Chapter 2

chapter two We wait for hours. Then hours stretch into days, and days stretch into a full week. Seven whole days of waiting for this parade of evil monsters to pass. It's double lousy. Lousy #1: Let me tell ya—when you're gonna have to battle an evil army, a week of watching that evil army parade past you isn't exactly confidence-inducing. Lousy #2: We know Thrull is close to finishing the Tower. If we want any chance of stopping him, we need to be there, like, yesterday. But even if we ditched the Mallusk and went on foot, there's no way past that army... We're in a jam. A jam that has the many monster citizens aboard the Mallusk with us—Malluskians, I call 'em—on edge. Our buddy Johnny Steve, mayor of the mall, keeps trying to come up with fun activities to help everyone relax. But he's like a bad summer-camp director, and his activities are neither relaxing nor fun.

第二章我们等了几个小时。 然后几个小时延伸成几天，几天延伸成整整一周。 整整七天都在等这群邪恶的怪物通过。 简直糟透了。让我来告诉你——当你要与邪恶的军队作战时，一周的时间看着邪恶的军队从你身边走过是不会让你产生信心的。 缺点2：我们知道Thrull即将完成Tower。 如果我们想阻止他，就得昨天就赶到。 但即使我们弃马卢斯克号而走，也没办法越过那支军队…… 我们有麻烦了。这是一场让马卢斯克号上的许多怪物公民和我们——马卢斯基人，我称之为“边缘人”的混乱。 我们的伙伴约翰尼·史蒂夫，商场的市长，一直在努力想出有趣的活动来帮助大家放松。 但他就像一个糟糕的夏令营主任，他的活动既不放松也不有趣。

It's every human's favorite time passing activity RUNNING THE MILE WHILE A DISAPPOINTING GYM TEACHER YELLS AT YOU. I gotta admit, I'm half-relieved that our journey toward the Tower has been delayed. It's like when you show up for a dentist appointment, then find out the dentist is running two hours behind schedule. Part of you just wants to get it over with, but another part of you is happy for a stay of execution. 'Cause once we get moving again, we'll be at the Tower in no time. And there will be a battle—the BIG battle, for all the marbles. But what am I supposed to do?

当一个失望的体育老师对你大喊大叫时，跑一英里是每个人最喜欢的消磨时间的活动。 我得承认，我们去伦敦塔的行程被推迟了，我有点松了口气。 这就像你去看牙医，然后发现牙医比预定时间晚了两个小时。 一方面你只想快点了结，但另一方面你又很高兴能暂缓执行。 因为一旦我们再出发，我们马上就能到伦敦塔了。 而且将会有一场战斗——一场争夺所有弹珠的大战斗。 但我该怎么做？

There's something else that's got me anxious, too. Something that's been gnawing at me ever since we escaped the fortress... If we actually succeed, if we somehow defeat thrills and return things to some version of normal. And it's all over. And then what? Like my friends go back to school, I guess, back to their lives. But what do I do? Yeah, I'm having big emotions. But I'm not the only one all up in my thoughts. Quint, June, and Dirk have all been spending time alone, doing serious pondering, too.

还有一件事也让我很焦虑。 自从我们逃出堡垒以来，有件事一直在折磨着我…… 如果我们真的成功了，如果我们能战胜刺激让一切回归正常。 一切都结束了。然后呢？ 就像我的朋友们回到学校，回到他们的生活。 但我该怎么办呢？是啊，我情绪很激动。 但我不是唯一一个在我的想法。 昆特、琼和德克也都花时间独处，认真思考。

What's on their minds? Don't know, no one will spill. I've learned the hard way that you gotta share the nervous, lousy thoughts that fill your brain. It's like having a crazed puppy in your house. You might not want to take that pup on five walks a day—but if it stays cooped up inside, it's gonna tear up your favorite sneakers. I get it, though. Sharing the hard stuff is... hard. It's time for me to give my buddies a nudge. That night, I find my friends on the deck of the Mallusk. I launch into my best impression of every movie interrogation ever... You're gon na talk. You're gon na spell it all. I've had it with your lip sealed secretly. Secret feelings keeping. SO START WITH THE YAPEN.

他们在想什么？不知道，没人会泄漏。 我吃了不少苦头才明白，你得分享你脑子里充满的紧张和讨厌的想法。 就像家里养了只疯狗。 你可能不想一天带着小狗散步五次，但如果它一直被关在里面，它会撕毁你最喜欢的运动鞋。 不过我明白了。分享困难的事情是…… 难以实现。是时候给我的伙伴们点鼓励了。 那天晚上，我在马鲁斯克号的甲板上找到了我的朋友们。 我开始了我对所有电影审讯的最好印象…… 你会说话的。你要拼出来。 我偷偷地把你的嘴唇封上了。 保守秘密。所以从雅朋开始。

My friends stare at me, so confused they actually look scared. But it works. And, at once, they blurt out their innermost junk... There are people out there alive. We saw my parents names, quint's parents names. So where are they? How are we going to use Jeweller's ultra slime to actually take down the tower? Filling up Super soakers isn't going to be enough. Gas said there would be a battle of the tower, but Gass also said the tower will turn on, which means Rezak will come to our dimension. So won't there just be immediate destruction? And in a flash, Dirk, June, and Quint are firing thoughts back and forth at each other.

我的朋友们盯着我，很困惑，实际上他们看起来很害怕。 但它是有效的。于是，他们立刻脱口而出他们内心深处的垃圾…… 外面还有人活着。 我们看到了我父母的名字，昆特父母的名字。 那么他们在哪里呢？我们要怎么用珠宝商的超级黏液来摧毁那座塔？ 给超级水车加满油是不够的。 加斯说会有一场塔战，但加斯也说塔会开启，这意味着雷扎克会来到我们的次元。 所以不会立即造成破坏吗？ 刹那间，德克、琼和昆特的思想相互碰撞。

Quint says, "I have been pondering the same question as June. We know other humans are alive. So how have we encountered none of them?" June nods vigorously. "I've been watching the broadcast from the survivors. It hasn't changed in months. No new names popping up, no old names going away. So where IS everyone?" "Where's the military?" Dirk asks. He's clearly been bursting at the seams to discuss this topic. "We could use tanks. Tanks could deliver Drooler's Ultra-Slime real good." Drooler's Ultra-Slime is the one thing that can melt Thrull's vines. Which means it can destroy his skeleton soldiers... and maybe even break apart the Tower. "And like Quint was wondering," June says, "if .e...c. is gonna show up, how can there even be a battle? What does Thrull need that giant army for if .e...c. is all-powerful?" I shake my head, bewildered. "Don't know. But Ghazt told me that during the Battle of the Tower, there'd be a moment when a leader could turn the tide. And he seemed to be saying that leader was... me." Everyone is quiet for a second. "Yeah, we're definitely doomed," Dirk says.

昆特说：“我一直在思考和琼一样的问题。 我们知道其他人是活着的。 那我们怎么一个都没碰到呢？”六月使劲地点点头。 “我一直在看幸存者的广播。 几个月没变了。 没有新名字冒出来，也没有旧名字消失。 大家都到哪里去了？”“军队在哪里？”德克问道。 很明显，他迫不及待地想要讨论这个话题。 “我们可以使用坦克。坦克可以很好地运送流口水的超级黏液。” 流口水的超级黏液是唯一能融化斯拉尔藤蔓的东西。 这意味着它可以摧毁他的骷髅士兵… 甚至可能摧毁伦敦塔。 “就像昆特想知道的那样，”琼说，“如果…… 都要出现了，怎么会有战斗呢？ Thrull需要这么庞大的军队做什么？ 是全能的?”我摇了摇头，不知所措。 “不知道。但加兹特告诉我，在塔楼之战中，总会有一个领袖可以扭转局势的时刻。 他似乎在说领袖是…… 我。”大家都安静了一会儿。 “是的，我们肯定要完蛋了，”德克说。