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“So, you’re gonna go back to before the wedding?” Crow asked. He and Tom stood outside the time machine in the loading bay on the Satellite of Love. The two of them and I had just bared witness to one of the most terrible films I have ever seen. Now, I was getting into a dusty, broken-down time machine that hadn’t been used in years. It was risky, but it was worth it. It was worth anything to get him back.
“Yes, I am. But first, I’m taking a little pit stop. South Korea, 1967.” I slid through the hatch on the top of the time machine, entered the time and location, and pulled the lever. The machine started whirring and the lights flickered on and off. I sat in that machine for too long before it all stopped. I opened the hatch and climbed outside to find a field of oil silos in the distance. This was the place all right. Now where was the monster?
I climbed a hill to get a better view of my surroundings. There, on the other side, I could see Yongary, drinking from an oil tank. I approached him carefully. “Hey, big guy…”
Upon noticing me, the monster let out a horrible roar. I refused to let it frighten me. After all, as Princess of Uranus, I had seen a lot worse. “Oh, come on now, calm down, I won’t hurt you. Not like these people will.”
After it kicked around uselessly and spun around in circles for a while, it stopped and brought its head closer to examine me. I reached out and touched the horn on its nose. It let out a loud moan. “Oh, you like that?” The horn started glowing as I rubbed it up and down. “I think we can help each other out. You’re going to run out of oil sometime. But I know where you can get lots of oil. You just need to come with me, and you won’t suffer a horrible, way-too-drawn-out death. How does that sound?”
The monster purred happily, letting its eyes close as I continued rubbing its horn. I chuckled to myself before activating my shrink ray, shrinking Yongary down so he could fit in the time machine. I picked the monster up, cradling him in my arms like a cat, as I climbed back into the time machine and set it to about a few hours before the time I left. The machine whirred and flickered around us until we found ourselves on Moon 13. I peeked out of the hatch. “And even though you’re evil, and souless, I really think we can work this out…”
It broke my heart to see him again, more than I had ever expected. Jonah. How did I end up caring for him so much? I was a Forrester. Evil ran through my veins. I had never cared for anyone or anything. But when I saw Jonah up on that platform, about to marry my sister, a heart I didn’t realize I had shattered into a million pieces. And here I was, witnessing it all over again. A squirming in my arms brought me back to reality. Yongary was hungry, and it was nearly time for him to feast.
I set Yongary down on the ground, both of us still hidden from view. When the time was right, I would return him to his normal size and unleash him on the Reptilicus Metalicus. By now, The Observer was asking Jonah if he would take Kinga as his wife. I watched him pause, stuttering. It didn’t surprise me that he hesitated. He did not love her. But the first time this happened, I could have sworn I saw his eyes meet mine. I didn’t have the time to process it then, but thinking on it now, was I part of the reason why he couldn’t bring himself to say yes?
Max shoved his key into the hole in the wall, and the hatch on the ceiling slid open. At the same time, I pressed the button on my shrink ray. Yongary grew bigger and bigger until he was at his original size. He let out a mighty roar. He seemed to be able to smell the oil inside the Reptilicus Metalicus. The wedding party gasped in shock as Yongary charged at Reptilicus, its claws tearing into the metal lizard’s neck just before it could reach Jonah. It ripped the metal off of the monster’s exterior before lunging at it with its jaws, tearing it from the ceiling to the ground and getting on top of it to keep it from struggling as Yongary sucked the oil from its body. Soon, the Reptilicus Metalicus went limp and lifeless underneath Yongary. Once Yongary had drained every single drop of oil out of Reptilicus’ body, it stood up straight once again and screeched proudly. I ran to Yongary, reaching out my hand. He lowered his head to me, and I rubbed his horn softly, soothingly. Then I turned calmly to Kinga. “I believe this ceremony is over, dear sister. Unless you want me to tell my friend here that you’re full of oil, too.”
Kinga snarled and stamped her foot. “Ugh! You always do this, Violet! You think you’re so much better than me? I’ll get you for this!” And then she stormed off.
Then Jonah was at my side, as nonchalant about the chaos surrounding him as ever. “So, Yongary, huh?”
I nodded. “Yep. Monster from the Deep.”
He reached a hand out and touched the now-glowing horn on the monster beside us. He smiled. “Well, he’s no Franken Berry, but he’ll do.”