"Why are you here?"

Michael began to panic, this creature was strong, incredibly so. He couldn't so much as budge an inch under the creature's grip as it stared down at him with its unsetteling smile.

'Maybe I can bullshit my way out of this?' Michael thought, desperate.

“Would you believe me if I said I came here to buy a coffee table?” Michael said with a grin.

The manager laughed deeply, before cutting off abruptly.

“No.”

'Well, worth a shot.'

“Ok, so keep in mind that I had no idea you were down here, so don’t get mad at me. I may have been looking for anomalous items.”

The manager groaned.

“Yeah, you’re one of his alright," she said, before getting off of Michael and moving across the workshop over to where she had a shelf sitting on a table. She picked up a few of the pieces and began putting the thing together at an unnatural speed.

“All of your kind are the same," she said, no longer looking at him. "Always taking what doesn’t belong to you. Or at the very least that's what the smart ones of you do.”

Michael blinked in confusion, rubbing his arm where the creature had held him, “What do you mean by my kind?”

“I’m talking about you fool, and all the other yous running around.”

“What, like humans?” Michael asked.

“Humans? No, I love humans. That’s why they’re the only species I let into my stores. No, I’m talking about you and the near infinite versions of you running around throughout the multiverse. All for some sort of ‘The Strong Will Survive’ test. Annoying is what it is, I can’t believe Order had the nerve to send you here. It's rude is what it is.”

'Huh, I guess that makes sense.' Michael thought. 'If there are other dimensions then there’s bound to be other versions of Tommy out there. I'm not sure I like how she's talking about me like I’m some kind of invasive species though. Typically, you'd kill an annoying invasive species, so why am I still alive?'

'Meh fuck it, she hasn’t killed me yet, I might as well ask her,' Michael thought, mentally shrugging.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why am I still alive?” Michael asked, walking with fake confidence towards the monster.

In response she looked at him like he was crazy.

“Are you kidding me? Nobody sane just kills an apostle of Order. Well, at least no one who knows who Order is does it. I suppose it'd be fair game if they didn't know who he was,” she answered while screwing in the boards of a cabinet using that tiny little screwdriver they included in the boxes.

“You keep calling me an apostle of Order, what does that actually mean?” Michael asked.

“Sorry, can’t tell you that. One of his rules, I’d like my body to not be torn apart and fed to rats. That guy kills gods for fun.”

Michael stared at her questioningly. That was one reason to not gice any answers.

“Fair enough, he said, and then paused in thought.

Despite killing Samuel and his group, this entity was surprisingly cordial. Thanks entirely to whoever this Order guy was. She was still a monster that didn't care about human life though, but even then he needed to get something out of this whole mess. Something to make it worth it, at least somewhat. Perhaps he could make a deal with her? Probably not, but he'd keep her talking for moment.

“So where did you learn about this whole apostle of Order thing?” Michael asked.

“I tried to open an IKEA in his domain. The results were, unimpressive.”

“Uh huh," Michael nodded like that was a normal answer. "Anyways, I mentioned I was looking for anomalous items earlier. You wouldn’t happen to have any you were willing to part with, do you?”

“Oh I got tons, but why should I give you any?” She said, not taking her hollow eyes off her worktable.

“Well maybe I could do a favor for you, is there anything you’d want from me? Within reason of course. I'm not giving you my soul or anything.”

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The manager's mood lit up instantly.

“Oh I know! Bring me new furniture from other dimensions, as much as you can get! Do this and I'll give you whatever you want.”

She left her worktable and moved closer to Michael, far too excited.

“If you're going throughout the multiverse, surely you’ll find some good designs! Bring them to me, and then maybe I’ll finally be able to compete with Walmart again!”

She laughed evilly.

“Um, sure, and what exactly will I get in exchange though? Can I take a look at it?"

In response the manager reached into her pocket, grabbing a golden key and tossing it to Michael.

“Don't be greedy. I’ll give you this for now, if you want anything else you’ll need to give me my new furniture first.”

'She is way to into the furniture thing,' Michael thought, eyeing the murderous creature.

“What’s the key do?” Michael asked.

“Oh, use it on a door and it will open a portal to my workshop. Then you can bring me my furniture. Make sure it’s something exotic, nothing human made. Now go away, I need to get back to work.”

She turned to go back to her work, but Michael called out, pulling her attention back to him.

“Before I go, could you turn my comrades back into people?”

Her head turned towards the new 'workers', twisting at an odd angle to take in the entire group.

“Oh sorry, that’s a one way process. One that you narrowly avoided I might add. I didn't notice who you were at first, so you better thank whoever gave you that crown. It has your soul locked up good and tight in there. I doubt I'd get close to it even if I peeled away at it for a hundred years.”

'Huh, so that’s what it does. Lucky me I guess,' Michael thought, conflicted as he looked out towards his expedition. 'They may as well be dead.'

“By the way," Michael said, pulling his eyes away from them. "I came here with a skinny white monster guy. He should be wandering around somewhere. I wouldn't look at his face though, I hear he gets unpleasant when you do.”

“Oh that thing, I sent it back to your dimension a while ago. It destroyed hundreds of my products for absolutely no reason! The nerve of some people, I only wish I'd seen it sooner. I could have tossed it out before it destroyed so many of my precious desks,” the manager said with zeal.

'So ‘Shy Guy’ got tossed back into my reality,' Michael realized.

'Uh oh.'

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Michael left the workshop and made his way back down the corridor. The monsters that refilled the hall avoided him like the plague, ordered to do so by the Manager.

That meeting had gone well, and also horribly at the same time. He’d once again gotten people killed. There wasn't much he could've done about it, but it was frustrating all the same.

First it was Alex, and now the entire raiding team he’d set up. One risked by the foundation, and the other by me and me alone. Risked and lost all the same. Michael frowned, carefully stepping around the corpses of the workers that still littered the hall.

'I'm not sure this exploration thing is cracking up to what I'd thought it'd be,' Michael thought. 'I think I prefer it when I'm only risking myself.'

Michael turned from his thoughts and examined the golden key in the fluorescent light. Wondering if it was all worth it, a key and a deal.

'I guess I'll have to wait and see,' Michael sighed as he came to the ladder, staring up it and wondering what he should do next. 'I should uphold my agreement with Samuel. Even if it's only partially. Everyone left in that town is coming back with me to earth if it's the last thing I do.'

Hopefully the ‘Shy Guy’ wouldn't be too much of an issue once he got back.

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Several foundation guards stood watch outside of a condemned IKEA. Chain Link fencing with signs periodically warning of aspestus surrounding the perimeter in order to keep people out.

Amidst the silence of the night, complaining could be heard.

“This is so boring, I thought this job would have more to do. Ya know?”

The older of the two snorted, “Don’t whine, boring is good. I had a friend who had to keep watch over Able, tragic what happened to him. This is any easy paycheck. Don't go and complain to any higher ups you hear me. You'll ruin this for yourself.”

“I guess you have a point, doesn’t make me any less bored though,” the guard sighed.

The other guard rolled his eyes before movement at the front of the store caught his attention.

“Wait look, the doors are opening.”

The younger guard raised his head, “For real?”

Both men turned towards the entrance, weapons lifted, but not at the ready.

A tall pale figure slowly came through the door, blood and viscera covering most of its body. It was crying into his hands as it stepped out before locking eyes with the guards and turning towards the sky and releasing a deafening scream.

“What is that thing?”

The other guard just stared on wide eyed before quickly pulling his gaze from the monster. He recognized what it was.

“Fuck, don't look at it Sam!" The older man yelled out in warning.

The warning didn't matter. In the next moment it was upon them.

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When Michael finally made it back to the village, he was growing tired. It wasn’t a close jog by any means and had taken him several hours, but if he actually wanted to keep this deal, then the sooner he made it back the better.

The same scarred guard as before greeted Michael.

“What happened to my people?”

“They didn’t make it,” Michael answered noncommittally.

He raised his crossbow towards Michael, and Michael raised his shotgun.

“Then why are you still alive.”

“Apparently I’m kind of durable, I guess it comes with being a dimension hopper. Now lower your weapon, I came to fulfill my part of the bargain. Unless you decided this shanty town is where you want to spend the rest of your life.”

He lowered his crossbow, though not quickly. “No, take us away from this place, please.”

Michal smiled, though it didn't meet his eyes.

“Good, now go get some rope. I’ll have you all back on earth soon.”

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Thirty minutes later, Michael had a strand of rope connecting him to every single person in the small town.

And not a minute too soon, because the second the rope connected Michael to the last town member, he began to feel a sense of weightlessness pulling on him, before space distorted and overtook his body, traveling down the ropes and dragging the villagers along with him back to earth.