," said Robin, holding up his dart. "Let's go for it."

"Ready?" The man behind the counter raised a hand. "On your mark… Get set…"

"Wait!" called a voice from behind.

Robin and Lucina glanced back to see Pit and Ness run up to the stand, both of them carrying junk food in their hands such as cotton candy and popcorn. They were also drenched in perspiration for some reason.

"Hey guys; where were you two?" asked Lucina.

"We just got off the Demon Coaster!" exclaimed Pit, almost dropping his candy in the process.

"And before that we rode the Spooktacular Swirly!" chimed Ness.

"And then the Horror Bounce House!"

"And the Monster Madness Show!"

"And the Creepy Coffin Castle!"

"And the Furry—"

"Wow, it sounds like you did a lot," muttered Robin, although the two kept going on and on as Lucina and him both stared at them blankly.

"You guys should have come with us!" said Ness. "We walked on almost every ride!"

"No, it's fine," replied Lucina. "Roller coasters aren't really my thing anyways."

"Same here," said Robin, the mere thought of such an attraction giving him shivers. He wasn't really one for high thrill rides.

"Well you gotta at least check out the parade with us later," said Pit. "Oh! And the Freaky Freak Show Grand Finale!"

"We just got back from their last show actually," replied Robin. "We got to see the um… Chicken Man."

"The Chicken Man?" said Ness with a shake of his head. "Naw man, that guy's lame. The Wolf Man's the one that's really scary. I'm still waiting to meet Dr. Z."

"Us as well," said Lucina. "Maybe if we split up again there might be a better chance of running into him."

It was an idea sure, but Lucina knew that it would be the perfect excuse for her to spend more time with Robin. Not that she didn't mind the company of the boys, but when all she did was fight every week in the tournaments, any off time was precious time, and Lucina wanted to take full advantage of that.

"What do you think the prize is for meeting him?" asked Ness curiously.

"Probably an octopus," replied Robin, earning a chuckle from the man behind the counter.

"Hey, you kids wanna play too?" said the man suddenly. "I got more darts right here!"

"Boy would I!" responded Pit with excitement. "I'm the king of carnival games!"

"I think the king of luck would have a better chance at this," said Robin slyly.

Soon enough, Pit and Ness were both up at the counter wielding a small dart each. Robin took to his position next to them and aimed his sights down at the bullseye of the dartboard on the left, which was just the one directly in front of him. It didn't take him long for him to get into his "mode."

"The shortest distance will give me the highest chance of success," thought Robin, analyzing his target. "In a game of chance, any board is as correct as the next one, thus my odds shouldn't change regardless of which board I pick. At least in this case, the chances of me screwing up the throw should be minimal. I just hope those two don't pick the same one that I do…"

Lucina watched him as he stood there silently calculating every possible result that could play out from this situation. She admired how serious he approached every problem despite how trivial some may seem. It was no wonder why he was known as Ylisse's most powerful tactician, gifted with the mind of a mathematician, and the hands of the world's most honest thief. Even if he was overanalyzing the problem here, it at least gave his mind something to munch on.

"Um…" mumbled Pit. "Is it just me, or is Robin getting a little too into this?"

The man behind the counter raised his hand.

"On your mark… Get set… Throw!"

All three players fired their darts, oddly enough all striking a different dartboard. Robin's ended up just where he planned in would, which was right dead center in the bullseye. Ness also had landed his in the center of the board in front of him, while Pit's had gone off course, but still hit the outskirts of the boards nevertheless.

"We have a winner!" cheered the man, earning a joyful clap from Lucina. He reached up and plucked an octopus from overhead, handing the stuffed toy over to Ness. "Congratulations lad on coming in first place!"

"Seriously? I won!?" replied Ness in surprise.

Robin shrugged. It turned out the real dartboard was the one in the middle, or the one that Ness had been standing in front of. Apparently, today wasn't his lucky day.

"And second place goes to…" The man pulled out a stuffed pumpkin with a goofy face from under the counter. "This boy with the funny feathers!"

Obviously he was referring to Pit, who accepted his prize with glee.

"Alright!" he cheered. "Did you see that Lady Palutena? I got second place!"

"Good job," said Robin, giving a small clap. He wasn't expecting there to be more than one winner at all, but it looks like whoever was in charge of this whole charade just felt like rubbing some more of it in his face. He was really bummed that he lost at the thought that he wasn't able to win Lucina anything.

"And finally in third place…" said the man, reaching beneath the counter.

"Hm? I won as well?" asked Robin.

"Of course, son," replied the man. "You hit the target didn't you? And square on the nose as well! Now let me see, where did I put those—Aha!" The man produced a small white box, handing it over to Robin with a wink. "You get the best prize of all!"

Robin examined the box, lifting it up and peering at it from different angles, while Lucina also crept up next to him and tried to decipher the value in this prize. The front of the box was decorated with black markings, patterns varying from random characters to lines and squiggles that didn't even form words.

"What is it?" asked Lucina.

"Why, it's a deck of playing cards of course!" replied the man casually.

Robin frowned. So much for getting Lucina something cuddly to remember him by.

"Can I trade this for something else?" asked Robin. "Like that zombie, or the spider?"

"Sorry son, no can do," replied the man. "Besides…" He leaned over the counter, putting a hand up to the side of his mouth as if he was whispering something. "These cards aren't just any cards. They're lucky cards. Use these in any game at a casino and you'll find yourself raking in the dough faster than my grandma can scare the neighbourhood kids off her porch."

After this night, Robin wasn't sure if he ever wanted to hear the word "lucky" again.

His hesitation to respond was more than enough of a sign for Lucina to know that he wasn't completely satisfied with this result. It really wasn't worth having a fuss over though since like Robin said, it was just a game of chance. He flipped a coin and lost. That's all there is to it.

"Alright, well thank you for the game sir," said Lucina, tugging Robin along back towards the main street. "Have a goodnight. Come along boys."

Ness and Pit followed them, saying good-bye to the man behind the counter who waved them off with a cheerful laugh.

"Goodnight you all!" called the man. "And Happy Halloween!"

"A deck of playing cards, can you believe this?" said Robin, shoving the box into his robe sleeve. "You can pick up the same thing at the dollar store."

"Hey, it's not all bad Robin," replied Pit. "At least now you can participate in the Smash Bros. Euchre tournaments every Thursday night!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't win you anything Lucina," said Robin, ignoring the angel boy's comment. "I tried. I really did."

"It's okay." Lucina gave him a warm smile, which thankfully turned his frown upside-down. "I'm just glad to be able to spend time with you..." It took her a moment to realize the implications of that last sentence, and so she quickly tried to cover up her feelings. "And the boys. You and Ness, and Pit as well eheh."

"You gotta work on that Lucy," commented Ness, who was currently indulging in a candy corn slushy.

"Yeah, I suppose so," replied Robin, laughing his disappointments away. "I guess this is for the better. I'd rather win at a game that actually required skill."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" cried Pit, who was apparently quite proud of himself coming in second place.

"Ah, never mind." Robin went back to looking at his map, using the nearby statue of a vulture to pinpoint their location among the passing crowds. "Let's see here… Anything close by that we can do?"

Ness tossed his junk food in a nearby trashcan only to suddenly find himself dancing on his feet.

"Um, before we do anything, I gotta go to the bathroom," he said hastily.

"Huh, well it looks like there's some facilities right over there," replied Robin, pointing to a building among some cobweb-infested trees. "Bathroom break it is then?"

"Sounds good to me!" chimed Pit. "I gotta go too!"

Pit and Ness immediately bolted to the restrooms, shoving past whoever got in their way and almost trampling a man in a monkey suit who was trying to scare some teenagers on a bench.

"Give me a few minutes as well," said Lucina.

"Take your time," replied Robin. "I'm going to look for another attraction."

Lucina jogged off, leaving the Ylissean tactician all to his lonesome. Even among the bypassing thrill seekers and creepy Halloween music, Robin really wasn't at all fazed by the theme park. After going through the things he did in Ylisse during the Grima Crisis, he'd be surprised if there was anything in this park that could actually scare him. While he waited for his friends to finish, he took the liberty of standing in a nearby clearing to look over his map again. He was still surprised by the sheer size of this place, and there was still the whole eastern end they hadn't even visited yet.

As he continued to stare at his pamphlet, he felt a sudden chill in the air. It hit him like breeze of wind since it was a pretty warm night for Halloween. When he looked up from his map, he was met face to face with the beadlike eyes of a strange man in a mask.

"Um… Hello?" said Robin, somewhat surprised at how close the man was to him.

"Hello indeed!" shouted the man, taking a step back and spinning around. "And what a nice night it is for a hello! I could just say it over and over again! Hello! Hello! Hello!"

The masked man, dressed head to toe in what appeared to be a black and purple striped cloak, pranced around with talons on his feet, his arms so skinny and long that they appeared to be almost artificial. Coupled with the hood, and Robin could have possibly mistaken him for one of the most deranged looking magicians to ever walk the earth.

"Hello…" said Robin again, although he didn't quite know how to respond to this. The man's voice was loud, machinelike, protruding from his vocal chords as if he were speaking through a crumpled microphone. A few onlookers had stopped to watch this exciting scene, and still the man kept dancing around like he was high on life.

"Say it again!" cheered the man. "Hello! Hello! Hello, hello, hello!"

"Hello, hi, what's going on here?" replied Robin, already feeling somewhat annoyed by this man's presence.

"Why, don't you know?" said the man dramatically, gasping in shock as if he were in some kind of stage performance. "It's Halloween in Horrorland! And you know what that means? It means it's time to announce the winner of Dr. Z's Meet and Greet Contest!"

"Dr. Z?" Robin glanced down at his map, noticing the picture of Dr. Z in the corner yet again. He looked back up, confirming that the resemblance was terribly uncanny. "You're Dr. Z?"

"The one and only!" replied Dr. Z. "Although, I'd appreciate it if you called me Dr. 'Zed'. Rolls off the tongue better that way if you ask me."

Robin couldn't believe it. Just when he thought his luck had run out, here he was standing face to face with the king of Horrorland himself, the Dr. Z!

"Oh my gosh, does this mean I won?" he asked eagerly.

"It sure does!" Dr. Z let out a howl, followed by another crazy lunge and a backflip. "The lucky person who I approach this night will be crowned the winner of my contest! And you my good man, are that lucky person! Give yourself a pat on the back for being so lucky!" He turned to the crowd. "Give yourselves all a pat on the back for witnessing this event!"

The people in the background patted each other on the back, although Robin didn't expect Dr. Z meant for them to do that literally.

"Now my friend, I'd like to take the time to present to you your prize, however—"

"Wait," said Robin. "Before I accept, can we wait for my friends to get back? They're just in the—"

"Now hold on a second!" cried Dr. Z. "I can't just hand over the prize just like that you know. There are other rules to this game!"

"What other rules? I thought that whoever found you got to claim your valuable prize."

"If you read the fine print, you'll see that there is one catch." The strange doctor began dancing around again. "One catch! One catch! There's just one catch! Let me hear you!"

The people in the audience soon began chanting, "One catch" alongside Dr. Z, which was honestly giving Robin the creeps. Was this all part of the game too?

"Fine print?" he muttered, looking down at his map again. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that beneath the picture of Dr. Z, there was some small writing that read, "All contestants must be physically, mentally, and emotionally able to answer a series of questions before accepting the prize. All prizes are non-refundable and nonexchangeable."

This of course earned another frown from Robin.

"Are you serious?" he said. "Very well then; let's just get this over with."

"Ooh, I like that attitude!" replied Dr. Z. "Tell you what! I'll give you one question that you have to answer right here and now. If you get that right, then you can bypass all the other questions and just accept your prize right away!"

"That's sounds almost too good," thought Robin internally. "So what happens if I answer wrong?"

"Then you answer the other questions just as any other winner would. I'm tryin' to cut you a deal here kid, so take it while it's hot! Take it while it's hot!"

The crowd joined in with the chanting as well, which was quite possibly one of the worst forms of peer pressure imaginable. Still, if answering this first question wrong had no repercussions, then there was no harm in answering it at all then was there? Robin knew this for a fact, thus he trusted his instincts and took the deal while it was apparently still hot.

"I'll take you up on that offer," said Robin. "Hit me with your best shot."

He wasn't one to be cocky, but sometimes he couldn't help but let his ego get to his head. He was the reigning champion on Jeopardy nights in Ylisse for two months straight at one point, thus both his experience as a tactician and common knowledge were likely able to overcome whatever question Dr. Z had lined up for him.

"That's what I like to hear!" shouted Dr. Z. "Silence please!"

A great hush soon fell upon the crowd, the doctor in question doing some weird dances while the fog machines helped to play up whatever dramatic effect he was getting at. If he was trying to scare him, Robin was fine with holding his ground, as he maintained a straight and emotionless stare that even an experienced poker player couldn't match.

"Robin! Here is your question!" said the doctor.

"Did he just say my name?" thought Robin.

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10. What is it?"

The dead silence wore on steadily for what seemed like eons while Robin gave a cockeyed look at Dr. Z. Was that seriously the question? Another guessing game?

"This has got to be a trick," said Robin. "There's no way—"

"No trick!" replied Dr. Z., arching his beaklike head towards the moon. "Ten numbers, ten possibilities! Give me your answer… now!"

The sound of a large clock ticking could immediately be heard coming from somewhere in the distance, but Robin couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was. More importantly, he was running out of time, but any guess could have been as good as the next one.

"I know nothing about him," thought Robin. "1, 2, 3, any number could be the number he's thinking of. And with only a 10% chance, a blind guess is just a losing one. Regardless, the average person will still choose either 4 or 7 as their number, which still leaves me at such little choice…"

"Five seconds," said Dr. Z. "Three seconds. One—"

"4!" answered Robin. "Your number is 4! Right?"

Dr. Z's giddy and overly excited expression immediately twisted into a look of shock. The people watching were as silent as the grave, while Dr. Z himself appeared to be at some sort of standstill in his usual outbursts. His reaction could only be interpreted as good news for Robin, which earned a sly smirk from the tactician and a glare that said, "I figured you out. Now cough up my reward."

What happened next however, wasn't at all what Robin was expecting. For as disappointed as Dr. Z looked, he ended up just shrugging it off like it wasn't anything worth worrying about. Robin didn't even get a chance to respond though because the next thing he knew, someone had smashed him on the back of the head with something heavy. He fell to the cloudy ground out cold, the menacing Dr. Z looming over him like a demon read to claim his share of newly departed.

"Sorry kid," he said with a sneer. "Today just isn't your lucky day."