Chapter 3: A Shady Deal
BlueTiger321: Ooh… It looks like things are about to get more sinister. So now that our heroes are heading to face off against Maleficent, let's see what's happening on the other side. Enjoy!
A dark chamber was sitting peacefully high atop a crystalline structure. All around the room was comprised of a black glassy surface that gave off a faint purple hue. It was offset by the lights coming from blue flames dancing on torches situated at the far ends as well as a red light flashing in the centre like a signalling traffic light. It was within this setting where the greatest evil known to every being, whether human or toon, was currently resting.
At the northern side of the room seated on a high throne made out of the same obsidian-like substance was Maleficent. The evil sorceress sat neatly with her staff clutched in her right hand. To the left of her throne was a sword meant for decoration hanging on the wall with the tip pointed to the floor as though it were a symbol of something that was supposed to be forgotten or despised.
Maleficent looked at the light forming in the middle of the chamber and saw it expand to form an image within it. From where she sat, she could see it was of Aerrow and his friends all walking into the portal created by Yen Sid. A feeling of smugness washed over her as she was right in thinking to send one of her minions to spy on the wizard, and luckily she could see and hear everything the crow was transmitting to her.
A short bit of laughter soon escaped the woman's lips while she took in all the information from her servant. "How typical of Yen Sid," she said, "leaving the fate of the world in the hands of children. Well, that will be a mistake that he will have to live with for the rest of his life once I do away with them."
Maleficent then walked off her throne and paced slowly around the room while still keeping her focus on the image. Her mind was contemplating on the thoughts of what should happen if by some miraculous chance that the children sent to stop her were actually to succeed. And even with the power she had, she could not afford to risk it.
"Still," said the sorceress, "I cannot have anyone interfering with my plan. I need more time while I gather the energy I need."
Another laugh echoed in the room, but this one sounded masculine. Maleficent turned her head to the direction and saw within the darkness her most loyal follower. The only thing that she could make out was his glowing yellow eyes while the rest of his face remained under a brown hood.
"Oh, I am sure that your defenses will be more than enough to take care of them, Master," said the man. "After all, you perfected them yourself. Not even the strongest or the smartest person could ever hope of finding their way out of your castle. And even if they could, I would be able to intercept them and let them be consumed by their own fears."
"That is not enough," Maleficent retorted. "Those children were the same ones who broke my spell with Yen Sid's help, and there is no telling what they could do if they were to make it here. I must keep myself safe until my power is at its strongest."
A thought then came to the woman as she rubbed her slender fingers over her chin. Maybe, she thought, there could be some way to bide the time of the group while she was still gathering energy.
"Perhaps there is something I could use in my favour," said Maleficent.
With a wave of her hand, the sorceress looked over the image again to see if there was one thing said that could be useful to her. The image then showed Finn and Junko about to enter the portal when the marksman turned to his Wallop friend.
"At least Dash and his crew won't be able to mess things up," said Finn.
"You said it," said Junko.
The image ended when the two stepped into the portal, and Maleficent halted it by her command. Narrowing her eyes, the woman figured that the people mentioned by Finn were rather unpleasant to him and his friends. "Interesting," she said.
Maleficent pointed her staff to the image where she cast a green beam of light to enchant a spell. Right before Maleficent, the image changed into events that had transpired at Black Manor a long time ago. She watched as the group of children were pressured into going into the mansion by a different group comprised of three males who looked boorish: Dash Baxter, Snipe, and Jack Spicer. The image then changed to a scene where Dash and his crew were scared out of the mansion by the ghosts and scared once again by Aerrow and his friends disguised as zombies.
The sorceress knew then that Dash's group would be perfect in getting rid of Yen Sid's companions because she could offer them the one thing they could have—revenge.
Maleficent changed the image once more as she searched for the people she would need. Her face lightened up as she saw the trio walking by themselves through Toon City like they were doing their own business. The image faded by her command and she turned to her follower.
"I believe I have found the solution," said Maleficent. "I am going to go recruit some people that I think will do anything I say when I give them their deepest desire."
A cloud of black smoke had then shrouded the sorceress. It formed over her body and teleported her out of the room while she cackled with malicious intent. Soon, she thought, her dreams of grandeur would become real, and it would start by gaining the support of three buffoonish men.
Dash, Snipe and Jack walked through the streets of Toon City with fear clouding their heads. It was one year ago to the day when they were fooled by Aerrow's group when they pretended that they had fallen to the horrors of Black Manor. It was a simple prank they had played that had backfired on them, and it left them with the impression that nothing good could ever come to them on Halloween.
All three of them looked with downed faces as they walked, trying desperately to get those horrifying images out of their heads. But try as they might they were surrounded with Halloween paraphernalia and it reminded them all of what happened and kept them in their troubled mood.
Dash looked at his crew as he walked. "So what do you guys feel like doing?" he asked.
"I just wanna go home and forget all about today," answered Jack. "All this Halloween stuff is bringin' me down."
"It's all because of those damn kids," said Snipe. "We never shoulda messed with 'em in the first place." A sneer crossed his face while he looked at Dash. "You just had to make 'em go inta Black Manor, didn't ya."
"Hey!" Dash said in protest. "I thought it was a good idea at the time. And don't blame me for what happened afterward. How was I supposed to know that ghosts really were in there?"
"Well, I can't believe they actually worked with Aerrow and his friends," said Jack. "But man, they sure got us good."
"Oh, shut up, dummy," said Dash. "Let's just try to put it behind us and have some fun for a change."
At that moment, the trio stopped when they were in front of a store selling Halloween decorations. They looked at what was placed outside and saw a mannequin dressed like a zombie standing still with its arms stretched out as if to grab its prey. Dash and his crew froze with terrified expressions when they saw the zombie's green skin and rotting teeth, and all the memories of Aerrow and his friends rising from the earth when they were zombies came flooding back to them.
A scream escaped each of their mouths as they ran in the opposite direction and down an alley. When they saw they were a good distance away from the store they halted to catch their breath. Sweat beaded down their brows when they stood up and looked around the darkness of the alley, feeling lucky that no one actually saw their cowardice.
"Oh man!" said Snipe. "That scared the crap out of me!"
"I hope not literally," said Jack.
"You're one to talk! As I recall, weren't you the one who actually wet himself when we saw the ghosts?"
"I have a good reason: I just drank a lot of soda before coming with you guys to the mansion. It wasn't at all from the fact that I was scared."
Snipe rolled his eyes at the comment. "Oh, yeah, right. So you just picked that time to actually take a whiz?"
"Hey! I happen to have a small bladder!"
"Shut up, you guys!" shouted Dash. His voice was then calm when he caught his breath, so he looked at his crew just as black smoke appeared unsuspectingly from behind him. "Enough of this. Let's just get outta here so we won't see anything else that has to do with Halloween."
Snipe and Jack were about to nod their heads in agreement when they saw the smoke rise up behind their friend. It was so unexpected that they were confused by it, but then they were frozen in shock when the smoke revealed a slender woman dressed in a black robe while holding a staff.
"What's wrong with you two?" said Dash, still unaware of the woman behind him.
Jack raised a shaking hand and pointed to indicate what he was seeing. Turning around, Dash yelped in fright when he saw Maleficent standing before him and he quickly backed away along with his crew to get a good look at the stranger. They were so overcome with fear that they remained silent while the woman slowly walked forward.
"Greetings," said the sorceress.
Dash felt that it was his right as the leader of his group to gather up the courage to speak. Standing up straight and showing an angered look he said, "Who the hell are you?"
"I am the almighty sorceress, Maleficent, and I—"
The woman was interrupted when she heard sobbing and saw the trio drop to their knees begging for mercy. Hearing the word sorceress had obviously meant something bad to them and they had no idea how to handle the situation, so they went with their only option.
"Please, don't hurt us!" said Dash. "We've been through so much today!"
"Yeah!" said Snipe. "All we wanna do is go home!"
"Can you find it in your heart to let us go?" said Jack.
Maleficent sneered at the trio for revealing their cowardly sides to her, but she was especially displeased with Dash after showing his macho exterior and then acting like nothing more than a grovelling wretch. But fortunately for her, she knew of a way to toughen them up and use them as her pawns. Holding up her staff, she made the orb glow green while Dash and his crew were still begging before her.
An image of a green, four-eyed beast immediately came out of the staff and roared before the trio that shocked them into standing where they huddled together in fright while they screamed. The beast returned to the staff, and the woman stared at the group when she saw they were quiet.
"Now that I have your attention," said Maleficent, "I am not here to cause you any sort of harm."
Feeling curious, Dash asked, "Then why are you here?"
"I stand before you to see if I could get the three of you to join me. You see, I have what you might call an 'infestation' that desperately needs to be dealt with very quickly, and you three seem like the most suitable candidates for the job."
Snipe gave a confused look to the sorceress. "You want us to take care of a few bugs?" he said. "Why don't cha just deal with 'em yourself? That thing you showed us would be perfect to clear 'em out."
"My problem is not with insects, you imbecile," said Maleficent. "It is with a group of people who are making their way towards my castle as we speak."
"What kind of people?" said Dash.
"Oh, you should know them better than anyone else. They are the same people who made the three of you look like fools at Black Manor."
Upon hearing those words, the three broke apart and stood amazed by how well the woman knew about what happened last year. Still, Jack thought it would be safe to test the sorceress if she was speaking of the same people that they knew.
"You mean Aerrow's group?" said Jack. "They're going to stop you at your place?"
"Correct," replied the sorceress. "What they intend to do is something I cannot allow, so I have come here to see if you would be willing to do away with them." The woman felt there was no need to explain her true purpose since she already knew that it wasn't the concern of the trio standing before her.
Dash felt intrigued by the offer, but he knew that there had to be some kind of catch. "I don't get it," he said. "What's in it for us?"
A smile came to Maleficent's face as she would explain to them the benefit of working for her. "Why, you would have your retribution against them. After all, is that not what you really want, to make them suffer for what they did to you? If you come with me, I can make that happen so that you will never have to feel ashamed anymore."
The trio thought it over and immediately they felt devilish smiles creep onto their faces. Their bullying instinct told them that it would feel pleasurable to finally get revenge against Aerrow and his friends for scaring them back at Black Manor. For Dash especially, it would make him feel like a big man after his reputation had been tarnished.
"How 'bout it, guys?" said Dash. "You in the mood for some payback?"
"Oh, hell yes!" said Snipe. "It's time we give those dweebs what they deserve!"
"She had me at 'retribution'," said Jack, "whatever that means."
Dash turned back to Maleficent and said, "Sign us up. We're up for tearing those losers a new one any day!"
In response, Maleficent pursed her lips into a smile as she had now attained the assistance she needed. "Excellent," she said. "Now, let us be off."
Black smoke had then enveloped the sorceress along with Dash, Snipe and Jack. It revolved around them quickly until they had vanished out of the alley where they would head for the castle.
Back in the chamber of Maleficent's castle, the same smoke the sorceress conjured had gathered in the centre where it rose up and disappeared as it teleported the woman along with the trio she had convinced into joining her.
Dash and his crew got a look around the room and admired the black surface on the walls and floor while the blue lights from the torches reflected off the polished exterior. It gave them the sense that it would be a grand setting for taking care of Aerrow and the others by its haunting structure.
"So this is your pad?" said Dash. "It's pretty badass!"
"I am flattered that you think so," said Maleficent. "Now, we must begin preparations for their arrival."
"Huh?" said Snipe. "What d'ya mean by that?"
"Well, you see, in your current forms, you three do not seem admirable for fighting. So I shall give you something that will most assuredly strike fear in their hearts."
"You mean like upgrades?" said Jack. "I could totally go for that."
Suddenly, another voice filled everyone's ears that said, "So, these are the ones who will protect you, Master? They don't seem like much."
Dash, Snipe and Jack were all frightened by the voice so they whisked around to see whoever said it, but all they could make out in the darkness was the figure's yellow eyes while he laughed at their presence.
"Who's that?" said Dash.
"Oh, he is another one of my followers," replied Maleficent. "His assistance will be useful if I were to resort to extreme measures." Her attention was focused back on the three bullies. "Now then, you three must be ready for when that meddlesome bunch arrives. So I will give you power that you can use to stop them."
"I'm ready, lady!" said Dash. He spread out his arms and opened himself wide. "Lay it on me!"
Snipe and Jack did nothing but stand next to their boss, so Dash looked at his crew with an angry expression.
"What are you waitin' for, morons?" said Dash.
The two realized that it was their turn to follow, so they opened up their arms just as their leader did to show that they were also ready to receive the power from the sorceress.
Maleficent smirked and pointed her staff at the trio. The orb glowed green and then fired a magical beam that engulfed Dash, Snipe and Jack. The force of the magic had caused all three of them to scream as their bodies were now shifting from the power.
Dash looked down at his hands and saw that his fingers were growing claws while his skin changed to a sickening green. It was then he had to close his eyelids while he was still going through the transformation, and he opened them up to reveal that his eyes were now glowing red.
BlueTiger321: Uh oh! This is definitely trouble!
Dash: Oh yeah! Now it's time for getting even with nerds!
Snipe: I'm sure they're gonna cry for their mommies!
Jack: Yeah, 'cause, uh, they'll be wanting their mommies!
Dash: Just shut up and do as you're told.
Jack: *looks down in shame* Yes, sir.
BlueTiger321: So folks, in the next chapter, our heroes will get to experience the castle for the first time, and it probably won't be a walk in the park for them, so please stay tuned. Until next time…
Dash: Read and review, or else!
