Hamza and The Staircase: The Diet Water Crystals

⛧ SEASON 3 ⛧ DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

HAMZA AND THE STAIRCASE

SEASON 3 EPISODE 1

NIGHT TERRORS

Another episode passes in the magical world of Hamza and the Staircase. “What’s wrong Zaki?” asked Hamza. Hamza walked into the backyard to see Slurpy’s dead body. “Oh shit, what the hell happened?” asked Hamza. Dr. Dan walked out as well. “Looks like Shadow got a hold of him.," said Dr. Dan, looking at the sign, “I’m terribly sorry for your loss Zaki.” “What’s wrong with Zaki?” asked Will, coming outside. “MY SLURPY IS DEAD!” yelled Zaki. “Wait, actually,” said Will. Will walked into the backyard. “Oh fuck, he really is dead,” said Will, “I’m so sorry Zaki.” “We need to give him a proper burial,” said Zaki, “Immediately.” “Fine, since this is very important to you; we will,” said Will. “Where would you like to bury him, Zaki?” asked Hamza. “I guess here is fine, so he is always here with us,” said Zaki. “Okay,” said Hamza. Hamza ripped Slurpy into tiny pieces and made a hole into the ground. He scooped the scraps of Slurpy into the hole. Hamza then put a chunk of their backyard on top of the hole. “Rest in piece Slurpy,” said Hamza, covered in blood. “Thank you Hamza,” said Zaki, rolling beside the pile of dirt. “He needs a tombstone,” said Zaki. “Uh.. maybe I have something,” said Dr. Dan. Dr. Dan dug throughout his pocket and pulled out a slab of stone. He also pulled out a chisel and carved at the stone. Dr. Dan then finished chiseling and placed the tombstone. “What do you think, Zaki?” asked Dr. Dan. The grave read ‘R.i.p Slurpy, a great chicken, pet, and friend.’ “Beautiful,” said Zaki. “I think we should take a nap guys,” said Hamza, “We had a long year.” “Okay,” said Will. Zaki looked down at Slurpy's grave in anguish. “Guys, I’ll come inside in a second, I want a moment with Slurpy,” said Zaki. “Take all the time you need, Zaki,” said Hamza. Hamza, Will, and Dr. Dan walked inside the house. “Geez, I really feel bad for Zaki,” said Hamza. “Yeah, Slurpy didn’t deserve that,” replied Will. “Yes it is quite sad, but can we focus on the bigger issue right now,” said Dr. Dan. “What would that be?” asked Hamza. “Hamza, we just saw Shadow get saved by a person who awfully resembles Dream. I think that’s a pretty big issue,” said Dr. Dan, “We need to figure out who they are, and if they will try to kill us.” “Well, since he saved Shadow; it’s best to assume he has the same motives as him, to kill us,” said Will. “That is very likely,” said Dr. Dan. “We were so close to killing Shadow.," said Hamza. “Don’t worry Hamza, the time will come where we get our second chance,” said Will. “Before we take action I think we should take a good night's rest,” said Dr. Dan. Will and Hamza agreed and walked upstairs, into their rooms. “Goodnight guys,” said Hamza, walking into his room. “Should we get Zaki?” asked Will. Dr. Dan looked out the window to see Zaki sound asleep in his wheelchair. “I think we should just let him sleep,” said Dr. Dan. All the heroes entered their rooms. “Time to finally get some rest.," said Hamza, looking at his bed. Hamza face planted onto the bed in comfort. Hamza started to fluff out his pillow with his lower lip. “Wow this is actually a great tool to use,” said Hamza. Hamza then tucked himself into bed and fell fast asleep. Hamza slept for a few hours before waking up in the middle of the night. “Damn, I’m really thirsty,” said Hamza. He tried to get out of bed to get a glass of water, but he couldn’t move. “What? Why can’t I move?” thought Hamza.  Hamza looked towards his dark door and saw it  eerily creak open. “Will? Dr. Dan?” asked Hamza, “Is that you?” Metal screeched along the wooden floor closer to Hamza door frame. “What?” thought Hamza. Hamza called out into the darkness, “Who’s there!” A large figure entered the door frame. It was a destroyed and mangled version of The Staircase. A glitchy voice came from The Staircase, “ɎØɄ ₮ⱧØɄ₲Ⱨ₮ ɎØɄ ₭łⱠⱠɆĐ ₥Ɇ.” “No.. How; You died,” said Hamza, “And why are you so mangled?” “ɎØɄ ₳ⱤɆ ₲ⱤɆ₳₮ⱠɎ ₥ł₴₮₳₭Ɇ₦, Ⱨ₳₥Ⱬ₳. ł ₳₥ ₥ØⱤɆ ₳ⱠłVɆ ₮ⱧA₦ ɆVɆⱤ,” said The Staircase. Hamza tried to speak, but couldn’t. The Staircase slowly lumbered towards Hamza’s bedside, his eyes creating an ominous green light through the room. Hamza tried to move once again, but he still couldn’t do anything; but watch The Staircase come closer and closer to him. The Staircase made it to the bed and started to drag his body across it. The Staircase and Hamza were eye to eye. “What the hell is happening? What is he going to do to me?” thought Hamza.  The Staircase’s grin widened. Hamza then felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down to see The Staircase’s fist through his torso. “I need.. Diet Water,” muttered Hamza. “ł'₥ ₴ØⱤⱤɎ, Ⱨ₳₥Ⱬ₳; ฿Ʉ₮ ɎØɄ Ⱨ₳VɆ ₦Ø ĐłɆ₮ ₩₳₮ɆⱤ ₮Ø ₴₳VɆ ɎØɄ ₦Ø₩,” said The Staircase. The Staircase yanked his hand out of Hamza and Hamza’s intestine splattered on the wall. Hamza shook violently. Hamza watched The Staircase rip him apart limb by limb as his vision slowly faded to black. Hamza was flooding with sweat as he got up from bed, perfectly fine. Hamza felt around his stomach, it was normal. “It.. It must have just been a nightmare,” said Hamza. A flash of red zoomed out of Hamza’s room. This made Hamza jump. “What the fuck was that.," said Hamza. Hamza sat up and looked at his alarm clock that read ‘3:00am.’ “Should probably just go back to sleep,” said Hamza. Hamza lied back down ,on his wet mattress, and tucked himself in again; keeping one leg above the blanket, and one leg below it. Hamza slowly dozed off, snoring loudly. Hamza had slept for another few minutes before waking up to the smell of burning wires. “What’s that smell?” thought Hamza. Hamza opened his eyes to see his entire room was on fire. “AHH! WHAT THE HELL!” yelled Hamza. Hamza saw a figure in the middle of his flaming room. “Greetings Hamza,” said the figure. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!” screamed Hamza, feeling the heat melt his flesh. The figure stepped out the flames revealing it was the red Dream. “It feels painful doesn’t it Hamza,” said the red Dream, “But the name’s Nightmare, I am the evil counterpart of Dream.” Hamza’s muscles started to become exposed. “But, I have a much cooler power,” said Nightmare, “To affect dreams, in great detail.” Nightmare snapped and all the flames disappeared. Hamza’s skin rapidly regenerated. “Let me dig in your mind, Hamza. Let me see your greatest fears,” said Nightmare. Hamza tried to get up, but Nightmare swished his finger and Hamza was paralyzed. “Don’t resist,” said Nightmare, reaching his hands towards Hamza’s head, “Or this will hurt much more than it has too.” Nightmare stepped closer and closer to Hamza. Hamza tried to move or get up but he was completely paralyzed. “No point in struggling,” said Nightmare, “Just let me go into that small mind of yours.” Nightmare clutched Hamza’s skull with his black gloved hands. Flashes of Hamza’s worst fears started to appear in Hamza’s head. First it was his dad being choked to death and him missing his attack. “Oooo, you missed and caused your own father’s death; how juicy,” said Nightmare. Nightmare replayed this scene in Hamza’s head over and over again. “Stop! Please, stop!” yelled Hamza. Nightmare’s cackle echoed repeatedly in his head. Hamza started to shake violently. “Huh?” asked Nightmare. Hamza woke up to Will shaking him. “Hamza? Are you okay?” asked Will. Hamza had waterfalls of sweat pouring off him. “He… he was standing in front of me!” said Hamza in a shaky voice. “Who? I heard you screaming, so I decided to come check on you,” said Will, “You were screaming in your sleep. Were you having a nightmare?” “I had a nightmare,” said Hamza, “And I saw the red version of Dream with a frowning mask. H-He told me his name was Nightmare.” “How fitting,” said Dr. Dan, walking into the room. “The dream was.. So real,” said Hamza. “We should have a little chat with Dream about this,” said Will, “Wouldn’t you say, Dr. Dan?” “Well, first it would probably be best to gain our own knowledge about this guy first. Then use this to gain further information about Nightmare when talking with Dream,” said Dr. Dan. “Sounds good,” said Will, “Should we check on Zaki?” “Oh yeah, he slept outside last night, so we probably should,” said Hamza. Hamza got out of bed and got dressed, he awkwardly put his shirt on due to his abnormally large lower lip. The three heroes then walked outside and into the backyard. “Zaki? Are you there?” called out Hamza. There was no response. They walked deeper into the backyard and saw Zaki still sleeping in his wheelchair. “Oh he’s still asleep,” said Hamza. “Thanks Captain Obvious,” said Will. Zaki started snoring louder. “Guys, we should pull a prank on Zaki,” said Hamza. “Like what?” asked Will. Dr. Dan thought for a moment. “I have the perfect prank idea,” said Dr. Dan. “I didn’t know you were a prankster,” said Will. “Well, I’m not a big prankster, but I do enjoy a good joke once in a while,” said Dr. Dan. Dr. Dan walked inside and down into his lab. “Should we follow him?” asked Hamza. “Nah, let’s just wait here. Let’s make it a surprise for us too,” said Will. “A basic potion should do,” said Dr. Dan. “Hmmm… what kind of potion should I make, though?” thought Dr. Dan. He thought for a moment of what would be a good prank, and then remembered Zaki usually got knocked into the air. “Wait, that’s perfect!” said Dr. Dan. Dr. Dan went up to his brewing stand, threw some gunpowder and a firework star inside a water bottle, and shook the bottle until the inside turned into a fizzing black and white substance. “Perfect,” said Dr. Dan. Dr. Dan got his green potion and walked upstairs and out the front door. “This should be a good prank and wake him up,” said Dr. Dan. “Okay, what is it?” asked Hamza. “Just watch,” said Dr. Dan. He poured the liquid into Zaki’s mouth. “What’s going to happen?” asked Hamza. “Look up,” responded Dr. Dan. Zaki launched into the air, screaming. “WHAT THE HELL IS-” shouted Zaki. Zaki went off like a firework in the shape of Dr. Dan’s logo. “Just like new years,” said Dr. Dan. Zaki came falling back to the ground with a trail of gray smoke behind him. “Thanks for waking me up,” coughed Zaki, covered in ash, “Didn’t wanna sleep in too late.” “That was amazing,” said Hamza. “What was amazing?” asked Zaki. “Didn’t you see the firework?” questioned Hamza. “Hamza, I was the firework, how would I see it,” said Zaki. “Oh yeah, I forgot sorry,” laughed Hamza. “So how late did I sleep?” asked Zaki. “Actually not that late it’s only nine,” said Dr. Dan. “Then why the fuck did you wake me up,” said Zaki, angrily, “I was dreaming about frockling in the fields with hordes of twerking chickens around me.” “Sounds great Zaki, but we need to have a team meeting,” said Dr. Dan. “A team meeting about what?” asked Zaki. “About.. What did you say his name was, Hamza?” asked Will. “A team meeting about Nightmare,” said Hamza. “Who is Nightmare?” asked Zaki. “You remember when we were fighting Shadow and Evil Will and all those other friendly people?” asked Dr. Dan, “And then that red version of Dream swooped in and saved Shadow.” “Oh yeah, who is that guy anyway?” asked Zaki. “Zaki, that guy is who Nightmare is,” said Will. “Oh okay, that makes sense now,” said Zaki, “But why are we having a team meeting about Nightmare?” “Well, we need to gain more information about him; because it is pretty obvious he has evil intentions,” said Dr. Dan, “So we are going to find out more about him and then go on a quick trip to Dream’s house for some final details.” “So, we’re taking the convertible then?” asked Hamza. “Yeah, but first we should probably take some things with us, just to prepare,” said Will. A sudden crash came from the basement in their house. “What was that?” asked Zaki. “I’ll go check that out,” said Dr. Dan, “Something probably fell over, I haven’t been organizing my shelves lately.” Dr. Dan quickly went downstairs. “I guess we can raid the fridge and get some Diet Water if we’re gonna be going on another adventure,” said Will. Hamza and Will walked into the kitchen, while Zaki rolled behind them. “Do we have anything to store it in?” asked Will. “I mean we could use my wheelchair,” said Zaki, “Unless you wanna see if Dr. Dan has a better idea.” “Sure, let’s see what Dr. Dan thinks,” said Hamza. They started to walk down the stairs into the lab carrying a few cans of Diet Water. “Dr. Dan?” asked Hamza, “What was the bang noise?” Dr. Dan cleared his throat and responded, “Uh, it was just some lab equipment that fell over.” “Oh okay,” said Hamza, “Why is your back facing towards us, Dr. Dan?” “No reason, do you guys happen to know where I placed all the diet water?” asked Dr. Dan. “Dr. Dan, you are acting pretty suspicious,” said Zaki. “I’m trying to focus on something on my screen, can you just hand me the Diet Water?” asked Dr. Dan. “I was wondering if I could store them in my wheelchair,” said Zaki. “I have a better idea,” said Dr. Dan, “But I need the Diet Water cans.” “Uh, okay,” said Hamza. They all handed Dr. Dan their Diet Water cans, and Dr. Dan took them from behind his back. “Come upstairs whenever you decide you’re done being weird,” said Zaki. They started to go up the stairs, but Hamza sensed something. He cupped his ear and heard muffled screams. “Do you guys hear that?” asked Hamza. “No, what’s wrong?” asked Will. “Those screams…” said Hamza. “Are you sure you’re not going crazy again?” asked Will. “No, I sense something… behind those crates,” said Hamza, pointing to a stack of metal crates against the wall. Hamza moved the metal crates aside, and saw another Dr. Dan tied against the wall with tape over his mouth. “HELP!” yelled a muffled Dr. Dan. Hamza ripped the tape off of Dr. Dan’s face and chewed through the ropes tied around him. “Two of you?” asked Hamza, “What the hell is happening?” “I heard something walking behind me, and the next thing I know I’m tied up behind these metal crates!” said Dr. Dan. Hamza looked at the other Dr. Dan who was sitting in his chair. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” said the Dr. Dan standing next to Hamza. “Oh screw it,” said the other Dr. Dan. He snapped his finger, and his ninja suit changed into a gray business suit with a pure white tie. He turned around, revealing a clock for a face. “This is quite the quirky cosplay you’ve got going,” said Zaki. “Enough chit-chat,” said the clock man, “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Time-Stopper, and I’m from a different universe than yours, specifically Universe 1-92748.” “So the multiverse is real,” said Dr. Dan.  “Yeah yeah take it in,” said Time-Stopper, “But I’m not here to teach you kids about the multiverse, I’m sent by my father to terminate you all.” “Your father? Who is that?” asked Hamza. “If you wish to hear my story before you all perish,” said Time-Stopper, “I guess I can fulfill that request.”