In the shadows, a small twitching form was materializing. It was…a rat. But not just any rat. It had sickly green eyes that glowed faintly, and a thin tail that ended in what looked like tiny barbs. It was small and barely bigger than his hand, and it looked more pathetic than terrifying.

  "What the…?" Jett whispered. He had been expecting a hulking abomination. Not…this.

  The tiny rat looked around, its green eyes blinked slowly. It let out a soft squeak, almost like a baby. It took a tentative step forward.

  Jett stared at it, his mind was still struggling to process what was happening.

  "This is the Murk Rodent?" he said, with a dubious expression.

  "This…tiny thing?"

  He cautiously approached the creature, and crouched down to get a better look. The rat tilted its head, its green eyes focused on Jett. It let out another squeak, and this time, Jett could have sworn it sounded…curious.

  "Well, hello there," Jett said. "You're…certainly not what I was expecting."

  Jett stood back up. He started pacing back and forth, the tiny rat watched his every move with those unsettling green eyes.

  "Okay, so this is the Murk Rodent," he muttered, mostly to himself.

  "But it's…tiny. Like, pocket sized tiny. Is this it? Is this what I summoned?"

  He stopped pacing and crouched down again, peering at the rat.

  "Are you going to get bigger? Is that how this works? Like, you start small and then bam! Giant monster rat?"

  He snapped his fingers for emphasis, but the rat just blinked at him.

  Jett stood up again, resuming his pacing.

  "And what about the venom? The claws? The…everything?" He gestured wildly with his hands.

  "It's supposed to be terrifying, not…cuteish? In a weird—horrifying way, of course."

  He ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts spiraled.

  "Okay, new theory. It's a baby. A baby Murk Rodent. Which means…it'll grow? Oh god, it's going to grow, isn't it? I'm going to have a giant monster rat living with me. This is my life now.."

  He stopped pacing and looked around his cluttered apartment.

  "Where am I even going to keep it? I don't have a cage. I barely have enough room for myself, let alone a growing…thing."

  He glanced at the pizza boxes on the floor.

  "Maybe I can make a fort out of these?"

  Jett shook his head.

  "No, no, that's ridiculous. I need to figure out what to do. Can I even get rid of it? Is that an option? Or am I stuck with this…miniature nightmare?"

  He looked back at the tiny rat, which was still watching him with those eerie green eyes. It let out another soft squeak, and Jett couldn't shake the feeling that it was trying to communicate with him.

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  "Okay, okay," Jett said.

  "Let's start with the basics. Are you…friendly? Or are you going to try and bite my face off the first chance you get?"

  Murk tilted its head again, its green eyes blinked slowly. It let out a series of rapid squeaks, its tiny body twitched. It then took a step toward Jett again, then stopped as if unsure.

  "Okay, not immediately hostile," Jett mumbled.

  "That's…progress, I guess." He reached out with his hand slowly, his palm was up.

  "Hey, little guy. Or girl. I don't even know what you are."

  Murk sniffed at Jett's hand cautiously, its tiny nose twitched. It then nudged his hand with its head.

  Jett grinned nervously.

  "Alright, so you're not trying to eat me. That's good. That's…really good."

  He slowly pulled his hand away. "So, what now? Do I feed you? Do you need a tiny monster rat cage? Do those even exist?"

  Murk let out another squeak and then moved, scampering towards a pile of dirty laundry in the corner of the room.

  It disappeared into the pile.

  "Oh, great. It likes my dirty laundry," Jett said with a sigh. "This is just perfect."

  He watched the pile of laundry, waiting to see if Murk would reappear. A moment later, a small green glow emerged from within. Murk's eyes were visible in the darkness.

  "Okay, so you're nesting," Jett observed.

  "You're making a…laundry nest. Fantastic."

  He threw his hands up in exasperation and spoke again:

  "I have a monster rat living in my dirty laundry. My life is officially a sitcom."

  Jett watched the pile of laundry for a moment longer, then sighed and headed towards the kitchen.

  "Alright, laundry monster will probably need food, I guess," he muttered.

  "Let's see what culinary delights I can offer a…baby Spawn Ruin."

  He opened the fridge, its interior was illuminated by a dim, buzzing light. The contents were mostly a reflection of his questionable eating habits.

  "Hmm, leftover pizza? Nah, too obvious. And probably not healthy, even for a monster."

  He rummaged through the shelves, pulling out a carton of eggs.

  "Raw eggs? Maybe? Like Rocky? But smaller and…rat-like?" He wrinkled his nose.

  "Probably not."

  He spotted a half.eaten block of cheese in the back.

  "Cheese? Rats like cheese, right? Or is that just cartoons?" He shrugged. "Worth a shot."

  He grabbed the cheese and a knife and cut off a small piece. He walked back into the living room, holding the cheese out to the pile of laundry.

  "Hey, uh—Murk? You want some…cheese?"

  The green glow in the laundry shifted, and Murk emerged, its tiny head peeked out. It sniffed the cheese cautiously, then took a nibble. It chewed for a moment, then turned away, its nose twitched.

  "Okay, not a cheese fan," Jett said. "Good to know."

  He tossed the cheese back into the fridge. He scanned the rest of the fridge's contents.

  "Let's see…moldy strawberries? Expired yogurt? A single, lonely pickle?" He shuddered.

  "My fridge is a biohazard. No wonder nothing in here is appealing."

  He grabbed a wilted carrot from the crisper drawer.

  "Carrot? Maybe? It's…vegetably?"

  He held it out to Murk, who had emerged from the laundry pile again. Murk sniffed the carrot, then turned away again, its green eyes blinked slowly.

  "Alright, so it's not a vegetarian," Jett said.

  "Or, at least, it doesn't like my vegetables. Which, honestly, I can't blame it for."

  He closed the fridge, feeling defeated.

  "I have no idea what this thing eats. Maybe…maybe it doesn't eat? Maybe it just absorbs energy or something? Like a…a weird, green.eyed plant?"

  He looked at Murk, who was now exploring the living room, its tiny form darted between the furniture.

  Jett sighed, he rubbed his tired eyes.

  "Alright, I'm done," he muttered. "I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll wake up and this will all have been a very weird dream."

  He glanced around the living room one last time. Murk was curled up in the laundry pile, its green eyes glowed softly in the dim light.

  "Yeah, a really weird dream," Jett said.

  He shuffled off to his bedroom, and collapsed onto his bed with a sound of exasperation. He didn't even bother changing, he just kicked off his shoes and pulled the covers over himself. The events of the night replayed in his mind: the gargoyle named Volkov, the rat-thing, the tiny monster rat now living in his dirty laundry.

  "What a day," he mumbled, and then he drifted off to sleep.

  -

  Jett found himself standing on a stage, bathed in the warm glow of spotlights. A massive crowd roared with applause, their faces were blurred and indistinct. He was holding a microphone, his heart was pounding with a strange mix of terror and excitement.

  "Wait, what?" Jett thought. "Where am I? Why am I on stage?"

  Suddenly, a figure appeared beside him. It was Ariana Grande, wearing a sparkly dress and an even sparklier smile.

  "Ready to sing, Jett?" she asked with a serene tone.

  Jett stared at her, he was utterly dumbfounded. "Ariana Grande? What is happening?"

  Before he could process anything, another figure appeared on the other side of him. It was Freddie Mercury, in all his flamboyant glory.

  "The show must go on, darling!" he declared, he struck a dramatic pose.

  Jett's jaw dropped.

  "Freddie Mercury? And Ariana Grande? On the same stage? With me?"

  Suddenly, the music started. It was a mashup of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next."

  Jett felt a surge of panic. "I don't know the words! I can't sing!"

  But then, his mouth started moving on its own. He found himself belting out the lyrics, his voice was surprisingly powerful and on key. The crowd went wild.

  Ariana Grande winked at him. "You're a natural, Jett!"

  Freddie Mercury threw an arm around his shoulder.

  "You've got the magic, my boy!"

  Jett was still trying to figure out what was happening when another figure appeared on stage. It was Celine Dion, looking regal and fabulous.

  "Excuse me," she said, pushing past Freddie Mercury. "It's my turn."

  Celine Dion launched into a power ballad, hitting every note with the pinnacle of perfection. The crowd erupted in cheers. Jett stood there, completely bewildered.

  Suddenly, the stage began to tilt. Jett grabbed onto Ariana Grande for support.

  "What's happening!?" he yelled.

  Ariana shrugged. "Just go with it!"

  The stage tilted further, and Jett, Ariana, Freddie, and Celine all started sliding towards the edge. They were about to fall off when a giant inflatable rat with green eyes appeared, catching them like a bouncy castle.

  Jett bounced on the inflatable rat, laughing hysterically. "This is insane!" he yelled.

  The inflatable rat started floating away, carrying Jett - Ariana - Freddie - and Celine into the sky. They soared over the city, singing and dancing on the giant rat.

  Jett looked down at the city lights, a huge grin was plastered on his face.

  "This is the best moment of my life!"

  Then, he woke up.