The ship descended slowly, engines whining in the heavy, toxic air of a town that looked like a dystopian echo of China, neon signs flickered intermittently, streets were cracked and littered with broken electronics, and the buildings leaned like tired giants. Silence stretched across the empty avenues, thick and oppressive. Not a single pedestrian stirred, only the faint hum of dying machinery and the occasional drip of water from rooftops. Serena gripped Raymond's head, nerves taut. "This place... it's dead."

BJ's sensors scanned the streets. "No population... dangerous. Environmental hazards... unknown." His mechanical voice had a low undertone of worry. "Proceed with caution." The two cautiously stepped out of the ship, boots crunching on broken tiles and shards of neon glass. Shadows shifted at impossible angles along the walls, and every alley seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Then they saw it. A massive, hulking form slumped in the middle of the street, oozing slime like molten tar. Its body was grotesque and malformed, and it moved with a slow, lurching agony that made the ground squish beneath it. Its chest plate, metallic and jagged was embedded deep within its torso, partially fused with its own slime, glowing faintly like a heartbeat. The thing moaned, a wet, gurgling sound that made Serena's stomach twist.

Two small, slime-coated humanoids clung to the monstrosity's sides, its "children," though their forms were indistinct, barely more than small blobby shapes with eyes that blinked sporadically. BJ's optical sensors flickered in disgust and curiosity. "He looks..Congested? That... has to be him. Part of Raymond... yes... embedded in that creature."

Serena's voice shook. "We have to... get him back. But... oh my god, it's so gross."

Before they could strategize, the ground beneath their feet cracked with a wet, sucking sound. A massive sewer pothole, hidden under a thin layer of debris, gave way. Serena screamed, stumbling forward as the ground vanished beneath her. BJ lunged, grabbing her shoulder with one metallic arm, but gravity, and something sticky and insidious from below—dragged them both down. They fell into darkness, the smell of rot and rust filling their nostrils. The slime monster's moans echoed faintly above, wet and pitiful, like a wounded animal, but with something vaguely intelligent in its tone. Congested flailed its blobby children weakly, one small appendage accidentally smacking Serena as she fell. "Ew! Gross! Get off me, you little, ugh!" Serena shrieked, scrambling to maintain her grip on Raymond's head as they tumbled through sludge and debris.
BJ's systems whined in alarm. "Warning... unknown environment! Hazardous! Structural instability detected!"

They hit the bottom of the sewer with a nauseating splash, water and slime gurgling around them. Above, the street seemed impossibly far away, and the faint neon glow barely penetrated the darkness. Congested's groans reverberated through the pipes, each movement making the metal and concrete vibrate in their ears. Serena pressed herself against BJ, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Okay... okay... first... we get him... Raymond. Then we get out. Then... maybe throw up. Maybe both."

BJ's sensors flickered, scanning the sewer walls. "We will... assess. Avoid contact. Identify chest plate. Plan extraction."

Through the darkness, the faint glow of Raymond's chest plate, fused with Congested's bloated slime, pulsed like a lighthouse in a storm, a sick, horrifying beacon of hope. And somewhere above, the city remained silent, watching, waiting, and vaguely malevolent. The sewer was a nightmare made real. Thick, glistening slime clung to every surface, squelching audibly with each movement. Serena and BJ landed with a wet splat, the stench of rot and chemical tang filling their nostrils. Before either could catch their breath, Congested's enormous, semi-liquid form shuddered above them, slapping a massive, gooey limb down across the sewer floor. It wrapped around BJ and Serena like a living blanket of viscous nightmare. "Uh... BJ? I think... we're stuck," Serena squeaked, flailing her arms. Her hands left long, dripping trails in the greenish-black goo.

BJ's sensors blinked frantically, trying to calculate escape angles. "Affirmative... sticky medium... adhesive properties... exceeding safety parameters..."

"Yeah, that's great, but can we like... do something? Or am I going to have to invent a new limb just to get out of this?" Serena groaned, kicking her boots against the slime. Every kick only made her sink deeper.

BJ struggled against the goo, his hydraulic joints hissing as they were slowly enveloped. "Attempting... leverage... insufficient."

Serena gritted her teeth. "Okay, plan B... plan B... I always have a plan B." She twisted, rolling sideways, trying to dig at the sewer wall with a half-bent crowbar she grabbed from the ship.

Instead of reaching the wall, her hands slid right through a particularly squishy section of slime, leaving her smeared with globs that squelched in protest. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!" she squealed, shoving at the walls with sticky hands. A small piece of slime even tried to climb up her arm like it had a mind of its own. "Stop it! STOP IT!"

BJ groaned, muffled. "Do... do not panic, Serena. Panic... amplifies adhesive... The situation is worsening..."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, trying to wriggle free while the slime gripped her like a clingy octopus. "But seriously, do you see this thing? It's like a gelatinous nightmare factory, and I'm the main course!"

The slime quivered, pulsing and gurgling around them, as if amused. A small appendage of Congested's child sloshed near her boots, almost patting her with a gooey wave. "Oh great," Serena muttered, swatting it away. "Even the kids are trying to slimify me!"

BJ's voice grew tense. "Warning: structural instability of adhesive... continued... likely to entrap completely."

Serena let out a long, dramatic groan. "Okay... maybe if I... wiggle... shimmy... squish..." She contorted herself, sliding and rolling in the most ridiculous fashion possible. Her hair stuck to her cheeks, her boots were completely swallowed, and a trail of slime squished behind her with every desperate movement. Her hand finally latched onto a protruding pipe, a rusty, bent sewer pipe that was only partially embedded in the slime. With all the strength she could muster, she hauled herself up, kicking and sliding like a greased-up action figure. BJ, meanwhile, was still trapped, one hydraulic arm flailing uselessly in the goo. "BJ! You hang in there!" Serena shouted, gritting her teeth and using the pipe as leverage. "I'll figure out the way out!" But the sewer wasn't cooperative. Every turn she tried led to another puddle of sticky nightmare, another wall of slime that seemed to pulsate just to mock her. She slipped again, elbows plunging into the thick mess with a wet squelch, and a glob of slime shot up like a cannonball, smacking her square in the forehead. "WHY IS THIS THING SO GREASY?!" she shrieked, shaking it off like a cat that had somehow stumbled into a vat of goo.

Through the chaos, BJ's muffled voice piped up. "Do... not... give... up... we... survive... together..."

Serena rolled her eyes, well, the parts of her face were not glued to slime anyway. "Yeah, yeah... motivational robot talk. I get it. But right now I'm thinking... I just want... less slime. Much less slime." Despite the horror, the absurdity of the situation crept in. Every attempt to climb, crawl, or shimmy was met with more sticky resistance, making her yelp, groan, and flail in ways that would have been hilarious if she weren't covered head to toe in horrid ooze. And somewhere above them, in the dim glow of the neon-flooded sewer pipes, Congested moaned, the chest plate embedded in its gooey torso pulsing faintly—reminding Serena that this nightmare had a purpose. One part of Raymond was trapped in that monstrous, sickly slime, and she had to get it back. Grimacing, slipping, covered in a fresh layer of slime, Serena muttered to herself: "Okay... okay... I don't know how, but... I'm getting him out. Somehow... somehow we're getting every piece."

BJ let out a low, metallic sigh. "Optimism... crucial... survival... commence...."

And the sewer echoed back with nothing but the sick, wet gurgle of a slime that was far too alive. Serena's arms were slick with slime, her hair plastered to her face, and every movement made a wet squelching sound that sounded like someone stepping on bubble wrap. The smaller of Congested's children wobbled in front of her, blobby appendages flailing as it attempted to crawl toward her boots. "Okay... okay... stay calm..." she muttered, squirming. But the moment the blob touched her foot, she screamed and lunged, tangling herself with the creature in a ridiculous, slippery wrestling match. Limbs stretched and flopped in every direction, goo flying in all directions like a green, glistening confetti cannon. Finally, with one mighty shove (and a lot of squelching), she shoved the blobby kid aside, landing on her stomach in the slime. Her hand slapped against something hard: a crowbar, buried under sticky muck. "Yes!" she hissed, grabbing it. She twisted and levered it under one of BJ's encasing coils of slime. Sparks flew as metal scraped against goo, and with a wet, tearing pop, BJ's arm was free. Then another, and another, until his hydraulic joints hissed and he flexed, finally liberated from the viscous prison.

"Serena..." BJ's sensors flickered, blinking rapidly. "You... saved... me."

Serena, dripping slime from every possible angle, muttered, "Don't thank me yet... we're still in nightmare city." She pointed to the right, toward a faint glimmer of metal against the sewer wall.

There it was: a drainpipe, rusted but sturdy, spiraling upward like a twisted vine. And coiled around it was something long and ominous. A fire hose. Thick, heavy, and slick with grime, unwinding slowly from its mount. BJ's sensors clicked nervously. "That... may... be... our... exit...."

Serena wiped slime from her eyes and nodded, gripping the crowbar like a lifeline. "Then up we go. Careful... slow... steady..." They began their climb, boots sliding against the slick pipe, hands digging into grime, slime dripping in rhythm with their anxious breaths. Every creak of the metal made Serena jump, every gurgle from the depths below reminded her of Congested's pulsing chest plate somewhere out of reach. Finally, halfway up, they paused, clinging to the pipe. The fire hose, fully unwound now, snaked down into the darkness like a green serpent waiting for them. Serena's voice caught in her throat. "BJ... that... that looks very, very wrong."

BJ's sensors flickered, reading the material and tension. "Confirmed... hazardous... unknown purpose... extremely long..." Above them, the pipe curved out of sight. Below them, the sewer gurgled. Between them, the fire hose dangled, ominous and foreboding, a bridge to the next stage of their nightmare. Serena swallowed, gripping Raymond's head tightly with one hand and the crowbar in the other. "Well... here goes nothing." And with that, the cliffhanger remained: one slimy, terrifying, and very long fire hose standing between them and the fragment of Raymond that awaited somewhere deeper in the nightmare city.

Serena's arms ached, her hands still slick with slime, but determination burned hotter than any discomfort. She gripped the fire hose, eyeing the massive, sickly slime monster below, Congested, whose bloated, gurgling form shivered ominously. BJ clambered up beside her, sensors flickering nervously. "Warning... creatures may resist... unpredictable behavior... hazardous..."
"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious," Serena muttered. She took a deep breath. "But I've got to do this. For Raymond."

Sliding carefully along the drainpipe, she positioned the hose over Congested's enormous, misshapen face. The nozzle hovered over one of the monster's slimy nasal cavities, like threading a needle in a vat of green glue. Serena's heart thumped. "Okay... here goes nothing."

She turned the valve. At first... nothing. Then, slowly, water hissed through the hose, bubbling and gurgling as it forced its way into the monster. Congested shuddered violently, the slime quivering and gurgling in protest. His moans grew louder, sounding almost like he was talking, or complaining. "BJ... it's working! I think it's... I think it's working!" Serena yelled, holding the hose tight as she wrestled the dripping, sticky contraption.

The water pressure built. Congested's bloated form wobbled like jelly, his two blobby children clinging desperately to his sides. The monster's eyes, half-lidded and grotesque, bulged comically as he started flailing. BJ beeped nervously. "Warning... pressure increasing... stability... compromised..."

Serena ignored him, determined. "Just... one... more... push!"

And then! "ACHOOOOOOOO!"

The sound was deafening, a wet, gurgling explosion that sent green slime splattering across the sewer walls. Serena shrieked and ducked as the force of the sneeze propelled everything in its path. The two blobby children shot out like slime-coated rockets, landing with wet plops near Serena and BJ. They blinked slowly, then wobbled toward her, sticky arms flailing. Serena, exhausted but triumphant, held out her arms. "It's okay! You're safe now!" she said, gently wiping the goo from their faces. The children let out little gurgling squeaks of gratitude, somehow communicating thanks with tiny, sloshing gestures. And then Serena saw it, glinting in the water-streaked light, the chest plate! The piece of Raymond that had been embedded in Congested's body came flying out with the sneeze, spinning end over end through the sticky air before landing with a satisfying clink at her feet.
BJ's sensors blinked rapidly. "Chest plate... recovered... integrity... intact."

Serena gasped, relief flooding her exhausted body. "We... we got it, BJ. We actually got it!" She picked up the piece carefully, brushing off the slime. "One step closer... one piece at a time."

The slime monster below groaned, gurgling weakly, now significantly deflated and subdued, while the children wobbled happily beside Serena. The sewer, though still sticky and disgusting, suddenly felt... victorious. Serena took a deep, shivering breath. "Okay... first piece... check. Now... we figure out the next part before Katschai even knows we're here."

BJ flexed his liberated joints, hydraulic hisses punctuating his words. "Affirmative... mission continues... caution advised... prepare for next... fragment retrieval."

Serena and BJ were just beginning to climb back up the drainpipe, dragging themselves through the slime and muck after their exhausting, sneeze-powered rescue mission. The chest plate of Raymond rested safely in Serena's arms, glistening faintly with residual goo. For a moment, they thought they could finally catch their breath. Then..."Heeeyyy!"

A raspy, wet voice echoed through the sewer, making Serena freeze mid-step. She spun around, eyes wide, and nearly dropped Raymond's chest plate. There, emerging from a corner of the sewer tunnel, was a skeleton, but not just any skeleton. Its bones were coated in slime, dripping and gleaming like green-glass chandeliers. Bits of algae clung to its ribs, and the jaw wobbled strangely with every movement. Serena shrieked and scrambled back, clutching the chest plate to her chest. "Oh no. Oh no no no! This is it! This is exactly how I die, slimy skeleton death!" she wailed, backing into BJ.

BJ's sensors blinked frantically. "Warning... skeleton... biohazard... structural instability... approach with caution..."

But the skeleton didn't lunge or attack. Instead, it raised a bony hand slowly, dripping goo. "Whoa, whoa! Hey, don't freak out!" the skeleton said cheerfully, its voice wet and squelchy. "Name's Slippy! Slippy Bones. Friendly skeleton. I've been... uh... hanging around here for a while."

Serena blinked, uncertain. "You... you're... friendly?"

Slippy waved a gooey finger. "Yeah! Really! Totally friendly! I wouldn't hurt you... not unless you tickle me, then it gets weird."

BJ's sensors recalibrated rapidly. "Unusual... skeletal behavior... non-hostile... probability of assistance... high."

Serena slowly exhaled, though she still backed up another step. "Okay... Slippy. What... what are you doing here?"

Slippy grinned—or at least, the skeleton equivalent of a grin, jaw wobbling awkwardly. "I heard about you guys saving the... eh, little oozy kids down here. Impressive sneezing technique, by the way. Anyway... I've got a couple things that belong to your friend." From somewhere inside his ribcage, Slippy produced a small, water-streaked locket. It was old, scratched, and glimmered faintly in the sewer gloom. "Raymond's locket. He didn't want it lost forever. Thought you might... you know... want it."

Serena's fingers trembled as she took it. "Oh... oh wow... thank you..." Her eyes shimmered, a mix of relief and joy.

Slippy shifted his slimy weight, reaching again into the goo of his ribs. "And one more thing... thought he might want you to have this too." He produced a small doll, tattered and wet, but unmistakably familiar. The tiny figure bore the design of Raymond, complete with his signature miniature chest plate and grumpy expression. Serena's heart ached with a bittersweet pang. "Raymond... even in pieces... he's still thinking of us..."

Slippy grinned. "Yup. He's a stubborn little guy, isn't he? Anyway... don't want to keep you stuck down here all day. You've got a world to save, right?"

BJ flexed his freed limbs, readying for the climb. "Affirmative. Critical fragments recovered... supplemental items secured... proceed to exit."

Serena nodded, clutching the chest plate, locket, and doll all at once. "Thanks, Slippy... really."

"Anytime! And hey... watch your step on the way out. Pipes are slippery... like, super slippery. Trust me." As they started climbing again, the slime dripping from the walls and ceiling, Serena couldn't help but smile through the grime. They weren't done. Not even close. But with the chest plate safe, the locket in hand, and the doll tucked under her arm, she felt a little spark of hope. Behind them, Slippy waved a gooey skeletal hand, melting back into the shadows of the sewer with a friendly squelch. The adventure continued, but now, at least, they had a little reminder that Raymond was still with them, in some small way, no matter how many pieces were scattered across the multiverse.