The Infinity Guardians

Chapter Four: The Dark Lord's Apprentice

Shaggy stared right into the eyes of the gang leader, and then, he backflipped and threw an empty wine glass at the leaders head. The leader tackled Shaggy and pinned him against the wall, and before he could hit Shaggy, Iggy ran up to the leader and gave him the strongest punch that he had done in a long time. The gang members then began to shoot at Iggy and Shaggy, who were both ready to take the thugs down.

The fight had begun

Tom, Rex and Shrek joined in by beating up the thugs. Tom got his sword out and began to duel with another gang member, who had picked up s metal rod to combat with. Rex and Shrek helped the cafe owner and the other customers escape out back, while the others continued to fight. While fighting, the gang leader pushed Iggy, who then went flying backwards, and fell into the kitchen. At this moment, Iggy had a perfect idea. He grabbed a frying pan and ran back into the battle that was taking place, and he swiftly wacked the thug leader on the head with the pan. The leader fell to the ground and slowly started to bleed to death.

"How did our attacks do nothing, yet a hit on the noggin with a frying pan did the job right?" Asked Rex.

"Like, I've seen this before man" said Shaggy. He then pulled out a small device from the now dead leaders jacket. "Healing device. Looks like he wasn't expecting a hit on the head with a pan"

"Huh" said Rex.

"Let's head back to the castle" said Iggy.

When they returned, Shaggy noticed Iggy and Rex didn't have their crystals. He then felt a sense of dread in his soul.

"Rex, Iggy, where are your crystals?" He asked.

"Erm... About that..." Said Iggy in a scared voice.

Then, there was an explosion.

"YOU LOST THE CRYSTALS?!" roared Shaggy.

"We're sorry!" Said Iggy, pleading for forgiveness. "Pennywise took them, and he almost killed us!"

Shaggy looked at them with absolute horror in his eyes.

"What did you just say?" He asked in a quiet yet terrifying voice. He then inched closer towards the four of them. "Did you say... Pennywise?"

"I really wish I didn't" replied Iggy.

Shaggy walked towards his throne and got an old book out. He flipped through the pages until his stopped at page 112. Just then, fire came bursting out of the book, and the four guardians saw the world in ruins, and in the heart of the flaming destruction was Pennywise, with all eight crystals, laughing maniacally. Iggy put his hands over his eyes. "No!" He shouted. "I can't watch any longer!" Then, his hands were pulled away by Penny-wise, and he was met face to face with the decaying face of Pennywise, still laughing maniacally. Iggy fell backwards, and The Eater Of Worllds set him on fire.

Just then, Iggy found himself back in the castle. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. He then saw Shaggy stand over him.

"If you don't get the crystals back, what you just saw will become reality" he said to Iggy.

"We will NOT let what we saw happen!" Said Iggy. "We will find Pennywise, kill him, get our crystals back, and save the world"

"Well first we need to find Pennywise's lair" said Rex.

"I think I can help with that," came a voice from behind. Rex knew that voice. It was Garnet. Garnet was a cat with pink and white fur, and came from the jewlpets universe.

"Garnet!" Said Rex, who went over to greet her.

"Where have you been, Rex?" Asked Garnet. "You said you were coming over yesterday!"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry... We got caught up in-"

"No need to tell me," she said. "I heard everything"

"But you said you can help us?" Asked Tom.

"Oh yeah, I can. I'm good at finding things" she said proudly.

"Let's go then!" Said Shrek.

"Stay safe, guardians. Your mission won't be easy, but I have complete confidence in you" said Shaggy with what appeared to be a fake smile, and as the five of them left, he turned to his throne and sighed.

"I'm starting to lose hope in them..." Said Shaggy quietly. "If they don't make it back... The end of humanity could be at stake... The Fate Of The World Is In Their Hands..."

Back at the cafe, which was now deserted, a man with a dark hood and long Cape walked in. He looked down and saw the dead leader and the other gang members on the ground. He walked over the bodies and continued to look through the deserted place. Just then, he saw one of the workers, who had just tried to name a run for it, after locking himself in the supply cupboard during the battle earlier. The worker put their hands up and begged for mercy, but the hooded man stared at him with no emotion whatsoever. Then, he got a sword out from inside his cloak, and he executed the worker without hesitation. Even when the worker was dead, the hooded man was still cutting him up, until there was nothing else that he could cut. Then, he slowly left the deserted cafe, covered in blood.

Meanwhile, Penny-wise was standing in a room somewhere in his castle. He had the three crystals on a big stone slab. He then got his own dark red crystal our to communicate with his apprentice again.

"What is it, master?" Asked Pennywise's apprentice.

"The plan is going just as I've foreseen..." He said.

"Very good" replied the apprentice.

"Take your hood down," ordered Pennywise. His apprentice did as he was told, and his apprentice's true self was revealed. He had pale white skin with wrinkles and dirt on his face, dried red hair, and a scar across his left eye. It was none other than Ronald McDonald himself. He was alive after all this time...

"Soon we will no longer need to hide ourselves... I have already prepared our plans and gotten reinforcements... Once I begin the invasion, we will be the rulers of the multiverse! We will be in control of what goes on around here, with nobody to get in our way!" Exclaimed Pennywise. He was incredibly excited to get his revenge after being banished.

"But what of Shaggy and the rest of the guardians?" Asked Ronald.

"They will be dealt with... And speaking of which, didn't you send people to kill them?" He asked.

"They were destroyed" said Ronald.

"Those thugs didn't succeed? Looks like we're going to have to bring in stronger warriors... Shaggy has trained the guardians well..." Said Pennywise.

"And what of me, master?" Asked Ronald. "What should I do?"

"I have a very important mission for you," he said. "I want you to go to The Cave of Shadows. Find me some new assassins to take down those pathetic infinity children. Can you do this for me?"

"As you wish..." Replied Ronald, who then vanished into thin air. Pennywise then looked out of the window of his castle, and he watched the construction of the rest of his castle...