Forward
This series was originally written over the course of hundreds of twitter messages. I have decided at this time to not rewrite the story. The only changes I have made are formatting to the chapter format, and correcting any spelling / punctuation errors.
Chapter 1
A delivery from Agway was happening at Pudgy’s house. Stacks of fence posts were being unloaded. The hedgehog was up to something. Survey markers were all over his little property. It was shortly afterwards when Pudgy the hedgehog announced, “operation visit Doomcock is a go!” He put on a mining helmet, with a little light, headed into a small cave nearby. Hours passed, and Pudgy emerged from the mine shaft dirty. He took a long drink of water from the happy little stream that babbled through his property. Dirt and rock had been strategically moved around his property. Reality was starting to settle in quickly as he started to ponder where he was going to put 21 cubic miles worth of dirt and rock?
Cobalt stopped by after work, finding little piles of rock and dirt scattered around. Pudgy had been filling in holes and making bank improvements around the streams that ran along his property. He found the mine opening: ” hello Pudgy.” There was a good echo, but no answer. Cobalt shouted into the mine opening, “Pudgy, you get up here now!” The man’s voice echoed several times, however after several minutes later, a faint response called back confirming he would return. Cobalt checked his phone, and he had to address something from his job, and headed back to his home.
Pudgy exited the mine a couple of hours later and went to his little cabin. He needed to clean up, which he did using the water spilling from the trough that fed his water wheel. The hedgehog entered his home and made a quick supper. He had a busy day, so he went to bed early, and fell fast asleep. Pudgy woke up in a lot of pain. He really overdid it yesterday. Pudgy has respect for miners who do this every day. If you know someone who is a miner, you should hug them today. He added an extra blankie, and went back to sleep muttering, “ow…ow….ow…”
The next day Cobalt found a job elimination notice at Pudgy’s house. The hedgehog used to work at a school. His job was turning the speed limit sign off and on each day. Sadly, his job was replaced with a light timer. Cobalt had received a note earlier from Pudgy that his depth was 100 feet down. Pudgy wondered if there was a coal mine below? To aid the hedge’s plan, Cobalt had found a map of mine systems throughout the United States. As Pudgy studied Cobalt’s map, he determined that he was only 100 feet away from the coal mine shaft! If the map was indeed correct, it could go all the way to the West Virginia border. The excited critter put on his mining helmet then carefully scampered off as it was raining. The hedgehog disappeared into the mine.
Cobalt stopped by Pudgy’s house and found his house empty. The man walked over to the mine and shouted, “hey Pudgy!” He eased down onto a nearby rock next to the mine opening and waited for his hedgehog friend to return. Some time passed and Pudgy excited the mine, waving happily to his human friend. “Pudgy found the coal mine, it goes on forever and ever!” Cobalt nodded in affirmation, “all right, however we need to keep you safe. You’re going to start using safety ropes, equipment, and nonflammable light sources. Our future ruler of the Earth would be sad if you got hurt.” The hedgehog nodded and bounced happily into his cabin. Cobalt smiled and headed back to his home nearby. Pudgy decided to take a very warm bath. The hedgehog locked his door, then added some pellets to the stove. Climbing into bed, he pulled up his official Cybertronic band blankie. Drifting off to sleep, he dreamed of pleasant things, muttering, “Goodnight twitter land.”
The next day Pudgy woke up, excitedly packing supplies in a little backpack. The plan for today was to explore the coal mine he discovered. He would probably find nothing in the abandoned coal mine that had been sealed for 50 years. Exiting his house, Pudgy locked the door to proceed to scamper into the mine. After some time to travel down, he reached the huge, dark, and dead silent mine. Calling out hello, his voice didn’t even echo. The antique mining lamp that Cobalt was able to locate for him was not strong due to the size necessary for him to carry it. The light stretched only a foot in front of him, so he proceeded carefully forward. It was not long afterwards that he started to find things left by the miners. The treasures he located ranged from world war one newspapers, and Irish whiskey bottles of various states of usage from the 1920’s.
Pudgy found a newspaper, dirty and ripped in places next to what looked like a bucket of tar. It was oil for the lamps. Pudgy found another newspaper, this one proclaimed world war two was over which he was glad. The hedgehog started to wonder how old this mine was. He continued to explore, eventually he found signs labelled the main shaft. Some quiet moments later he peered into the dark abyss below, it was deeper than anything he had ever seen before. Tossing a stone into the shaft, the hedgehog began to count. 400 seconds of counting passed before he heard a faint rattle as the stone hit the floor below. He also found an empty bottle of bourbon nearby during his measurements.
Pudgy was frustrated, as he could not find a safe way down. As the hedgehog was about to turn back, something started to vibrate inside of his pack. Unhooking his back from his back, he sat it gently down onto the ground below him. Upon opening his pack, he found a green crystal. When he touched the crystal, it began to glow and a familiar higher pitched voice called out. “Pudgy, are you receiving me?” Pudgy bounced happily and excitedly spoke, “Pudgy here, found mine, Pudgy think 800 feet down. Cobalt found mine maps, so Pudgy think can dig tunnels to each. Would see Doomcock and you in a couple of months.”
The eldritch God laughed heartily before he spoke again, “are you following the coordinates I gave you?” The hedgehog nodded, though no one could see it as he answered. “Yes, Pudgy promises to bever reveal where Xanadoom is located.” Pudgy was happy to have Harvey to talk to, as it was lonely in the mine. The hedgehog wondered silently if Doomcock could use the crystal too. Pudgy packed the crystal carefully back into his backpack. Then kept exploring, until he found a ladder. The ladder was meant for humans, and it was one Cobalt would use made from wood. Pudgy continued to explore hoping to find an alternative way down. As the hours passed, the hedgehog decided the ladder was the best option. He successfully was able to descend the ladder to the bottom most section of the mine. It was cold and dark, but the discovery of old cans of lamp oil and whiskey, allowed him to refill his lamp. Pudgy had found his staging ground, and a place where he could put 12 cubic miles of dirt and material as he continued his downward travels.
Harvey had been quiet, most likely due to Doomcock being present. But the eldritch God spoke again: “Pudgy, it must be getting late, and your friends are getting worried. Did you leave the big crystal I sent you in your home?” The hedgehog replied, “yes, and mister dinosaur has his too from the communication equipment delivery.” The eldritch spoke again, “good. Once every 24 hours, you can teleport back to the big crystal. They remember their position, so you can return.” Pudgy took out the crystal and called out, “home please.” Pudgy went poof, and then materialized in front of his darkened house. While the crystal worked, it was not instantaneous. The tired hedgehog unlocked his door, turning the light on. His home was cold, so the first thing to do was to start the wood stove. Once the home started to heat, he made a big supper, though it was cold as he was tired. After taking a warm bath, he locked his door, then tucked in for the night. It had been a very busy day, and the hedgehog quickly fell asleep.
Pudgy woke up late the next day, having overslept. It was a later start than he wanted, but he needed it after the day he had yesterday. Plus, he could, as he was not on any specific schedule. Making breakfast, he munched away watching YouTube silly things. Today was going to be a busy day again. The hedgehog was busy moving supplies from outside the mine opening, to inside. Due to the size and nature of the job at hand, when he dug his tunnel, he made it 1 foot high by 1 foot wide. The shaft was sloping at an angle. So, as he positioned the supplies, they slid down quickly to the coal mine below. Pudgy looked at the trees, and they all turned orange overnight, so he played too.
Pudgy had a small mountain of supplies now situated in the upper part of the mine. He rigged a series of ropes to lower the tools and fence posts down to the lowest part. There was now a good supply of lamp oil from his Morse code games, so he could afford an extra lamp light. Moving the antique lamp down from above, he fueled and lit it. The light that was cast had a much wider swath of light. It was time to dig once again, so he turned on some downloaded music, and dug away. Given the distance, depth, and angle, Pudgy surmised he should reach Xanadoom in a couple of months.
At a current depth of a thousand feet, Pudgy was past the easy dirt part of digging. It was all hard rock. The slate was not bad, as it could crumble if he found the way it was running. Granite was a real pain, but luckily, he had modified a roto tiller with a corkscrew auger. The auger blades were starting to spark bad as he continued. He stopped drilling, letting the motor cool, and with a block and tackle he found in the mine, he hoisted up the drilling rig. As he expected, the auger was mangled. The weekend was coming, so he would ask Cobalt nicely to take him to a tool store to get more blades. Instead of continuing to drill, he started to put into place supports for the second part of the tunnel. He sighed as his little body was starting to ache, “Pudgy really needs a cookie.”
Many hours later, Pudgy emerged from his mine entrance dirty and tired. As The hedgehog wandered through the fallen leaves, he found a crate of cookies from a fellow follower of the world’s future ruler. There was a note attached to a crate next to his house. 26th Primarch has sent supplies to support his project. Pudgy bounced happily and drug the crate beside his house. Shaking as only a hedgehog could, he was able to get the worst of the dust and debris off. Pudgy ‘s cabin had a water wheel and trough for generating power. He jumped under the water wheel trough and took a cold bath. Then proceeded inside to get dry and have supper and catalog the plethora of cookies in the crate.
The next day quickly came, and Pudgy woke up early to pack supplies. He locked up his cabin and headed into the mine. It would be another day of digging. He was humming a familiar tune about a coal mine with funny men in red hats. Pudgy was down another 40 feet, when he hit something so hard, that nothing could get through it. The rocks were so dense at this depth. So, he walked back up to his staging area in the big mine above. He had noticed a box with these funny sticks, with cords sticking out. Pudgy sounded the word out: “Dyyynnnnnaaaammmiiiitttyyyy…”
Pudgy nodded, and took a long tube, and dragged it back with him. Maybe this stuff would work. It is twice as high as Pudgy. He took it back down the tunnel and positioned it. The lamp crackled and a spark hit the cord and it started to sparkle. The hedgehog decided maybe he should back up, so he exited the tunnel quickly. An eternity seemed to pass before there erupted a thunderous explosion. BOOM, as rocks shot out everywhere, a sickening crack could be heard below him. The mine floor caved in, and Pudgy started to fall. He had unknowingly tapped into a cavern system that had run below and parallel with the mine system.
Pudgy fell for what seemed like an eternity until he splashed down into an underground lake. He hit the water so hard it dazed him, but luckily his pack had things inside that caused him to roll over and float. It was somehow darker than before. Drifting along floating, he recovered as the hedgehog washed along a rocky shore. Crawling out of the water, he sat on a rocky outcropping. Opening his pack, thankfully Pudgy found the flashlight Cobalt had given him. Shining the beam of light around illuminated the majesty of the underground world. Pudgy sniffed the rocks: and they smelled like sulfur. Packing up his belongings into his backpack, it was time to start to explore deeper into the cavern following the water line. This was far deeper than any hedgehog had been before. Pudgy wondered if Xanadoom was dark like this too?
As he continued to explore, his compass was showing southwest. The secret coordinates for Xanadoom were helpful. However, at cave depth, not so much as it was hard to determine where he was as he did not know the layout of the area. Even still Pudgy couldn’t help feeling he was being watched. What the hedgehog did not know was that the crystal that Harvey had given him was also a way to track him. Far away in Xanadoom, behind the cameras that Doomcock used to film his videos, was a big wall with a map of the world. Pudgy’s relative position was a little green dot, which had been south west of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Suddenly, the green dot split positions. One stayed in its original spot, though a smaller dot jumped to western Kentucky. As Harvey stated before, that was the home crystal position.
Pudgy was lost and cold in a dark place. The cavern stretched on and on. He missed his house, and Cobalt. Whimpering, his ears folded down. This wasn’t fun anymore, and the hedgehog wanted to go home. It was then he remembered the crystal the eldritch God gave him. Estimating the time that had elapsed, Pudgy thought it was at least a day. Opening his backpack after moving it to access the contents, he placed a paw on the crystal. “Pudgy wanna go home! ” The crystal glowed green and in a poof of green smoke, he disappeared. After what seemed like an eternity, the hedgehog appeared in front of his house in a cold pitch-black forest.
He didn’t go inside; he ran as fast as his little legs could take him to Cobalt house. Pudgy made it to the back door ringing the bell, and when the door opened, he started to cry. Cobalt picked him up and gave his hedgehog friend a big hug. “There, there Pudgy, it’s all right.” The man shut the door, carrying his upset friend in his arms. After some time had passed, Cobalt bundled Pudgy up on the couch in blankets. The man made a pot of coffee, and opened a pack of mini chocolate donuts, before returning to the couch with food. Watching silly things on tv, Pudgy climbed up onto Cobalt’s lap. The hedgehog continued to hug Cobalt, though pausing to take a donut and nibble. As they watched the television, the human had been talking. Off and on about what happened over the course of the week. The hedgehog at first wouldn’t talk about it, but he opened up. It was a grand story of adventure and horror. After getting some paper and a pen, the two researched and confirmed that Pudgy had reached mammoth cave in Kentucky.
Cobalt spoke quietly, “do you still want to visit Doomcock, Pudgy?” Pudgy nodded at his human friend. The man nodded back and patted his friend on the head, “We are going to have to plan this better.” Thus, the planning began, including Pudgy revealing the secret coordinates for Xanadoom with the all important depth. Pudgy also showed the crystal in his pack to Cobalt. After a brief explanation of the functions of the crystals, the two headed over to Pudgy’s little cabin. Pudgy’s house was fine, but the mine opening had caved in. There was a new series of sink holes leading down the ravine that led towards the dinosaur’s cave. The two friends stopped by mister dinosaur’s cave to check if he was ok. The dinosaur was gone, though the cavern seemed to not have been affected by Pudgy’s foray into explosives.
They returned to Cobalt’s house, where Pudgy began to lay out supplies on the living room floor. Cobalt read off the checklist while Pudgy started to itemize and pack. “Harvey crystal, rope, glow sticks, flashlight, lamp, lamp oil, Lorna Doone cookies.” The human had painstakingly made Pudgy sized maps and helped source other supplies. The pack was ready to go for the next phase of the hedgehog’s adventure. Cobalt washed his hedgehog friend, then tucked him into bed at his house. A good night sleep, and breakfast was in order before his adventure would continue tomorrow. “Good night,” mumbled as Pudgy fell asleep.
The next day Cobalt made Pudgy breakfast before he left for work and gave him a big hug as he left with words to the effect of be careful. The human asked his hedgehog friend to be safe, and no matter what … come back in 24 hours. Since from the explanation given by the eldritch God, the crystal needed to recharge. The hedgehog agreed and hugged back his human friend. Pudgy went poof in a green cloud of smoke. Cobalt turned and left too, heading off to work wondering if one day he could go on an epic adventure too? Just as Harvey said, Pudgy reappeared in the same scary cavern as before, but this time he was well supplied and rested. It was time to go, so he filled his lamp with oil and lit it. The soft amber flame danced on the stalagmites around him.
Meanwhile far below at Xanadoom, the big map of the world centered on the United States, the green dot that represented Pudgy moved back to Kentucky. The eldritch God smiled as only he could, drawing the attention of the future ruler of the world. “Harvey, might I inquire as to why you are interested in the map?” The god chuckled. “Oh no reason Diktor, just something to do as I am imprisoned.” Pudgy started going down a steep ledge, as the cavern unfolded deep and around him. Cobalt had determined he was in an unexplored part of a mammoth cave in Kentucky. State and federal reports did not indicate how far it went. The hedgehog slowly maneuvered the narrow ledge as he continued his descent. The light from his little lamp was fading, which meant a refill of oil was needed soon.
There was a strange shape to the ceiling above, almost reflecting the light. It was an iridescent color. The lamp fizzled out, and Pudgy was plunged into total darkness. There was no sound, not even water movement. The lamp was a necessity, so he opened his pack and carefully filled the reservoir. Placing the oil can back into his pack, he started the striker knob, trying to reignite. Pudgy was able to relight the lamp, and when the light began to fill the spot where he stood, he noticed there was a change. The iridescent pattern on the ceiling was gone, and the cave was taller. He shook his head and started carefully walking along the ledge.
Pudgy approached a sharp bend cautiously and peeked around the edge. His lamp reflected off a surface across the chasm on the opposite side, with the same strange coloration as before along the wall. Hugging the side of the cave, he was able to maneuver to the next section. Pudgy was happy when the ledge widened and became a flat section. It stretched on forever. The cave, which had been stagnant air, now had a hot wind, with a foul odor like sulfur. Pudgy turned around, and saw the shadows move, and the light reflected again. He decided to run. Pudgy ran as far and as fast as his little legs could take him. Dropping down on all fours panting, the foul smell had gone away. He got out a Lorna Doone cookie and munched hungrily and began looking at his map.
Pudgy’s lamp started to flicker, so he checked the oil. The side gauge showed almost full, but the light kept dimming. The foul odor had returned, and he started to get sleepy. He shook his head and turned around, seeing a large mouth with rows of sharp silver teeth. Grabbing the lamp, the hedgehog started to run again. The monster was enormous, filling the cavern. A deafening roar bellowed with a horrendous odor filling the caverns. Ducking down a side path, where the ceiling was low. Crawling on his belly, he looked to the right, and the large eye reflected, as a clawed hand reached in, trying to pull out the scared hedgehog. “Leave Pudgy alone!”
He squeezed into a small chamber only to realize there was no floor, and he started to scream as he fell into the murky abyss below. Pudgy plunging into the dark chasm, screamed though it made no difference. His speed was increasing faster and faster, approaching a row of spiked stalagmites below. Or so he thought, until he realized it was the same mouth from before, and he was being breathed inside. He landed inside, getting wrapped by a long, slimy, foul smelling, forked tongue. The mouth snapped shut, and he got thrown around inside it. The throat opened, started to suck him further inside, so he grabbed between the teeth, grabbing the gum and pulling it back.
The monster roared in pain, blasting Pudgy out. He started to fly, then fall again. He landed hard into a watery pool below. The hedgehog swam for dear life, and crawled up a shoreline, towards another smaller crevice. The water washed away the mess that had covered him. Pudgy gasping for breath, air was thin in the cave, plus he was exhausted as the adrenaline faded. He filled the lamp with oil and hit the striker to relight the lamp. The light started to fill the small cave. Drinking from his canteen, he saw images painted on the walls. He sat up, shining the light, and it was a scene depicting running deer and native American hunters. He stood up and started to examine further. He saw the hunters chasing what looked to be…a dragon? The colors were faded but green. Pudgy thought about a book he read at Cobalt’s house.
Red dragons breathe fire, blue dragons breathe ice or lightning, and green dragons breathe poison gas. The foul odor made sense, but how to combat this? He opened his pack, and noticed Cobalt added extra supplies. It was time to prepare counter measures. Pudgy had assembled from items in his pack, the best defense against a dragon. Yes, it looked like a party pooper from a birthday party, but he had two of them with a variety of loads. ROAR! And just in the nick of time it seemed. Pudgy stood up taking a deep breath. The hedgehog peeked his head out of his hiding spot and started tiptoeing through the narrow passageway, until it started to widen.
“ROAAAAARRRRRRR,” the dragon was getting closer. He was ready, lamp in one paw and dragon counter measure in the other. He looked up, and saw the dragon hanging Flee or fight? Pudgy was 5 inches tall, and the dragon. Was 24 times bigger, so he decided to be stealthy. He turned down the flame, and slowly moved towards the next chamber. The dragon dropped from the ceiling, “ROARRRR!” Pudgy shouted, “CRAAAPP.” The hedgehog started to run, and it was then when Pudgy realized it was now or never. He turned on his much player, and Pantera’s Cemetery Gates started to play. Taking out the dragon counter measure, “come at Pudgy you aardvark!” The dragon roared and dropped onto the ledge with a loud boom and shook the ground. It got in close, and Pudgy pulled the string, sending as cloud of streamers, black pepper, and chalk powder.
The dragon was taken aback by the actions of its small prey and inhaled out of reflex. The dragon started coughing uncontrollably, streamers wrapping around its nostrils. Pudgy cheered and got out the second counter measure, but before he could pull it, the dragon snatched him up and tossed him in its mouth. The tongue started thrashing him, so he aimed and fired down its throat, another battery of white dust, though this payload was Brioschi and tums powdered. The sodium bicarbonate started foaming. Pudgy grabbed the teeth and pulled the jaw closed forcing a swallow. The dragon overpowered him and spat him out.
Pudgy cheered and grabbed his lamp running like hell as fast as he could go, diving down another ravine, towards a fast-moving stream of water. Pudgy washed ashore a couple miles downstream and crawled up into a narrow ledge of white colored rocks. The roof was low, no way a dragon could get here. Pudgy took off his pack and opened a can with a candle inside. He lit it, and the heat as well as light was welcome. He took out a cookie and nibbled, passing out from exhaustion. He was safe and drying out. No dragon and could recover from a scary day. Meanwhile the eldritch God grinned as the green dot that represented Pudgy had crossed the Tennessee border. He was half the distance to Xanadoom.
Pudgy woke up in the tight cavern and munched on a cookie. There were 3 left, so he had a day of food left. He filled his canteen and tasted the water running beside him: it was fresh. So, he drank from the stream and reflected on yesterday, as he lit another candle. Pudgy having sufficiently rested, filled and lit his lamp. Packed up his pack, put it on and started his exploration again. Based on estimation, he was further south, which meant a couple thousand feet above him a comic guy was working on a book somewhere. He hoped the dragon went away when Pudgy squeezed through the passageway that grew more and more narrow. Several times he had to remove his pack and drag it behind him. Finally, he entered a large chamber, with an abyss below. He turned his lamp up and shone the light around. There was no path or ledge to be found, which meant that now he had to climb down.
He gingerly swung his short legs over the edge but lost his grip. He slid off and started falling into the abyss. “ROAR!” Pudgy saw the dragon flying above him, starting a power dive. He tried flailing, but it was of no use. The dragon swooped down and grabbed him in its large claws. The dragon still had an odor, but the foulness was gone. Mumbling he tried, but the beast was not listening, and continued flying deeper and further into the cavern. Pudgy was amazed to see natural light, or so it seemed as the rocks were glowing faintly. The flight lasted for what seemed like an eternity, until it stretched its wings and glided down to a large path of crystalline trees. The claws opened, and Pudgy rolled head over paw several times, in front of the dragon. He froze, looking up at the large jaws with silver teeth, and teal colored faintly glowing eyes studying him.
Pudgy stammered out, “please don’t eat Pudgy.” The dragon grinned, much like his dinosaur friend does, and started to speak to the hedgehog’s amazement. “You taste terrible,” was spoken and to the hedgehog’s surprise, it was a girl’s voice. “What was that powder you shot at me?” Pudgy rubbing his eyes in amazement, “Pudgy used pepper, streamers and chalk powder. Then Brioschi and tums crushed., as the dragon looked confused. The hedgehog continued, “it’s fizzy stuff and upset tummy stuff.” The dragon nodded, “I have had this cold for decades, I finally feel better. Thank you little one.” Pudgy waved at the dragon, “Pudgy glad you feel better miss dragon.” The dragon grinned, “my name is Xylenia.” Pudgy bounced happily, pointed to himself, “Pudgy.” Xylenia grinned, “walk with me….” As the hours had passed, and Pudgy was busy explaining to his new dragon friend many things, she listened intently. Many grins were made at him when the little hedgehog acted out his adventures thus far.
The Dragon had fallen asleep, but not before pulling out fearless hedgehog close. Pudgy tried to wiggle free to no avail. So, he decided to go to sleep. dreaming of a mister dinosaur with a top hat and spats on. He was taking Xylenia the dragon on a date. For some reason they shut the door. Pudgy mumbled, “good night.” After a long time, asleep, the two had awoken. Pudgy and Xylenia the dragon was talking again. Pudgy had mentioned having to return to the surface, and she was a tad bit sad he had to go. It had been ages since the dragon had any company. But he was not done explaining surface things, and who that Doomcock guy was. As Pudgy finished his story, Xylenia grinned. Xylenia spoke, “my word, you had quite an adventure so far. I regret my actions earlier. This Doomcock and Harvey sounds like quite the characters. And vaguely familiar….” Pudgy rubbed his chin with a paw, “do you know where he lives?”
The dragon frowned, “I believe so, but to reach there you will need to cross the chasm of fire. If somehow you were able to pass, then there is the Vril to contend with ….” Pudgy looked confused, “you mean shape shifting lizard men? Yeah, Doomcock’s friend Gary on Nerdrotics covers them from time to time.” The dragon blinked, “how?” She shook her head, “never mind. The Vril are nothing to trifle with, and extremely territorial. I once flew through there, they chased me 50 caverns away.” Pudgy looked at her, “why did you fly through?” Xylenia looked sad, “that was a long time ago, when I was younger.” The hedgehog hugged her leg, “Pudgy need to go home for a time, but will be back. I’m sure my friend Cobalt is getting worried.” Xylenia the dragon looked sad and nodded, “I can understand. Please come back?”
Pudgy nodded and took out the Harvey crystal, “home please!” As Pudgy started to disappear the dragon inadvertently touched Pudgy, and started to be covered in smoke. Xylenia disappeared as well. Meanwhile, Harvey saw Pudgy’s green dot move from Missouri to Toronto then to Pennsylvania, “what the?” Pudgy appeared in front of his darkened cabin. It was raining and dark again. A voice spoke behind him, “what just happened? The hedgehog turned, and saw Xylenia there, except she was much smaller. Pudgy bounced and hugged her, “oh boy, you came to Pudgy house!” The dragon was a quarter of her normal size. And immediately noticed the size change when she could feel Pudgy’s hug. The eldritch God’s voice called out, “Pudgy are you receiving me?” Pudgy nodded and called out, “yes Harvey. Pudgy back home, and accidentally brought a new friend. “Harvey grumbled, “that explains it, you overloaded the crystalline transmission network. Who did you bring from below?”
Xylenia looked sheepish, but lowered her head towards the talking crystal, “my name is Xylenia.” Harvey grumbled angrily, “you brought a dragon from below to the surface?” Pudgy started to stammer out, “she is much smaller, she is ok, she apologized for almost eating me.” The dragon spoke softly with a contrite tone, “please do not be cross with him, I touched him accidentally.” Harvey sighed, “because of the drain, you cannot travel for a couple days at least. Do you have a place for your dragon?” Pudgy smiled and motioned for his friend to follow. Cobalt had just put the trash out and was settling in to watch mountain monsters later television. His doorbell rang, so he walked to his back door. As he opened the door, he found a tired but intact hedgehog. “Two days Pudgy …. where were you?” Pudgy bounced, “I got in a big adventure, and couldn’t come back till now. “
Cobalt sighed and motioned for his friend to come in, “I’m glad you are ok, umm …” As the human trailed off, he saw a pair of eyes peeking through the hedges behind his home. Pudgy pointed behind him towards the bushes, “I made a new friend, can she come over?” The dragon moved through and spoke sheepishly at the tall human. “Hello, my name is Xylenia.” After inviting in Pudgy’s new friend as well, Cobalt gave his hedgehog and dragon friend a bath. The dragon was hesitant at first but enjoyed it. Now clean and wrapped up in a large tiger blanket on the living room floor. Pudgy was wrapped up and laying on a floor pillow. All 3 were watching mountain monsters on Cobalt’s television.
Pudgy bounced in his blanket, “yay, that episode was awesome!” The human nodded and smiled, “they really have done a good job with this season of mountain monsters.” Xylenia looked at the two of them, “how did those large men get put in the rectangle box?” Cobalt’s house was full, but everyone was happy. Pudgy and the Dragon spent the night, and it rained hard. The dragon had trouble falling asleep, as she was in a new place, but the sleep prevailed. She woke up in the living room, with an extra blanket covering her. Pudgy also was tucked in and sleeping on a pillow nearby. Xylenia turned her head and found Cobalt sitting in a large stuffed chair, sipping coffee and looking at a small rectangle device that glowed. Cobalt smiled, “good morning.” Xylenia smiled back, “Good Morning, What’s that?”
It was Halloween, which meant fun, costumes, and candy. Pudgy was wearing a foam orange road cone that said party animal on his head. Cobalt has opened the candy and sorted it into buckets. “hey Xylenia, want some candy,” the hedgehog asked. The dragon took a lollipop, taking the paper off as Pudgy showed her how to. The refined sugars hit immediately both. Causing much bouncing to ensue. Pudgy and Xylenia were watching Cobalt set up a variety of scary and silly decorations. This also resulted in an explanation of what Halloween was, and why Cobalt was walking around with a scary outfit on. Unfortunately, it was a heavy rain, wind, and cold sort of Halloween so not too many little kids showed up. Cobalt wrapped up trick o’ treating, so it’s time to eat leftover candy, and to watch the Rocky Horror Picture show. Pudgy and Xylenia already got into the candy and fell asleep with silly people starting with a step to the left.
Pudgy's Adventures 