Oscar stumbled out of bed, falling to the hardwood floor below. Zarog, scratching his rump, complained from his spot under the covers.
"Aw, what are you doing now? You're going to wake her up."
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! SLAM!
"Brother, you're awake!?!"
"Too late," he bemoaned with a sigh.
"Sister, why am I not in a hospital!?! I need a doctor!"
"Now, let me help you up first," Penelope interrupted while lifting Oscar into his chair.
"Have you not looked in a mirror, yet," she suddenly inquired.
"What has that got to... Oh my lord, is that my face!?!"
Looking in her pocket mirror, Oscar could see a dramatic difference. His once chubby cheeks, which gave Oscar a boyish appearance, had melted away to reveal the chiseled face of an action hero!
"That's not all," she said while looking down.
Oscar felt his arms, whose muscles were now perfect for punching. He even lifted his shirt, and found a six pack greeting him.
"What happened to me?"
"I can explain that," Zarog said, having now moved directly behind Oscar.
"Stay away from me!"
"Who are you talking to?"
"Oh, right! I need to go to a hospital, I'm seeing things!"
"I'm just are real as you or your sister, you know?"
"What are you seeing, brother? Is it an alien?"
"Oh god, I forgot you were nutty about those," Oscar said while slapping his forehead.
"So it is an alien! What does he look like? Is he handsome, or does he look like a monster?"
"I'm not going to describe him, he's clearly a hallucination! Now, please wheel me to a hospital!"
Zarog cracked his knuckles menacingly, the sound making Oscar's ear ring in pain.
"You are lucky, boy. If I didn't need you for what's to come, I would have killed you 3 times over by now! You need proof? I'll give you proof!"
He leaned forward over the back of Oscar's chair, his arm laying atop Oscar's. Slowly, their two arms merged, and Oscar lost all control of the limb. It slowly raised itself above Oscar's head, a single finger pointing towards the ceiling.
An fantastical sight was then witnessed by the siblings. Little spots of glitter appeared across the entire room, like a magical Tyndall effect. They slowly spiraled towards Oscar's pointed finger, and appeared to enter it.
Oscar felt nothing when this happened but, judging from the look of shock on Penelope's face, it had some kind of effect.
"You can see me now, eh lassie?"
"Wow! A real alien!"
"Yes, praise me more," Zarog said excitedly while separating himself from Oscar. He floated between the two, clearly eager to say something.
"Okay, so I'm not crazy. You said you could explain what's happening to me, right? Well, explain away."
"Gladly," Zarog responded with a sneer.
"Congratulations! You have been selected as a participant for the Tribulation of Will! Kiss your mundane life goodbye for, through me, the path to power lays wide open for you to climb! Want to walk again? No problem! If you win this Tribulation, you'll be able to walk across the sun! Normal humans will be like ants before your might!"
Zarog freely manipulated the remaining glitter in the air as he spoke, using it to make spectacular visual aides. The two saw planets explode, men racing against speeding comets, and guys swallowing nebula whole.
Penelope, lost in the spectacle of it all, issued constant "oooos" and "awwws."
Oscar, however, felt differently.
"Was that dream his memory? If so, this must be a scam..."
His thoughts settled, Oscar raised his hand to say,
"Not interested, please leave."
"What!?!" "WHAT!"
"What, you think I am a person you can just shake down? I have no interest in your schemes, so leave!"
Zarog looked at him, with blood lust apparent in his glare. Suddenly, the ghost began laughing.
"Would you look at that? I've reached the time limit for this form, so time to rest. It was a pleasure meeting you, lassie."
"Oh, you too..."
Zarog then became invisible to her, but he didn't leave.
"He he he. You think you can just not play the game? Better say goodbye to this planet, then."
Oscar glared back at him, before saying,
"Sister, I also feel tired. Can you help me into bed, and give me some time to sleep?"
"Sure, but you should figure out something soon. Ma and pops will be back this evening."
"How long have I been asleep?"
"A day..."
"Just leave me in the chair, then. Could you fix me a meal, though; I am famished."
"Sure!"
She then left the room, leaving the two to have a more private talk.
"Are you trying to threaten me? No offense, but I don't think you could hurt a fly in that form."
"Who said I would do it? I am just a toe nail, remember. No, I'm talking about the other participants."
Oscar gulped, then asked the next logical question he could think of.
"What exactly is this Tribulation of Will? How does one win it?"
Zarog's sneer grew deeper, and he responded,
"I am glad you asked. The goal of this tribulation is for me to reassemble myself. The only way to do that is by collecting the other pieces. And, since those pieces are inside other participants, the method of collection obviously won't be as simple as a scavenger hunt."
GULP!
"I don't trust you. It'd be better to hide forever than make a deal with the devil!"
"Hmm, I wonder about that. I should probably mention, I don't recognize any of the constellations in your sky. This planet is probably far away from where I triggered the Tribulation. I reckon there are already participants at the level of comet chaser; what happens when they get strong enough to travel all the way here? Will they waste their time searching for whomever is left, or just blow up the planet and be done with it?"
"Surely, they can't be that crazy!?!"
"I don't know, it's what I would do. And, since all the participants carry a version of me, I'll leave the rest to your imagination..."
Oscar gritted the arm rests so tight, they cracked under the strain.
"... Fine, I'll participate!"
"Excellent choice, now let's talk training..."