Garfield and The War on Lasagna

Chapter 8 - END

Lyman held open the door, and they all entered. This room was a dark chamber leading to the main attraction, they walked and walked through the dim hallway. Their only light coming from Garfield and Odie's collars. Once they made it, they braced themselves to open the final door.

Once it opened, they saw Almren's office. He sat on a chair, facing away from the group. He was staring at a wall of computer screens, there had to be a hundred lined up all around him.

"Heh heh heh heh heh." Almren laughed, in his unusually high voice. "Ha ha HA.. HA HA!"

He snapped his fingers, and the metal floor Garfield and his friends stood on retracted, to reveal a pit of magma was below them. They scrambled to the middle of the floor as to not meet sudden doom. Above them, the ceiling pulled away to reveal a much higher one. Lined in rows of cages were countless Italian chefs, suspended in the air above the fiery pit. The friends looked in horror.

"You're planning to incinerate not only the pasta, but the chefs too??" Arlene screamed
"Anyone who breaks my most important rule.. will get what was coming for them." Almren replied.

"Gar-a-field!" A voice called out. "Hellllpppp!"

"Vito!" He called back. "We'll get you out, I swear."

"You and your friends have fallen right into my trap." Almren giggled. "Soon, you will all face the wrath.."

He turned around in his chair. And the group could see, Almren was not wearing his mechanical suit. His true identity was finally revealed.

"Of the cutest kitten in the world!"

It was now apparent to Garfield that "Almren", as they have been calling him, was none other than his old arch-nemesis: Nermal.

"NERMAL!" He screamed, outraged. "I thought I had mailed you off to Abu Dhabi for good!"

Nermal scoffed. "You should have known you can't get rid of me. I'll always come back. And now, I rose to power... just to make this world hell for you, Garfield. Every law I put in place, every aspect of how I govern... Was put in place to torment you. This is my revenge."

"Not anymore." Said Garfield. He clenched his hand into a fist. "We won't stand for this any longer!"

"Wait!" Mrs. Arbuckle interrupted. "Where is Jon?"

Nermal didn't say anything. The corners of his mouth curled into the most devilish grin.

"I'm so very glad you asked." he replied.

The ceiling right above them broke open, and another cage slowly dropped down. It landed close to them, so they could all gather around it.

"He's right here." Nermal answered.

Jon's arms were tied with a rope behind him. He struggled to get out. "Garfield, Odie—and more of you, it seems—you're here! You need to get out! Run!"

"There is a bomb strapped to Jon. If you somehow can disable it—which I really— doubt. My reign will be over. But good luck with that, HAHAHAH!"

Nermal put up his bomb shield and relaxed in his seat, watching the chaos unfold.

"Wait, who is that man with the beard? I recognize the rest of you, but not him." Jon asked.

"Oh him? That's Lyman." Garfield said.

"Garfield! Let him talk for himself." Arlene scolded.

"Arf!" Odie barked.

"Right," Garfield answered. "let's focus on the ticking bomb. Lyman, you get your little talk in while you have the chance."

"Alright," Arlene said, taking the rest of the group aside. "Look at this cage, how will we open it? There are three locks."

Garfield looked around, the lava pit came to mind. No. Not practical.

"Lyman! Why are you here!" Jon asked. "You leave for years, and don't talk to me again until I'm practically on my deathbed?"

"I intended to, really. I'd just dug myself such a deep hole, I didn't know how to reconnect with the outside world. I was worried sick about how things had changed while I was isolated."

"Thought of anything yet?" Asked Arlene

"No. Said Garfield. "Odie? You got anything?"

"Arf arf!"

"Break the bars? Those things are made of steel, you peabrain!" Garfield facepalmed in embarrassment.

"Ask Lyman." Arlene said. "He's strong, right?"

So they did, and Lyman pulled two bars apart with all of his might, he pulled and pushed, and managed to make a gap large enough for the gang to drag Jon out.

"Great work!" Jon exclaimed. "I guess Lyman never lost his strength. Now, what about the rest?"

Garfield slashed the ropes off in three claw strikes.

"Jonny!" Mrs. Arbuckle said gleefully, and gave her son a hug.

"Now for that bomb, I'll have a look at it." Arlene said. "Its stuck to Jon in a way I can't remove. The rest of you brainstorm ideas, or just talk."
Time was ticking. Arlene was trying to disable the bomb, but with no luck. The team had merely 2 minutes left with each other, unless they thought of something.

"Lyman, you stay here." Jon said. "I have a lot of questions for you, old friend."

"Vito, Vito!" Garfield called out. "How are you hanging in there, have any ideas?"

"No, I do not." He replied glumly.

"Thank you for the lasagna ingredients." Garfield said. "Even if I never got to try any, it was appreciated."

"You're-a-welcome" He replied. "Itza least I can do for my friend's birthday.

When the final minute hit, the gang realized there wasn't much they could do. Garfield saw how sad his friends were, and felt enraged. He ran up to Nermal's protective bubble and clawed all over it. He only laughed in response.

Time ticked away. And all seemed hopeless. Soon the bomb would detonate.

10
9
8
7..

BANG!

Someone had crashed in through the door.

"Liz!" Jon exclaimed.

She dropped to the ground quickly and rammed a special tool into the explosive. It completely halted, and they were saved.

"Sorry," Liz said. "I fell a bit off schedule."

"No no no NO!!" Nermal hissed. "This isn't fair! They had to get out on their own! You cheated!"

"Your time is up, Nermal." Garfield said. "We won."

Nermal was so angry, he jumped into the lava pit below. And slowly sunk to the bottom ablaze. They watched this with slight concern.

"I didn't think he'd go that far." Garfield said.

"Thank you all for saving me, I thought I was doomed." Jon said. "Lyman, I'm sorry I was harsh on you. I'd like things between us to go back to how they were before. Once my house is rebuilt, would you like to be... roommates again?"

A single tear fell from Lyman's eye. "I'd love to."

Arlene, Odie, and Mrs. Arbuckle helped the chefs out of their cages. Liz walked over to the microphone. "Attention, U.S. citizens. Almren's reign of terror is finally over. You're free to eat whatever you please, and the catbots will all be thrown into a magma pit one by one. Your future is full of hope, and lasagna."

Jon lead Garfield, Odie, Arlene, Liz, Lyman, Mrs. Arbuckle, and the dozens of chefs outside, where they would rebuild the world to have more restaurants than ever.