Travis cleared his throat. Before him was a large assembly of all the villagers, squeezed into a massive makeshift cage in the hospital lobby. He smiled nervously to himself before taking up his walkie talkie.

"Alright, everyone, how are we all doing? Racer, you hear me too?"

The vampire crackled from the walke talkie, "I hear you."

The people booed, "JUST LET US OUT ALREADY."

"Yeah, no, that's not going to work, I'm afraid. I need to know you aren't going to run off and murder some vampires. See, this is kind of an awkward situation we've got here, since-"

"Oh no, the vampires have him under their spell! NOOO!"

"That is not what I was going to say."

The crowd muttered, agitated.

Travis rolled his eyes before proceeding, "Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a grievous misunderstanding. The coven of vampires near the village isn't our enemy; they've lived here for the past few decades in peace!"

The crowd roared in protest.

"But they attacked us! They're monsters!"

"They attacked us first because one of the vampires died, and it looked like we killed them. It was purely in self-defense!"

The crowd seethed, various voices shouting confusedly, "Jmchmuldfackyouashhole I don't care, vampires are monsters blah blah blahdofjwek."

Travis's face fell.

This is going to be more difficult than I expected.

Marty blew out a sigh.

"I can do this. I carry heavy stuff all the time! Heh, I got this. I can carry this," he muttered to himself, sweat pouring down his face, "HNNNNNNNNNNNGH!"

His face scrunched up and reddened as he heaved the massive cauldron through the door portal, careful not to breath in the fumes emanating from the congealed blackened mass inside it.

Scowling, Barty followed him through the doorway, entering the darkened hospital halls, "Did you hear me, Marty? Travis is the great evil. All evidence points to it. The darkness only came to the village when he entered, and his presence emanates some powerful-"

"Shut up, Mr. Barty! That (ouch) doesn't make any sense! If he is some kind of ancient evil, why didn't you figure it out when you were traveling with him? Why doesn't the flatuloculus pick it up, huh? Why would he-"

"I understand, Marty. You're in denial. But think back: how much do you really know about Travis? All you know is that he has powerful magic and he's billions of years old. Can you really just take everything he says at face value?"

They walked past Hemogoblin, still snoring in the corner with an empty bottle of "red rum" in his left hand.

"But…but…." Marty stuttered.

"And did he ever come clean to you about what happened with Bloodlurker? What happened that night when you left and something happened? From what you've told me, all that you know is that someone screamed and then Bloodlurker was gone. How do you know that anything Travis told you was the truth?"

Marty blinked the sweat from his eyes and continued stepping precariously down the hall, cauldron in arms.

"So we made a big mistake. The vampires aren't the evil that Barty found, something else is here, and it is that something else that killed the vampire Bloodlurker and started this conflict, are we all clear?" Travis exasperatedly yelled.

The crowd simmered down a little now, and Travis relaxed.

"But even if this is true, what will you do about Arachnovore?" the Crimson Racer's distorted voice crackled from the walkie talkie.

"I'm very glad you asked. As soon as Marty gets here, I'll show you."

An exhausted, lighter voice came in from behind the cage, "I'm here, Mr. Travis! I've got the cauldron!"

"What? I don't need the cauldron, just the thing in there."

"Oh…"

"That's okay, toss it here!"

"The cauldron?"

"No the thing in it."

"Okay."

Goodness, these people are burning me out.

Marty tossed Travis the large, solid black ball from the cauldron, and he caught it with two hands before bouncing it on the floor several times.

He grinned and said into the walkie talkie, "Now Racer, this is my peace offering. We have taken the vampire ashes from the brother we killed, and have used it to engineer this embryo. Once you heat it, it will split open, and rapidly mature into the Arachnovore you know and love!"

There was a pause.

"A clone? You offer us a clone of our brother in exchange for his life?"

Travis's smile faltered, "Is that not enough?"

"I don't want some creature wearing my brother's face! I want my brother back!"

The sound of banging metal bars rang from the walkie talkie and from down the hall.

"You have taken from us what cannot be returned! You have made an unforgivable slight against the Coven! You cannot and will not ever be forgiven! We will never stop chasing you, do you hear me? Never!"

The crowd heard this tirade, and quickly grew agitated once again. Not completely understanding what was happening, the people erupted in cries of "down with vampires!" and "death to the monsters!" The noise was deafening.

Travis's eyes closed, and he switched the radio off. He massaged his temples, and breathed deeply. Marty glanced up worriedly at him.

He was muttering under his breath, eyes still squeezed shut, "Stupid stupid stupid stupid…"

"Uh…Travis, are you okay?"

Travis turned, his eyes snapping back open.

"T-Travis, there's something you have to know about Barty-"

"Villagers! Ladies and gentlemen, lend me your ears!" a deep, richly reverberating voice rang out. Barty was speaking.

Travis rolled his eyes, muttering, "First he speaks for the first time in years, now he's quoting an ancient poet."

Marty's eyes widened, and he reached up to begin tugging on his pant leg, "Travis, we've got to go now!"

"While you have pursued this false enemy of vampires, while we were led to attack our own neighbors, a true enemy has been manipulating this village and its people. Upon further investigation, I have discovered the truth," Barty spoke calmly.

"Travis, just listen to me!"

"Okay, Marty, what do you want?"

"Barty says that you're the ancient evil in the village!"

"I have discovered that our very guest, Mr. Travis the Traveler, is the ancient evil in this village!"

The crowd hushed.

Travis looked up, his face stoic. Marty clapped his hands to his mouth.

The room was entirely silent now.

"As soon as he entered this village, I had detected his evil presence. I only had to be absolutely sure, and while he was away stirring up chaos with our own neighbors, I discovered the truth!"

Travis began slowly shaking his head. Marty glanced about nervously. Some of the villagers in the cage were beginning to rub their heads confusedly, but some were now glaring at the two of them.

"That's impossible," Travis whispered.

Marty broke into a smile and stuttered, "I know, yeah, but we need some way to prove it! The village has always trusted Barty's magic, there's no reason why they shouldn't now! How can we convince them-"

"You're right, Marty, I've got to go now."

He quickly wheeled about and dashed out the room.

"Wait wait wait, Mr. Travis! What are you talking about?"

Travis ignored him, and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a key and throwing it against the wall. It unfolded into a door portal, and the two of them leapt through.