"It's beautiful!" Sophia cried as she looked at the beach.
"And it's all ours." said Maximo. Sophia hugged her husband.
"We've haven't had time this to ourselves for far too long."
"Indeed." Maximo replied. "Now let's not waste another moment." Maximo took off his boots, then his gloves. As he worked on his breastplate, Sophia disrobed as well. She tossed her dress off, revealing a blue two-piece bikini. She turned to her husband, who was now wearing only his white boxer shorts with red hearts.
"Don't tell me you're going swimming in your underwear?" Sophia laughed at the absurdness of it.
"Unfortunately, I forgot to wear my swimsuit." he said awkwardly. "Yeah I know, the guy who thought of everything else forgot arguably the most important thing. Is that really a grave offense?"
"When you're a king, I'm sure you're allowed to do almost whatever you want. Besides, I'm not complaining. I still say that's your sexiest outfit. Now let's go!"
Sophia ran towards the water and Maximo joined her. They greatly enjoyed their swim. The water was clean, and the perfect temperature. They swam until the sun began to set, then they sat on the beach and watched the orange sky. Sophia grabbed Maximo's hand.
"Say my 4 favorite words." she said. Maximo turned to her and looked her in the eyes.
"I love you forever." he said tenderly.
"I love you forever too Maximo." Sophia cooed as she closed her eyes and moved into kiss him.
Suddenly she felt a thud. She opened her eyes. She was no longer on the beach, but on the floor of her bedroom tangled up in her bedsheets.
"Not again." Sophia muttered. "At least let me get to the best part before waking up." She untangled herself, revealing her veiled nightie that was the same color as her bikini. She looked sadly to her bed, where Maximo would be sleeping if he wasn't off fighting a war. He had left a month ago, but it felt like a year. They had a good time before he left, though not nearly as idyllic as the time they were having on the beach in her dream. But when he got back, he promised they would take a vacation to somewhere tropical.
A knock at the door jolted her out of these thoughts. "I'm coming." Sophia grabbed her robe and put it on. She opened the door and standing there was Aurora Lee, the head of Maximo's council of sorceresses.
"Good morning. How are you my queen?" she asked.
"Not bad, aside from another dream about being with my husband." Sophia said.
"I am so sorry." said the sorceress.
"It's okay. After all, at least I'm having pleasant dreams." Sophia smiled. "Is anything the matter?"
"Strange things are happeneing across the kingdom." Aurora Lee said "The other sorceresses and I will be leaving later today to investigate them."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sophia said, knowing that the answer would probably be no.
"Actually, that's the exact same question I came here to ask you. I know it can't be easy for you with your husband gone and I know you'll miss having us to talk to, so before you left I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to make today special for you." Sophia thought about it.
"Well, breakfast in bed would be a nice start. I haven't had that in a while."
Aurora Lee smiled. "Then I shall make you something immediately." She left as Sophia readjusted her covers and crept back into bed. The sorceresses had always seemed so strange ever since she first met them, but even though she knew they were good she had trouble interacting with them. But not long after Maximo left, she found herself really getting to know them better. They even had a slumber party a few nights ago, during which she had fully become friends with them. They helped to make Maximo's absence more bearable, and she would miss them too though not quite as much as her husband. Later Aurora Lee arrived with hot toast.
"I freshly baked this for you." She said. Sophia tasted it.
"You used your magic didn't you?" she asked.
"Well of course, I have the power so why not use it?" Aurora Lee replied.
"I'm not complaining. This is absolutely delicious." Sophia started to eat her food slower, savoring every tasty bite.
"Is there anything else I could do for you?" Aurora Lee asked.
Sophia said "As a matter of fact; yes. Can you not only prepare a bath for me but also enchant the water so that it remains the right temperature as long as I stay in it? I'd like it to stay hot."
"That will be easy." Aurora Lee said before leaving to carry out Sophia's wishes. After Sophia finished her meal, she got up and headed for the bathroom where she found her bath already for her. She undressed and got in it. It was lukewarm.
"I shall now raise the temperature a bit at a time. You just say when." Aurora Lee raised her hands and fired magical energy at the water causing it to be on the warm side of lukewarm.
"I'd like it warmer please." Sophia said. Aurora Lee raised the temperature again. "Warmer. Warmer. Just a bit cooler." Sophia paused and properly felt the water. "It's perfect." She said. But Aurora Lee fired more magical energy into the water.
"If you have to get up for anything, the water will remain like this for half an hour but after that the spell will be broken and it will begin to naturally cool down." Sophia smiled. Aurora Lee thought of everything. No wonder she was the leader of the sorceresses.
"Do you have any more wishes I can grant?" Sophia paused thoughtfully.
"Bring back Maximo." She laughed. "You're making sure that I'm starting the day right. I couldn't ask for anything better, at least not within reason."
"Excellent. I shall depart immediately then. We hope to be back in a few days or so." Aurora Lee left Sophia alone with her bath. She took longer than usual, not wanting to leave the perfectly heated water. But she knew she couldn't spend all morning in here let alone all day. So she got up, wrapped her towel around her and went back to her bedroom.
She opened up her closet door and looked through her wardrobe for what she would wear today. Since the dresses were up front, she looked through them first. She picked a pink dress and moved onto her lingerie collection. Her eyes darted towards her latest addition; a white bra with red hearts printed over it as well as red lace trimming and matching panties. She had gotten them when she bought the heart patterned boxer shorts for Maximo to remind him that he would be always in her heart. She smiled as she thought of the night they spent together before they left. He tried them on and he liked them very much. Not surprising, considering his general fondness for printed boxers. He was very pleased when she showed him that she was wearing a matching set. What a pair they had made, lovers in heart print underwear. She hadn't worn them since that night. Sophia decided to wear them today. It was a special occasion after all.
She put on the underwear of love. Before she got dressed further, Sophia decided to look at herself in the mirror. She went up to it and said "Mirror mirror in my room, will I see Maximo again soon?" she giggled, still feeling giddy from her bath.
Suddenly, her reflection crossed her arms and grinned wickedly as it said "Probably never again." Sophia was shocked, but before she could react a portal opened in front of the mirror. A big, dark blue, clawed hand reached out and grabbed her. Sophia struggled as she was pulled in.
The hand pulled Sophia into a black void, featureless aside from her captor. She followed the hand and saw that it was attached to a horrendous creature with yellow eyes, sharp teeth and spikes on its neck and head. Sophia screamed.
"Oh shut up!" the creature said in a woman's voice, revealing itself to be female. She breathed on Sophia, and she fell unconscious. "Can't concentrate with that screaming. I better copy her mind; I can't afford to get caught." The monster touched a finger to Sophia's head and began to read her mind, copying it down to the last detail. "That's all I need from you. Now you're gonna make somebody very happy!"
In a castle far away from Sophia's home a man was sitting on a throne as his minions stood by, eagerly awaiting orders from their master. He had short black hair and was plotting. He almost had a cunning plan put together, but it fell apart in his mind when a feminine voice cooed "Oh Clyjeik."
Clyjeik became angry. "Blast it! This better be good, you just made me lose concentration when I really needed it."
"I assure you it is." the female voice said. A portal opened up and the creature that kidnapped Sophia stepped almost completely out of it, leaving only her tail stuck behind the portal. Clyjeik immediately lost all anger. He knew not to anger a demon under any circumstances, especially not this one.
"Well if it isn't my favorite demon, um; I'm sorry but I can never remember your name. I'm sorry, it's so strange." he said clumsily, desperately coming up with ways to make amends and not be eaten.
"The Demon Queen will suffice." she replied.
Clyjeik turned to his guards. "Can you please leave us alone boys?" The guards departed.
"Well, what brings you back to my humble abode?" Clyjeik asked. "I thought our business was concluded after you gave me those dark powers like the transformation and the ability to make things with pieces of my soul?"
The demon queen licked her lips. "All those people you fed to me were so delicious that I've been thinking about giving you a bonus. Remember when I scanned your mind to see if you planned any treachery?"
"Yes." Clyjeik said, not sure where this was going.
"Well guess what? I brought you that woman you had a crush on." The she-devil's tail finally emerged from the portal, and it was holding an unconscious Sophia. She tossed her onto the ground right in front of her as the portal disappeared.
Clyjeik gasped. He had loved Queen Sophia from afar for a long time, and she got his vote for the most beautiful female in the world. Now she was finally in his home and in her underwear no less. But it didn't take long before he questioned his good fortune.
"Wait a minute, what's the catch?" Clyjeik said. " Do I have to bring more people for you to eat? Or will I have to do something even more vile?"
"There is no catch." the Demon Queen said. "Our agreement was that I would give you your heart's desires, as in plural. Dark powers were one thing, but even though you never said it I knew you wanted this woman. And it happens that it would benefit me for her to be out of the picture. So she's all yours now." Sophia began to regain consciousness.
"Where am I? What ha-" When she saw the Demon Queen, it all came rushing back to her. Sophia jumped up in alarm. She prepared to flee, but Clyjeik turned to her.
"Please don't run; I have no wish to hurt you." the sorcerer said. Sophia halted and decided to play whatever game she had been drafted into.
Clyjeik turned back towards his unearthly benefactor. "So, what will you do now?"
"Keep an eye on your dream girl's kingdom." the Demon Queen replied. "Right before our deal I noticed that something interesting is going to happen real soon, and I'm going to have a front row seat."
The Demon Queen began to shrink. As she became smaller, her hideous features lessened and she became more human. She eventually took the shape of a humanoid in a blue dress. Her skin turned normal, long blond hair grew from her head and wrapped itself into a bun. Finally, her face turned into an exact replica of Sophia's. Suddenly, it dawned on Maximo's wife that her abductor had turned into her.
"You may look like me, but you'll never fool Maximo." Sophia said. The Demon Queen turned to Sophia and said in a perfect copy of her voice. "Thanks for the bath Aurora Lee. What's that? Maximo has returned? Welcome back my husband. I've missed you so much. How about letting me see you in your sexiest outfit?"
Sophia was shocked. There was no way she could have known that last remark; she had only said it to Maximo once in private. The Demon Queen smiled smugly.
"I read your mind after I knocked you out, and I know everything about you. I know exactly how you would react to any given situation. How else did you think I could keep this mask on? But then, I might not need it for long. The sorceresses are headed right into traps set by Achilles." Sophia's eyes widened.
"Achilles? But, he's Maximo's friend. There's no way he'd ever betray us."
"They say power corrupts, and he's about to come into a lot of power." The Demon Queen turned to Clyjeik. "Look, I've got to get going before Sophia's missed. But I'll stay in touch." She tossed Clyjeik a crystal. "I'll be sure to record the most interesting developments and send them to you. I know one way or another you'll get to see something you've wanted to happen for a long time." The portal to Castle Maximo re-opened and the Demon Queen left, leaving Sophia with her captor.
Clyjeik turned all his attention towards Sophia. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl. She suddenly realized that she was still only in her underwear. She blushed, wishing that she hadn't of taken so long to get dressed. But then she told herself that for all she knew, Maximo was fighting in his underwear at this very moment. This thought made her determined to do him proud by standing up to this creep.
"You are even more beautiful in person." Clyjeik said as he walked up to her. He placed his hand on her face and caressed it gently. "It's hard to believe that you're all mine."
Now was her chance. Sophia delivered a kick to his groin then while he was doubled over in pain she punched him in the face. She delivered some more kicks and punches causing him to back off. She struck a fighting pose, ready to deal out some more. Clyjeik forced himself to stand up.
"I must say, I'm not disappointed. You truly are Maximo's wife. But that's the only time you're going to do that to me." He fired some magical energy at a pair of chains he had lying around. They flew through the air towards Sophia. They wrapped themselves on Sophia's arms and lifted her off the ground. The chains forced her arms behind her then tied her arms up. Clyjeik summoned more chains to wrap Sophia's legs up. Once Sophia was firmly secured, Clyjeik lowered her to the ground.
Sophia struggled as Clyjeik walked up to her. "Not so tough now are you?" he said.
"Let me go, or you will regret it!" she cried.
"You're in no position to argue." He picked her up. Sophia thrashed as wildly as she could, but it did nothing more than annoy Clyjeik. He took her to a cell and tossed her into it. After he locked the door he used his magic to undo the chains.
"I have some things to take care of, but I'll be back in an hour or so. That should give you time to think." Clyjeik left Sophia alone with her thoughts. True to his word he showed up just over an hour later, holding a black ring in his right hand.
"Sophia, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Sophia laughed. "Even if it weren't for the fact that I'm married, I'd sooner die than marry someone like you!"
"I can't have that, it wouldn't benefit either of us. I guess I'll just have to make you wish you were dead. Fortunately, I made something recently that will do just that. I had no idea I'd need it this soon." Clyjeik said as he waved his left hand at her.
Sophia suddenly felt her arms and hands restrained by something. She turned around, and saw that the shackles in the cell wall had extended and grabbed her limbs. They receded into the wall, dragging Sophia along with them until her arms and legs were pinned to the wall.
Clyjeik opened the cell door and walked in. Sophia glared angrily at him. "You won't get away with this. Maximo will rescue me!"
Clyjeik laughed. "Your husband will never find you. Surely you should know that by now. Last chance, marry me or else."
"Or else what?" Sophia asked as defiantly as possible.
"Or else this!" Clyjeik went to Sophia's right hand and forced the ring onto one of her fingers. He stepped back, and began to chant. Sophia started to feel drowsy, then fell asleep.
When Sophia opened her eyes she was in her own bed. "Oh thank goodness, all that was just a nightmare." she said. "I'll never complain about pleasant dreams that end too soon again!"
Suddenly, somebody burst through her door. It was none other than her husband Maximo. She was extremely happy to see him.
"Honey! How are you doing? Did we win the war?" But Maximo just glared at her.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" Sophia asked, now greatly confused. "It's me, Sophia, your wife."
"Then pray tell who this is supposed to be." Out from behind Maximo stepped another Sophia. She was badly beaten up. Her clothes were torn, she had cuts and bruises all over her body as well as a black eye. Sophia was very confused.
"On my way back I found her dumped alongside the road. She told me that an imposter had taken her place for some sinister reason." Maximo said.
"But, I'm the real Sophia!" Sophia exclaimed.
"There's one way to find out, let's look in the mirror." the other Sophia said. She looked into it and her reflection appeared normal. She then turned the mirror towards Sophia. She looked at her reflection and saw only a horrible monster.
"Your spell may affect mortal eyes, but it can't fool mirrors!" Maximo cried as he raised his sword.
"No, please; this is some mistake." Sophia began to back away slowly.
"Shut up and die!" Maximo yelled as he charged towards her. Sophia was trapped. He thrust his sword towards her-
-and Sophia woke up back in the dungeon screaming.
"Good to know it works perfectly." Clyjeik said, now on the outside of the bars.
"What just happened?" Sophia asked.
"That ring I put on you was forged from a piece of my soul using the dark powers the Demon Queen gave me. I specifically designed it to cause whoever's wearing it to go into an enchanted slumber where they experience nothing but bad dreams."
"You came up with that scenario, you sick ba-"
"I have no idea what happened." Clyjeik said. "I cannot control what nightmares you have. The ring conjures up whatever upsets you the most. Now that you see what you're up against, are you still dead set on defying me?"
"Hell yeah!" Sophia cried.
"How naïve. I'll give you another hour to come to your senses. Here." The shackles released Sophia. "You deserve the freedom of movement, such as it is. If you say no then you may not move again for a very long time. And I assure you, every second of that will be spent trapped in a horrible nightmare." Clyjeik turned to leave. Sophia looked at her ring and moved her left hand to take it off.
"Oh, and I wouldn't remove that ring if I were you." Clyjeik said. "If you did, it would automatically put you back to sleep though I could still wake you up. There are only two ways to remove it without setting it off, either I take it off or I die. So please think carefully before you do anything rash."
52 minutes later, Sophia decided to test it. For all she knew, he was merely bluffing. And if not, at least she wouldn't have to waste any more breath on him. As soon as she took the ring off she instantly fell asleep.
A few minutes later Clyjeik showed up. "I told you so." he said. "Oh well, you just have to learn your lesson the hard way." Clyjeik picked Sophia up, and carried her back to his throne room. Since she had left he had added a new addition to the décor; a table with a see-through case on top of it. He opened it up and placed Sophia on the table before shutting the lid. Now he could watch her as she slept if he so wished. Whenever he needed inspiration or cheering up, he knew he could turn to this heavenly beauty and the mere sight of her would make him feel better. "Let's see if she's still strong after a couple days."
When Clyjeik reawakened her three days later, Sophia woke up gasping for breath. She had a nightmare where she was drowning.
"You look rather pale. Just say yes and spare yourself the agony."
Sophia turned to him and said. "I'm not speaking to you."
"Alright, but I will give you another chance every few days or so." Clyjeik said before putting her back to sleep. A few days later he woke her up, and asked her again if she would marry him. Sophia said nothing before Clyjeik put her back to sleep. And so it went for a month, until Clyjeik woke her one morning with important news.
Sophia opened her eyes and saw that she was back in the dungeon Clyjeik threw her in on her first night here.
"I have something to show you." He pulled out the crystal that the Demon Queen had given him. "It's best that you see this for yourself. The Demon Queen did say that things were going to get interesting back in your kingdom, and was she ever right." He projected an image from it into the air. Sophia gasped when she saw who was in it. It showed none other than Achilles and her beloved Maximo.
"You little fool, I control your kingdom now, as I control the power of the underworld." Achilles said as he fired a purple blast at Maximo. It hit him head-on. "Sophiaaaa!" Maximo yelled as he died. "Behold my dark power." Achilles said. Sophia could only look on in horror.
"You don't have to worry about being an adulterer if you marry me now." Clyjeik said.
"You're lying!" Sophia screamed. "You just made up that image to mess with me!"
"Come now, why would I go to all the trouble to do that if it wasn't true? Look there's so much recorded on here." He fast forwarded through the footage recorded on the crystal. Even for a sorcerer of my caliber, it would take far longer than the time you've been asleep to arrange all this." Sophia began to cry. "I shall leave you to your mourning." Clyjeik said before leaving.
Sophia wept after he was gone. With her husband dead, there was no one left to save her. But that didn't decrease her resolve to resist Clyjeik. On the contrary, it made her want to resist him all the more.
"Time's up." Clyjeik said when he returned.
"I will still never marry you!" Sophia yelled.
Clyjeik was confused. "How can you still be so resistant, even when your husband dead?"
"Because I will not betray his memory so easily."
Clyjeik frowned. "I am beginning to lose my patience. I am going to put you to sleep for at least 2 weeks, most likely more. Will you still defy me?"
"Yes, even if I never wake up!" Sophia cried.
"So be it." Clyjeik said, and returned her to her enchanted slumber.
Sophia slept for over a month, and as it went on the nightmares got worse and worse. She repeatedly died in various ways and had to see Maximo and the sorceresses either turning on her or being killed in gruesome manners, sometimes by Sophia herself. As they went on, she felt her resolve began to dwindle. Maximo wouldn't want her to suffer like this forever, would he? Surely he would understand.
This led to a nightmare where she gave in to Clyjeik's demands only to be attacked by her husband, who had risen from the grave as a zombie. "Sophia, why did you betray me?" he said just before he lunged to attack her.
Before he could hit her, Sophia found herself falling into a black void as everything around her shattered. She quickly realized that she was regaining consciousness, a feeling she had not felt for a long time. She chastised herself for giving in so easily, even if it was only in a dream.
She was half-awake when Clyjeik's chant that undid the ring's curse was interrupted right before eh finished by one of his henchmen.
"Lord Clyjeik!" he said, causing him to stop the spell. "I have great news!"
"This better be good." Clyjeik said.
Sophia could scarcely believe her luck. She was drowsy, but still conscious. She was going to savor every moment she had free of the nightmares. So she just lay there as Clyjeik talked with his henchman.
"You sent me to find out more information about the 'Man who walks with death'."
"Is he real?" Clyjeik asked.
"Not only is he real, you won't believe who it is."
"Well you better tell me then!" Clyjeik bellowed.
"It is none other than Maximo."
Clyjeik's heart sank, while Sophia's heart soared. She was so happy to hear this news that she wanted to jump and shout. But they were oblivious to her eavesdropping, and she wanted to keep it that way so she just lay there with her eyes closed.
"How can this be? Achilles killed him!" Clyjeik yelled.
"Apparently, he made some deal with Death and now they're on friendly terms. And most importantly, he never goes far without asking for information about Sophia."
Sophia felt like she was going to cry when she heard this. Not only was her husband alive, he was actively searching for her. She knew that somehow he would see through the Demon Queen's deception.
"This is very bad." Clyjeik said. "At least he doesn't know where we are. Now leave me alone, I have personal matters to attend to." He turned to Sophia and started the chant from the beginning. Sophia pretended to be getting up from a long sleep.
"I was going to eat dinner, and I felt like having some company so I woke you up in the hopes that you would join me." Sophia wanted to say no, but she was starting to feel hungry. As much as she detested the thought of sharing a meal with Clyjeik, she knew she had to keep her strength up for when Maximo finally got to her.
"I will eat with you, but under one condition." Sophia said. "I'm not dressed for the occasion, so I need some clothes."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have anything for you. I'm don't exactly have any reason to have women's clothing." Cyjeik replied.
"That's alright, I'm not picky so I'll take whatever you've got."
"That's another thing." Clyjeik said. "I would consider it a crime to cover up such beauty."
Sophia crossed her arms. "If you don't give me any clothes, I won't eat with you."
"And if you don't eat with me, I'll put you back to sleep immediately!" Sophia realized that Clyjeik was not in a mood to be trifled with, so she gave in to his demands. He led Sophia to the dining room where there was a magnificent feast on the table prepared for them and Clyjeik's chief henchman, who were waiting at the table. As soon as she walked into the room, all their eyes turned towards her.
"We have a guest tonight boys, so be on your best behavior." Clyjeik said. A couple of them wolf-whistled at Sophia, making her uneasy.
"But just remember what I said before, you can look at her all you want but if you touch her I will kill you." This did not make Sophia feel much better, but she was grateful that they would leave her alone. So they ate, and Sophia had to admit the food was pretty good. But even so, she couldn't help feel uneasy with everyone staring at her repeatedly. When they had finished, Clyjeik turned to her.
"You know what I'm going to ask you." he said.
"And you know what my response I going to be." Sophia replied. Clyjeik banged the table.
"How can you possibly still be so resistant? Nobody is coming to rescue you."
"You're wrong." Sophia said before she could think.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing." Sophia said, realizing that maybe she shouldn't have said that. Clyjeik became angry.
"Tell me!" he said. "Or I'll-"
"Alright." Sophia said as Clyjeik calmed down. She had hoped to hold on to her trump card a little longer, but right now she had nothing to lose. She was going back to sleep either way, so she might as well get a little satisfaction out of angering Clyjeik.
"There is somebody out there who is going to rescue me, and that's none other than my husband Maximo." Clyjeik twitched for a moment but didn't lose his composure.
"Have you forgotten that he's dead?" he asked, a slight strain in his voice.
"Maybe he was, but for whatever reason he's back and I know that he's not going to rest until he finds me."
"How can you possibly be so sure? Wait a minute, you overheard me earlier didn't you?"
"Yes." Sophia replied. "Thank you very much for renewing my hope when it had been all but distinguished. Or should I thank the man who interrupted my re-awakening? It was he who told me this after all. I could kiss him. If he's still here, I just might kiss him. I'm sure he's more deserving of a kiss than you are." Clyjeik lost it.
"You have insulted me for the last time! If I ever decide to wake you up again, it will be because you will have no choice but to love me!" he said then put Sophia back to sleep. Clyjeik carried her back to her spot in the throne room. By the time he had settled her in, he had calmed down.
"Forgive me for my outburst." he said as he ran his fingers through Sophia's hair. "I promise I'll be better when we talk again. But I promise you that when we do you will love me." He kissed her on the lips then departed.
The next day he began searching for a way to control Sophia's mind. He wanted to brainwash her, but not in a way that would override the rest of her personality or make her new love for him the dominant trait. He looked far and wide for some magical object that fit this description. He checked out magic shops, other wizards, and anything even remotely magic-related in the hopes that he would find what he was looking for. After a month he surprisingly found it in the town closest to his fortress.
Clyjeik had been to the antique shop before and knew it occasionally held magical objects, but they were never what he needed though he had bought normal furniture here. But he had tried a lot of other places, so maybe something had come in by now. As soon as he entered the store, he pulled out a monocle and held it up to his right eye. It was an enchanted monocle that he could use to search for magic. He found nothing until he got to the back. He detected a great deal of magic emanating from a coffin with hearts on it. He asked the shopkeeper about it.
"This coffin belonged to some ancient civilization." the man said. "The legends say that if you put someone in it and they bathed in the light of the full moon, they would fall in love with the person who placed them in there. But I think it's a bunch of rot."
"Well I like how it looks so I'll buy it!" Clyjeik could hardly contain is excitement. He handed a large diamond to the shopkeeper.
"I take it that would suffice, my good man?"
"Yes it will." Clyjeik used his magic to lift the coffin up and carry it with him.
"If only I had gotten here yesterday, Sophia would have been mine by now. Ah well, it will only be a month." he said before leaving the store. Clyjeik returned home, and on the day of the full moon he got everything ready. He placed Sophia into the coffin, drilled a couple small holes into it so she wouldn't suffocate, then after shutting her up chained the coffin up so nobody could free her. "Everything's going according to plan!"
As all this was going on, Sophia continued to dream horrible nightmares. But this time, they weren't so bad. No matter how horrible they got, a little voice at the back of her head was telling her that she mustn't give up because her husband would save her.
And Maximo did rescue her before the full moon rose. But that's another story to be told another time.
Author's Note:
This is my first fanfic. I am a fan of the Capcom games, Maximo Ghosts To Glory and Maximo VS the Army of Zin. Both are great but I prefer the second for a better story, easier difficulty, cooler visuals, and the character of Tinker. I think she is one of the hottest and coolest video game women ever. I'm not a hardcore fan overall (a Tinker spin-off done right would be one of the greatest video games ever though), but they truly deserved better. Despite being successors to the Ghosts N' Goblins and Ghouls N' Ghosts games, I thought they were superior in every way. Like every other Maximo fan I am sad that they never showed Maximo finding Sophia or even told us what happened to her. I did read the story details for the third game but, I did not find them satisfactory.
While some of the ideas sounded interesting, I have to admit that I question some of the story choices they made. It begins with Maximo, Tinker and their friend Baron Hawkmoor searching for Sophia. They are attacked by a cult of death worshippers who believe that the "man who walks with death" is an affront to their beliefs. The battle leaves Maximo fused with Grim thanks to a curse, the Baron dead and Tinker maimed so badly that she had to rebuild herself with robotic parts from the Zin army that they beat in the second game. I don't know, killing off one character and maiming another seems a little too dark to me. The cult and Maximo being fused with Grim sounds good though. Another twist mentioned in the notes is that Sophia is the leader of the cult. I am very curious how satisfactorily they would explain that. How did she get to that position? Does she approve of what they've been doing? Is she simply brainwashed, or is this her true nature? Would Maximo have to choose between saving Sophia or the world? I have to admit, I'm not sure how they could pull it off. But if that wasn't bad enough, the notes reveal that Tinker is killed in a later twist! There is no way I would kill her off. I hope that when the curse is lifted Grim would bring Baron Hawkmoor as well as Tinker back to life with all their limbs intact at the end, but sadly we may never know. One of the guys who almost worked on the game itself said that if he were to do it now he would spare Tinker. In his own words, it's because "Steampunk redheaded girls are just too hot!" :D
So anyways, I decided to write my own story about what happened to Sophia. I initially commissioned a 24 page comic from one of my favorite artists on DeviantArt showing Maximo and Tinker rescuing Sophia. I gave some backstory surrounding Sophia's disappearance in the beginning of the comic but I thought I would show it in more detail here. This will serve as a prologue to the comic, so that's why it wasn't completely resolved. I'm sorry, but I'd rather you see it for yourself; trust me it's going to be awesome. If you want to see the comic, let me know and I'll send you a message when it's done. Or you can simply watch the wonderful rockofmarduk and I'm sure you'll know it when you see it.