Voyagers Saga: Season of the Dracolich

by Cydra

A new evil has emerged and has infiltrated the Center to plunder its secrets. A group of mercenaries soon arrive to capture this evil and bring it back to justice. But the main question is this: which one is more trouble? Another good question is what will it take for them to leave?

10. Dawn of the Plagued

Voyagers Saga

Season of the Dracolich

Chapter 10

In a dark cave deep beneath Warfang City, a dark ritual was taking place. A ritual that was meant to empower its recipient with the power of the undead with nearly no drawbacks. And Zyvar was seeing to every tiny detail that this would not fail.

"If he starts using a level, I'm not gonna stick around," said Devina as Zyvar went over every inch of the pentacle he was to use.

"You have to admit, he is being quite thorough," said Raptor.

"There is such a thing as too thorough," said Devina, "Does he expect this spell to blow up on him if there is a miniscule facet out of order?"

"Given his luck, I wouldn't be surprised if it did," said Raptor.

"True that," said Devina, "But how much longer is this going to take? These robes are clammy."

"You don't look half bad in clothing," commented Raptor.

"Pardon?" asked Devina.

Just then, Zyvar said, "Ok, I'm certain the margin of error has been reduced to a hair's width. It's time to begin the ritual."

"It's about time," said Devina as she and the other generals got into place. The pentacle was lined with various crystals. A bowl filled with foul potion rested within four of the points. In the fifth point rested half of the revenite ashes in a shallow dish and the frozen alien that Lucius had managed to bring from the Center. The machine parts from the transmogrifier had been refashioned into a spotlight-like piece of equipment had been placed on the ceiling directly above the pentacle.

Zyvar stepped into the center of the pentacle and said, "Activate the containment field." Red rolled his optics before switching on the machine. A purple light shone over the pentacle. The field was supposed to act as a safety net in case something went wrong, but it should guide his form to end up in the shape he wanted.

Once the containment field was up, Zyvar started chanting words in a dark language that no white mage would ever want to say. The pentacle around him lit up with an eerie unearthly violet. As the chanting continued, lines within the pentacle started to branch out, forming more designs inside the points and around the items within them. The bowls lit up with blue flames as the ashes on the plate started to swirl as if they were being mixed by an invisible spoon. The ice covering the frozen alien started to melt, but it did not simply formed a puddle. The tiny droplets turned to a cold mist before they reached the floor. Quite soon, it appeared that the ice was literally steaming away. The mist swirled around the pentacle, forming an obscuring cloud.

Within the mist, the others were able to see the silhouettes of Zyvar and the frozen alien. The surrounding the alien had dissipated by now only for the ashes from the plate to swirl upwards and started spiraling around the alien. Zyvar's silhouette opened its jaws wide, then even wider, to a disturbing and unnatural size. Then the neck stretched out and Zyvar swallowed the alien, ash and all.

With that, the flaming bowls flared up, blinding everyone for a second. When the light faded, the fires had gone out and the mist was dissipating. The vanishing mist allowed them to see the new Zyvar. He had grown fully back to his adult size, but he was not the undead Dracon he was before. Instead, he was a healthy Dracon with violet scales and long white hair that was kept bound in a ponytail. His outfit had also changed, now his spacesuit-like attire was black, white, and purple and patterned like a tuxedo.

"Woof," said Vipra.
"Woof?" asked Scorch confusedly.

"Well, he's just so handsome now," said Vipra.

Zyvar picked up a crystal and examined his new reflection. Indeed, by most draconian standards, he was quite a handsome devil. He grinned and said, "It's been far too long since I've seen this old face." Even his voice had a deep charm to it.

"Ok, so you're pretty, do you have all the power you were wanting?" asked Red dryly.

Zyvar crushed the crystal in his hand as if it were made of Styrofoam. "Oh yes, and even better balance than I thought," he said.

"Hope that holds up when you're facing those mercenaries," said Devina, "You're still a big target and even more so now that you're mortal."

Zyvar chuckled before turning to face her. Devina and Raptor jumped back as Zyvar's face had become a bare skull with tiny purple eyes in the sockets. "Who said I'm not still undead?" said Zyvar in a creepy rasping voice before the flesh returned to his head. "I just can keep myself from looking like that 100% of the time," he said, back to his other voice.

"The rest of your plan better be as impressive, Ghoulwyrm," said Raptor as he regained his composure.

"Oh, it will be," said Zyvar, "And call me Zyvar when I'm wearing flesh."

"No," said Devina and Raptor bluntly.

Zyvar sighed and said, "Fine, Ghoulwyrm, Zyvar, it's all one and the same really. But now the true fun shall begin."

Dawn of the Plagued

Martin was spinning around idly in his chair. It was rather frustrating that they got to visit an alien plant for the first time, even if it was a planet of dragons, and not be allowed to go to the surface. And being on a spaceship loses its novelty when you're not allowed to go anywhere. Even having Kaitlin along didn't perk things up much.

"For the last time, sir. We cannot confirm if the basic virus is still airborne. That means no trips planetside," said the guard at their quarters .

"But there's nothing to do up here!" whined Martin.

"Shall I get you some board games?" said the guard dryly.

"All personnel, all clear has been given. Switch to code yellow containment," said the PA at that.

"Does that mean we can go outside now?" asked Martin excitedly.

"Yes, if you go through decon before coming back in," said the guard.

Martin and Kaitlyn immediately perked up at that, Diana rolling her eyes at that before the group walked out.

New Atlantis had gotten its share of weirdness. Shar-Virk viruses, zombie plagues, intergalactic door to door salesmen and Matt on a kr'ta binge but I doubt anyone was ready for Martin and Kaitlyn in full fan mode.

"Ok, this place is officially the awesomest place in the universe," said Martin.

"Yeah, I mean look at all the dragons," said Kaitlin, "There's red dragons, blue dragons, old dragons, new dragons, big dragons, small dragons, just so many dragons!" said Kaitlin giddily, "Oh, I wish I brought my camera."

The aforementioned dragons couldn't help but watch as the duo conversed with what powered what certain dragons would have. One saying, "Mommy, are they insane?"

"Most humans are insane, sweetie," said the mother dragon.

Martin shot up to the duo at that. "Oh, what can you dooouuuuurgh," he said, his eyes crossing as the young psychic dragon panicked and scrambled his brain .

Diana sighed before dragged him away. "You know, I always knew that the very first time we visit an alien planet, you'll find some way to embarrass me," she said.

"It's fine, his brain should descramble in a few minutes," said the mother with a sigh .

"At least Java is behaving himself," said Diana.

"Java used to dinosaurs," said Java.

"We're not dinosaurs," said the mother icily .

"Yeah, these guys are to dinosaurs what you are to other people," said Kaitlin.

Java was about to apologize before Matt's voice behind them was heard, "What are you lot doing here?"

Kaitlin turned and said, "They said it was safe enough to come down here so long as we went through decon before going back on the ship."

"Fine," said Matt before saying several snarls and growls to the mother dragon who responded with a nod before flying off with her kid. "Look, tone it down. Not all dragons are human fans. The dragon kills of the medieval era's living memory here," Matt warned .

"But most of those dragons were the evil country-torching, maiden-stealing ones, right?" asked Kaitlin.

"No. They were colonists," said Matt .

"I'm not sure they should have been allowed to try and colonize Earth," said Diana.

"Oh, like we had a better history with colonization," said Matt, "When the English went...to...uh, never mind. Just ease up a bit and don't wander too far. There are still Shar-Virk that haven't been corralled yet and MOM would find some way to make me suffer if one of you guys got infected."

The group walked down the street before Matt said, "Oh...and Diana? I've been to worlds where dragons and humans are best pals."

"Hey, I have plenty of nonhuman friends," said Diana before looking down at a baby electric dragon who was sucking on a crystal. "Besides, some of these guys are pretty cute," she said before bending down to pet the dragonling's head. Matt sighed, counting under his breath before a 'snap' was heard and Diana's smile crystalized in place, the dragonling now chewing happily over her hand up to the wrist, its eyes staring in different directions.

"That being said, dragonlings are the second most devious beings I know," said Matt.

"Second?" asked Diana in a wincing voice.

"I haven't introduced you to the spiderbots yet," said Matt.

"You taste like chicken," said the dragonling in a creepily deep voice that caused everyone to take a step back .

"They're also a lot smarter at birth than humans," said Matt before a distant look appeared on his face. The others watched as Matt's eyes crossed in a worryingly identical way to the dragonling before splitting up.

Fortunately, Java broke up the tension the simplest way possible. "Java hungry. Where good place to eat?" he asked.

A human guard, wearing a metal face covering mask shaped like a dragon's head and holding a metal quarterstaff with a crystal at the end, said "Food district is in sector 3, take the monorail," pointing to some stairs .

"Huh, I thought this was a magic-based world," said Kaitlin.

"This is New Atlantis, where the Atlanteans reside," said Matt, "The Constructicons have been improving Warfang since it was last demolished, but it's still gonna take them a while. Especially since they now have to help fence in the quarantine zone."

"This is a general announcement to all sentients inside New Atlantis. 15 infected are still unaccounted for. While they are not contagious, they are highly dangerous. Please report any suspicious happenings to your local security rep," said a PA announcement .

"So being bitten by these guys don't get you infected, right?" asked Kaitlin.

"They won't bite. They'll just try to murder you if you don't unquestionably obey their every word," said Matt casually . The group gulped at that. "That being said, they're still people who have a mental sickness that needs to be cured," said Matt, "So don't go kill-crazy if you see them. Now, this way to the monorail, don't lag behind if you don't want to be picked off."

The group walked up the stairs and into a futuristic station, a row of train cars hovering in place, the doors open for some reason. "Weird, I can't see the driver," muttered Matt, reaching under his coat to his blaster.

"You think something's up?" asked Martin who had finally recovered from his brain scrambling.

"I know something's up," said Matt, "Look around and try not to be noticed."

The group headed up the stairs into the platform proper before pausing, what looked like two janitors standing at the far end of the platform, though they looked a little twitchy. "Think those guys know what's going on?" asked Diana.

"They no janitors," said Java, "Janitors never idle."

One of them had noticed them at that, walking up and saying, "Hey, platform's closed. Get lost."

"I didn't see any closed signs," said Matt.

"We...we haven't put them up yet," snapped the janitor, turning Matt and pushing him towards the door via his shoulders before a scream was heard from the furthest monorail car. Matt and the janitor looked at each other before the janitor pulled out an ion blade, the size of a dagger, sadly fumbling with it and causing him to get his own blade in the chest as Matt gave it back to him, the other janitor pulling out a blaster and firing clumsily.

"Ok, surrender now before you hurt yourselves," said Matt in an unimpressed tone. The janitor fired the last of the clip before snarling, tossing the empty blaster at them and seeming to twitch, shifting form to a human-sized fire dragon. "Uh oh," whimpered Matt .

The dragon took in a deep breath before belching flame at the group, though they were able to avoid it. "I'll deal with him. You get in the train and help whoever screamed," snapped Matt, clocking in dragonbuster rounds and firing from cover.

The others headed for the train, expecting something nasty inside. It wasn't nearly as bad as they had expected. Inside the train were various anthro dragons, some of them looking a little more 'animalistic', others having more humanoid features and torn clothing. All of them were in some sort of fever dream.

One male humanoid dragon, in silvery carapace armor, was on his feet at the far end, injecting an ice dragoness when he saw them. "What the hell? Who invited Ventura?" he said casually .

Martin looked around in confusion before saying, "Who? Me?"

"Yeah, you with the shirt that's a noise violation," said the dragonoid with a sneer, igniting a fireball .

"Would have you'd have liked flame patterns," said Martin before having to dodge the fireball. The dragonoid just laughed before sending hails of fireballs at the group, forcing them to scatter .

"Don't suppose anyone brought a fire extinguisher," said Diana.

"Hey, not a bad idea," said Martin before activating his U-Watch. "Turbo Bungee selected," said the U Watch before Martin used it to grapple his way to the ceiling of the car. "Hey, hotshot, bet you can't hit me," taunted Martin.

"That's a sucker's bet," said the dragonoid before throwing a fireball at Martin. The fireball shot straight and true, missing Martin and slamming into the roof, a klaxon sounding and foam spraying out from nozzles in the roof, drenching the shocked dragonoid

"Can't you read the sign?" said Martin tauntingly, pointing at a sign that said, "No smoking, no fire breath."

On cue, the side window broke, the second 'janitor's' head shoved through, out cold. "Hmm...seems the show's over. Have a present and some trouble," the dragonoid sneered, tossing an orb covered in syringes over.

The orb started quivering and beeping ominously. "Guys, get away from the metal sea urchin of doom," said Matt.

The bomb beeped steadily before it gave a hissing pop, spraying darts everywhere. The group dodged backwards, but the stings on their skins told them they didn't manage to evade the barrage.

Matt whimpered, slowly stepping back to see that he had left a silhouette made out of spikes in the wall, petting himself down before going "Oh thank God," as he didn't feel any hits. "Hey guys, you ok in there?" he called, peering in

"Java got hurt," whined Java.

Matt peered in and winced, a good couple of dozen darts sticking in Java, though they were all still full. "Ouch, you got a little...something," he said .

"Java hate needles," whined Java.

Matt pulled one out and sniffed it. "They musta been duds, this stuff's full of nanotech," he said .

There was a few moans and Java said, "Others hurt too."

Matt turned to look at them to see the others semi-unconscious and empty needle darts in their arms or legs too. "Oh boy," he said weakly .

A cackle made Matt and Java turn to see the dragonoid escaping through a hatch in the ceiling of the train car. Matt simply aimed his blaster and fired a rapid burst, shredding the roof but missing, if the laughter was any indication.

"Java crush dragon man," growled Java.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, but these people need help, especially Martin and the others," said Matt. With that he pulled out his comm and said, "This is Lynch at...monorail station 15. I need hazmat here now."

The medbay was becoming pretty crowded with all the citizens getting sick, but there was just enough open space for all the people that was on the train. There was also a whole squad, several troopers by each bed...in case some of them woke up.

Matt tried to avoid getting a good look at the patients. He'd rather not see someone he knew on those beds. "How bad is this?" he asked one of the doctors.

"It's a modified strain. Recently, someone's modified it to deliberately cause the Shar-Virk error," said the doc, angrily .

"Isn't there anything you guys can do?" demanded Matt.

"We're doing as much as we can," said one doctor, "Unfortunately, that Blaguana killed the one man who was closest to a cure and there's only so much we're able to get from his brain."
Matt shuddered at that. "I hope that's not literal," he said weakly .

"No, we're actually getting as much data from his brain as we can," said the first doctor.

"It's part of our standard contract," said the second one, "If someone's been mortally injured or killed and they have knowledge that is crucial for medical purposes, the NSC is permitted to salvage their brains if they can so they may extract that information."

"We're not NSC anymore in case you forgot. No more Frankenstein crap," snapped Matt .

"Sir, you must realize we have to do everything we can to stop this plague," said the first doctor.
Matt glared and pointed to Java. "The nanites rejected him. Do a DNA scan and knock up a serum," he snapped.

"Oh, there's a simple explanation for that," said the second doctor, "The nanites specifically affect humans and dragons. He is actually a proto-human so he doesn't truly count."

"That doesn't explain why you don't grab some DNA and knock up a serum," snapped Matt.

"Er, his DNA is...inaccessible," said the first doctor.

"What?" snapped Matt .

"The Center has prohibited us from utilizing his DNA," said the second doctor.

"I'm gonna kill her," snapped Matt .

"But we are not completely without resources," said the first doctor, "Indeed, we've already prepared a prototype for the cure."

"A prototype? What side effects?" he asked .

"Well, we have still yet to test it out yet," said the second doctor.

"Ok, what do you need to test it?" Matt asked .

"Well, a test subject would be-" started the first doctor.

"Have you got the cure or not?!" snapped a familiar voice. The three of them turned to see Zara. She appeared to have gotten the plague as well, considering how hand-like her front paws were and how her chest was getting...bumpy.

"I..." began the doctor before howling as Matt stomped on his foot and said smoothly "Yes, we do."

"Then give it to me, quick!" snapped Zara before wincing as her spine made some popping sounds.

"Ma'am...I honestly...and you drank it..." winced the doctor as Zara cracked the vial open and drank the contents .

A few seconds, Zara's stomach gave an awful gurgle and the three humans backed away to be out of vomit range. However, Zara was able to keep from throwing up, but she soon started groaning with pain. The sound creaking bones was soon heard as Zara's shape started to alter. However, instead of resuming its proper dragon form, her body was diminishing rapidly. Her tail and wings withered up as her back cracked into a full bipedal position, her hips and rump expanding to support that position. There was a soft patter which soon became more noticeable as her sales, spikes, horns, and claws started falling off, leaving soft pink flesh underneath. Her bare scalp soon started to push out dark red hair as her muzzle collapsed into her face. Quite soon, there was a naked human woman crouching in a pile of Zara's shed dragon hide.

Matt just stared before he and the doctor turned and wisely ran for it before Zara saw her reflection . "Well, out of all the possible consequences, that wasn't the worst," said the second doctor, "We'll of course have to take a sample of her DNA to be certain."

"Maybe not right now," said Matt as a shriek echoed through the hospital , "She can't possibly blame me for her dumb mistake, right?"

"LYYYYYYYYYYYYNCH!" roared Zara's voice.

"I should know her better than that," said Matt dully, "How long till you can roll that out for the Center agents? It has the right reaction for them at least."

"We could apply this to all the human patients," said the second doctor, "Assuming that Miss Zara is currently 100% human."

"Run tests, but I reckon you managed that," said Matt, several dull thuds and angry yelps heard as Zara tried to open the door with her fists

"Should we do something to calm her down?" asked the first doctor.

"We ought to at least get her to wear something," said Matt.

"We should also prep some serums, before some of the fully mutated wake up and decide to check themselves out," said the doctor .

"Fine, we got anything we cater exclusively to the dragons that don't want to be human?" asked Matt.

"We don't give them a choice. We leave them, they'll go homicidal," said the doctor simply .

"Ok, but there are a lot of dragons that are gonna be mad about you 'clipping their wings'," said Matt.

"If they want their wings back, they can just join the Shar-Khan program. They'll eventually default to dragon form anyways," said the first doctor before pausing, "Though since they were originally dragons, it's possible the end result could be the opposite."

"Just use it on the ones who used to be human for now. Last thing we need is a riot. Zara'll cause that all by herself eventually," said Matt .

"Fortunately, it seems that dragons are more resistant to the mental effects of the plague than humans," said the second doctor.

"Fine, prioritize the humans first," said Matt .

…

Meanwhile, Ghoulwyrm's gang were having a group meeting. "This is insane. He's turned into a creature that seems to burn in sin. Imagine what'll happen when they burn him? He's going to control an army of egomaniacs. I mean...look at the generals," snapped Red .

"I feel pretty," said Vipra.

"Shut up and drink your coffee," snapped Red .

"Ok," said Vipra happily before she picked up a huge mug of coffee. "Thumbs are cool," she said before she started glugging it down.

"Ok, I vote we vaporize Ghoulwyrm," said Red calmly.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." Everyone turned to see Ghoulwyrm, who was slightly adjusting his suit. "Am I to understand that none of you believe that I know what I am doing?" asked Ghoulwyrm casually.

Red shrugged, "Your allergy to daylight is a definite weakness."

"I've become a lot more tolerant to that now," said Ghoulwyrm.

Devina snorted and said, "He adds some new monsters to his DNA and suddenly he thinks he's invincible."

"Ah, I see what the problem is now," said Ghoulwyrm, "Lucius hasn't told you what was in that ice block, did he?"

The others turned to give Lucius some accusing glares. "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do," said Vipra.

"My name is not Lucy," said Lucius loftily .

"Lucius, you really need to be more of a team player," chided Ghoulwyrm before addressing the others, "What Lucius has neglected to tell you is that the creature he brought to me was the cryogenically-preserved remains of a Vladat, a vampiric race that has been extinct for several hundred years. Admittedly, I already possess most of their powers beforehand, but they do possess some unique abilities. Allow me to display their most exclusive one." Ghoulwyrm made a snarling, hocking sound before spitting something that hit Red's forehead. It appeared to be a cross between a headband and a bat, with a tiny diamond-shaped body that was made up mostly of a single purple eye.

Red immediately spasmed before standing to attention. "What the...what's...going on? Program...corrupting..." he winced .

"What did you just do to him?" asked Raptor.

"Why tell you when I can show you?" said Ghoulwyrm, "Actually, it'd be a bit easier if you understood it from his point of view." He rapidly spat four more of those bat-like creatures which attached themselves to the foreheads of the generals.

Well...most of them, the one that attached to Vipra apparently exploding from the sheer caffeine in Vipra's brain . "Well, 3 out of 4 is enough," said Ghoulwyrm, "Now, Mecha Red, I order you to...eat your own tail."

"How? I don't eat," said Red smoothly .

"Then just gnaw off your own limbs," said Ghoulwyrm.

Red rolled his eyes before starting to chew. "This is demeaning and stupid and the reason you always lose," he managed .

"Raptor and Scorch, slap each other silly," said Ghoulwyrm. The two generals glared and surprisingly resisted for a full minute before obeying reluctantly

Then Ghoulwyrm turned to Devina and said, "And as for you..." Devina winced as much as she could, wondering what form of self-damage Ghoulwyrm had in mind. "How about a little dance?" said Ghoulwyrm. Devina sighed with a bit of relief before doing a little shake. "Oh, you can do better than that," said Ghoulwyrm, "Give us a show, show us how limber your new body is." Devina resisted, but soon her muscles started acting against her will.

Red however finally managed to reboot his system, calmly reaching out and probably earning a friend forever in Devina when he calmly reached out and squashed Ghoulwyrm's head. "Now I have your attention, can we get on with world domination?" he said dryly .

Ghoulwyrm cracked his neck back into shape before saying, "Well, as you can see, a Vladat's Corruptra can commandeer all muscle control of whoever they're attached to. They're quite effective for enslaving a populace or recruiting an army." He snapped his fingers and the Corruptra on the generals' popped off but hovered nearby to discourage any attempts at payback.
"Ok, you can pop your evil mind control bats. How are we gonna get them on the Virk then get the Virk out without a lockdown like at the starport?" said Scorch .

Ghoulwyrm chuckled and said, "My dear boy, we've already got them on the Virks. Or rather, we've got them in the Virks." He held up an empty syringe and said, "Those shots you've been giving weren't just full of nanites, but of shrunken Corruptra that are waiting for the time to grow big and get to work. Allow me to show you what they'll do." With a snap of his fingers and a flash of purple light, a Shar-Virk chained to a rack appeared in the room.
The Virk, clearly a fire one, immediately roasted Ghoulwyrm's head to a skull. "Ok...ow..." Ghoulwyrm rasped as everyone smirked . Once the flesh regenerated, Ghoulwyrm said, "Now for a demonstration on my variation of the Corruptra." With that, he spat another of the little buggers at the Virk, except it just hit the top of his foot. Nobody was very impressed until the 'horns' on the Corruptra nibbled a small hole into the flesh of the Shar-Virk's foot before crawling inside.

"Oh...no..." said Vipra weakly, "It's like Brain Slug of Planet X..."

The Shar-Virk screamed as the bulge that was the Corruptra started moving up his body. Creepily enough, there were black veins left in its trail that started to spread. Eventually, it squirmed its way up to his forehead before it popped back out and latched on tight. Purple Corruptra eyes appeared along the black veins that had covered most of the Shar-Virk's body. "Once the Corruptra have taken root, they'll be ready to spread to other hosts and start infesting them," said Ghoulwyrm before grabbing Raptor and making him put a hand next to a Corruptra eye. The Corruptra popped out of the Shar-Virk's flesh and burrowed into Raptor's.
Raptor immediately did what anyone would do and freaked the hell out, screaming as he tried to stop it until the bulge vanished into his head. Then Ghoulwyrm gave a quick whistle and the Corruptra popped out into his waiting claw. It scurried into Ghoulwyrm without any apparent ill effects. Similarly, all Raptor had was a pair of small flesh wounds marking the beginning and end of the Corruptra's journey.

"Never do that again..." snarled Raptor warningly .

"I doubt I'll have to do anything that extreme. I could simply slap one onto your forehead or I could do this," said Ghoulwyrm before fixing a hypnotic gaze on Raptor.

Red sighed before squashing Ghoulwyrm's head again. "Can we focus please? It's no wonder a two-bit mercenary continually bests you," he snapped as Ghoulwyrm said as his head regenerated "Great, now nothing's going to taste right for a week."

Ghoulwyrm conjured an hourglass into his hand, the purple sand mostly at the bottom. "When the sand runs out, the Corruptra that have injected into the Shar-Virk shall return to their normal side and begin their infection stage. Then we shall have our army."

"Also, showing off is what gets you blown up," said Red icily .

"You have absolutely no sense of drama, do you?" asked Ghoulwyrm dryly.

"No, I just want to win for once," said Red dryly .

"Trust me, we shall have at least one victory today," said Ghoulwyrm.

Matt tapped his foot as he watched the medical team working on the new serum. "Hurry it up, hut, hut, hut!" he snapped, one of the doctors yelling "IT'LL BE DONE WHEN IT'S DONE!"

"Maybe you can speed it up if you-" started Matt.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT BUTTON!" yelled the doctors. "You didn't even look to see what I was going to push," said Matt.

"We don't need to look," said the first doctor, "Anyone knows that if you get involved in devices you know nothing about, disaster follows."

"Sir, please, if you really want to help, go wait outside," said the second doctor.

Matt glared and walked out into the corridor before walking down the corridor to a comm unit. He counted to 6 before an unknown number was incoming. Matt answered it and was not surprised to see MOM's angry face. "MOM, is there any place you can't reach me?" asked Matt in a joking tone before saying, "Seriously though, how far do I have to go to get out of range? Because this is starting to get freaky."

"Lynch, tell Agent Mystery, when he's well, to return my alien," snapped MOM.

"Ok, not what I expected to hear, but fine. Which alien did he nab?" asked Matt.

"The frozen one from my office," said MOM angrily .

"I doubt Martin would have been able to stow it away on my ship," said Matt, "I keep a close eye on what goes into my cargo hold. Anyways, why would Martin even want that thing?"

"He's Martin," said MOM dully .

"Good point. I'll have someone check the cargo just in case, but I doubt we'll find anything," said Matt.

"And send my agents back as soon as they wake," said MOM, signing off before Matt could object, Matt muttering "How did she know they were out cold?"

Just then, he felt something nuzzling his foot. Matt looked down to see a baby dragon nuzzling his foot. Matt was pretty certain this was yet another fire dragon, but this one, quite noticeably, had blue horns, wing membranes, spines, and blotches of blue all along the back. Matt was pretty sure he never saw a fire dragon with colors that weren't associated with fire before. Though, technically blue was a color of flame, but only if it were really, really- Matt's pondering was suddenly ended by the dragonling chomping on his shoe.

The scream managed to crack every window on the floor, the dragonling finding it apparently hilarious. After about a minute of attempted kicking, Smoldron walked in, took one look at the situation, and said, "Ah, this is exactly how I expected you two would meet. Though I would have hoped that I would have gotten the chance to introduce her first."

"She's got her teeth in the bone!" screamed Matt .

Smoldron sighed before saying, "Therma, let him go."

"But he makes fun noises," complained Therma .

"Drop him now," said Smoldron sternly.

Therma pouted before letting go, asking, "When can I see Mom?"

"She's just...recovering," said Smoldron, sounding regretful.

"She'll be fine," reassured Matt .

Smoldron turned to Matt and asked, "You haven't...seen her yet, have you?"

"Uh...maybe. What does she look like?" asked Matt.

Smoldron looked pointedly at Therma and it took Matt a few seconds to make the connection. "Oh, so your egg finally hatched," he said before looking at Therma, "What were you doing in that egg during all that time?"

"Plotting," said Therma in a distracted voice.

"Okay..." said Matt, inching away from her before turning to Smoldron, "No, I don't think I've seen Sonya. I...didn't really want to take a good look at the patients."

"She's...she's got it bad," said Smoldron sadly .

"I suppose it comes from previously being human," said Matt sorrowfully. He always harbored a bit of regret for indirectly being the reason that Sonya was stuck as a dragon, even if she did find a happy life in it.

"She's calling herself Avarona again. Come with me," said Smoldron.

Sonya had ended up with a private room and private restraints...and some private mercs. The mercs had quite wisely chosen to wear arctic armor and were armed with flamethrowers. Not as dangerous as a dragon's fire, but sufficient for keeping an ice dragoness in check.

The hatch opened and Smoldron (wearing a compression collar to make him human sized) and Matt walked in at that. "Oh...my captors," said 'Sonya' in a tone Matt sadly recognized.

"Avarona," he said coldly .

"Striker, I was wondering when you'd show up," said Avarona. She was currently in anthro form and wearing the kind of costumes that ice villainess wear because they aren't bothered by the cold at all.

"Time for your medicine...and for good measure, I have Megan cooking up some mental poison to fully eradicate you once you're buried again," said Matt coldly .

Avarona chuckled and said, "The only ones getting buried around here are the fools who will stand in my way once I've broken free, under a crushing mass of ice and snow."

"Good, corporal," said Matt, nodding to one of the guards who hit a remote, Sonya's cuffs heating up. "Try that again and I'll roast you," Matt said coldly

"Striker, we were such a good team once. We can be one again," said Avarona, "You just have to let me out."

"The day I work with you, Avarona, will be the day I cut your head off," said Matt coldly .

Smoldron stepped forward and said, "Sonya, don't you remember me?"

Avarona rolled her eyes and said in a very bored tone, "Oh, it's you."
"Hey, play nice or I gag you," warned Matt .

"Sonya, our daughter misses you," said Smoldron.

"Has she started breathing ice yet?" asked Avarona in a disinterested tone.

"Well, she's still too young," said Smoldron.

"Then why are you bothering me about it?" asked Avarona dismissively.

"Now that's just mean," said Matt casually, pressing the tazer function on the cuffs .

Avarona winced as she was zapped before turning to Matt and saying, "Striker, you know we're worth so much more than these unevolved wannabes. We were generals under Malefor and I hear there's a greater power getting ready to take his place. How about we blow this place and sign up with the winning team?"

"Striker's not home. He was busy sending Malefor straight to hell," said Matt with a smirk .

"Oh, that's too bad. It gets so lonely in here. I could really use someone to warm me up," said Avarona in a suggestive tone.

Matt glared and upped the charge before Smoldron could stop him . "You'll always have me, Sonya," said Smoldron desperately.

"Beast-style got old ages ago," said Avarona dismissively, "Come back when you're a biped and then we'll talk."

Matt glared before nodding to the troopers. "No sedative when she gets the cure," he said grimly . He and Smoldron walked out, Smoldron looking woebegone. "You know that what Avarona said isn't really Sonya thinks about you," said Matt, "I can barely call that pale imitation Avarona. The Avarona I knew was a lot more...frigid."

"I know...but to think my love's...how will I tell Therma?" said Smoldron gloomily .

"You won't have to tell her because Sonya's gonna be cured as soon as that serum is ready," said Matt.

"About that," said Smoldron, "I've heard that serum only works on humans."

"Well, that's not quite true," said Matt, "It'll work on both races, but they'll both turn into ordinary humans afterwards."

"What?" snapped Smoldron .

"Well, I'm sure a dragon variant can be developed. It's just that considering we have a large percentage of the population about to go Shar-Virk crazy..." explained Matt.

Smoldron sighed and said, "So I'll lose Sonya either way."

"We'll do everything we..." began Matt before all the lights went out , "Oh, that's a very bad sign, especially since we're in a hospital."

"Alert, a class 3 parasite has been detected. All staff to safe rooms," said the hospital computer .

"What's a class 3?" asked Smoldron.

"I dunno..." said Matt, wishing his gun hadn't been checked in at the lobby.

"Wait, where's Therma?" asked Smoldron with worry.

"She's at the daycare with all the other little dragons, remember?" said Matt.

"I think we better head there to make sure it's safe," said Smoldron.

The two headed for the daycare, Matt insisting they check on the Center agents as it was on the way. The first warning was that the guards appeared to have recently lost their heads...literally . "How dangerous are those guys normally?" asked Smoldron.

"They were all out cold though. Even if they woke up, they'd be sluggish..." said Matt weakly, grabbing one of the rifles out of one of the dead guards' hands .

"So there could be others loose?" asked Smoldron with worry.

"Knowing my luck. All of them," said Matt, checking the chamber in the rifle .

"Well, I'm sure one of the heroes that took down Malefor can be able to stand against them, right?" asked Smoldron nervously.

"I had dragon powers both times," said Matt .

"Oh, right, you've been depowered," said Smoldron.

"Yup," said Matt coldly, peering round a corner to see Avarona yelling at some other Shar-Virk who were guarding. "Kaitlyn?" Matt muttered . Matt assumed it was Kaitlin judging by the dragoness's aqua green scales and similar build. And since she had fins and webbed claws, she was apparently a water dragon.

"Just find out why she won't obey orders then kill her," said Avarona before stomping off, the two minor Virk grinning at each other, Matt glaring and clicking something out his belt, apparently throwing knives.

"Haven't used these for years," he muttered before walking up slowly behind the Virk who were smirking at Kaitlyn.

"You have one chance. What did you do to protect your mind? If you do what we say, we might disobey orders," the first Virk said with an evil grin, both oblivious to Matt silently coming up behind them with one knife in each hand .

"I don't know! I just have this...thing that works without me knowing," said Kaitlin, "Matt didn't explain it clearly."

"The human? What could he do?" said the second, who was closer and as such missed his friend being grabbed in a headlock and getting his throat cut silently .

"Uh, apparently he can sing so badly he drive away demons or something," said Kaitlin.

"We know, but he can't sing if he's dead," sneered the last one before yelping and then gurgling as Matt got him in a headlock and ran his energy knife across his throat .

"Matt, these are people we're supposed to be curing, not killing," said Smoldron disapprovingly.

"They were about to kill someone. They're gonna try and kill you. We need to think a little 'survival of the fittest' here," snapped Matt .

"We also need to remember that these people are victims too," said Smoldron.

"That'll be small comfort when they kill you," said Matt.

"Can't we at least use non-lethal measures?" asked Smoldron.

"Ok, you know of any that'll work?" pointed out Matt.

"Guys, guys, can we please try to focus on the here-and-now?" asked Kaitlin.

"Agreed, we need to get out of here and tell someone. If they knew we'd have half the army in here by now," said Matt .

"But surely the Councilors would have heard by now and sent help," said Smoldron.

"Or maybe they're playing it safe and just locking everybody in," said Matt grimly.

Smoldron shuddered at that, "Tell me that there are some people left. We need to get to the daycare."

"Well...the one ones I'm certain that can't be infected in here are myself and Java," said Matt.

"Why Java?" asked Kaitlin.

"Because apparently the nanites are picky and won't do proto-humans," said Matt, "Where are the others?"

"I'm not sure," said Kaitlin, "I guess they changed faster than I did because when I woke up, they were gone."

"Ok, we'll probably come across them later, let's move," said Matt carefully, adding, "Me and Smoldron on point. Kaitlyn, stay behind us."

"Why do I have to stay in the back?" asked Kaitlin, "I'm the only one of us who's a Shark Khan."

"No, you're a Shar Virk, mentally unstable. Tell me...you got a little voice in your head yet?" said Matt sternly

Kaitlin tilted her head a bit as if hearing something. "Does wanting to splash you in the face count?" asked Kaitlin.

"Depends, is the water flesh scalding hot or murderously cold?" asked Matt .

"I can make hot or cold?" asked Kaitlin.

"Ok, just stay at the back. For all we know, using your powers makes you go more insane," said Matt.

"But you said I was psychic immune or something," said Kaitlin.

"So am I, but my little voice had a bad habit of taking over every now and then," said Matt, peering round a corner .

"Trust me, you don't want to give it the chance to take over," said Smoldron, "It'll want to do bad things to the ones you care about."

Kaitlin shuddered at that, looking at her reflection to see an almost demonic dragon face smirking at her, though it was only faintly superimposed over her own reflection . Kaitlin gulped before hurrying after Matt and Smoldron. "So, what kind of dragons do you think Martin and Diana are?" she asked, trying to get her mind off her own problems.

"Well, considering Martin's choice of outfit, I wouldn't be nearly surprised if he was a fire dragon," said Matt, "And considering Diana's grounded-in-reality, stick-in-the-mud attitude, earth's my first bet."

"Oh, have you noticed that those two types are really, really common?" asked Kaitlin, "Like they're almost the default choice for dragons."
Smoldron snorted smoke at that. "Common?" he said warningly .

"Well, have you seen how many-" started Kaitlin.

"There's nothing wrong with being a firebreather," said Matt quickly, "How many other races can claim that?"

"Well, I know of quite a-" started Kaitlin.

"Fire's a really strong element and Smoldron should be proud to be one," interrupted Matt before saying, "Kaitlin, may I speak with you a minute?" Kaitlin nodded and was pulled round a corner and pushed against the wall, Matt snapping, "Tell me, do Center agents get hired for their lack of survival instinct? His daughter is in the daycare and his wife's infected and now someone he barely knows who looks like the people who caused this just insulted him."

"I didn't think it was a sensitive subject," said Kaitlin.

"There are several types of dragon who are rarer than fire or earth dragons," began Matt.

"Is water one of them?" asked Kaitlin.

"Well...I think they prefer living by the seaside than in the city," said Matt, "But the point is, there are some members of those more select types that look down on the 'common-as-dirt' or 'common-as-ash' dragons and don't hesitate to rub their noses when it comes to pedigrees and who those dragons ought to mate with. Also, even though fire's a really common element, that doesn't make any less powerful." Kaitlin nodded as Matt continued, "Oh, and given Smoldron's current mood, he might roast you alive if you upset him again before he could stop himself."

"But can't I just put out his fire?" asked Kaitlin.

"That would be encouraging your dark side," said Matt, "And you may be tempted to keep pouring water until we're both drowned."

Kaitlin gulped as she saw her reflection nodding at Matt's suggestion . "Uh, ok," said Kaitlin.

"Good, now go apologize to Smoldron," said Matt.

Ghoulwyrm and his generals materialized in the lobby to find a good dozen or so Shar-Virk all standing to attention, Avarona at their head, much to Devina's annoyance .

"Odd, the Corruptra should have infested them by now," said Ghoulwyrm.

"I believe these are from the first wave of the plague," said Raptor, "Before you arrived here."

"Many of the wards entered lockdown when we awoke, as did the main building. We will require time to get the others out," said a Virk .

"We have many agents on the inside now," said Ghoulwyrm, "And soon to be more. Working from both sides of the barriers, we shall bring them down."

"Good luck. They rounded everyone with the gift up," said another Virk coldly .

"My gift will soon bring them into line," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Except they won't let us close enough to infect anyone anymore and they have dragonbuster rounds," snapped another Virk, proving that while Ghoulwyrm's Corruptra could control their bodies, a Virk's tactical sense was still out there

"Hmm, that is a dilemma, but not one we can't work around," said Ghoulwyrm, "Start looking for any weak points, especially from below."

"Captain Lynch is still in the building. Two of our men aren't responding as well," said an earth dragon Virk.

Red smirked and said, "Should we save time and cut your head off now, sir?"

"You think I haven't learned to include Lynch into consideration of my plans?" said Ghoulwyrm, "He may be depowered, but I know he still has the same moral obligations as before."

"If you take him into account, why do you always lose so spectacularly?" sneered Red .

"Because I've had to rely on others who don't try to protect their weak flanks," said Ghoulwyrm dryly.

"Strange, your most recent plans were done solo," said red with a smirk .

"Don't make me use another Corruptra on you," said Ghoulwyrm, "Anyways, if Lynch does manage to 'win', he'll still lose in one aspect that'll be more important down the road."

"Please, the last time you tried that you were reverted to a kid," said Red with a grin .

"Who told you about that?!" snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"Have a look for yourself," said Red before projecting a hologram.

Ghoulwyrm stared in horror as a hologram of him in a containment tube, asleep and sucking his wing claw was shown, Matt in the background singing "Rock a bye moron in the ship briiiig."

There was quite a bit of laughter from the Shar-Virk at that as Ghoulwyrm's face turned red. "I admit, that was a nasty setback, but I was able to make it work in my favor," said Ghoulwyrm through gritted teeth, "Lynch's rejuvenating of me allowed me to remake my power the way it was meant to be."

"Yes, it made you an internet sensation. It's got 42 billion hits so far," said Red evilly .

Ghoulwyrm spun around and plunged his claw into Red's optic. The roar of pain and the spout of fluid definitely showed that Ghoulwyrm hadn't made his claw intangible before that. "I've tolerated your insolence long enough, old relic," snarled Ghoulwyrm, "Make one more comment out of turn and I'll break something that can't be replaced so easily."

The reply was impressive, a solarite blast that pinned Ghoulwyrm on the wall, Red saying calmly. "I can see that, like Omnirus, my services are no longer required. Should I sign my resignation with this weapon? You clearly failed to think I wouldn't add some of my own ideas to this form," he sneered.

"I would hardly be sorry to see you go," said Ghoulwyrm, "Your 'contributions' to our cause have been less than constructive."

"That is because you never listened to me, or the generals, or anyone. That was my downfall and it will be yours," said Red sagely.

"Perhaps if you said anything that wasn't nay-saying, I'd be more open to suggestion," snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"That's because your plans always ended in disaster. Now before I go," said Red before firing a dart that drilled into Ghoulwyrm's head. "A solarite explosive, if you try to come after me, I can end you," said Red, calmly, opening a portal. "Hope we never cross paths again," he sneered .

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"Anywhere I want, Avalar's a big world," said Red.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's not an option," said Ghoulwyrm before throwing a purple ball of energy through Red and into the portal, altering its color, "I don't mind you leaving, but I'd rather have you far enough away from me. So unless one of us changes our mind, you're banished from Avalar henceforth." With that, tendrils of energy from the portal snaked around Red's body and started pulling him in.

Red just laughed as he was pulled in, even though it vanished, Ghoulwyrm unable to stop a slight hint of mental worry; if someone like Red was laughing, that meant trouble.

Ghoulwyrm tried to put aside that worry and turned to the Shar-Virk. "Now then, are there any other objections or are we actually going to proceed with something?" he demanded.

"As long as it works. We don't work with failures," sneered a Virk .

"Trust me, there shall be fruits for our labors," said Ghoulwyrm, "Now then, earth dragons, start tunneling down and get under their defenses. Electric dragons, start draining their power supply. Fire and ice dragons, use thermal shock on the walls. One way or another, we're getting in there."

"Dig...and risk dropping this entire building into the abyss?" snapped an earth Virk.

"Then dig upwards from the bottom of this landmass," said Ghoulwyrm with an annoyed tone.

"Wait...why are we listening to this moron?" said another Virk, Avarona nodding in agreement.

"Because I can think outside the box a lot better than the lot of you can," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Well, if you're so clever, why don't you open the gates yourself?" asked Sonya smugly.

Ghoulwyrm sighed and said, "If it'll make you plague rats stop snarking." He turned intangible and flew through the barrier. Avarona counted to herself, a dull 'whee' heard before Ghoulwyrm shot back through the door and leaned against it. "You didn't tell me he'd put them in there," he panted.

"We would have gotten in a lot sooner if they weren't there," said Avarona, "And incidentally, we already tried your suggestions, those little monsters think of everything."

"Grr...incompetent, the lot of you...oops," snarled Ghoulwyrm, covering his mouth as he realized he'd just insulted a bunch of psychotic egomaniacs .

"Let's take a vote, who says we don't need this creep and ought to smash him?" asked Avarona.

When practically all of them raised their hands, Ghoulwyrm growled, "I was hoping on doing this fairly, but there seems to be only one way to bring you in line." With that, he spat out several Corruptras to latch onto the foreheads of the Shar-Virk.

Avarona just looked up before pulling it off. "Did you even do your research on Atlantean nanotech?" she said calmly . Just then, a can with the word 'loser' scribbled on it was tossed out and bounced off Avarona's head. Electronic giggles were heard from the walls. Avarona glared at the walls and said, "I'd kill to get my hands on the madman who designed those insufferable Mary Sues." She turned to Ghoulwyrm and said, "I don't like you, but I hate those things even more. So if you have something for shutting them down, stop pontificating and get on with it."

Ghoulwyrm was about to speak when Avarona said, "On second thought, I do have an idea…" walking up before grabbing Ghoulwyrm by the neck, and throwing him through the same hole. "A distraction, boys, blow the door while the bots are busy," she snapped . The dragons unloaded their elemental payloads at the walls, which soon gave way. "Now, let's let our brethren out," said Avarona.

Matt peered around a corner and waved the others up. "Almost there. Let's be careful and smart," he said quietly to the others .

As they crept carefully, Smoldron glanced at Kaitlin and said, "You've got something on your cheek."

"What? What is it?" asked Kaitlin.

"Uh, kinda likes like a black bump," said Smoldron.

"A blackhead? I thought dragons couldn't get zits," said Kaitlin before stopping to look at her reflection in a window. There was a noticeable black bulge on her cheek. "Ew, it's huge," said Kaitlin, poking at it. The bulge squirmed a bit before opening a purple eye.
The duo stared for a minute before all screaming in unison, Matt spinning and snapping "We're trying to be sneak-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

"GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!" screamed Kaitlin as she tried to pull the thing out of her cheek. The eye was also squealing, the blob flowing around, heading for Kaitlin's mouth

"Hold still," said Matt as he got out one of his knives. Kaitlin yelped even more than that, before her cheeks bulged and she saw the eye, now complete with batwings, on Matt's face, causing him to shriek and flail around . "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" yelled Matt.

"Hang on, let me try something," said Kaitlin. She wrapped one hand around the necklace around her hand while she pointed her other hand at Matt. She muttered something to herself before blasting water at Matt.

The blast immediately blasted the eye bat to nothingness...though it also sent Matt through the wall into the daycare and happily squashing the Virk who had been guarding the kids .

Kaitlin looked at her hand with surprise. "Wow, I didn't think I was that strong."

Smoldron however rushed past her to see that the kids had more or less had everything in hand, the remaining guards tied to a pole in the middle and the kids apparently wearing warpaint and playing 'tribe' with them...if you could call hogtying the Virk 'playing' .

"Told you the kids will be fine," said Matt in a dazed tone.

Therma shot up to Smoldron at that, "Daddy, you can join in. These guys are no fun. They kept saying naughty words till Glacia froze their heads."

"Aw, they're so cute," said Kaitlin.

"They're psychotic," said Matt weakly .

"How can something that adorable be so dangerous?" asked Kaitlin obliviously. Therma and Ferno exchanged wicked grins and waggled their eyeridges.

"No, don't even think about it. Where's Mina, you little horrors?" Matt snapped, pointing a finger at them .

"She got tired of waiting after we beat up the bad guys so she went to find their leader," said Ferno.

"She WHAT?" snapped Matt .

"She's gotten bigger," said Ferno.

"That doesn't matter. I'm gonna kill her, that fool," said Matt angrily, choking the air .

"Temper, temper," said Smoldron, "Is that any way to set an example for your goddaughter?"

"She's not here," snapped Matt, pulling out his blaster .

"Therma's your goddaughter too. Or have you forgotten that?" said Smoldron disapprovingly.

"Therma tried to eat me. The damage has been already done," said Matt, not really in the mood .

Meanwhile, Mina was tailing a few Shar-Virk. She could tell she was getting better with her shadow powers. They had no idea she was behind them. "This is perfect. He'll have to let me in his crew if I can tell him their plans," she muttered happily . She would have attempted to take them down herself, but she was pretty sure she'd receive more reprimands that praise from that.

"Lady Avarona, we got the last of them out. As we suspected, the ghoul's plan backfired, seems his pets don't like our taste," said an earth dragon Virk to an ice Virk

Mina paused a bit in surprise. Avarona was one of Malefor's generals that her parents told her about, but she wasn't supposed to be among the ones who were still free.

"Oh that's a shame, have them blast that little worm on sight," said Avarona with a smirk before saying, "Oh, and grab the one watching us from the shadows."

Mina gulped and decided to make herself scarce. However, as she turned, a wall of earth rose up in front of her. "Going somewhere?" asked Avarona

"Stay back. I have fire magic too," said Mina. To prove it, she spat a fireball at Avarona.
Avarona laughed, blowing at the fireball like someone would a candle, making the fireball vanish. "Sweetie, it'll be a lot easier for you if you just give up and come to our side," said Avarona, "An able dragon like you can move swiftly through the ranks or our order."
Mina glared before saying harshly, "I'd rather get eaten."

Avarona sighed and said, "So much wasted potential. I suppose in time you could be made to join us. But I frankly don't have the time or patience. So I suppose I'll just have to-" Suddenly, a hard lump of stone was propelled into the back of Avarona's head, knocking her out cold. Mina sighed with relief before another rock hit her between the eyes .

Mina dropped to the floor unconscious as the earth Shar-Virk Avarona was talking to lowered his hand. Then he dropped to as a translucent Ghoulwyrm emerged from his chest. "So the puppet army thing didn't work out so well," he said to the unconscious females, "But there is still one goal I will see through and I can't allow you to kill each other before that." With that, he grabbed one in each claw before ghosting down through the floor.

Matt was leading the group through the corridors. They'd agreed that it was probably a good idea to get the hatchlings out before moving on . While hatchlings did prey upon the unwary, Shar-Virk couldn't be trusted to keep making the same mistake. To that end, Matt was wondering a little as to why the Virk they'd met had been so...zombie like.

"Kaitlin, out of curiosity, how are you able to make your water so effective on these guys?" asked Matt after Kaitlin sprayed another Virk of his feet.

"Simple, I'm making it holy," said Kaitlin, pointing at the cross pendant on her necklace.

"I'm not sure it works that way," said Matt skeptically.

"Well, don't tell them that," said Kaitlin, "It'd stop working if you keep questioning it. Didn't anyone tell you that holiness is a matter of faith?"

"Let's just go," moaned Matt, peering round the corner and nearly losing his head as the Virk in cover sent a barrage of stone spike sat him . "How many of these guys do we have to go through?!" snapped Matt.

"How many people got sick?" retorted Smoldron

Matt groaned and said, "This is gonna take forever."

"Perhaps not...can't we just put knockout gas in the building or something?" said Kaitlin .

"Good suggestion. Problem is, we don't have any knockout gas," said Matt.

"You don't have anesthetic?" asked Kaitlin, sounding a bit surprised .

"I meant we don't have any knockout gas with us, meaning us right here, right now," said Matt, "Unless you know some way of making your water put everyone to sleep or something."

"Hmm...is there a chem lab around here?" asked Kaitlin.

"Fifth floor, sector six," said Matt calmly .

"Great, I ought to be able to mix something up when we get there," said Kaitlin.

"And since when have you been a master of chemistry?" asked Matt.

"Four semesters of straight A's in Advanced Chemistry not enough of a recommendation?" asked Kaitlin.

"Good, hope it includes nanocomputers," said Matt annoyed .

"Uh, might need a bit of tech support," said Kaitlin.

"Use my card, instant access to the infonet," said Matt, tossing a small tag over

"Great," said Kaitlin, "The chem lab's not far from here, is it?"

"Two floors up," said Matt promptly . The hatchlings all made groans of complaint. "Smoldron, I'll take the kids out of here. You look after Kaitlin," said Matt, though he inwardly regretted saying that as every hatchling turned to look at him intensely

"Wish us luck," said Smoldron.

"I think I might want to keep some of that for myself," said Matt.

Meanwhile, in a cavern deep underground, Ghoulwyrm was working on some delicate work with Avarona, who he had made triply sure was secured tightly to the slab she was bound to and incapable of using her ice powers to get out. But she was still able to make the cavern's temperature drop very low. "You kn-kn-know this is childish...r-r-r-right?" shuddered Ghoulwyrm, annoyed that his body could feel the cold .

"Did you expect me to just lie back and let you play witch doctor on me?" asked Avarona.

"If you had been more willing to cooperate, there wouldn't be this much necessary force," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Oh, I always wanted to see you frozen," laughed Avarona, reducing the temperature to arctic level.

Ghoulwyrm managed to say, "I hate you." before his lips froze together. Ghoulwyrm grabbed his third bottle of frost resistance potion and managed to get it past his lips. After a few seconds, he defrosted and said, "As humorous as my freezing may seem to you, may I remind you that I am not the only one who's suffering adverse effects." He pointed at a cage where Mina was huddled over and shivering, her skin starting to look blue.

Avarona yawned before sighing. "Fine," she said reluctantly, returning the temperature to normal , "So, what do you want with the two of us anyways?"

"I'm certain you've heard about Lumina's curse by now," said Ghoulwyrm, "It needs a little more fuel to get it into gear and you're going to help me with that. Oh, don't worry your pretty little head, it won't involve anything you wouldn't have done on your own eventually."
"Explain the slab then," said Avarona coldly .

"Because you'll most likely disagree to my plan just to spite me," said Ghoulwyrm, "If you were agreeable, I would have given you a lesser concentration of the elixir. But then again, your contradiction gives me the opportunity to use the more enhanced version."

"Elixir? Now hold on..." said Avarona .

"Oh don't worry, it's not gonna kill you," said Ghoulwyrm before tapping a syringe filled with a red liquid, "It's usually drunk, but I understand that it can get started faster by injection." He held the syringe over Avarona's neck. It looked like it was about to plunge in before Ghoulwyrm changed directions, made his hand intangible, and plunged into Avarona's torso where he released the elixir directly into her stomach. "Made you squirm," said Ghoulwyrm as he removed his hand. The reply was a point blank ice blast that froze his head solid, though a 'totally worth it' was heard .

As Ghoulwyrm defrosted his head yet again, Avarona amused herself by pretending what horrible things she'll do to him when she got out. She'll probably freeze him solid before shattering him into little bits. Then she'd put those frozen bits into a bucket to keep the champagne cold during her dinner with Matt... She paused at that. Why was she thinking of Matt? She ought to be thinking of how she'd chop off Ghoulwyrm's head, roast it, and serve it to Matt with... She caught herself and tried to focus on her hatred of Ghoulwyrm, but she soon started to feel a warm sensation going through her. In fact, it was getting pretty hot, just like Matt's body when... She feebly tried to think of killing Ghoulwyrm, but Matt soon started to preoccupy her thoughts as her body heated up. "What did you do, you little moron?" she finally snapped

"Oh, just given you some motivation," said Ghoulwyrm, "Feeling warm, are we?" He dabbed at the sweat on Avarona's brow gingerly with a rag. He watched with interest as the rag grew increasingly cold before ice started forming on it. "Ah, perfect," said Ghoulwyrm, dropping the frozen rag.

"When my nanites purge that goo, I'm gonna rip you to shreds," she hissed angrily .

"If you have a functional mind afterwards," said Ghoulwyrm, "That concentrated elixir is going to overheat that brain of yours eventually. I'm surprised you can talk in complete sentences right now."

"Like how...your Corruptra was supposed to work?" sneered Avarona .

"The Corruptra were supposed to commandeer your muscle control," said Ghoulwyrm, "This elixir's throwing your estrogen producers into overdrive. As well as put a bit of venom in your sweat glands."

"So that's why my nanites are about to sedate me for full blood cleansing," snapped Avarona, her voice getting more slurred .

"Oh, before I forget," said Ghoulwyrm before placing what looked like a tiny chunk of iron on Avarona's forehead. A tingling sensation went through her skull, making it harder to think straight than before. "That ought to keep your nanites quiet for about half an hour, more than time for you to reduce Matt to a popsicle," said Ghoulwyrm.

"You...stupid...jerk..." panted Avarona, her eyes getting a distant look as her tongue hung out of her mouth.

"Oh, don't fret your pretty little over me," said Ghoulwyrm, "Just think of happy thoughts, like Matt for instance."

Matt meanwhile was heading to the basement, following Mina's signal. "Ok, where are you and why are you down here?" he muttered, before pausing as a new familiar signal was detected, before he looked to the side and saw a uniform. "Oh, why not?"

On paper, there's no way that little trick would have worked. Matt's face should be infamous enough that no one with working eyes would have been fooled just because he was wearing a different outfit.

So it was just as well that there was a mask with it.

Ghoulwyrm smirked as Avarona staggered out the main door before there was a knock at the back door.

"Who could that be?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

He opened the door and was slammed on the nose as a person in full surgical hazmat gear came in. "OK, vere iz ze patient?" said the doctor, slapping the shocked Ghoulwyrm aside.

"Patient? What are you talking about?" snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"Do not be snippy vith me, good sir," said the doctor, "Zere iz a child who needs treatment right avay and zere she iz." He headed straight for Mina's cage and started unfastening the lock.

"Now look here, do you know who I am?" snapped Ghoulwyrm before yelping as a plasma magnum was shoved in his face. "I should have known," he muttered before the blast blew him to pieces.

Matt turned back to Mina and asked, "Is Ghoulwyrm less corpsey now? I didn't take a good look before I blew him up again." Mina was just staring numbly, a liquid around her lips. "Hey, kid, stay with me," said Matt, "I'm not about to lose you just when I'm about to rescue you."

"It was disgusting...it tasted like grass..." groaned Mina, before going wide eyed. "LOOK OUT!" she cried

Matt felt an icy hand on his back before he was suddenly slammed against the wall. Avarona had him pinned and had the same look on her face that Kala does when it's been too long since they've slept together. Matt gulped before saying "Hey...Avarona...let's talk about this…" he said, reaching for his belt to get a tazer

"Matt..." moaned Avarona in a way that made Matt wondered if she's been zombified. Her licking his head was not helping that image, though the numbing cold her saliva left made him want to get away more.

"Erm...I think I know what you want. Close your eyes and you will get a nice surprise," Matt said weakly, Avarona giggling and doing just that...before getting a hand held tazer shoved in her mouth .

Matt quickly pushed her to way and got back to work on Mina's cage. "What did Ghoulwyrm do to her?" asked Matt.

"I think it's some kind of love potion or something," said Mina, "He mentioned something about poison and-" Then Matt was grabbed again and thrown through the front door into a large ice cavern.

Avarona stormed in after him and hissed, "Mine..." Matt's response was a hail of gunfire, the bullets bouncing off her scales, but leaving bruises . Avarona, however, wasn't so easily deterred. She extended her claws with ice and started ripping into Matt's hazmat outfit.

Matt put his foot on her stomach before pushing her back, sending her back into the wall before he shot a waterpipe, causing a deluge of water to coat her and freeze her to the wall . "Trust me, Sonya, there's gonna be a lot of regret if I let you do what you're wanting to do," said Matt before screaming as Avarona suddenly punched a hole through the ice. "Mina, let's go!" he snapped, shooting a few more waterpipes.

However, a wall of ice formed over the door before Matt could reach it. Matt hammered on the ice, but he lacked the dragon strength to crack it. Avarona, on the other hand, had no trouble smashing through the ice covers that were holding her back. "Mine..." growled Avarona before pouncing on Matt and bringing him to the ground. Matt's body started to go numb from Avarona's touch and the ice on the floor.

…

Mina hammered on the ice, watching in horror as Matt began to freeze in pain. "No...NO...NOOOO!" she cried .

"My, she certainly has a cold touch for someone who's feeling so hot." Mina turned to glare at Ghoulwyrm who had regenerated.

"You made this mess! You have to fix it!" she snapped.

"And why should I?" sneered Ghoulwyrm, "That person's been a thorn in my aside for millennia, thanks to time travel."

"If you don't, I'll blast you as bad as Matt did," threatened Mina.

"Please...take your best shot," sneered Ghoulwyrm . Mina threw a fireball at Ghoulwyrm but he simply swallowed it. He licked his lips and said with a fake Italian accent, "Thatsa spicy meat-a-ball." Mina gulped as Ghoulwyrm smirked. "Now I know you have more oomph then that. Better hurry, I think your godfather's in a bad way," he said .

Mina looked through the ice to see Matt looking more frozen. She turned back to Ghoulwyrm and said, "Please, please, you have to do something."

"Is that begging I'm hearing?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "I don't think you're in the right pose for that to be believable."

Mina shuddered before getting on her hands and knees, putting her palms together and saying, "Please...I'm begging."

"That's more like it," said Ghoulwyrm, "You know, I'm in a good enough mood that I might just help." He held up a vial filled with a golden white liquid and said, "I made this potion in case something should get too out of hand. This will purge out all corruption in whoever it's poured upon. Just dump it over Avarona's head and she'll be back to normal." He started to hold it out to Mina before pausing and saying, "Or...this potion could easily get all that darkness out of your system. You won't have to worry about your parents fretting over you, you can go on adventures and people won't worry about you turning bad. An end to all those problems that have been plaguing you. That's worth considering, isn't it?"

Mina gulped at that as Ghoulwyrm began to fade away. "Now then, I have chaos to cause. But first, I do owe Matt for this new body, so give him this," Ghoulwyrm smirked, an information crystal appearing.

"Wait, don't you have-" started Mina, but Ghoulwyrm had already disappearing, leaving the vial and the crystal.

Mina gulped, picking up both and looking out. "Oh man..." she groaned before getting a confident look.

"All mine now..." hissed Avarona with pleasure, apparently not noticing that Matt was about to shut down from hypothermia. But then she felt something dribbling onto her head. Immediately she began to spasm, warnings appearing as the new serum literally ate her nanites

She fell over to the side as her brain seemed to be worked over like a lump of clay. That allowed Mina to start applying some fire magic to Matt so he can warm up. Matt shuddered, waking properly before punching Avarona back .

"Mina, I owe you my life," said Matt, "And I don't say that to everyone who saves me from a close call."

"Does that mean I can-" she began before Matt said, "Nope, still can't come."

"Aw..." moaned Mina.

"But there is one thing you can do to help me," said Matt.

"What's that?" asked Mina excitedly.

"Help me get twitchy to a doctor," said Matt, pointing at Avarona.

"Aw..." moaned Mina.

The hospital lab was a disaster, the medical staff inside dead, though their attackers had long left . It had gotten so bad that the dragon healers were pressed into helping and they weren't the most dexterous of people. It was made worse that almost all the Virks had escaped, even managing to hijack a transport before anyone had realized what had happened

The one saving grace was that the remedy that had been developed earlier was still possible to produce. Of course, now that most of the medical experts are dead, it would be months before a dragon variant could be developed.

"There's nothing we can do, not without an unused sample," said a medic finally.

"You're kidding," said Zara icily

"If it's any consolation, the Atlantean Defense Committee has agreed that any plague victim is welcome to apply for membership in the Shar-Khan Corps. From what I've heard, their recruitment rate has quadrupled," said the medic.

"How long before the first ones go nuts?" asked Matt grimly .

"Well, some are adjusting better that most," said the medic, "In theory, we could keep every negative personality under control if there are enough amulets available. But I'm not certain where we can find enough crystals. The greater problem is if the plague resurfaced somehow."

"That is why we need to find the source and disable it. Maybe even find that sample our medics need," said a new voice, Admiral Vanka limping in.

"Vanka, nice to see you out and about," said Matt.

"Well the old bones take a while to get used to real gravity," said Vanka, "But I am not the one who deserves the most medical attention. We managed to decode the flight computer of that ship that brought patient zero. It's from a system on the far side of the uncharted sectors, an area with no resupply sections or bases...badlands.

"The most major problem we have is that while it is theoretically possible for any ship to make that distance, the supplies on most ships will give out long before they get even halfway there. It appears that Novus Star is the only ship capable of keeping a supply long enough to reach there while still having an organic crew. The problem is, well, I'm just not the young Splitter I used to be. Time is my worst enemy and it's a race against time to find a more permanent cure for this disease."

"I can easily find..." began Zara before Vanka said "Nope, Mr. Lynch is perfect. He already has my crew's respect after he killed that vampire thing."

"I can think of at least a dozen others who I would far more comfortable with holding the future of our race than Lynch," snapped Zara.

"Really? I checked the records when I arrived. Mr. Lynch may have caused a few problems but he sure as hell solved alot more. He stopped your egg being stolen, he saved your butts more often than I have claws and your response is to try every dirty trick to ruin him. You disgust me. I trust Matt a hell of alot more than anyone you choose," snapped Vanka .

Matt couldn't think of anything to say, but he had the urge to apologize to Xavier as he has just been replaced as Matt's favorite Splitter. But then he felt a tap on his shoulder and Matt turned to see a face he had literally not seen in years. "Matt, I hope you're not too busy right now," said Sonya, in human form and wearing a Shar-Khan trainee uniform. Before he could say anything, Sonya snapped, "Vanka's right. You've had it in for Matt at every turn. If anyone can find that cure, he can."

Then she turned back to Matt and said, "So, I said and did a lot of things that I'm not very proud of. And I can't say that all of that was leftover from when the real Avarona was a roomie. And I'm hoping that I can use this opportunity to make something more out of myself, be someone my daughter can look up to. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't still any hard feelings between us."

"You saved my butt back when we were trapped here, course there isn't," said Matt, Vanka turning to him.

"Sir...I stand relieved," said Vanka, pulling his ID tag off and handing it over.

"It is an honor," said Matt.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you," said a familiar voice. Matt turned to see Kaitlin also in a Shar-Khan trainee uniform.

"Kaitlin...why are you dressed up like that?" asked Matt.

"Oh, well, The Defense Committee was impressed with how I handled subduing the outbreak and how I was able to keep myself under control, so they offered me a position here," said Kaitlin.

"But, you're a Center agent. What would MOM say?" asked Matt.

"Actually, I've facilitated a correspondence between the Center and the Avalarian Council to explain why you were delayed in returning with Zyvar," said Vanka.
"You let that pest lock us up?" snapped Matt, Zara replying smugly "Of course I did. It's about time someone taught you how to behave."

"Anyways, the Atlantean and Avalarian Council have been impressed with the Center's faculties and capabilities," said Zara, "Likewise, the Center wished to learn more from the Atlanteans and the dragons here. So there are plans on making a more permanent alliance, which we'll damn well need if we're going to win this war."

"And I've chosen as the best representative to study here and work as a go-between for our organizations," said Kaitlin, "So I guess you'll be seeing a lot more of me, MOM, and everyone else."

Matt's smile turned glassy and he said, "That's nice. Will you excuse me for a moment?" He walked out the nearest door and closed it behind him. Nevertheless, everyone was easily able to hear his scream of horror.

Vanka however was less than impressed. "Alliances work both ways, Zara. You should have told me about this...and if you worry about the Novus Star's firepower being lost, my brother commands her sistership. He's on his way here as I speak."

"Well, that should be a greater comfort to us," said Zara.

"Hey, Zara, why aren't you in your trainee uniform?" asked Kaitlin.

"I'd sooner go naked," said Zara, "And that's Councilor Zara to you."

"I don't know, don't you have to be a dragon to be an Avalarian councilor?" asked Sonya.

Zara glared before Spyro said, "We already have all the humans we need."

"You can't just throw me off the Council!" snapped Zara, "You need me! Who else is going to help you keep your rivals in line?"

"There is a point there," admitted Spyro, "But since the dragon remedy isn't available yet, there's only one way for you to keep your seat."

"And what's that?" snapped Zara .

"Enter the Shar-Khan Corps," said Spyro, "You'll become a dragon again, plus increasing your powers a bit. So there isn't really much of a downside."

"I will not...urgh...anything else?" said Zara, growling in defeat .

"We can't have any untrained Shar-Khan on the Council, so don't think you can just get the upgrade and go straight back to being Councilor. Report to your training sharp until you're given pass," said Spyro.

"And don't forget your uniform," said Sonya smugly.

Vanka smirked. "Now she can learn how to behave," he said smugly before saying, "I trust there are no more problems?"

"No," grumbled Zara.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" asked Vanka, holding a hand to his hear.

"No, sir," said Vanka more clearly. "What's taking Matt so long?" asked Kaitlin, looking at the door Matt went out.

Matt came back in, smirking after having overheard. "Oh, I couldn't be better," he said happily.

"Great. Well, MOM's gonna be here soon to pick us up..." started Kaitlin.

"Excuse me a moment," said Matt before walking back out. One horrified scream later, he came back in and said, "Ok, all out of my system now."

"I also have to go inform my command team of the change of staff," said Vanka calmly .

"I suppose I'm gonna have to tell the guys we're moving to a new ship, again," said Matt.

"Aria will be happy," said Sonya .

"Yes she will," said Matt, "She might be giddy enough to allow the experiments to throw a 'shipwarming' party." He frowned and said, "I have to stop them before it's too late."

Devina looked at the motley crew of Virk, many arguing over what station to command., She'd already had to break up four fights. "This had better be the place," she muttered before the scanner buzzed, several Atlantean ships warping in.

There was a moment of tension where the ships could have been from Avalar and here to arrest them and bring them back to be cured. "Well...this is a turn up," said Taleth's voice over the com at that as the lead ship got them in a tractor beam .

"Commander Taleth, it has been quite some time," said Devina.

"Indeed, you seem different, definitely an improvement. Now give me a good reason not to destroy you. I've lost several members of my crew recently."

"I can more than reimburse you for that," said Devina.

"I'm not interested in money. I'm interested in causing suffering to Lynch," snapped Taleth, several targeting warning slighting up .

"I wasn't referring to money," said Devina, "I have more than enough crew to fill in those empty spots in your rank. And our combined forces should be more than enough to overwhelm whatever defenses Lynch can set up to protect himself. And have you not heard the news that Lynch has lost his powers?"

"Oh?" said Taleth, suddenly all interest, the targeting alarms ceasing .

"He ran afoul of a bounty hunter who neutralized his master control nanite," said Devina, "He, his sister, and his mate are trapped in human form."

"Good...oh that's very good. I think I can find a place for you," Taleth said smugly .

Devina smiled and said, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership, Taleth."

In one of the deepest landmasses below the surface and yet not next to the mantle, Ghoulwyrm was gliding along in a calm manner. He paused suddenly as several ape skeletons, probably leftovers from the purge on them came into view, though they took one look at him, and backed off .

"That's more like it," said Ghoulwyrm as he floated onwards. Eventually, he came to what looked like an enormous pool of tar. "Ok, now does this work again? Ah, right," said Ghoulwyrm taking out an eyedropper and squeezing a few purple drops into the tar. Immediately, the surface started swirling into a vortex.

From out of the vortex rose an inky black shadow that coalesced into a vaguely serpentine form. Then bones emerged from it, giving it a lot more definition. Its final form still looked like a skeletal version of Ghoulwyrm that was containing black tar. "Ah, my alternate timeline counterpart, how goes the plan?" asked the skeletal Ghoulwyrm with a grin worn by only the mad or the fleshless.

"Fine, the seed is in place, you haven't explained why I'm risking my unlife to do this," said the original .

"Everyone thinks that Taleth is going to be the next great power in the multiverse," said the alternate Ghoulwyrm, "But you and I know that his time is actually coming to an end. There's a new darkness that's going to arise soon and you need to be on the right side when it proves every single Shar-Virk wrong. Speaking of which, where are all your friends?"

"They all left," said Ghoulwyrm sourly, "I only have the Grendalek and the Blaguana left. I can barely count Chang since she's almost ready to kick the bucket."

"Never count out a minion. They make great meat shields," said the alternate Ghoulwyrm

"I'll keep that in mind," said Ghoulwyrm, slightly uncomfortably.

"By the way, that temptation with that serum seemed a bit too close," said the alternate Ghoulwyrm, "What if the child used it on herself?"

"That's the beauty of it," said Ghoulwyrm, "That serum can only be used in a selfless act. Any guilt or self-interest the one who's doing the pouring is feeling would completely negate its effects. So Mina would have still retained her evil seed and Matt would also be dead as a bonus. I almost wish that's what happened instead."

"Well, unfortunately according to history, you'd have screwed up. I told you, HE HAS TO LIVE FOR NOW!" snapped the alternate Ghoulwyrm .

"You know our histories aren't the exact same, right?" pointed out Ghoulwyrm.

"But there are events unaffected by our actions. Events that require Lynch to be there," said the alternate Ghoulwyrm, "Speaking of which, do you know where you'll be going next?"

"Urgh...should I care?" snapped original Ghoulwyrm, losing patience .

"If I were you, I'd check on his sister," said alternate Ghoulwyrm, "Just to make sure she won't cause any trouble."

Ghoulwyrm looked thoughtful and said, "That would be a good place to build up more power."

"What? You already know where she was sent?" asked alternate Ghoulwyrm with surprise.

"And then, I found a planet these guys haven't even found yet that's really old and full of magic so all her tech broke. Then for fun, I removed her dragon powers, some little place called-" said Betrayl.

"Alright, alright, I've heard it a dozen times by now!" snapped Zyvar.

"No, this is only the tenth time, I've kept track," said Betrayl. Zyvar stared before screaming as his sanity came unglued...

"You don't want to know," said Ghoulwyrm distantly .

"Then I suggest you head over there and get well settled-in before those fools figure out that's now the real Chloe with them," said alternate Ghoulwyrm.

"Fine, fine, I'll go kill her," said Ghoulwyrm evilly .

"And how often does that work out for you?" asked alternate Ghoulwyrm.

"Then I'll wipe her mind," said Ghoulwyrm .

"I think that chaos beast beat you to it," said alternate Ghoulwyrm.

"I can always make sure," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Good luck with that. Just remember, Matt has to live till the new mis...master is born," snapped the alternate Ghoulwyrm .

"How long will that take?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"Depends on how much bad influence she gets," said alternate Ghoulwyrm.

"Urgh...it'll take ages then," muttered original Ghoulwyrm .

"Not necessarily," said alternate Ghoulwyrm, "That world you mentioned is probably ripe with sin and temptation. All you need to do is set the stage for her and she'll play her role."

"Ok, seems simple enough...it'll all go wrong, I just know it," said Ghoulwyrm gloomily .

Alternate Ghoulwyrm patted his counterpart on the shoulder, which caused purple energy to flare and made them both back off. "Oh, silly me, forgot my portal spell doesn't like me being touchy," said alternate Ghoulwyrm.

"I'd prefer not to implode," agreed original .

"Well, cheer up, you ought to get something good out of your journey," said alternate Ghoulwyrm, "But I need to be going now. You know how to contact me."

"Can't we do something a little simpler?" asked original Ghoulwyrm, "Like magic mirrors or something?"

"Mirrors? For vampires?" asked alternate Ghoulwyrm before suddenly saying, "Brilliant! No one else would think of that!"

"Anyways, I hope you're goint to be pulling your weight with this plan," said original Ghoulwyrm.

"Of course, of course, but not all plays are in plain sight," said alternate Ghoulwyrm, "That's what we're doing after all."

"So what is it you'll be doing?" asked original Ghoulwyrm.

"Oh, I'd like to keep it a surprise," said alternate Ghoulwyrm with an unnerving chuckle, "Trust me, no one is gonna see this coming." With that, he sank back into the tar pool portal which closed up behind him.

Once his counterpart was gone, Ghoulwyrm said, "And people say I'm creepy. Oh well, I've got lots of things to do set up shop on that world. And a couple of pet projects to work on." He held up the jar of remaining revenite ash and grinned toothily. "Yes, much to be worked on."

---

There's the final chapter of this story. I had wanted to post it up earlier, but holiday preparations kept me pretty busy and this didn't seem like the kind of thing to post on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Anyhow, Matt's got a new quest to go on and it's bound to be more trouble than he can anticipate. I'm not sure how much of the Center we'll be seeing in future stories, but it's not improbable it'll pop up. And while it may seem that Ghoulwyrm's forces have abandoned him, he's playing the long game. What will the end result be? That's still far in the future still.

This will be the last story of this saga and we'll be starting a new saga in the new year. I'll probably update a side story or two before the year ends. So keep an eye out for new stuff and have a Happy New Year. Please review.