Chapter 90

Carl's group puts the finishing touches on their elaborate parade floats in the garage, coordinating costumes, decorations, and positioning across five vehicles and three giant animals. Carl then leaves Donut's party to join Safehome Yolanda, segregating his personal space as agreed, moments before the Parade of Horribles officially begins.

The chapter opens with the garage transformed into a staging area for the Parade of Horribles. Carl surveys their procession: five vehicles, three giant animals, and a marching band section consisting of Mongo, Rend, Simoom, Gonk, and Bianca. Carl and Donut will ride atop the final float—the chicken truck with a diorama on its roof, driven by Tipid. Other floats include the ice-cream truck (driven by Hedy), the stair truck (driven by another gremlin), and a modified Toyota Tundra carrying Jamal. Sweety the tapir leads the procession with Prepotente and Jurgen decorating its platform with flowers. Rosetta rides Onikuma the bear in a glittering red gown and magical hat, while Samantha and Bigs ride Old Shuck. The Gurkha class equipment provides enhanced abilities: special claw caps boost Mongo's slicing, magical blankets increase the mounts' constitution and grant Steady Charge, and Gurkha hats boost melee skills. Donut's Sprout Forest ability provides Requite Dahlias in black, gold, magenta, and white that cover every vehicle and animal with blooms. Other teams have arranged their own floats for different themes: Florin's Resolution team, Elle's Betrayal team (using warlord heads on pikes), and a Decision team creating a giant menu. The Destruction team, featuring Chinese crawlers and Makana with Sarah Hayse, will deploy an Abrams tank and Breaking Bad-style RV. An hour later, as the countdown to the parade nears its end, Carl leaves Donut's party to join Safehome Yolanda, segregating his personal space. This removes both their royal bodyguard titles, frustrating Donut. Bucket Boy emerges from Carl's new cramped space—which is occupied by someone playing looped early 2000s rock music—and Carl directs him to leave before the festivities begin. The countdown reaches its final moments as Carl calls Penelope the pig to come eat a snack.