Chapter Thirty-Six

"You know, I really don't think Rumpelstiltskin held up his end of the deal," Banzai said aloud to the rest of the villains surrounding him. "If Aralyne and Siren were dead, we would have been ruling the world by now."

"You don't say," said Rothbart, rolling his eyes.

"I think it's time I paid the Yin and Yang twins a little visit," said Eric. "Come with me, Chernabog. I'm going to need your help causing a bit of mischief."

The two villains left the Horned King's castle and the second they stepped outside, Chernabog grasped Eric around his chest and leapt up into the sky. His giant bat wings beat loudly as they flew over towards Nesidy.

They landed somewhere outside the town, making sure no one saw them arrive, and trekked the rest of the way. They hadn't even reached Nesidy yet when they came across a beautiful young woman strolling through the forest, a basket swinging from her hand.

Eric recognized her sunshine gold hair and violet eyes right away. "Aurora," he sneered. "She'll do perfectly."

She was singing, and birds were echoing her tune as she paused at a bush to collect blackberries.

"Have fun," Eric said, gesturing towards the woman.

Chernabog grinned evilly and pointed at Aurora.

A black and red light shot out of his finger and struck the young woman. She froze, her song turning into a scream. Rose vines circled around her arms, and waist, tearing her dress. One even wrapped around her head like a tiara. A rose drilled into her skull, and her eyes suddenly went from a deep violet to a pearly white. Chernabog then provided the possessed beauty with a sword.

"Go," Chernabog commanded.

Aurora turned right around and headed back towards Nesidy, the two villains following her. When she entered the town, she swung her weapon around, killing anyone that crossed her path. Eric, then veered away from Chernabog and Aurora, searching for Aralyne and Siren.

Shortly after returning to Nesidy, I moved back into the Benbow Inn with Alyss and Catherine. Apparently Tulio had made a deal with Siren that if she helped save me, she would be free from the jail. For a second, I really thought she had changed, but of course I was wrong. And now she was holding it over me that she was living with Tulio (only because no one in their right mind would take her in) and when she managed to catch me alone, she would tell me about so many things they did together. Hearing her made my blood boil, and if it wasn't for the fact I would inevitably kill myself, I would have murdered her!

"She is dead!" I hissed during lunch one day, stabbing my fork deep into my steak. I could hear the metal clang against the china. From where I sat, I could clearly see Siren and Tulio walking down the street. She had noticed me watching and sneered at me before slipping an arm around his waist. She pulled him down closer and kissed him right there in front of everyone. He didn't bother pulling away or stopping her! In fact, he seemed to enjoy it!

I stood up, ready to charge after the bitch, but Alyss and Catherine each grabbed one of my arms and yanked me back into my seat.

"Aralyne, stop!" Alyss said.

"There's nothing you can do about it," Catherine added.

"I'll figure something out," I growled, yanking out of their grasps. Before they could get to me, I ran out of the dining area.

"Aralyne, wait!"

Shortly after leaving the Benbow Inn, I ran directly into someone.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking up at the person, and suddenly froze. He sneered down at me.

"If it isn't my favourite saviour," he said.

"E-Eric," I stammered out, "What are you doing here?"

"I just came by to pay you a little visit."

At that moment, I heard screams coming from one end of Nesidy. I turned in that direction to see what was going on, but before I could go check it out, Eric grabbed me from behind. He pulled me out of sight from any prying eyes.

"Let me go!" I yelled, trying to break free of him. His grip tightened, making my limb go numb, and I hissed. He yanked me in the direction of an alley. I dug my heels into the dirt road, and was dragged anyway. With a final pull, I stumbled into the alley after him.

I was sick of always being kidnapped! With my free hand, I threw a punch at his head, but he expertly blocked it. He twisted my arm behind my back, and for a second I was afraid he was going to break it. Pushing the pain aside, I made a mental note of our position. He now stood behind me as his free arm snaked around my neck.

"I will make you suffer," he hissed into my ear. "I will make you beg for death."

"Not likely," I snarled. I jutted my elbow back into his groin before throwing my head back into his face. He cried out in pain, releasing me. I reached back for Excalibur to find… nothing.

Shit! I left it at the table with Alyss and Catherine!

My momentary distraction was all Eric needed to recapture me. He attacked me from the front, slamming me back into the wall. My head hit the brick with such force, I blacked out for a second. Eric's face was inches from mine, blood flowing from his broken nose. His hand wrapped around my throat and he squeezed. My head started throbbing from the lack of air and from hitting it on the wall. I couldn't think straight. My vision faded out.

Someone, help….

"She forgot Excalibur again," Alyss said, nodding towards the sword resting against the table. "Doesn't she ever learn?"

"Nope. Now let's go stop her before she kills herself," Catherine said. She grabbed Excalibur and they left the Benobw Inn. Aralyne was nowhere to be seen and they feared she had already caught up to her evil side.

The sisters ran down the street even faster, and skid to a halt when they rounded a corner. Tulio and Siren stood before them looking startled to be nearly hit.

"Where's Aralyne?" Alyss warily asked.

"Wasn't she with you?" Siren said in annoyance.

"She was, but she suddenly ran off," Catherine replied. "We thought she would be with you two."

"Well, she obviously isn't," Siren snapped.

A scream suddenly ran through the air, grabbing their attention. About three blocks from where they stood, they could see people running from something and screaming for their lives.

"What in the world?" Tulio muttered, frowning.

At that moment, Siren felt one of her arms go numb and hissed. Everyone turned to her in alarum. Her arm then hurt as if it were close to breaking. Through clenched teeth she said, "Aralyne is in trouble!" She glared at Alyss and Catherine. "Weren't you supposed to be watching her?!"

A sharp pain shot through the back of Siren's head, making her cry out, and then it felt like a hand had wrapped around her throat. Her airways were constricted and she couldn't breathe.

"Siren? Siren, what's going on?" Tulio demanded.

The villainess's vision blacked out for a second, and the pressure around her throat lessened. She inhaled deeply and swore. "We need to find Aralyne now!" she choked out.

"But what about whatever's going on over there?" Alyss asked, gesturing towards the screaming crowd.

Siren waved her hand as if it weren't important. "That can wait. My very existence is at stake here!"

Danny Phantom appeared, flying above them. "Heads up! It's another zombie attack," he said, hovering several feet in the air.

That seemed to grab Siren's attention. "What?! What do you mean another zombie attack?!"

"Somehow Aurora turned into a zombie," Danny explained, shooting a wary eye over at the commotion. "She already killed Flynn Rider, Jack Sparrow, and Jim Hawkins."

Alyss and Catherine gasped. Tulio became grim. Flynn Rider had been his best friend after all.

"But that's not possible!" Siren said in confusion, shaking her head. "There can't be any zombies! I'm the only one –" She suddenly stopped midsentence, her scarlet eyes widening. "Chernabog. That bloody demon!"

"We've wasted enough time standing here!" Tulio snapped. He snatched Excalibur from Catherine. "We need to stop Aurora before things get worse!"

"I'll make this a short fight," Siren snarled. She walked over to the commotion, gliding smoothly through the crowd of panicked characters. The others followed, a bit fearful as to what may happen.

They arrived to find zombie Aurora wielding a sword and was fighting five of Phoebus's soldiers at a time. Her skin was a deathly pale, her black and grey dress was torn, rose vines encircled her body, her eyes were a pure white, and her golden curls were now pale and fell limply down her back.

A black light shot out of the palm of Siren's hand and struck Aurora. The zombie suddenly burst into flames and quickly turned to ashes.

Everyone stared at the villainess in surprise. Did she really just help them?

"Now that that's over, we need to find Aralyne and Chernabog. That demon has the power to raise the dead and turn anything into zombies just like I can. We need to destroy him before he does something else!" Siren said, turning to her companions.

"How?" Catherine asked.

"With a holy bell," Siren explained. "It's the only thing that can defeat him and trap him in hell where he belongs."

"The holy bell!" Alyss exclaimed. "I read about that a couple weeks ago! It's said that the fairies are the keepers of the bell!"

"You two get the bell," Siren told Alyss and Catherine. "The guys and I will find Aralyne."

Everyone nodded their agreement. The sisters transformed into bluebirds and flew off out of Nesidy.

Siren and the males raced through the town, beginning their search for Aralyne.

It was the freezing air that woke me up. My cheek was pressed against something ice cold and it was oddly quiet. A bit unnaturally so. The back of my head and the area around my throat were throbbing. It even hurt to swallow. The last thing I remembered was fighting Eric in the alley.

Eric!

I suddenly sat up, my eyes snapping open. Everything in my vision was pitch black. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Five seconds…. Ten seconds…. Twenty seconds…. Nothing changed. I couldn't see! I couldn't see! Had I gone blind? Was I going to spend the rest of my days like Garret?

I began to hyperventilate, having a panic attack.

Why can't I see?! What's going on?!

There was the sound of air being released, and the next thing I knew, a bright light shone in the shape of a rectangle. I shielded my eyes until they grew accustomed to the sudden light. The floor beneath me was some sort of metal, as were the walls and ceiling. That still didn't explain where I was. On the bright side (no pun intended), I now knew I wasn't blind.

A figure stood in the centre of the light.

"Sleep well?"

"E-Eric?" I squinted at him. "Where am I?"

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I just came to make sure you weren't dead… yet. Because, what fun would that be?"

I climbed to my feet and glared at him. My knees shook, but I managed to remain steady.

"I'll get out of here, Eric. Make no mistake."

"Not while you're alive," he sneered. "No one will be able to find you. This room is completely soundproof, so you can scream all you want. No one will hear you. And no one knows you're here but me. I'm going to make your suffer, Aralyne. I'm going to make you wish you were dead. You'll be alone in here with your thoughts; a dark place, I'm sure, especially with Siren being a part of you."

"Shut up!" I snarled.

"Tell me, Aralyne, how does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?"

"I said SHUT UP!" I screamed, charging towards him.

Eric laughed and took a step back, quickly shutting the door to the room. Everything went dark, and I slammed into the cold metal. My hands furiously searched for a handle, but I found nothing but a cold flat surface. I couldn't even feel the crack around the door.

"ERIC!"

The darkness seemed to swallow up my voice. I slapped the metal until my hand hurt and screamed until my voice gave out.

I rested my forehead against the cold metal. My breath came out in loud in the silent room.

How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?

He didn't choose her over me. He chose me! Didn't he?

"Let her go!" Tulio said now becoming desperate, "I'll do anything!"

"What I want," Siren said pointing to Tulio, "is you." What?!"You agree to willingly work for me, and I swear to let your little girlfriend go, otherwise she dies and becomes one of my undead slaves, just like that little brat's parents."

"Tulio, don't!" I screamed at him.

He locked gazes with me for a moment. I saw something die in his eyes before being replaced with determination. Returning his attention to Siren, he glared at her and said, "Fine. Just let her go."

"No!" I shrieked.

"Excellent," Siren said with a laugh, snapping her fingers. Tulio suddenly vanished.

Tears were now streaming from my eyes and I felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest. He was gone!

How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?

The loneliness began creeping in to my very being. I hugged myself but received no comfort.

How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?

He did choose her over me. That's why I was here in some hellhole instead of out there with him.

How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?

Still leaning against the wall, I slid down to my knees. My throat was tight and my eyes stung with unshed tears.

How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?

I squeezed my eyes shut and felt the tears stream down my face.

How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses her over you?

I allowed myself to be swallowed by the darkness….