Voyagers Saga
Season of the Dracolich
Chapter 4
Author's note: this chapter has a slightly higher rating than usual due to a larger amount of innuendo and suggestive themes than normal. Not high enough to be considered M-rated, but at the higher end of the T-rating.
At one of the biggest nightclubs in Sherbrook, the party was very loud and very lively. The kind of place that draws many young adults who are looking to loosen up. Or often to just to wash away their senses with a lot of drinks. Such was the case of a small group of friends at that bar.
The group, drinking buddies from a nearby office gave catcalls as the last dancer went off, looking disgusted at their behavior . "I tell ya, the women are...are complete icicles in this town," said one of them a bit incoherently.
"I...I dunno...that one looks...looks interested in you," said another, pointing with a weaving hand at the bar .
At the bar was a very beautiful woman with long black hair and a short purple dress that did everything decently possible to express her curvy body. She was currently giving the buddies a bemused look. The third one gave his friends a dizzy grin before getting up and heading for the bar. The woman watched the guy approach her with interest, but as soon as he started to get near her, she started to frown with disappointment.
"Wha...whaz wrong, darlin'? Not man enough?" slurred the office worker .
"Exactly," said the woman dryly before heading towards the side exit.
The office worker's eyes narrowed as he slipped into angry drunk and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, his friends, slightly more sober getting up to stop him .
The woman gave a soft chuckle and said, "I wouldn't try it. Not even you and all your friends are enough for me."
"Come one, Stan...let's..." began the man's friend before they noticed the woman's eyes glowing .
"Be gone or else," said the woman warningly.
The trio looked at each other before laughing before one of them managed to notice that nobody else was in the nightclub. They looked back the woman who now had sharper teeth and pointed ears. "You've journeyed too far and there's a toll you must pay," she said in an echoing voice.
The trio stared before screaming...
The Kiss of Death
"Valentine's Day," grumbled Chris, glaring darkly at the heart-covered noteboard as he and Techo worked on some damaged lights.
"Which means that our resident lovebirds are going to be more lovey-dovey than we can stomach," said Techo dryly.
"Yeah..." grumbled Chris, screwing in a new bulb annoyed before a thud was heard, no doubt the sound of Martin failing at love again .
"Let me guess, he's going after Jenni again," said Techo dryly.
Chris looked and paled. "Oh no, not her," he said.
"Don't tell me he's trying to hit on Kala again," said Techo.
"Worse," said Chris.
Techo turned and paled a bit to see Martin saying something to Chloe who looked ready to murder something . "Eh, it was only a matter of time before his hormones overcame his survival instinct," said Techo, "How long do you think he has?"
"5 seconds," said Chris before Chloe span and slammed her locker door on Martin's nose when he got too close .
"Yep, that's as far as anyone's gonna get with Chloe," said Techo, "She's the unobtainable one."
Chris nodded. "Yeah...unobtainable," he said gloomily
"Think anyone else is dumb enough to try or has Martin set the standard?" asked Techo.
"I dunno...I'd try," said Chris aimlessly before coughing as Techo looked at him .
"Think Chloe's lonely?"
The two of them turned to Java and asked, "What?"
"Chloe up on pedestal, nobody but friends can get close. Think it's lonely up there?" asked Java.
Techo stared before Chris said with a grin, "Who knew? None of us spotted it and it took someone from the land before time to do so."
"Java had good book," said Java, holding up a book that said, 'Climb the Love Ladder: a Primitive Man's Guide to Understand Modern Woman'.
"Oddly specific," said Chris.
Techo took the book and skimmed through part of it. "Not really. This seems to be geared towards guys who see girls as targets to crush on," he said.
"Is it Martin's?" said Chris dully .
"Diana tried to give to Martin, he didn't want it," said Java.
"Oh...his loss," said Chris calmly before their wristcomps beeped. Apparently MOM wanted them...
Matt yawned as the platform scanned them. "Urgh...this was supposed to be an off day," he said drowsily .
"Oh, did she interrupt your 24-hour lovefest?" asked Chloe dryly.
Kala yawned as well. "I had a load of science homework..." she snarled, shoving her hand in Martins mouth. "Finish that sentence and it's your final words," she said warningly
Just then, Billy flew down and said, "Hey guys, been having a fun Valentine's Day?"
There was a series of mumbles from the guys (minus Java) in the group, and one from Kala too, causing Chloe and Diana to roll their eyes .
"So, Billy, you got any plans for today?" asked Martin.
"Oh, I'm going out with Milshka later," said Billy.
"Is she the one with purple tentacle hair?" asked Martin.
"No, she's the one whose compound eyes glitter like diamonds," said Billy dreamily.
Matt blinked at that. "You know...I don't wanna know," he said after a minute to himself, the group stepping into the lift and arriving at MOM's office.
The doors opened to reveal MOM working at her desk while also eating from a box of chocolates. "Ooh, chocolates, can I have one?" asked Martin as he grabbed one.
"Only if you know how to eat them right," said MOM.
"They're chocolates, all you have to do is take off the wrapper," said Martin as he opened his mouth wide to eat it. Apparently, the chocolate had different ideas about that as a pair of mandibles pinched his tongue. Everyone else jumped back as a scarab-like alien burst out the chocolate and away across the floor .
"I've heard of chocolate-covered ants, but I can't imagine anyone eating something like that," said Diana.
"Xavier eats stuff like that all the time," said Matt.
"Who's Xavier?" asked Diana.
"He's a Splitter, one of our...wait a minute," said Matt before turning to MOM and asking, "Who did you get these from?"
"An old flame," said MOM, "We went our separate ways, but we did have fun together. Especially with the way he-"
Luckily for Matt, his nanites and Draconus did have some form of mercy, causing his eyes to cross as they turned off his ears.
After a few seconds, they flipped back on to hear MOM say, "-and the mess took all night to clean up. But still, a space bandit, even a modestly decent one, can't stay tied to one place or one girl, particularly a girl who maintains the law."
"Um...wow," said Martin, "I...never would have...guessed."
"Uh, MOM, you mind if I go clean my ears?" asked Diana.
"I...cannot unhear," whimpered Kala .
MOM gave them an annoyed look and said, "If you really need your memories expunged, I suppose I could arrange that. But you have a mission to do first."
"Great, are we going to some lonely distant corner of the world?" asked Chloe dryly.
"Actually, not far at all," said MOM, "The incident took place in Sherbrook."
"In the middle of town? No wonder things keep escaping," muttered Techo, the other mercs, minus Kala who glared, chuckling .
"So far, we have yet to determine if it's one of the creatures that you let loose. What we know is that something in La Cheque Mate gave a trio of patrons quite a fright," said MOM.
"La Cheque Mate? The really flashy nightclub?" asked Diana in a disgusted tone, "That place is such a sinkhole for self-respect."
"Probably why stick-in-the-muds never get invited to go there," said Martin teasingly.
"Joy, how do we know it's not just some drunks being idiots?" said Matt calmly .
"Because people rarely go grey from being spooked by pink elephants," said MOM.
"Point taken," said Matt weakly before Chloe said carefully "Don't kraxis live chocolates get edgy if one escapes?"
MOM turned her attention back to the box of chocolates, whose contents were wriggling and making screeching sounds. "Hmm, this could get messy," she said. The portal opened up behind them, just before the chocolates all burst free and went in all directions .
MOM gave a fond smile and said, "Tazis sure knew how to make things interesting." She picked up a small laser gun and said, "Get to work team, I'm going to do some hunting."
The nightclub was your standard shady bar, the trio of victims being looked over by several Center medics as the gang arrived . They definitely looked like they had shellshock, though the grey hair and wrinkled faces suggested it may have happened several years ago.
Matt looked closely, to see one of them was even blind with cataracts, a condition aged people usually got. "This is nasty...something like the orb we used on Zyvar?" he said in a concerned voice, looking at the others .
"Looks to me like they had the life scared out of them," said Martin, "This happened once on my aunt's farm with a scarecrow."
"Nasty. It was fixable?" Matt asked, looking at the guy who wasn't even responding .
"Well, I had to destroy the deed to the farm, but I don't think that applies here," said Martin.
"Yeah, because this doesn't seem like the place a French farmer would want to claim for his family 200 hundred years ago," said Diana dryly.
"Well, best thing for them is medical care. I don't think we need to worry about them talking. Med scanner says they got 6 months at most. Whatever did this drained them dry," said the Center medic grimly.
"Can they tell us what did this to them?" asked Kala.
Matt shrugged before clicking his fingers in front of one of the non-blind ones who didn't even twitch. "Nobody's home...neural shock," he said
"Were there any witnesses?" asked Diana.
"The cameras were all destroyed and the recordings take. The barman doesn't remember a thing," said the Center medic .
"I guess we should do a bio-scan then," said Martin as he was about to activate his U-Watch.
"No need," said the medic, "We already scanned them over. Asides from their aged states, the only thing of notice is that they've had a massive drop in testosterone, though that could be a side effect."
"Nasty...what creature eats male hormones?" said Matt .
"Hmm...could be space nymphs..." started Martin.
"Stop, I don't know what those are, but I'm certain it's something stupid enough to make me want to beat you up," said Chloe.
Matt nodded in agreement, "For now, as much as I hate to say it, we need to wait till a reliable witness turns up. Walking in blind against something like this'll be a death sentence."
"Hopefully we'll figure something out before too many guys end up like this," said Techo.
"This is nuts. MOM should let us use the ship," said Matt, the mercs sitting in the empty cafeteria.
"And how would the ship improve things?" asked Kala, "Even Aria can't work with so little to go on."
"We scan for non-humans, drop some sleeper drones, then mop up these escapee's in one night," said Matt confidently .
"Somehow, I doubt it can be done that cleanly," said Kala.
"Sleepers keep everyone asleep no matter the noise," said Matt .
"And there would be a lot of noise, but more importantly, a big mess to clean up afterwards," said Kala pointedly.
"Oh please. You say I can't run a clean op?" before everyone said "We are."
"Not to mention you stink at hunting," said Chloe, "Remember that time you tried to catch wild deer?"
"Look, they put the fire out eventually," said Matt in an annoyed tone .
"Besides, you probably wouldn't know what you were looking for unless it was right in front of you," said Techo, "And probably not even then if they're as good at disguise as I heard they might be."
"That's why God gave us DNA scanners," said Matt promptly .
"Even they can be fooled by..." started Chloe when she looked up at the sound of considerable commotion. There appeared to be a crowd gathered around somebody outside on the lawn. The group turned to see a new teenage girl, attracting a crowd of boys, and apparently enjoying the attention. "Oh goody...another cheerleader," said Chloe icily .
This girl was rather attractive, considering her wavy black hair, alluring green eyes, and well-proportioned figure. "Well, I suppose we'll have to be dealing with drooling morons for a few days, right guys? Guys?" asked Kala when she didn't get a reply.
Matt had apparently pulled his shirt over his head, a muffled voice saying, "Plausible deniability. If I never looked, you have no reason to kill me." The others however were just staring with the same goofy expressions .
"Ok, she's pretty, but she's not that pretty," said Chloe, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah...not pretty at all…" said Techo goofily before glaring as Martin homed in on her.
"Hey there, I'm the official greeter for Torrington," he said in what he probably thought was a smooth tone .
"Well that's no surprise," said Kala dryly, "Wonder if she can hit hard?"
The female surprisingly turned to fix Martin with a shining smile. "Well, aren't you forward?" she said .
"Hmm...she must be from a land where obnoxiousness is scarce," said Chloe dryly.
"Well, darling, let me be clear...I'm not INTERESTED!" she said, dealing a slap that sent Martin flying across the cafeteria, Matt, even still in his shirt like a turtle, lifted up his lunch as Martin slid along the table.
"I think you failed," he said calmly .
"Oh, I'm sure she'll come around once she's seen all of my charm," said Martin.
"Martin, what is your definition of 'rejection'?" asked Kala.
Martin just looked puzzled, Matt whispering to Kala, "I don't think that's a word he knows."
Chloe tsked and said, "Pitiful. Well, I suppose we'll be watching those guys be smacked around all day, right, Chris? Chris?"
She turned to see Chris in front of the newcomer, who looked surprisingly pleased. "I'm sure she'll be smacking him away any second now," said Chloe.
The girl however smiled before linking arms with Chris and the two walking off. For the creature wearing Chloe's shape, this should not have annoyed her, instead, she found herself having to stop herself summoning some flying piranha to attack the annoyance .
"Is the carnage bad?" asked Matt, still with his head in his shirt.
"Nope, Chris just found a date," said Kala dully, before pulling Matt's shirt down .
"Oh, good...wait, Chris? She just picked Chris?" asked Matt. Kala glared at that, causing Matt to hide in his shirt again .
"I mean, c'mon, there have got to be better guys than him available," said Techo.
"Shut up Techo. You're acting like a lovesick tween," Kala snapped .
Techo blinked before saying, "Sorry, didn't expect to get jealous that easily."
"She's just a new kid..." said Matt, taking a look before wincing as his teeth ached, "Ow...bad mojo...bad mojo."
"Probably that mystery meat," said Kala, "I told you not to eat it."
"No I..." began Matt before looking down at his meal for the first time, and turning a green that would not look healthy on even a dragon . "Excuse me," he said before quickly getting up and running for the nearest trash can.
Chloe nodded, getting up. "I...I need to go take care of something."
As soon as she was in her room she ran over to the mirror that showed her Jabberwock self. Alpha sighed. "This is nuts. I don't even know the guy," she said to her reflection.
"Oh, don't you?" said her reflection, "You've been looking at the picture under the mattress quite a lot."
"Shut up, me. She had a crush so I needed to look the part. Everyone knows about the picture anyway," snapped Alpha at her reflection .
"Well, you have Chloe's body, you were based off of Chloe to begin with," said her reflection, "You probably have Chloe's tastes too."
"Urgh...but he's so...human," said 'Chloe', with a tinge of disgust .
"Yeah, but he's a real wolf," said her reflection before shifting into a wolflike version of her and howling.
Fake Chloe smirked. "You have a point...and we were there first. You think we should tell the others about what she is?" she asked of her reflection .
"Oh, if I can guess that tramp right, she'll let slip what she really is before the day's out," said her reflection, "But there's no reason we shouldn't get ready. I bet Chloe has lots of toys to play with."
The rest of the day consisted mostly of Chris following the newcomer around like some lovesick puppy until Matt finally pulled him aside. "So...gonna tell me the name of the future Mrs. Anderson?" he teased .
"Leila..." said Chris in a dreamy way.
"Leila, pretty name, that come with a middle or last name?" asked Matt.
"Just...Leila...it's beautiful," said Chris happily before Matt glared and poked him and gave him a blast of electrical plasma . "Ouch, hey, you've already got Kala, Leila's mine," snapped Chris.
"Leila is staying on world when we leave," said Matt pointedly .
Chris made a very lupine growl and said, "You're not separating us."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "Dragon trumps werewolf. Don't make me shove a silver fork up your arse," he said darkly .
Chris only snarled before grabbing Matt, lifting him over his head, and throwing him into the wall. When Matt got the stars out his vision, he saw Chris's ID on his chest. "I quit. If we can't be together, I'm staying."
"Chris, you're not thinking straight," said Matt, "You've only known her for like 2 or 3 hours and now you're devoting your life to her?"
"Of course, it's love," said Chris loftily .
"Uh-huh, and what would she think about you being a werewolf?" asked Matt.
"Oh, she already knew," said Chris, "She said she could tell that I was an alpha right off the bat and she definitely likes it."
"And that didn't strike you as weird? Next you'll tell me she's a werewolf too," said Matt sternly .
"No, I would have smelled it," said Chris.
"So...how would she know about werewolves?" said Matt pointedly, in a rare show of logic .
"She's got really good intuition," said Chris.
"That's not really an answer," said Matt. Chris growled at that, Matt raising an eyebrow. "Yes, I know logic is rare from me but think; the werewolves in this world aren't the sort who leave survivors. She could not know about them and not be one."
"I would know if she was a werewolf," said Chris.
"Do you know anything about her?" asked Matt.
"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever met," said Chris dreamily.
Matt sighed and muttered, "It's like talking to a help center...round in circles." He activated his wristcomp and said, "Aria, can you check the school files for any transfer students, specifically one by the name of Leila?"
"Scanning...it will take a while but so far there is no file by that name in the public servers," said Aria calmly .
Chris snorted and said, "Next you're gonna tell me that she was the one that drained those guys at the nightclub."
"Not a bad theory, needs to be tested though," said Matt.
"What? That's enough! You are DEAD!" snapped Chris, dealing a punch to Matt's jaw .
Matt winced before simply saying, "That hurt." He then threw a plasma orb at Chris.
"6 students needing memory adjustments, three dorm rooms destroyed," glared MOM, looking at the list of damages
"He started it and he was clearly not thinking straight," said Matt, nursing his black eye while he waited for the nanites to heal it. The annoying thing about werewolves was that though they couldn't infect him, the wounds they dealt took a little slower to heal than normal.
"He dared insult dear Leila. He's lucky he has tough scales, makes it harder to tear his fat head off," growled Chris, in his werewolf form and badly burnt .
"And who is this 'Leila'?" asked MOM.
"New girl, claims to be a transfer, can spot a werewolf and not be dead or a werewolf herself and also apparently does not exist," said Matt promptly .
"I see..." said MOM thoughtfully before saying, "I'll have to do some digging to see if there's something about her that we should know. A DNA sample or any symbol she was wearing would be welcome."
Chris growled at that. "You will not touch her," he snarled .
"Yeah, I think he needs to be contained until he cools down," said Matt.
MOM looked down at the paws on her desk before glaring at Chris till he whimpered and backed down . "I would suggest putting him in one of the cells, but I have a feeling you would object to that," said MOM.
Chris however seemed to be calming down. "Urgh...this is not worth it. I've already quit."
MOM raised an eyebrow slightly. Matt sighed and said, "You see? His mind's stuck in a love loop."
"I see your point..." said Mom, peering at Chris who seemed to have realized his blunder and was backing up .
Matt sighed and said, "Yeah, it hurts me to do this, but I'm not sure I can contain him on my ship, too many people who could take pity and let him out. Maybe one of your more comfortable-"
Chris snapped at that, lunging at Matt with an animalistic roar .
"Keep him occupied, I'll have him tranquilized in just a moment," said MOM as if werewolves got loose in her office all the time.
Matt just settled for screaming, trying to keep Chris's jaws from him .
MOM had assembled her rifle and said, "Ok, now just keep..." Just then, Chris leaped across the desk, knocking MOM back. He pressed a button on the desk to open a portal which he then dashed through.
Matt got up first, dizzily, seeing the portal close just in time. "Oh great," he moaned .
"If this Leila is that much of an effect on him, this could be a greater worry that I had thought," said MOM, "She must not be a normal girl, but I need proof to know what she is."
Matt nodded. "Consider it done," he said confidently before a shadow portal opened up between him and MOM .
A dark shape in a black fedora and trench coat rose up from it. "Hey Matt, got something interested for...eep..." said the figure as it suddenly found itself face to face with some pretty heavy artillery wielded by MOM.
"Great timing as always, NegaMorph," said Matt dryly . Unfortunately, he didn't say it loudly enough, resulting in NegaMorph being blasted several times. After a minute Matt made a polite cough and said "Meet one of my ships resident aliens, NegaMorph."
"Oh, my mistake, I thought he was a shadow demon," said MOM.
"It is hard to tell sometimes," said Matt, unable to resist .
"I am not a demon...but I am in great pain," groaned NegaMorph.
"So, is there a reason you popped up?" asked Matt.
"Oh, just got something to show you," said NegaMorph, holding up a golden locket, "Chloe thought something was fishy with the new girl so I tailed her for a while. She seems to be a great hit with the guys."
"So what does the locket have to do with it?" asked Matt, taking it.
"I dunno, just noticed those symbol things on it and thought I'd see if they meant anything," said NegaMorph.
"This did come from Leila, right?" asked Matt.
"Of course it did," said NegaMorph, "Would I take some random trinket just for the sake of it?" Matt looked innocent before kicking NegaMorph's shin, causing him to hop in pain, several dozen valuable items falling out his coat.
MOM took the locket and examined the symbols on it. "Hmm...I'm sure I've seen these before," she said before turning to Matt and saying, "Gather up the rest of your team. I should be able to find this in the Legendex by the time you get here."
"Yeah...wonder why I wasn't effected," said Matt, more or less to himself as the portal reopened .
"Cause you're a one-woman man?" suggested NegaMorph, "Either that or you were too chicken to look at her while Kala was around." Matt glared before clicking his fingers, NegaMorph's head flattening
Sometime later, the group was all gathered up, excepting Chris who had yet to be located. It seemed that Martin and Techo will still smarting with jealousy towards him.
"Ok, let's get this clear. This lady, whatever she is, is pure bad news," said Matt confidently .
"Indeed," said MOM, "I've analyzed the symbols on the locket and they're connected to a creature of myth who we can all agree is using the alias 'Leila'."
"So what is she? A witch, a banshee, some alien energy vampire?" asked Kala.
"Close, a succubus," said MOM before projecting an image from the Legendex, portraying a bat-winged, demonic featured, yet still attractive, woman against a night sky. "Those symbols are associated with Laylah, a former angel of night before she fell and became a succubus," said MOM.
"Oh goody. How do we obliterate her?" said Matt bluntly .
"Well, it's hard to say," said MOM, "No one has been able to catch up with her before it's too late."
"Too late for what?" asked Diana. "Succubae are creatures of carnal desires. They hound after mortal men to drain the life from. Laylah in particular is said to appear once in a generation and seeks out the most virile man where she manifests," said MOM.
"And she just happens to appear here," said Matt dryly, "Doesn't anyone find it odd that so much supernatural stuff shows up around Torrington? Is that place built over a hellmouth or something?"
"Not the last time we checked," said MOM dryly before Chloe said "Doesn't explain why she went after Chris. Werewolf energy isn't very compatible with human suckers."
"Chris is close enough to a human," said MOM.
"Not to mention Chris is manlier than the rest of you guys put together," said NegaMorph, "Excepting maybe Java." Matt and Techo glared at that, NegaMorph looking smug .
"I think your seven eyes are mistaken," said Martin, "I mean, I'm clearly manly enough to meet her standards."
"Chris's medical records say differently," said NegaMorph, holding up some papers.
Matt glared at NegaMorph and said, "That's supposed to be private."
"Oh, keep your hat on, it's only his measurements," said NegaMorph.
Matt snatched it back at that and incinerated it, "No, I'm actually agreeing with you. When I ran into the nutter, he was a US marine."
"Mhm, far more virile than you, plus being an alpha werewolf stacks on top of that," said NegaMorph.
MOM cleared her throat and said, "Anyways, we had best start looking for them soon."
"Right, we don't want Chris getting the life sucked out of him," said Chloe.
"Well, it may be more than that," said MOM, "Those men at the bar were only snacks. When it comes to her once-a-generation meal, she gets move involved."
"How much more?" asked Kala.
"Well, the short answer is that she devours him body and soul. But there's an artist's depiction of how she goes about doing that. The man who painted this didn't stay sane long after seeing her work," said MOM before projecting another image.
The group all paled at the image, Matt making a heaving noise as his usually iron stomach decided enough was enough .
"Ugh, I can't believe I actually had a crush on her," groaned Martin.
"I'm so glad I'm not a guy now," said Diana.
"Well, we can't let that happen to Chris," said Techo, "We need to find them now."
"The portal coulda sent him anywhere...but he'll go where Leila is," said Matt confidently .
"I'm sure there's something we can use to track him," said NegaMorph, "After that, we blast that demoness to-"
Chloe cleared her throat and said, "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to have the first shot at her."
"Really?" said Techo .
"I can't stand it when some vamp uses their charm to pull guys along. When it's only to literally feed on them, that's just too far," said Chloe, "It's a matter of principle that I have to squash this she-devil."
Techo smirked and said, "You're just jealous that someone got him before you did."
Chloe turned and glared at him with such intensity that Techo quickly got behind his chair. As a matter of fact, all of the guys took cover behind their chairs. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," she said icily .
"You know it's dangerous to go in alone," said MOM.
"I'm an electric dragon, I can handle a lot of danger," said Chloe, sparking for emphasis.
MOM thought it over and said, "You'll have a 10-minute start. If it looks like you're in over your head, we'll send in the rest."
Matt turned at that, saying angrily, "Like hell she's going in alone..."
Chloe's glare made him stop. "Matt, I'll be fine. I'll have this wrapped up well before 10 minutes," she said, "You can say 'I told you so' if it gets too dicey, which it won't. But I'm getting first crack and that's that."
Matt glared before pointing at her. "10 minutes then you call in," he said .
"Good," said Chloe before standing up and saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get ready."
"You can throw lightning bolts. You don't need a weapon," said Matt .
"But where's the fun in that?" asked Chloe in a tone that reminded Matt of himself: trigger-happy and ready to let loose.
"Cause this is a frigging class Z!" snapped Matt, a little shocked at the attitude .
"I think you're giving her too much credit," said Chloe.
Matt pointed to the picture. "Exhibit A, something that can do that doesn't care about collateral damage on ways that even Draconus would pause at."
"Which is why I'm getting my big guns," said Chloe cheerfully.
"Cannons!" snapped Matt .
"Fine, fine, I'll get my medium guns," said Chloe in an annoyed tone before walking off.
Matt looked with concern at that, "Something is up. She's never this gung-ho. I'm never that gung ho."
"I beg to differ," said NegaMorph dryly. Matt glared at him and NegaMorph said, "But maybe I should check up on her, just in case."
"Do that. Keep a close eye on her. She spent too long alone with Subject Alpha for me to be comfortable...plus Syva's replacement," said Matt
NegaMorph nodded before vanishing into the shadows. "So what is he anyways?" asked Martin.
"Genetic experiment, we got a half dozen aboard," said Matt .
"Cool, can I meet them?" asked Martin.
There was a universal 'NO!" including one from Martin's shadow .
In her quarters, Chloe was going through the weapons she could use. "Hmm...too flashy, too much collateral damage, the backlash will leave my nerves tingling for a week, I'd end up glowing in the dark for three days, bystanders could go blind," she muttered as she eliminated various guns.
She finally stopped as she heard someone come in. "Uh, just a second," she said before putting her guns away. She turned and was surprised when she saw Chris there. "Chris, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came to get something of mine," growled Chris, looking around Chloe's room, not even noticing the weaponry .
"Why would I have something that belonged to you?" asked Chloe in as indifferent a manner she could feign.
"The picture I gave you, I want it back. There's someone else far worthier who should have it," said Chris in a dull voice .
Chloe stiffened and said in a controlled tone, "A gift shouldn't be taken back just because you think someone else should have it. If you really thought that much of her, you'd give her another picture."
Chris simply turned and said, "Shut up. You aren't even worthy to speak her name,"
Chloe glared and said, "I'm going to give you one chance to realize who you're speaking to and come to your senses. That witch is bad for you, quite literally. She's going to swallow you up and you won't be spat back out."
The slap caught Chloe so off guard that by the time she realized it had happened, the blow not even properly felt, that Chris had already left by the time she realized .
The real Chloe would have flown into a thunderous rage at that. This Chloe was probably considering doing the same thing, only with a lot more chaotic variation. But then a voice said, "You're going to let her get away from that?" She turned to see NegaMorph in the corner, Morph seated on her bed.
"What are you doing here?" she snapped.
"Oh, I was just checking up on you," said NegaMorph.
"Actually, I was talking to him," said Chloe pointing at Morph, who was licking a large lollipop.
"Thought you might need some immediate stress relief," said NegaMorph.
Chloe glared and sent a multicolored bolt of lightning at Morph till he was ash with eyes and a smile. "I feel smoking," he gibbered .
Chloe sighed and said, "Thanks, I needed that."
"Of course, so what's the plan?" asked NegaMorph.
"I'm gonna find Leila and turn her into charcoal," growled Chloe.
NegaMorph tsked and said, "So unimaginative, I'm disappointed."
"What? You think I should melt her with acid?" asked Chloe.
"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," said NegaMorph in a disappointed tone, "Haven't your years of hanging around with me taught you anything?"
"I just want her to suffer," said Chloe darkly .
"Well of course," said NegaMorph, "The problem is that apparently Laylah is one of the immortal variety of demons, the kind whose body you could destroy but they'd eventually come back. Oh, sure, you could probably make her into ash, but if there's one thing I know, it's that if you want to inflict lasting suffering upon someone who can regenerate from anything you can throw at them, you do it on an emotional level."
Chloe smirked evilly, in a way that caused NegaMorph to raise an eyebrow . "And how do you propose dealing such a wound?" she asked.
"Well, succubae are a rather shallow breed," said NegaMorph, "I doubt you could hurt her feelings very badly. But I do know something that no demon can stand having wounded: their pride."
Chloe smirked at that. "All I need to do is get Chris back," she said evilly .
"Yep, and if you can seduce him right out of her clutches, showing that she is no longer the most irresistible female on this planet, she'd choke on her envy, probably literally," said NegaMorph.
"But doesn't plastic surgery require lots and lots of money and months to recover from?" asked Morph, who had regenerated himself. The second bolt blew out every fuse in the building at once .
"Don't be silly, Morph," said NegaMorph, "Chloe already has all the beauty she requires. It just needs a little...highlighting."
Chloe loftily said, turning her back, "There is nothing that needs to be done." before getting a dull look as she said "3...2...1" before NegaMorph's pre-ordered spell hit her in the back...
...
Meanwhile, the gang had found where Leila had taken Chris. They were at a diner right now. It seemed that Leila liked to savor her meals before completely devouring them.
"Ok, here's the plan: we go in, fill her full of deathstone and leave, masks down," said Matt, looking at his fellow mercs. For obvious reasons, the Center agents were not present.
"Isn't she supposed to be immortal?" asked Kala.
"Deathstone always does the job," said Techo grimly, everyone wearing magnetic gloves.
"You know that lugging this much deathstone is almost a guarantee for causalities besides the intended target," said Talia grimly.
"All we need is one hit, anywhere." said Techo
"Chloe still hasn't had her shot at her yet," said Kala.
"I know, and she's starting to run late," said Matt in an annoyed tone, "I told her where we found Leila and that she better get here quick. Where the heck is she?"
"Speak of the devil and she shall appear," said a familiar voice.
The mercs turned to look and their jaws dropped wide open. There was Chloe, standing in the most provocative biker chick outfit they had seen. What covered her up most was her leather jacket and her matching high heel boots. Her short shorts and tube top did more to show off what was uncovered than what was covered. She wore a pair of black sunglasses with bright red lipstick. She lowered her glasses a bit to reveal the eye shadow and mascara she was wearing. "What's the matter? Haven't you seen a girl dressed up for battle before?" she asked casually.
Matt waited, having an internal comment before both his personalities snapped, "YOU ARE NOT GOING IN LOOKING LIKE THAT!"
"If that's where Leila's keeping Chris, you bet that's where I'm going," said Chloe.
"Not when you're looking like some tramp out of the Dukes of Hazard!" snapped Matt.
Chloe laughed and said, "Of course you wouldn't get it. This outfit is a weapon that's gonna hit that witch hard in her most tender spot."
"And what would that be?" asked Talia dryly.
Chloe grinned and said, "Her pride."
The girls of the group nodded before Matt said angrily, "I don't care..."
"You said I got 10 minutes with her first," said Chloe, "And I'm still gonna do that. How about a bet? If I can make her lose her temper in 5 minutes, I get her all to myself. If I don't, she's all yours."
Matt glared and was about to say 'no deal' when Kala sighed, "Let her try, at least she isn't trying explosives."
Matt gave Chloe a dubious look and said, "You really think you can make a succubus explode with envy like that?"
Chloe pushed up her sunglasses and said, "Watch me."
Leila smirked, pretending to look happy with the photo she'd been given, a heartwarming message written on it. Sadly she didn't have a heart.
"I can get you anything else you want if you're not satisfied," said Chris, right at her side like the lovesick puppy he was, "Gold, jewels, you name it, you got it."
"Of course, my loyal wolf," said Leila smoothly before she heard the door to the diner open and several gasps and wolf whistles heard .
She glanced over to see some biker chick walk in, striding as if she owned the place. To her amusement, she was coming to her booth. As she got closer, Leila recognized the biker. "Well...it seems that out of school you are very different," she said smoothly
"Yeah, I try to act nice when I'm working on my career and I try to be decent when I'm not bound by rules. But there's something about you that really brings out the bitch in me," said the biker.
Leila raised an eyebrow at that. "Apparently so," she said, before noticing Chris showing interest and pouring some of her magic into his head . "Anyways, I don't see why you should bringing your bad attitude here instead of tearing it up on some dirt road," said Leila dismissively.
"Because you've taken something that belongs to me and I really don't like thieves. Especially for those who are unabashedly trespassing on my territory," said the biker.
"Yours? This isn't the dark ages," laughed Leila, mentally adding 'I should know."'
"Right, because back then, women had no say as to who they got to marry," said the biker, "But in the present, women have the power and we exert it whenever we want. For instance..." She grabbed Chris's shoulder and pulled him towards her, "I don't think you've been taking good care of your toy and I'm gonna confiscate it from you."
Leila growled at that, literally while grabbing Chris's arm and pulling him back into her embrace, "He made his own choice."
"Has he now?" asked the biker before asking, "Chris, who would you rather have: me or her?" Leila just smirked, knowing he'd pick her in a heartbeat.
Chris opened his mouth to speak before he paused, his brain running into a crossroads .
Leila gave him an annoyed look and said, "Your choice is me, right?"
"Oh, I think he can do a lot better," said the biker before she sat on the table and stretched out her back.
Chris looked back and forth, his brain trying to come to a solution before he looked at Chloe, got a nosebleed, and fell backwards as his brain crashed .
Chloe grinned at Leila and said, "Aw...looks like he picked a winner. Bet that broke a long winning streak. Hope you're not too mad you got beat by little ol' me."
"He didn't give an answer. Words have power in my business, little chimera," said Leila, quietly .
"Actions speak a lot louder than words, hellhound," said Chloe tauntingly.
"Unfortunately that is where you're wrong. I am not some mortal for you to mentally twist. Unless he specifically rejects me with words, he is still mine. Just try, see what happens," sneered Leila.
"Sure thing," said Chloe before picking up a glass of ice water on the table. "Wakey-wakey," she said before pouring it on Chris's lap.
Chris didn't even react, looking up before his face twisted in anger, "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your hairy ass," said Chloe before turning over so she was hands and knees on the table, "Now how about you make that mean wolf go back into the corner where he belongs and think clearly about who you would like to be with: the tramp you've only known for less than 24 hours who's planning on taking you back to hell with her, or the woman you've been fantasizing about for the last three years?"
Chris twitched before saying "I dunno." causing the two to snap "WHAT?"
"I...just...can't...choose..." said Chris as he twitched even more, almost as if he were literally being torn both ways.
Leila snapped, "It's obviously me!"
"Maybe...but...she's...so..." strained Chris, his twitching getting worse to the point where it was hard for him to even speak.
Chloe put the final nail in his brain when she leaned in and said, "You wouldn't want to make me sad, would you?" before Chris snapped and ran screaming out the diner .
Leila glared at Chloe and snapped, "I don't know what kind of witchcraft you've put on him, but you will release your claim right now."
"Oh, it's no magic," said Chloe, "He actually likes me, you're just a one-night stand.
"You little..." began Leila, mentally preparing a hellfire ball before she noticed the sniper with what she could sense was karak stone...deathstone as those foolish mortals called it before she said, "Fine...we will decide this properly, once he has rested."
"Name the place," said Chloe.
"The academy, tomorrow at noon," said Leila icily .
"Be there or be gone," said Chloe before getting up to leave.
"And if I win, you drop your little pretense to that poor little lizard," added Leila.
"And when I win, you're gonna spend the next 1000 years in a very small and probably not very cozy cell," said Chloe, "I'd send you back to hell where you belong, but you'd like it down there."
"Oh, you don't know how many times I've heard this. But from one of you, siding with your playthings, that's surprising," said Leila smoothly .
"I have an image to uphold," said Chloe a little tersely, "Besides, I might actually like him."
Leila laughed at that. "Creatures like you don't love. You tolerate sometimes but that's it," she managed .
"Oh, like you would know any better," snapped Chloe as she started to walk away. But then she paused and called back, "By the way, my form looks a lot more natural than yours, plastic girl."
Leila fumed at that as Chloe left, walking past the others who fell in. Matt looked confused before asking, "What did you say to her?"
"Oh, a couple of things, the kind of things you need to be a girl to feel the pain from," said Chloe, "Did you catch Chris or is he still running around?"
Matt pointed to where Chris was gibbering, being helped along by Techo . "What happened to him?" asked Talia.
"Well, he's kinda caught between me and her and he just can't choose," said Chloe, "But that'll all be cleared up tomorrow."
"How?" said Matt darkly .
"Oh, I challenged her to a duel at high noon," said Chloe.
"What kind of duel?!" said Matt.
News of this juicy gossipy kind tend to spread pretty fast. Probably helped by the fact that a certain mutant experiment was trying to cash in on this. There were a few posters that gone around advertising the 'duel', that looked like Martin might have had a hand in it. "Catfight of the Century: Thunder Dragoness vs. She-Devil?" snapped Matt as he read the poster, which looked like something for a cheesy if sexy monster movie.
Techo and Talia, the latter of which was disguised as another student, exchanged a glance and dived for cover as the poster immolated. "NegaMorph and Mystery are dead." Matt said flatly .
"Well, it could be worse," said Talia.
"Yeah, it's not like they're wrestling in mud or olive oil," said Techo.
"You've just tempted fate," said Matt in a voice so dark, owls would fly into it.
"Well, it's not like anyone's gonna remember this afterwards," said Talia, "You really think the Center's gonna allow unprivileged minds to watch this and not have it removed from their memories?"
"Oh, they'd better," said Matt, twitching violently .
"Well, at least we're gonna cash in at the betting pool," said Talia.
"Betting pool?" snapped Matt.
"Oh, a couple of guys have been putting bets on Leila, but we know who's really gonna win," said Talia.
Matt twitched at that, Techo and Talia grabbing each other in terror as a literal heat haze appeared around Matt before he said in a shockingly calm voice, "Ok...when this is over, we are going to have a long chat."
"Erm, who's 'we'?" asked Techo nervously.
"NegaMorph and anyone else involved in the 'betting'," said Matt in a shaking voice .
Techo and Talia both nodded before Matt stomped away. "Maybe we should wipe Matt's memories of this day after this is over," said Techo, "He sounds ready to turn Torrington into Pompeii."
Martin finished stapling up a poster when something grabbed him and Matt's voice said, "A word if you please."
"Uh, hey Matt, how's it going?" asked Martin a little nervously.
"Oh fine...till I saw you fielding a sexy fun fight between my sis and the spawn of Satan!" snapped Matt .
"Well, everyone's gonna notice, so I thought we might be able to get a little side money out of it," said Martin.
Matt stared at him and said, "This whole thing was NegaMorph's idea and you're only helping with the posters, right?"
Martin paused for a second before nodding rapidly, Matt glaring. "NegaMorph's an indestructible idiot but still an idiot, otherwise he would foresee the pain I am about to bring upon him."
"Uh, sure, probably wasn't his greatest idea," said Martin nervously.
"Indeed. I'm only along with it cause the Center will WIPE EVERYONE'S MEMORY!" snapped Matt .
"Well, we might as well have fun with it while it lasts," said Martin.
"Fun?" said Matt darkly.
"Matt, must you keep making mountains out of molehills?" asked Chloe's voice. Matt turned to snap at her and froze in what could roughly be called horror. Chloe was wearing nothing but a wrestling leotard and a pair of shoes that probably won't stay on during the fight. Admittedly, not so bad, but it showed more of Chloe's figure than Matt was comfortable with.
Martin was about to say something before he remembered that Matt was already holding his arm and that he was already squeezing .
Chloe sighed and said, "Oh, come on, you've seen me in worse than this. Besides, that witch isn't going to last that long."
"No...No...nonononono!" repeated Matt, squeezing involuntarily till Martin managed to pull his now-throbbing arm free .
"If you're going to be like that, I'm not gonna let you watch," said Chloe.
"I don't want to watch...I don't want anyone to watch...anyone who dies will not survive 24 hours!" snapped Matt, twitching again .
Chloe sighed and said, "I'm gonna have to brain bleach you again, aren't I?"
"No...everyone will be mindwiped...I don't care how far!" snapped Matt angrily.
Chloe sighed and said, "Yep, he's gonna need to be brain bleached. Doesn't happen too often, but it's always necessary when it does."
Matt snapped out of it at that, "Oi! Leave my brain alone."
"Only if you keep your temper in check," said Chloe.
"Only if you keep...yourself in check!" snapped Matt .
"What? You think I would purposefully embarrass you?" asked Chloe in a teasing way.
"Yes," said Matt darkly .
"Well, you can be certain that no one will ever be speaking of this again afterwards," said Chloe, "Even if everyone's forced to forget it."
"Just keep it tasteful. Snap her neck or something," said Matt.
"Now where's the fun in that?" asked Chloe.
"Now look..." began Matt before stopping.
"You know, I don't like to have my fun ruined either," said a hated voice. Chloe turned and glared at Leila, who was wearing a similar outfit to hers.
"Oh please, can't one day go normally?" snapped Matt .
"Oh, don't be jealous over me," said Leila teasingly.
"Hey, I'm not on the market," snapped Matt.
"Like I would have wanted you if you were," said Leila dismissively, "Even for a dragon you're not manly enough for me."
Matt simply flipped her the bird before saying, "Am I the judge?"
"We only need a referee and we've already got one," said Leila, "But you can comment if you want."
"Who's your ref?" asked Matt suspiciously .
"The most impartial member of our crew," said Chloe.
"Who's that?" asked Matt confused .
"That would be me," said Chip, wearing a black and white striped shirt, a whistle, and a resigned expression.
"You're joking," said Matt simply, before sighing, "At least switch to Trixie mode so it limits the mind wipe needed."
"I don't see what you're complaining about, I'm highly likely to be mangled before this foolishness is over," said Chip.
"Just do it or the mangling starts early!" snapped Matt, Martin staring at Chip .
"Alright, alright, just a sec," said Chip before his hologram started up and he was in the form of a human teenager. "Satisfied?" asked Trixie.
Matt sighed before slapping Chip. "If you don't do it properly, I'll tell Chloe exactly who overwrote her copy of Tomb Raider," he said simply .
"Am I supposed to be the referee or the round card girl?" asked Chip dryly.
Matt glared before calling "OH CHLOOOEEEE!"
"Matt, the audience is going to be watching them the entire time and I'll seem like a cute gimmick compared to them. Besides, the only times they'll see me is when the match is starting and the one time I'll try to intervene and get ripped to pieces," said Chip.
"Yes...and they'll notice when you reassemble afterwards," snapped Matt .
"By then, the Center will be removing their memories," said Chip, "The only people who are going to remember this whole thing is the Center agents and crewmembers who are able to maturely handle this...which probably eliminates Martin."
"Hey!" snapped Martin as Matt smirked.
"Ok, let's get this train wreck rolling...and Chip, if you don't let Chloe win, I'll dismantle you. Are we clear?" said Matt, one of his eyes glowing red.
"I'm sure Chloe won't need any assistance," said Chip.
"Just make sure she wins or you die," snapped Matt, his eyes now both red, indicating Draconus's agreement .
"Matt, do you think I would sully the honor of the ring by fixing a match?" asked Chip, sounding insulted.
Matt twitched before yelling, "It's fake anyway!"
There was a lengthy pause before Chip said, "Never say that in Mexico, that's a mob-inciting crime there."
"DO IT OR DIE!" yelled Matt, actually blowing Chip over .
"Matt, I don't need your help or his help to win," said Chloe sternly, "Now keep out of this and let me take care of this bitch my way."
Matt glared at that, "Now look, I don't like the look of this."
"Ugh, all you Englishmen are so stuffy," said Leila with exasperation, "It's a wonder you can even start a relationship, let alone get to the better parts."
Matt paused before turning to Chloe. "Take her down...whatever it takes," he said darkly .
"With pleasure," said Chloe.
A good selection of Torrington, mostly the males, had turned up for the match that was taking place on the football pitch. Matt glared silently before spotting NegaMorph in disguise and grinning evilly at him .
It was a rather thin disguise considering that NegaMorph was dressed up and acting like a carnival barker. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, folks, the event of the year is about unfold!" called NegaMorph, "I guarantee you'll never see a more exciting fight or better special effects! Place your bets on the vixen you think will be victor! But whether they win or lose, everybody wins! Step right up and place your bets!"
Matt glared, before sitting down next to the one person he never expected to see...Diana. "Ok, I'm only here to watch for when NegaMorph explodes. What about you?" Matt said, both looking straight ahead .
"Well, I figured someone with a level head ought to be here when things get out of control," said Diana, "Besides, that Leila is intolerable I'd like to see her get hers."
"Fun..." said Matt distantly as the match started, Chip, in Trixie form walking onto the field with a shell-shocked Chris, Leila and Chloe in tow.
Trixie held up a megaphone and called out, "In this corner, standing at 5-foot-6, weighing in at-" A growl from Chloe made Trixie and add, "Never mind that part. She's the Dynamite Dynamo, the Thunder of Britannia, the real-live Dragon Lady, Chloe Lynch!" There was much cheering from the audience at that as Chloe waved. "In the other corner, from places unknown, we have the challenger, the Mistress of Darkness, the Hellfire Hottie, the Sorceress of Seduction, Leila!" There wasn't as much cheering from the audience, namely because there were quite a few members of the audience, mostly girls, who were booing and hissing at Leila.
Matt looked down as he saw Jenni asking one of her friends about the weird names and he began scrambling for a mindwipe grenade before Jenni said, "Urgh...and I thought Martin was weird."
Diana touched Matt's arm and said, "Relax, MOM's gonna wipe everyone's minds after this. I hope she won't include me with them."
"Yes she will...otherwise I'll add to my tab. This event must never be remembered," said Matt in a distant tone ,
"This match is to decide which of them is the true ruler of this school or whatever title they're trying to take," called Trixie, "The loser will leave Torrington for good and the winner will get this, um, puppy boy."
Chris just gibbered something about melons at that, Trixie just pushing him aside, "Ok, enough from him. Let's get this disaster on the road."
Chloe and Leila growled at each other before Trixie said, "Wait, wait, I need to get out of the way first." Unfortunately, the two didn't wait, lunging at one another . There was a nasty brief skirmish before Chip was sent flying out in multiple pieces. His head landed on Matt's lap and he said, "I told you so."
Matt gulped at that, glad the holo had ceased before that had happened before a lightning bolt shot over his head. "Oh, this should be good," he said evilly, pulling a packet of crisps out his pocket .
"Hey, can I have some?" asked Chip.
"If we can find your torso," said Matt.
It seemed though that the story of special effects was passing so far as the crowd cheered as Chloe dodged a fireball . The two of them abandoned their human forms pretty early. Chloe was in her anthro form while Laylah had assumed her true succubus form, which had all the features that people came to expect from succubae these days: horns, wings, hooves, spade-ended tail.
Matt looked down to see a few kids looking suspicious. "Best-looking costumes I've ever seen," he said innocently .
"But how did they change into them so quickly?" asked one.
"CGI," said Matt quickly, adding, "I know a friend at DreamWorks."
"What's DreamWorks?" asked another kid.
"Erm...look at the nice glove," said Matt desperately, using his mindwipe glove on them, sadly setting it to a random wipe number.
The kid blinked, looked down at himself, and screamed, "When did I get this much weight?!"
"Erm...hehehe..." giggled Matt insanely, setting the reset so only 4 hours were missing...oh and a knockout charger was included .
"Is it really going to matter at this point?" asked Diana as a loud clap of thunder was heard.
"Good point. I'm gonna play with my mind wiper," said Matt cheerfully, spinning the dial remove 50 years and aiming it at Kevin, who was seated below him .
"You do know that he can't be more than 20 years old, right?" asked Chip dryly.
"Yup...always wanted to see what happened when you overdid it," said Matt cheerfully
Chip glanced at the field and said, "Oh my goodness, they're tearing each other's' clothes off!"
Matt looked up at that, sadly blasting Chip instead. Chip's eye flickered before he said, "ERROR, ERROR, MEMORY BANKS COMPROMISED, INITIATING VIRAL PURGE OF SURROUNDING AREA."
Matt jumped at that as his wrist comp registered a massive EMP. "Ok, better undo that," said Matt as he fiddled with his mindwipe glove.
A quick flash later and the lights were on and Chip was sulking. Chloe meanwhile as Leila in a headlock and was hitting her repeatedly . "Not so tough when you've got an actual challenge, are you?" taunted Chloe.
Leila roared at that, spreading her wings to send Chloe flying back before sending a love spell at Chloe. The love spell would have caused Chloe to become madly infatuated and essentially remove all interests of the fight. But Laylah had been trapping men for so long, she had forgotten a different wavelength was required for women. Not to mention Chloe's mental field was stronger than most. So instead of ensnaring her, the love spell bounced off.
Matt, his dragon side allowing him to see the spell, yelped and ducked as the spell bounced around before hitting Chris between the eyes, the unfortunate werewolf getting back up and seeing Chloe first .
The discombobulated division in his head was quickly swept away by one impulse: complete and total devotion to Chloe Lynch. He went to Chloe's feet and said, "Chloe, I was such a fool. How could I possibly think that there was anyone else for me besides you, you glorious golden goddess?"
Leila paused at that, her mind registering what she's done before she said, "Aw, you gotta be kidding."
"Oh, looks the match is over," said Chloe smugly, "You lose."
"IT'S OVER WHEN I SAY IT'S OVER!" shrieked Laylah before throwing a fireball at Chloe, but it soon petered out into a cinder before it got to her.
Chloe smirked, walking forward and swatting a fireball aside as she said, "Looks like you've been cut off, no more power, no more strength, no anything."
"Get...back..." said Laylah weakly, a lot of her heat dwindling.
"I don't think so," said Chloe, sending a lightning bolt into Leila's chest . The succubus screeched before falling over, her wings wrapping around her as she started to shrivel up. In a few seconds, she looked like some creepy kind of mummy.
"I...I think we have...oh..." called Chip as Chris jumped at Chloe, kissing her .
"Ok, down boy, yes, I'm sure you're grateful, get off of me!" snapped Chloe as she tried to keep Chris out of licking range.
There was some cheering at that, just as, to Matt's personal horror, MOM and several agents walked into view. "No...please no," he groaned .
"Look on the bright side," said Chip, "In a few moments, nobody will remember all this."
"Please don't say anything," said Matt, mostly aiming it at MOM.
"Well, it seems that you've contained this situation pretty well," said Mom, sounding impressed, "Thanks to your 'marketing', it seems that everyone suspects that this was only a show. Quite an achievement, if somewhat a bit tacky. I don't see any reason for anyone's memories to be altered."
Matt snapped at that. "Fuck that! They know too much! MIND WIPE THE LOT OF THEM!" he yelled, standing up in his seat .
"I think you're overreacting..." started MOM before Matt snatched her memory device and snapped, "Fine, I'll do it myself! Where's the settings dial?"
Luckily for Matt, or unluckily if you thought of it, MOM had installed an anti-theft device on her personal mind wiper, in case Martin ever borrowed it, resulting in Matt being electrocuted. "No...fair…" he groaned .
"I suggest you keep your hands off of that," said MOM, "Unless you want to have the last 36 hours of your memories removed."
Zyvar laughed. "She let them keep the memories?" he chuckled .
"They all thought it was a stunt, so no harm, no foul," said Alpha brightly.
"Brilliant...brilliant...did you get any ingredients?" asked Zyvar calmly .
"Well, I suppose if you wanted it," said Alpha, holding up a handful of hair.
"How did you get that much hair?" asked Zyvar.
"It was earlier in the fight, before we shifted form," said Alpha before rubbing her own scalp, "That part of it hurt."
"Fantastic, this is the one ingredient I didn't have the last time...for stabilization. Even if I die again, I'll remain stable...perfect," sneered Zyvar .
"Mhm, I'm sure that's why you want it," said Alpha dryly.
"Oh, like I'm that base," said Zyvar, "Speaking of which, I suppose Chris is now your little lapdog now."
"Like a puppy, though the spell will also transfer to the original as he thinks I'm her," said Alpha.
"And I'm sure you're enjoying the attention," said Zyvar.
"Is that a crime?" said Alpha in a coy voice .
"Depends on how much you're tarnishing Chloe's reputation and how badly his heart will be broken when you inevitably dump him," said Zyvar, "But I am looking forward to seeing the results."
"I dunno...I might keep him. When I leave, all he'll need is a little brain scrambling," said Alpha with an evil little laugh .
"Why would you keep him? It's not like you have feeling for him," said Zyvar.
"I dunno...he grows on a gal," said Alpha, floating happily .
Zyvar gave her an odd look. A creature of evil shouldn't be allowing themselves to become attached to a hero. But then again, she was, first and foremost, a creature of chaos and who knew they operated?
"Now then, don't you want your dinner? IT'S PIE!" said Alpha, a custard pie shooting into Zyvar's face .
"Yep, pure chaos, nothing else," said Zyvar before wiping some pie off and tasting it, "Too sweet."
Well, there's another chapter just in time for Valentine's...oh, wait, it's Halloween that's coming up. Anyhow, this steamy chapter has revealed something some of you might have guessed earlier: Chloe has been replaced by the Jabberwock creature. But will the gang figure it out for themselves? And what happened to the real Chloe? More clues may be revealed later in the story. So keep an eye out for the next chapter which should be up Wednesday. Please review.