Dark Days Ahead Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Tale of the Super Specs

A note: These stories are too complex to cover every plot twist, but I have attempted to provide a thorough description for each.

In a magic-and-pranks store, Marybeth's boyfriend gives her a pair of "x-ray glasses" (the "Super Specs") and jokingly recites a spell over them. But every time she dons the glasses, Marybeth sees figures clad entirely in black; no one else can. Creeped out, she tells Sardo, the magic-shop owner.

He doesn't actually know magic, but he bluffs and says her boyfriend's spell has opened a window into a parallel universe, the specs make its inhabitants visible, and these beings may now try to take over. Marybeth asks him to help undo the spell, and he agrees.

When all three gather, it becomes clear Sardo isn't a real magician; his bluff just happened to be accurate. He reads aloud the "Cosmic Seal" from a spellbook, and the room goes dark, the crystal ball glows, and the shadowy figures appear to everyone.

A phantom appears, condemns Sardo for tampering with powerful magic, and explains: "Two universes cannot exist on the same plane. Balance must be restored." The phantom -- a REAL magician from the second universe -- casts the spell correctly, closes the cosmic window, and to ensure that her victory is permanent, she imprisons "our" universe in the crystal ball.

Answer: The Tale of Vampire Town

At their son's request, Adder's folks agree to visit Wisteria -- "Vampire Town." Adder is excited at seeking Dreyfus, "the greatest vampire," said to dwell in the city catacombs. Inside the inn, Adder sees a pathway to the catacombs, but he's told it's off-limits, so that night, he sneaks in, attracting two people's attention: Carl, who was attacked last week, and Stanley, the innkeeper.

As Adder wanders the tunnels, followed by the two men, he discovers Dreyfus's coffin. His thrill at the idea of being a famous vampire-hunter turns to terror when he realizes he's now being hunted -- the men think he's a vampire and intend to kill him. They don't believe he's just a kid. When Dreyfus suddenly materializes, Adder pulls open the blinds, and the sunlight disintegrates Dreyfus.

Carl apologizes to Adder, who decides his odd interest is over. Before leaving, he goes to thank Stanley for not telling his folks of the ordeal. The man reveals he tried to frame Adder for last week's attack; it's hard for vampires to go unnoticed. "I hope you like Vampire Town," Stanley says menacingly, "because you'll be staying here a long, long time!" Grabbing Adder, Stanley bares his fangs, and the rest is history.

Answer: The Tale of the Pinball Wizard

Ross knows how to get what he wants. And what he wants is to play pinball. He'd also like a job at Mr. Olson's repair shop. Ross has to prove he's trustworthy -- mind the store, and touch nothing, especially the rare pinball machine in back. Ross soon gives into temptation and plays anyhow. Come closing time, Mr. Olson hasn't returned, and the mall is now locked.

Strange lights flash and music plays, and androids appear on the first floor. Sophie, a girl Ross met earlier, calls down to him for help. When he finds her tiara, more music and sounds play, and an escalator turns on. Ross soon realizes what it means: He's playing the game for real, and every time he defeats an enemy and earns a royal object, an escalator lights up to take him to the next level -- literally. At the top level, Ross succeeds in killing the evil sheriff and crowning Princess Sophie. He's won the game, but he is returned to the start of the first level.

Back in the shop, Mr. Olson peers down into the pinball machine, sees Ross and the mall inside, and cackles: "Hope you enjoy your free games -- you're going to be playing them forever!"

Answer: The Tale of the Final Wish

Jill, 13, is often scorned for still loving fairy tales. After wishing one night that "everyone would just leave me alone," she wakes to find her family gone, and there's a man beneath her bed. A swirling vortex pulls her under, into a realm filled with clocks, sleeping people suspended in midair, and -- the strange man.

The man talks in riddles, then explains: This is the Land of Nod; he's the Sandman. He tells Jill this is her very own story, she wished for it, and she can't go home: "Fairy tales can't be changed. ... Should've been more careful what you wished for!"

Jill tries to escape, but storybook villains lurk behind each door. Back in the Sandman's metronome-throne room, she grabs his gigantic hourglass and threatens to break it. He says again she can't change the ending, but proceeds to contradict himself, and Jill realizes he's lying. Deciding to control her story, she overturns the hourglass, which smashes in a burst of light.

She awakens with a scream, her family enters, and she says it's time to outgrow fairy tales. Everyone returns to bed, but a gust of wind blows open a book on Jill's dresser, "The Sandman and Other Tales." Narrating, the Sandman reads the last page of Jill's story, "The Final Wish": "The little girl went back to sleep, promising never to believe in fairy tales again. If only she knew ... she would never have gone back in that bed again!"

Answer: The Tale of the Midnight Madness

Pete and Katie work at the Rialto, a failing old movie theatre. One evening, an odd-looking man enters and introduces himself: Dr. Vink. Delighted by the place, he tells the manager, "I'm here to save your theatre." He explains he's an old-time filmmaker, and all he wants is his horror film shown once a week. He promises great success. The manager shakes on the deal but has no plans to play a black-and-white silent flick. Pete does so anyway, and "Nosferatu: The Demon Vampire" is a smash.

When Dr. Vink returns weeks later, the manager reneges on the deal, saying he can now afford A-list movies and won't play Vink's films. Vink warns against making deals one won't honor, and exits.

Curious why the film is so captivating, Pete watches it over and over. As he nods off, he dreams of Nosferatu stepping out of the movie. But he and Katie soon realize it's real, and they agree Dr. Vink is exacting revenge. Pete has an idea: Step into the movie and change the ending by destroying the vampire. It sounds crazy, but it works. Dr. Vink appears and applauds a "good show," and the manager says he'll honor the deal. No need, Vink says -- he's just purchased the theatre, and "now I can show my films every night ... and believe me -- I've got many, many more that are far better than this one!"

Answer: The Tale of the Sorcerer's Apprentice

Dean has mediocre grades and few friends, though Alix always encourages him. When renowned archaeologist Dr. Oliver visits class, an artifact she brings piques Dean's interest -- the golden staff of Goth, an ancient Babylonian warlock who enslaved thousands. Dr. Oliver says Goth promised incredible fortune to those who would follow him, and death to those who would cross him.

Later, Dean looks at the cobra-shaped staff up-close, its ruby eyes now glowing with a transfixing power. Dean, mesmerized, is certain his luck will turn.

One day, spying on Dean and his new clique, Alix learns the truth: He's planning the sorcerer's return. When confronted, Dean readily admits his new power is from Goth. On the night of the ritual, Dean catches Alix but allows her to observe. Acolytes help prepare a potion in the school pool, and Goth begins to rise.

Noticing a glowing red orb in the serpentine scepter's mouth, Alix grabs the gem and hurls it into the pool. His mind freed, Dean tells Alix to pour chlorine into the pool to ruin the potion. Goth disappears in an explosion, and the two friends leave.

In the now-empty room, Dr. Oliver appears. "I'm afraid we failed," she says to the scepter. "But I planted jewels in high schools all over the country. We'll have another chance!" Setting another orb in the statue's mouth, its eyes glow bright red once again.

Answer: The Tale of the Hatching

Augie and Jasmine don't like having to go to boarding school, and right from the start, things are odd: The headmasters can't stand high-pitched sound. Accordingly, the school uses a soft, low-frequency tone system, not bells. One night, Augie and Jasmine are awakened by a humming tone, and all the students arise and sleepwalk downstairs. Following, the siblings watch the kids robotically tend to machines, then go to the pools further below. Augie and Jasmine realize the pools are filled with enormous eggs.

Hearing the Taylors nearby, brother and sister hide and then follow the headmasters back to their office. "The incubation is nearly complete," remarks Mrs. Taylor. "The master ... has been patient these hundred years." Her husband rolls up his sleeve, revealing a scaly green skin.

Back in the dorm, Jasmine tells Augie to get his things -- they'll run for it. But they hit a dead-end corridor in the basement, where the Taylors await. Their race faced extinction, they say, until the master laid new eggs. Mr. Taylor gloats that the same students who tended the eggs will be devoured by the creatures that hatch from them. The trapped siblings have wandered into the mother's lair, and a massive dragon-like reptile approaches. Recalling the Taylors' hatred of loud noise, Augie takes out his portable stereo and speakers, and plays his rock music full-blast.

The piercing noise destroys the mother, the Taylors ... and the eggs. Augie and Jasmine assure the kids that things are all right now. As everyone leaves the pools, no one notices one egg is still intact. It trembles and cracks as the sole survivor begins to hatch.

Answer: The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors

One night, Emma and brother Dayday notice they've new neighbors -- a husband, wife and son. Emma's curiosity impels her to talk to a deliveryman the next day, who says they're the Brauns, from Rivne, Ukraine -- and the huge crates hold refrigerators. But Emma finds the Brauns off-putting: They only step out after nightfall, their son doesn't attend school, and a mystery illness has overspread the neighborhood. "The answer" comes to Emma in a bad dream: The Brauns are vampires, and the delivery crates held coffins. She sneaks in once the family exits.

Meanwhile, the Brauns finally come to meet her family. Mr. and Mrs. Braun are paramedics, and came to the U.S. for ideas to help improve their home country's healthcare. Meanwhile, Emma finds a fridge, but wonders why it's padlocked. Dayday appears to warn her of the Brauns returning. Opening the fridge first, she finds many bottles of blood. The two go home and wonder what to do.

The next morning, Emma tells Dayday her plan: Find the coffins while the Brauns sleep and destroy them. But to the siblings' shock, they run into Mr. and Mrs. Braun in broad daylight. Their work schedule changed, they explain, and they store surplus blood for the hospital. They ask if Lex can come play; Emma's chagrined brother says sure. He chides her for being paranoid.

But in the basement, the Brauns unlock a door, and tell Lex -- who is in his coffin -- to awaken. "The sun's gone down ... and you've been invited in by your victims." Addressing him as "master," they praise his idea to come to America, where there's so much more blood -- "and no one believes that the little boy could be a vampire!"

Answer: The Tale of the Curious Camera

On school-picture day, Matt is the victim of a messy prank, so he doesn't expect his photo to look great -- but he also doesn't expect a photo of an empty chair! He goes to the photographer's studio. Mr. Calhoun, who believes "the camera never lies," replies, "Tell me if I'm wrong: No one notices you ... you let people walk all over you, you don't take action. In other words -- you're invisible." He's right, but he won't retake the photo, so he offers Matt a rare prototype of an instant-picture camera. But whatever Matt shoots looks ruined in the picture -- and then really does break.

Next day, the school bully is hit by a falling locker after Matt photographs him. That evening, the camera self-fires at Matt's sister Amy. He barely saves her as the hallway chandelier falls. He notices each picture has a tiny image of a monster. When confronted, Mr. Calhoun says when he owned the camera, it only caused bad luck. He warns, "It destroys everything it shoots. Don't let it destroy you!" He says a gremlin inside is to blame. As Matt arrives home, the camera self-fires again, this time at his parents, who are going out. The image of what's soon to be depicts a terrible auto accident. Hoping to trick the gremlin and avert disaster, Matt uses a mirror to cause the camera to shoot itself. The phone rings; Matt's folks are headed home, shaken by a near-accident.

The gremlin, meanwhile, has jumped to another device -- the family video-camera -- which turns on and swivels all directions, trying to catch Matt and Amy on the connected TV. Every time Matt shuts off the devices with a remote, they power on; the back-and-forth ensues until a resultant power-surge destroys them. Hearing their folks' car, Matt and Amy go to meet them. Back in the living room, though, the computer monitor powers itself on, and the interface flickers out, replaced by the gremlin's image.

Answer: The Tale of Old Man Corcoran

Jack and Kenny are new to town and haven't made any friends yet. So they're glad when a local boy, Marshall, and his friends comes to say hello and invites them to their game of hide-and-seek at sunset. The brothers go to the designated spot -- it's the entrance to a cemetery. They're hesitant but enter anyhow.

Marshall greets them and says the others have already hidden, so he'll restart the game now that Jack and Kenny have come. One of the other kids, Cissy, warns of Old Man Corcoran, the groundskeeper. She says he dealt sternly with trespassers and thieves, severing the hand of a kid who tried to steal from his shack. One night, Cissy adds, he fell into a grave he'd just dug, and now his ghost roams the grounds.

Marshall begins the game, and all go to hide. Jack and Kenny are distracted by faint harmonica music. Following it, they find an old shack. It seems deserted, save for a shiny harmonica on an old stump, so the boys wander off and run into ... an old man with an axe. Is it really the ghost? Not about to wait around and find out, they flee the cemetery and go home.

When the kids meet the next night, Jack and Kenny are "it." Marshall says Cissy made up the story, but the boys insist they saw the man. Not finding the kids' hiding spots, Kenny has an idea: Steal the harmonica as proof Corcoran is real. They get it, but he appears and demands it back. They run, stumbling into Cissy's hiding-spot, and she shoos them: "Go find your own grave!" Walking off, Kenny mutters, "I didn't see YOUR name on it." When they're out of earshot, Cissy replies, "Look a little closer next time." When Marshall appears, he won't listen to "the old-man stuff" but invites them to join his hiding-spot and ducks back down.

Corcoran, behind the brothers, takes back the harmonica from Kenny's pocket and demands, "What are you doin' here?" Kenny: "Playing hide-and-seek..." Corcoran: "In a graveyard? Just the two of ya?"

"No," Jack stammers, "with our friends. Cissy Vernon ... Ron Jacobson ... Marshall McClain."

"That ain't very funny," Old Man Corcoran responds. "All those kids are dead and buried. Dug the graves myself."

The brothers slowly turn around, and behind them they see a headstone -- Marshall McClain. The brothers are speechless. "What's wrong with you two?" the old man asks. "Look like you've seen a ghost...!"

Answer: The Tale of the Renegade Virus

Evan's friend Simon likes to pull pranks on Evan and make his life difficult. Still, one day after school, Evan hurries to tell Simon "it's finally ready" -- a game built by computer teacher Mr. Poe. Like Evan, he's a computer genius. Mr. Poe declares he's revolutionized virtual-reality technology. Aside from the VR headset and chair, Simon needs only his mind to play. Evan will monitor things while Poe takes an important call. The program starts, the chair spins, and Simon finds himself ... at home. "It was all a dream."

Things feel a little off. Simon can't see his family, but he can hear their voices. His father's calls him up to his office. The chair turns to reveal a humanoid creature, with silver skin and an exposed brain. This is all still virtual reality, and that thing is a virus. It declares, "When they turn off the game, I'm going to stay inside your brain. It'll take me into the real world ... where I can cause some REAL damage!" Simon is shocked to see a parallel port has been embedded in his hand. The virus gives Simon ten minutes in which to try to escape the game.

In a flash, Simon is back in Mr. Poe's simulator, and the teacher throws him out. But looking into the computer room, Simon sees himself, still in the chair. He's still in the game. He runs to the computer at his virtual house; the virus warns time's running out. Evan appears on-screen, but he won't help until Simon apologizes for his poor treatment. Panicking, Simon does so. Evan admits he implanted the virus but says it's harmless. When Simon shows him the connector seared into his hand, Evan realizes his sabotage was too clever: The virus is sentient. And it's locked him out. It's up to Simon.

The computer accepts his "abort" command, but it won't execute without the escape code. After a few tries the computer flashes a clue: "What's the matter? Forgot your combo?" That's it -- Evan's locker combo. "Escape code accepted," the computer voice says. "Press any key." With mere seconds left, the virus bursts into the office. Removing one glove, it reveals its one "hand" is the plug that will connect to the socket on Simon's hand. The virus laughs maliciously, "I think I'm going to enjoy being inside your brain!"

Just as the virus reaches his hand to plug in, Simon sees the monitor: "Press any key to escape!" He hits a keyboard key, the virus vanishes in a holographic flash, and Simon awakens for real. Mr. Poe says he doesn't know how a virus got in. Defending Evan, Simon says he doesn't know either; it's likely just a glitch.

The two friends apologize for having wronged one another and leave for home. Neither one pays any mind to the school custodian, his trash pail ... or the black-gloved hand that suddenly reaches out.

Answer: The Tale of the Chameleons

In a pet shop, Janice can't decide which animal she'd like. She sees one lizard -- a chameleon, a little boy says. The lizard bites her finger. "Bite you once, bite you twice," the boy chants. "A little water, pay the price." Entirely unnoticed, the lizard escapes, hitches a ride home to Janice's and slips into her room. Sharon, her friend who's staying over, listens to Janet complain about her folks.

A sleeping Janice is startled awake by a painful bite. She sees the chameleon, which now scurries into the bathroom. When the door opens, she sees a twin of herself. Reaching for water, the twin starts to repeat the boy's strange rhyme, but when Sharon enters, all she sees is a frightened Janice.

The next morning, both girls are startled by Janice's new rash, but Sharon, going downstairs, says to not let the bad dream get to her. The shower turns on, and the twin reappears and shoves Janice in -- and she is now a chameleon. That morning, the fake Janice repeatedly tries to kill Sharon's transformed friend.

When a delivery arrives, Sharon sneaks a peek. Her friend has bought ... chameleons? Downstairs, "Janice" is interrupted by her parents, who reveal they got her a dress. She goes to try it on, but knows Sharon is suspicious. As the two talk at the table, the real Janice manages to bite her twin. Seeing her "friend's" violent reaction, Sharon exclaims: "You're not Janice! Who are you?! ... You're the chameleon!"

Its eyes flash a deep green. "There's nothing you can do. There's thousands of us out here, and more are changing every day." Janice's father interrupts to insist she come outside and see his flowerbed idea. Sharon, who has since grabbed the box of chameleons, is now also outside, about to dump them into a well. The phony Janice grabs the box back. Without thinking, she puts her hand in -- and is bitten.

Now that the real Janice has managed two bites, she re-transforms. Sharon can't tell which is the impostor -- they look and sound identical. "Wait!" says one Janice, taking the box. "Only the REAL Janice would do this!" She dumps the chameleons into the well.

Convinced, Sharon sprays the other Janice with a hose, and throws the chameleon into the well. As the friends exit, Janice subtly bumps the well's winch handle, loosening the rope and sending the bucket plummeting down.

That night, Janice returns to the well. She turns the handle and grabs the five chameleons: "I'm sorry I had to do that. But I knew you'd find the bucket." Then, seeing one more in the well: "Oh, I see we left our little friend down there," she says with mock pity. "I hope she knows how to swim..."

Answer: The Tale of the Wisdom Glass

Two boys -- Allan, from a rich family, and Jimmy, from a low-income family -- are in a game store. The prejudiced manager thinks the 'poor kid' will try to steal. Allan, who the manager knows is well-to-do, steps in and pretends to be Jimmy's brother. He then offers to buy the game, "Wisdom." But the manager kicks out both kids, and in his limo, Allan realizes he still has the game in hand. Calling out, he suggests the two play it at Jimmy's place.

The game boots up, and Jimmy registers his and Allan's names online. Just in time for a "Wisdom" card tournament, it turns out. Trevor, the limo driver, takes the boys to the listed address -- a shack in a rural field. But it's the place; inside are many players in fanciful robes. Strange is the woman who calls herself The Keeper, with flowing white robes and an eyeless face. When she enters the boys' names into a large white orb, it turns red.

The Keeper, who now has angry, blood-red eyes -- orders Jimmy and Allan taken away. Guards bring them into a courtroom. "This is no game," warns a stern, masked judge, as the gallery of robed figures watches. The Keeper accuses the boys of "the crime of stealing Wisdom." In a holding cell, Allan feigns ignorance of the theft.

Back in court, Judge Day calls for the boys to be assigned counsel, and they get the useless Court Jester. The judge also calls to bring out "the Wisdom Glass ... the oracle of ultimate wisdom." The trial begins. Wisdom, states The Keeper, is acquired, not capable of being bought or stolen. Allan won't admit guilt, so the store manager is brought as a witness. He lies that he saw Jimmy steal the game, and Allan betrays his friend in blaming Jimmy.

The court adjourns for lunch, and Allan admits his mistake to Jimmy, then asks him to take the rap for it, because his future is at stake. Jimmy hesitantly agrees, stating it's not because of Allan's wealth but because he stood up for him. So Jimmy "confesses," and Judge Day excuses Allan. The Wisdom Glass -- a small, pale-orange orb -- will decide Jimmy's sentence. Gazing into the glass, the judge renders its verdict: "For stealing Wisdom, you are to be immediately ... executed!"

As Allan is thrown outside, a guillotine is prepared in the courtroom. But after Trevor offers some insightful words about Jimmy's friendship, Allan rushes back into the courtroom, and his admission stuns everyone. The judge commends him, saying he now has learned true wisdom. He then continues: "Now execute HIM! ... The judgment of the Wisdom Glass must be carried out!"

Before anyone can act, Jimmy grabs the glass and threatens, "Let him go or I'll smash it!" The judge weakly acquiesces. The boys run down the exit corridor, but face guards and The Keeper. Orb still in hand, Jimmy rolls it down the hallway, and the others chase it as the boys escape. The Court Jester scoops up the ball and proudly proclaims, "See! I'm no fool!" Without thinking, he holds it up in one hand -- and it promptly falls, shattering into pieces.

In the limo, Allan tells Trevor to hurry up go. He is at first silent, then turns around to face the boys. It's Judge Day! The doors seal shut, and the judge declares, "The judgment of the Wisdom Glass must be carried out! Court is adjourned!" The limo starts to speed back toward the "Wisdom" realm. Judgment Day is again at hand!

Answer: The Tale of the Lunar Locusts

Jake and girlfriend Julie are looking up at the night sky under the almost-full moon. She points out how the moonlight reflects off his translucent ring. A moment later, something else far above catches their glance: a small, bright streak of light. A shooting star?

At school the next day, a pretty blond girl introduces herself as Ellen, a transfer student. Jake mentions seeing something odd in the sky. Ellen comments on his "beautiful" ring; he found it on the beach. Before they part ways, Jake agrees to give her computer lessons later.

In the hallway after lunch, Julie tells Jake Ellen is acting odd. She trails Ellen into the science room and into the connected greenhouse room. Its exotic plants and eerie ambiance give Julie the creeps, and she exits, not noticing Ellen asleep atop an ultraviolet lamp.

At Jake's house later, Ellen gets the promised lesson. She asks for a ride home, but the two end up in a wooded clearing. She asks if she can be his girlfriend, wear his ring. No, he replies, he loves Julie. Ellen decides to open up about her identity: "You remember that light you saw in the sky? ... I'm not from here."

She proceeds to explain her story: There are locust-like parasites that go planet to planet, devouring everything. "My partner and I are the only survivors from my planet." She says she came to Earth to protect it. Like Jake, she too has a crystal piece; the one Jake found was her partner's. Together, she explains, they can kill the locusts. The mother parasite's new eggs are under the sports field, and they'll hatch tonight, when the full moon is at its brightest, so it's now or never.

Julie, meanwhile, has since learned Ellen is some kind of alien, but she didn't hear the story, so she's sure trouble is afoot. That night at the school, after a few moments alone with Julie, Jake promises he loves only her, and needs her help. Seeing he's sincere, she agrees.

Ellen tells Jake the plan: On opposite ends of the field are two halves of a device, and when both sides have one of the crystal shards in place, the moonlight will power the crystals and activate the device.

With a little last-minute help from Julie, the plan succeeds, and a dazzling green aura subsumes the field. Jake thanks Julie, who isn't sure what they did. "We killed the flesh-eating alien locusts," he says. "The mother alien laid her eggs in the field." He turns to Ellen to corroborate his story: "Ellen. We zapped them, right?"

She takes off her shades and responds with only a sinister grin. Jake and Julie look down at the ground as strange noises crackle beneath their feet. The swarm is hatching. Large pincer-like protrusions begin to poke through the grass. All over the field, a golden light begins piercing through hundreds of small fissures.

Answer: The Tale of the Dangerous Soup

A note: This story focuses directly and uniquely on a theme that drives the entire show -- the different fear-triggers people have -- so the discussion and explanation here is significantly elongated.

People come from far away to eat at a restaurant somewhere in Canada, for a single bowl of an extraordinary broth: le potage dangereux, "The Dangerous Soup." The owner, and the creator of the dish, is a familiar face: the eccentric Dr. Vink. Enter Reed, a young man who's heard the restaurant is hiring. Nonnie, the hostess, greets him and introduces him to Vink. The chef's attempts to sound intimidating fall flat with Reed: "You don't scare me." Vink is delighted, and soon Reed is hired. There's a high turnover rate, workers often quitting abruptly without explanation.

When Vink one day tells a server he plans to share his soup's secret, he shows her into a small empty room. He watches through a small slot in the door as two metal bars lock her into the chair, and a small trapdoor in the wall opens, revealing a stone gargoyle. "It knows what scares you," Vink says ominously. The girl screams as a huge, swinging pendulum blade begins to descend. In another room, in a small cupboard, drops of bright green liquid begin to drip into a vial.

Nonnie and Reed, hearing the screams, come to see what's going on. Now free, the server quits, and Reed demands answers. Vink agrees, saying the soup's secret is involved. He says he once met "a race of savage warriors" who needed no weapon, because they had a magical statue -- one that could "reach into your mind ... and actually create your deepest fear." He continues, "It was only an illusion, but the more you believed in it, the more real it would become." That fear was extracted as a liquid, so the warriors literally drank the fear of their foes. Thus, fear is what gives the Dangerous Soup its taste.

Reed, deciding someone must stand up to Vink, agrees to enter the fear room. Vink begins to describe a vision of a cruel uncle who raised Reed. In the middle of the room appears a coffin, and Vink dares him to open it. Reed's late uncle lies inside -- and suddenly opens his eyes, reaches out and grabs Reed.

Aghast at what's happening, Nonnie intervenes and opens the door, and to Vink's horror, the magical gargoyle flies out of the room. "Not while it's feeding!", he exclaims too late: "You've unleashed it! ... I managed to contain it, but now ... it can feed at will!" He rushes off to try to find and capture the statue.

Nonnie and Reed, now alone, know their own fears will surely prey on them. A violent wind gust blows Nonnie into Vink's entrapment room, and the walls appear to be closing in -- she's claustrophobic. The lock is unbreakable, and across the hall Reed sees the casket again -- now upright -- and a hand begins to open it. The unnamed uncle starts to move toward him.

Reed forces himself to confront his fear, and he shouts at his uncle's image, "You're not real ... you're an illusion ... you're a nightmare!" Hearing Nonnie's pleas for help from the locked room, Reed declares his uncle will not hold him any longer, and when he rushes forward, the illusion disappears. He returns to the other room, now unlocked, and enters to meet Nonnie.

"It's over," he says. "I faced my fear; I broke the spell. I don't think Vink's going to be making any more of his 'Dangerous Soup.'"

The door slams shut, and Vink appears through the peephole. He tells Reed, "That's where you're wrong, my friend ... it still knows what scares you." The gargoyle is revealed once again. As he begins to cackle maniacally, he concludes, "I plan on being in business a long ... long time!"