Back to Space is the 14th episode of Jefferey's Jefftastic Space Adventures. It was written by SuperNerd.
Plot[]
And there he sat, hazy eyed, staring at a void like beach of uncountable universes. Each little pearl shimmered with a boisterous light, as if it was the lit stage of a rock concert mid-swing. In between the tiny spaces a deep black, a black so deep it would be unthinkable to humans, lay beneath. And the sea. Oh such a wonderful sight! A deep purple melded with a luscious navy blue with hints of pink. The liquid slowly swooshed back and forth like the slow breathing of a sleeping animal. He took it in, the moment, and it was as if he became truly one with the multiverse. Jefferey could feel the energy from countless timelines, new and old, some twisted and different and others mostly the same. It was as if he was an abandoned puppet, left to dance in the wind, the shaking of each string meant something. He embraced it, the sense of majesty, the whimsy. The dragon felt as a new creature, enlarged and heightened, reaching a peak of which he could not have other wise climbed. It was at this moment he had come to the realization he wanted to go back to his own. He needed to. Slowly, he turned to find both his "friends" sleeping. The turtle snored quite loudly. As sly as a fox, he stuck his hand out, and a small wormhole emerged. He reached in and grabbed it, pulling it open. He looked back once more, and to his regret, he stepped through.
The space he was once used to was now cold and unfamiliar, as if it requested him to cease existing and go back. It felt wrong, discomforting. Yet still, Jefferey trudged on. In front of him, a bright star rippled, surrounded by it's nine planets. The dragon shrunk into a smaller size, vaguely child like, and looked around. He could now see the majesty of the planets around him. For once, he stopped to enjoy himself. Ever since his fight with Oh Pi, Jefferey had been center-stage to a war between his angel and demon. Every planet both screamed to end and screamed for mercy. Life forms looked at him in an antagonistic way, yet made him sympathetic. He stared at the sun for a long while. His eyes closed, choosing what path he wished to follow.
Who are you?
The dragon opened his eyes, slowly, and began to wonder.
Who am I? that's a good question, self. For at this point, I am lost.
His eyes clouded, a dark shadow forming. Yellow lights, slowly moving around, opened in it's center.
I am not you. Nor am I a thought. I am alive, same as you.
'Then who would you be? If you are not me, then who are you?'
I? I am Lisis. And you, are Jefferey.
'Well, greetings Lisis. And where would you be?'
I? To thou's left.
And just as the creature said, to his left was a large planet, roughly the size of our own, and on it where two yellow eyes. It's vegetation was purple, and it had a deep blue ocean. The light from it's eyes glistened through these oceans, creating a mesmerizing effect. Lisis stared at Jefferey from afar.
Would thou care to come and visit?
'I'm sorry, but I am afraid I have more urgent things to worry about. It has been nice talking to you, but I need to leave.'
You are lying. You have nothing else to do. Come down and visit us.
'I'm going to leave.' The dragon clenched his fists tightly and his body began to tensed up. his tail slowly swinging around behind him.
You... want to be younger... don't you? You have a friend, and he lives on Earth... how nice that is... a friend... would you be mine?
'What do you mean, by that part... the one about youth?'
There are two trees on my body... each one bares one fruit. One makes you older and the other younger... I can help guide you to them...The dragon, almost without thinking, flew towards the planet, and hovered elegantly above it's vast ocean. His wings flapped slowly as water spiraled around him. He looked down into the abyss, the large yellow eye of the planet staring back up at him. His feet slowly dipped into the sea, and soon enough so did the rest of his body. The cold and slow flowing motion of the water was relaxing to him. He descended, not paying mind to the beautiful alien fauna swimming among him confusedly. He was not like them. He was not like anyone. As if he was royalty, plant and animal alike shifted and moved to form a path for him downwards. And slower and slower he descended until he lay before above the large yellow light, just barely illuminating the deep ocean floor around him. Not once did Lisis blink, and neither did Jefferey. Staring into the very being of the planet he was on he closed his eyes as a streak of sand lifted from a long ways away, glowing like fire flies in the dark ocean trench. It stroked his face and gently grabbed his wrist. In his head, a small whispering voice spoke to him.
"I can make you belong."
As if he had been instructed too, Jefferey began to float back up, keeping eye contact on the large eye below him. He rose out of the water, only the size of a man. With a flap of his wings, the ocean began to swirl around him like a hurricane, slowly dispersing from the top down. Jefferey put his posture upright and stared in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye he could make out land. Turning his head to the side, he saw a small, bipedal red creature with five eyes and a tail stare at him. It was covered in scales and stared at him curiously. It cautiously took a step back, and Jefferey continued to stare. Quickly, it turned around and ran, dashing through the trees and leaping over a large rock. Jefferey, intrigued, began to float towards the land. His feet made contact with the dampened grass. Jefferey began to walk thought the forest, blending in with the strange purple flora. A fluffy mammal with blue fur dashed up a tree and below by his feet a snake like creature slithered around, avoiding Jefferey. Birds above him chirped and he heard the howl of a predatory alien in the distance. Enjoying this nature walk, Jefferey sat down and held his arm out, a near by bird with four wings perched on it. It was brown and sported a long beak. It took a small time before it made eye to eye contact with Jefferey.
Crunch!
The bird flew away. Something was close. Jefferey stood up to find himself surrounded by more creatures like the one he found earlier. In fact, that same very creature was hugging the leg of one of the others, with a terrified expression on his face. A light blue sparkle emitted from around them as guns appeared in their hands. Aiming the weapons at Jefferey, he looked around, thinking of the many possible ways to kill them. Just as he was about to enact his plan, a tired old voice shouted out from the trees.
"Ah'sk! Nruoik kra!" it bellowed loudly, echoing through the trees. The soldiers to the back of Jefferey backed up, making room for what ever had just screamed. They all lowered their weapons. From behind the wall of trees, a very old creature appeared, wearing a hat the size of a deer and with a staff as tall as Jefferey. He bore necklaces and bracelets, his golden and silver apparel gilded with beautiful gems. As he got closer to Jefferey, it became apparent to the dragon just how small this strange man was. He was a third his size, and it wasn't just due to his hunched back either. He looked up at Jefferey, smiling and leaned his staff forward, tapping his head. "Ka'rush na'lli brora nek ki ren?" Jefferey just stood there in bewilderment. "I... don't understand." And just as the words finished leaving his mouth, the entire group of people cheered and cried. "W-what's happening?" The old one motioned Jefferey to follow him, and so he did.
The group led him to a strange settlement. It wasn't quite a city nor a town, and it's building design was highly inconsistent. Every here and there lay a straw hut and then a house of brick, and then as if this species didn't already seem to have enough issues, a skyscraper made of a strange alloy was just down the road.Jefferey was led to a building made entirely of crystals, located on a nearby mountain overlooking the area. Walking into the building and through it's rooms, Jefferey was led to a strange vault area. "Ku la sha... ari baku!" The door opened and revealed a small pedestal made of glass surrounded by bowls of red liquid, which Jefferey soon found out was blood. Books lined dozens of shelves across the room, with such titles as "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Hobbit" located on the wall. A World War II documentary on laser disc and a printed copy of a Sonic the Hedgehog fan fiction also decorated the wall. Walking up to the pedestal, Jefferey found three special books. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", "Fifty Shades of Grey", and "The Art of War". Not knowing what to do, Jefferey had an idea. He tore open a portal in space time and opened it behind Oh Pi, who was sleeping on Davids bed.
"Hey... Oh Pi... Pi-pi-piiiiiiiiiiiii..." He said trying to wake up the Ohpinian without waking David. The green fluff ball shuffled and moved, but to no avail. Meanwhile the old alien watched in wonder. "Oh Pi! I need you!" Jefferey said loudly, waking up both David and Oh Pi.
"What in the... HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" David said, turning to see Jefferey, eventually backing off the bed. Oh Pi looked at the portal, annoyed, eventually realizing it was Jefferey, he warmed up a small bit. David stood up and pointed at the portal. "You're that Jason, aren't you? You aren't going to fight Oh Pi again! He told me everything! I don't take being erased from existence very kindly sir." Oh Pi turned around and stared at David with a disappointed look. "I-I'm sorry..."
"So, Jefferey what do you need?" Oh Pi asked, taking on a confused look.
"Ah, er, um... oh yeah, so I uh..."
"Spit it out."
"So, I'm on this planet, and I found these aliens who want me to read their books. Or tell them what they are. Or something. I know they come from Earth, but... I'm not sure how to read or write and I don't know much about your culture."
"I may be of help here." David said, walking towards the portal. His pajama pants were half on, and his underwear was clearly visible. He pulled his pants up and smiled. "Show me the books."
And so for the next few days, David made time ready for reading a bunch of literary works to some race of aliens in different super cluster. When he couldn't be there, Oh Pi tended to fill in his place, typically reading the fan-fictions that David denied wanting to read. In the mean time, Jefferey was being treated as a king. He was fed only a large feast, given a palace, and treated with higher authority than the old alien who had previously shown him their home. Needless to say, Jefferey was living it good. The entire species had learned basic English too, making it easy for him to communicate.
Only a few months later, one of Jefferey's servants ran into the throne room, panting and sweating. "Master! Master! The People! They want war!" Jefferey, without thinking, responded.
"Just kill 'em." And sooner than Jefferey could count to five, the entire continent was gearing for war against the other one. Soldiers were armed and ready and within an instant, Jefferey was teleported against his will on horseback to the other continent. There lay the strangest bunch of people the dragon had ever seen. Literally, People. They were... surreal. They came in all sorts of sizes and had a vast collection of different features, such as wings and horns, but they all had one thing in common. A circular orange body with a freakishly uncanny smile. Prior to this, Jefferey didn't actually want to kill them. He just instinctively had a need to kill things when the time came. But now that he had come face to face with them, he repeated his words. "Kill them. Now." Shots from Jefferey's side were fired in all directions, explosions lit up randomly and dust filled the air. Out of nowhere, Jefferey was hit in the face by one of his own.The body exploded on contact and blood splashed all over. He leaned forward and fired off lasers from his eyes, turning his head slowly back and forth. His horse was hit with a corpse at such a force it tore it's head off, sending it flying into the nearby ocean. It was only now that Jefferey was able to see around him. The dust had begun to clear and so hadn't his range of sight. All around him were the bodies of his men, and more of them... then more. And there they stood. The People. Their round orange faces remained smiling with that terrifying grin. They hadn't even moved. Momentarily, Jefferey was terrified. He had forgotten his entire reason for being here. His mind had drifted off to thoughts of hopelessness. The People continued to stare. They didn't move. They didn't blink. They didn't breathe. It was almost as if they where simply cut outs of the real thing. Only the wind sounded in the empty battlefield. Jefferey had soon regained his grip on reality. He was omnipotent, what was there to fear? After this he began to remember the reason why he had come to this strange planet in the first place. He wanted to be like him. Jefferey launched into the air with great force, blowing back the bodies of his men and clearing the field of rubble. He could now get a better glimpse of the People, who were now all staring up at him. But this wasn't what he had gotten up for. "Lisis..." the dragon muttered. His scowl became apparent to the planet as he looked down at it's oceans. He could see the light of it's eye glowing only a short distance away. As fast as sound, the dragon swept through the ocean and back to the eye. He stared intently at it. No reaction from the planet. Since he couldn't get the creature to speak to him, Jefferey stabbed his foot in it's eye. A loud, low pitched drone resonated from deep within the planet. The earth rumbled and the animals around began to panic. Large cracks in the crust formed around the eye, with hot magma seeping out. "Were is it." The dragon inquired emotionlessly. Still silence. Annoyed, he shot his foot out and shot it back in, this time holding nothing back. His leg stretched and twisted, completely impaling the eye. The sound came again, but this time it was louder, and the tremors lasted longer. Occasionally, Jefferey caught the corpses of fish and other creatures slowly falling dead to the ocean floor. The planet was starting to die.
What in the gods names are you doing! Can't you see your hurting me?
"You haven't fulfilled your promise to me, Lisis. You told me you would make me younger." The dragon reminded it, cocking his head upwards as he spoke. "You owe me."
After that demonstration I don't owe you anything yo-
Jefferey sucked his foot halfway in, and then splintered it out like a root in every direction. The planet screamed in agony once more. When it wouldn't quiet down, Jefferey began to heat up his feet. Magma began to fly out around the eye, filling the water. A boiling blue liquid began to secrete from the holes he had poked in the eye.
Two... trees! Island... in the sea! Stop it you sadistic buffoon!
The planet chocked from the pain. Jefferey made it hotter. "Show me the god damn island!" All Jefferey could hear was muffled sobbing and occasional screeches when he heated up his foot even more.
After thirty straight minutes of torture, the planet gave up. In front of Jefferey the sand began to swirl and form an image, changing colors and glowing. A mural of the island made of sand lay in front of him. Jefferey yanked out his foot, tearing chunks of Lisis's eye out. "Thank you." And so he left, leaving nothing but a distorted cloud of bubbles were he once stood.
Jefferey seemed to almost fade in on top of the island. It was dark here, And he couldn't see the bright blue sky, nor the bright glowing light of Lisis's eyes, so he deduced with simple ease he must be on the other side of the planet. In his gazing, he saw the vast and beautiful open universe almost sitting there, taunting him. Waiting for him... He descended at a great speed, blowing the plant life on the small island in every direction. A few bushes went uprooted, and some water began to cycle around in the sky, but other then that, no real harm was done. Peculiarly, The bushes Jefferey had sent flying just regrew, going through several years of aging in only a second. This had to be the spot. The planets very own, home grown remedy to aging. The small island, barely even half a kilometer in every direction, was almost perfectly round. Very few large flora lived there, leaving the majority of it as just a plain empty field. The center of the island is what caught Jefferey's attention however. It was so thick with trees you couldn't see through them, even from up close. Jefferey looked at the horizon.
The two trees are in there. From your current direction the one on the left bares a fruit of eternal youth.
The planet sounded aggravated with it's information, but Jefferey quietly kept whispering the word left to himself, while holding out the hand of the same side. Suddenly, all the trees that surrounded the center of the island where chopped down, and Jefferey quickly leapt into the circle of stumps. Quickly, at a slower rate to the bushes, the trees began growing back. But that wasn't what mattered. Two trees standing tall next to each other, so unmistakably whimsical and glorious they would surely be counted as priceless artifacts one day, lay in front of the dragon, each baring a small red fruit, only the size of a bottle cap. Jefferey instantly jerked his head to the left, looking at the tree in all of it's natural beauty. It's pinkish orange petals glittered like polished gold and diamond jewelry, it's trunk of a magnificent deep brown unknown to our eyes, the sight was simply captivating. Hanging down low from one of it's branches, was the fruit. The dark wood bent and turned to face Jefferey and turned down to place the fruit in his hands. The stem detached from the fruit, the branch returning to it's normal place. Jeffery clenched his fist gently, his elbow began bending slowly, his neck extended outwards, his jaw opened, and his bottom lip made contact with the lower part of his palm, and then he lifted his fingers. It felt like a million years went by in that second. All the excitement and anticipation... and finally, it touched his teeth. With one quick bite, Jefferey felt the skin peel, the flesh splinter, and the juice squirt out. Then another bite, then another, and another, another. The fruit was now a paste in his mouth, and without hesitation, he gulped it down, it's sweet taste resonating throughout his body. That's when he felt it. The exhilarating feeling of his body changing, expanding outwards, his eye lost their pigment, becoming a light pink. His wings began to grow and splinter, His cross spiked out in all directions, his horns grew wildly like the branches of a tree, knotting and tangling. His teeth extended to impossible length, preventing him from opening his mouth. He laughed maniacally, his muscles popping and bubbling, growing in bulk. His tail shot outwards, the drill growing to a massive size, sinking into the earth. Jefferey felt so good, he felt so powerful! This strength, this size... didn't exist. He looked at himself, extending his hands outwards. He certainly changed, but it wasn't in the right way. He felt his back. He had four wings now. His horns have grown for sure, but they weren't highly impressive. His eyes were still the same color. He had new armor protection, but nothing incredibly new. He felt a little excited. Then it hit him. Took him a few seconds. He didn't become younger, he had become older.
Ha ha ha ha ha! You fell for it! That's what you get for stabbing me in the damn eye! It's not like the other would have different effects either! Ha!
The planet was incredibly amused by this. Jefferey however, was infuriated. In under a second, he left the surface of the planet, leaping off with such a force he made a visible crater from space. Lisis cried out in pain.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!
Jefferey, without any warning, shot through Lisis. The planet began to crack and crumble. It's surface breaking apart and shattering. A loud, horrible screaming echoed throughout the solar system, followed by an explosion, suddenly interrupting the scream. But the scream didn't stop. After the explosion, all Lisis heard was silence. It saw space again, but why? It was stabbed through the middle, wasn't it? No, it was still alive! Lisis was alive! He started bellowing, his voice loud enough to be heard from the other distant planets. He shifted his eye all around, remembering his true, small crystal form. A pure gem, pressurized and stuck together by the harshness of space, gifted eternal life. He triumphantly screamed, but, something didn't sit right with him. He could hear... breathing? The small light inside the gem shifted to look above. A metal claw was holding it in place. Underneath it too. It shifted once more to look behind itself, and there stood the dragon, unscratched from the destruction of Lisis's body. The little gem began to breakdown crying. It quivered, unable to move it's light in any direction but up. It looked at Jefferey's finger, slowly crushing downwards. The shell shattered, and for Lisis, everything was gone.
Jefferey continued his endless drifting. He had a whole universe to explore, but nothing in it brought him true happiness. On his finger was a small glowing yellow fluid. He brought it up to his mouth and touched it with his tongue. "Disgusting." The liquid started to boil, eventually turning into a small cloud of foul smelling gas.
Cast[]
The dust covered a large figure. It's body was slug like, with fifteen arms coming out of it's back. Ten spider like legs grew out of the creatures face. The dust cleared and revealed it's horrifying true form. It had a blank, cat-like smile. It's eyes showed mild amusement It had a well rounded nose to top it all off. But that was just the top of it's body. It's torso had two more eyes, spaced out and flipped over. They blinked unnaturally, from each side, not the top and bottom. And in the middle of it was a mouth, always stationed in a wicked grin. The spider arms retracted into it's face. The mouth opened and millions of smaller, less great versions of itself fled. She was their queen. The Queen... of the people.