Yeah, sorry if this came a little later than usual. Things have been hectic at work, but I'm adjusting. This chapter could've been done better in my opinion, but I was starting to think it was going on too long. I think it's good enough for posting, though.
Hopefully you all enjoy it!
Ygor wasn't considered the smartest monster in the world, but that didn't mean he was dumb. At very least, he could be practical sometimes.
Ygor was hired by Stoker because while he struggled with certain academic subjects, he was a problem solver that could make complicated things become extremely simple with an accidental flourish. The basement is flooding and about to ruin plenty of documents? Have your plan to literally gum it up work spectacularly. Need to hide some evidence of embezzlement and other things? Cause a building fire where the crime happened. Need to hide the evidence of the fire? Cause a flood in the basement.
Admittedly, it caused just as many problems as it solved, but since no one suspected anything. Besides, as said before, Ygor wasn't smart.
His solution to the current problem was actually his most intelligent decision ever, despite the fact it might cost him later with Stoker. Since the kids were planning to get all of the keys, he figured that he'd wait for them to be stopped at one of the sights. If they found one of the keys at one of the suspected locations, then they'd get a signal telling them to immediately look for the other two. Even if they only found one, that still meant the kids couldn't get all three!
It actually kind of impressed Stoker. A rare feat.
"You've done a very good job today, Ygor. I'm not sure how you thought of it, but maybe try and keep that line of thinking." Ygor felt pride sweep through his being at that. It was rare that his boss was appreciative of his work, it almost felt wrong. "Send me any news as soon as something lights up. Those kids don't know what they're messing with."
"I'll be right on it, sir!" Ygor saluted, even if this was just a phone call. "They won't know what him."
Ygor didn't exactly know what he was going to hit them with, but he was going to put all of his effort into it. Or die trying.
The short monster happily turned back to the array of cameras that were hacked into the suspected locations. If the kids' faces were seen through any location on the camera's, or if the feed cut out or was altered in any way, a light would go on for each one. One of their recently turned vampires had helped set it up, which had been a blessing.
And you see, that's what happens when things go too right. The universe will decide to immediately counterbalance it.
As Ygor kept his eyes on the screens, he noticed movement at one of the locations, then the camera switching back to normal. The red light turned on almost immediately.
"Oh, they appeared at that museum. Perfect!" Ygor started getting up, thinking about how to deal with this. "Maybe I should try get the fear gas. That should make sure that-"
Ygor blinked as something moved on the camera that focused on the ship. A second red light lit up fairly quickly, especially as others seemed to follow the moving shadow.
"T-Two? They're going for two of them at once?!" Ygor wasn't sure why they'd do that. Wasn't splitting up usually the bad option? Especially in cases like this? "T-They're ambitious, but that still leaves one of them-"
Ygor pales as the final light is flashing already, the last group basically walking into the theatre with an almost outpouring of confidence.
"All three?!"
As Ygor immediately began to stumble around to get something, he wonders how one of his genius plans went so terribly awry. Not only was he prepared to figure if the keys were actually at the locations, but also getting them quickly if that turned out to be true. Stoker was even proud of him for it, which should've meant that everything would go right.
As the small, hunchbacked monster ran around, grabbing some equipment and anything that would be useful to him, he failed to realize one thing; none of his plans were genius, but all a byproduct of luck. It was a sad thing, honestly, that someone like him had to work for Stoker.
But, ironically, as he flashed in a familiar light to a place he doesn't even know he's going to, he'd accidentally cause something to happen anyway. So maybe, just maybe, he wasn't an idiot after all.
Double D normally wouldn't use an invention for something so delicate so soon. He usually had a lot of protocols in place to make sure the testing and eventual later phases of an invention would see the light of day.
As of now, he was using it for the first time in the dark of night, hoping that it wouldn't explode on him.
"You know, Ed mentioned that you based your octo-arms off a comic book from the human world." Clawdeen raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the decently sized machine in front of them. "Which one of those is this from?"
"Same one, honestly. And somehow still not the main hero's inventions either, which probably says a lot about what I focus on." Double D frowned. The villain's equipment really shouldn't be so cool or extremely well designed. "This one was supposed to be for fun too, but guess it'll have to work as a heist weapon for now."
Double D had gone for another Spiderman villain, deciding to focus on flight of all things. He would've gone for the Vulture's wings but considering that would require upper body strength he didn't currently have.
That's why he went for something akin to the Green Goblin's glider.
The design was pretty simple and did take some of the aesthetics away from the glider itself. It was made mostly of sleek metal wings that could fold and unfold, two large fans within the wings that would let him hover, and rocket in the back for when he needed to go extremely fast. It was honestly a great addition to their arsenal.
And now he was going to use it to carry one of his friends to infiltrate a museum.
His life was weird.
"So, we're just doing a buddy system on this? Seems pretty simple for something like this." Cerise hopped on her feet, building some kinetic energy into her own gear. "Then again, I guess that's the best course of action. I'll be picking up Maddie and you got Clawdeen?"
"Sounds like a wonderlandiful idea!" Maddie twirled her staff, laughing a little. She gives Cerise a hug, causing the hooded girl to almost stiffen. "Make sure to carry me tight in your arms. It'll make the experience that much cooler."
"You can carry me, right?" Clawdeen looked at Double D's thin arms, wondering how he'd actually pick her up. "I agreed that princess carry is okay as long as you don't try anything, but I'm starting to doubt you'll get me off the ground."
"Can we please make fun of lack of physical ability later? We have a heist to get to, and your sister is going to distract the guards soon." Double D, surprising everyone (including himself), simply scooped her up and got onto the glider. "And I'm not sure how observant the security is either. Looping a camera feed isn't going to work for long."
Hitting the gas on the glider, he slowly rose them both up, being careful about the weight distribution. While it could hold up to two people, that didn't mean it was balance for it. Despite this, he was able to quickly get them onto the top of the building. It took two leaps for Cerise for it to be done.
They could hear a cacophony of noise coming from the front, signaling that Clawdia had taken up the distraction. They weren't sure what it was, but it was loud enough to hear from the top, so they were sure it would keep things busy as they slipped in through the window.
The museum was a faithful recreation of the Globe Theatre, though instead of having rows of seats and the like, there was a host of displays everywhere depicting everything from Greek chorus masks to trophies from modern award shoes. It was actually quite extensive.
"I'd say that we need to check for some kind of advanced security system, but I think we're safe as long as we don't touch any of the displays." Clawdeen narrowed her eyes, ears twitching she looked over everything. "We got the sensors set up looking for vampiric magic, which should be on the key. Maddie and I will go low, Cerise can check out displays near walls, and Double D can get anything from the ceiling."
Everyone nodded, already moving around to find the key. Their search started to produce barely any results at first, the occasional beep coming from a sensor only leading to a display involving a vampire actor.
They all started to get nervous when after the first ten minutes of searching. They didn't want to get caught in here, especially if that distraction fell through or the camera feed stopped looping.
Some success was finally found when some beeping came from Maddie's phone. Loudly.
"Guys, I found something! This thing is going nuts!" Maddie quickly moved towards the display that was making it go off. She was excited, looking up at it with a wide smile on her face. "Alright, which one of these babies are- oh."
The massive switch in tone was warranted as everyone gathered to look at the display, blanching slightly.
Standing in a single, but elegant display, was a skull surrounded by jewelry of high quality. The inscriptions obviously pointed to something Monstrous in design, while somehow looking royal at the time. It stood a few feet away from the display, the glass shut by a large lock.
"Okay, this doesn't look good, but maybe it's nothing too bad." Cerise read the display's plaque quickly, her optimism dying as quickly as it came. "Never mind. That's Shakespeare's skull after he died the second time. Surrounded by jewels he got from the last vampire queen. That thing definitely has some security to it."
"Just alarms, most likely. Though that does mean if we touch it, we instantly need to bug out at the earliest opportunity when we do get to it." Double D looked over the lock, squinting before sighing in relief. "I think one blast from Maddie's staff should do the trick for the lock. It doesn't appear to be enchanted."
"We only have one shot at this if we do it. I know magic dissipates naturally, but the scanner could be picking up the jewelry instead of the key." Clawdeen raised a good point, and one they needed to consider. "We did just check a good chunk of the museum- heck, we saw most of it- but that doesn't mean we should shoot our shot just yet."
They all looked at the display with some level of trepidation, wondering how they'd let this go down. It was all true, what they said. It would be a grade a disaster if all of this work were nullified because they jumped the gun too quickly.
Then Maddie decided to say nuts to that anxiety.
"I think we should go for it. We can keep looking all we want, but this seems way too thematic for it to be a coincidence." Maddie pointed at the plaque again with her staff, waving at it briefly. "I mean, the jewels are from the last vampire queen. Of course Elissabat would put them there."
"And if we're wrong?" Cerise raised an eyebrow at the logic. Again, sound, but the chances were really, really hard to fight against.
"Let me just say one thing," Maddie looked up briefly, causing them to follow. She looked focused, like she was looking through it, but there was nothing there whatsoever. "That death of the author isn't just a saying in the writing community."
…She made her point, even if virtually none of them would ever understand. It was even unneeded since, if there was an author, he would make sure anything that happened would be satisfactory.
"Glad we got that cleared up. Now, I think I know the best way to do this," Maddie pointed at the inner doors. "I don't know if these shutter up or anything, but maybe Clawdeen could put some of the unused furniture under them with her arm upgrades."
"I could probably put some stuff in front of the outer doors too. That way nobody could get inside while we're running off." Clawdeen shrugged, a little more confident in the plan. "That doesn't cover the escape plan. We can't take our time getting out, so the top window might not be the greatest idea."
"Not so. We can just make sure that whatever Maddie's staff turns the lock into doesn't make it drop to the floor." Double D moved a bit on his hoverboard. "Cerise takes Maddie out before I make a grab at it, then I'll grab you out of here as soon as we have the key."
That… didn't sound like a bad plan. The problem now was executing it.
All of them immediately got to work, Clawdeen moving towards anything that wasn't a display and using her gadget to its fullest. She grabbed the sturdier furniture and made sure it went under the inner doors easily.
Meanwhile, Maddie and Double D were doing their own part. As Double D hovered over the floor, they were thankfully correct in assuming it was mostly floor sensors that they needed to worry about. When he got close enough, Maddie aimed and fired a shot.
The lock turned quickly into a frog, the room freezing at it floated there for a second. It fell with a croak, but Double D was able to catch it before it could hit the floor.
"Okay, I'm just going to take you out of here now," Cerise grabbed Maddie in a princess carry, along with catching the frog their friend threw their way. "Congratulations on making new life, Maddie. What are you gonna call it?"
"Jacque. You know, Lock, Jacque, and Barrel?" Maddie gave the frog a gentle hug as Cerise carried them both out. "I always liked that movie. And doesn't he look like a Jacque?"
"…Stop being adorable. You're going to give me heart palpitations."
The two's exit was met with some fanfare as the hooded girl jumped, taking them out of museum in a few leaps. Double D and Clawdeen watched them go before taking in a deep breath.
"You ready for this?" Clawdeen figured they were doing this. No turning back now.
"No." Double D reached for the display, hands hovering over the glass. "But we don't have a choice."
Clawdeen nodded before she started to run out of the room. Best to give them both a head start.
Double D grabbed the glass, taking it off swiftly. He could already feel the air change, as if something were about to go off. He did his best to handle William Shakespeare's skull (an ironic and horrifying statement) with care but pulling it up quickly.
To his immense relief, he saw a shiny, black key standing there in the pile of jewels.
He grabbed it without a second thought, turning and letting the rockets of his hoverboard go off. He could see the shutters struggle as they tried to push down on the furniture, cracking them bit by bit.
Double D sped past, already moving up in an incline. Clawdeen moved from one piece of furniture to another, climbing up fast. She leaped up when their paths crossed, and Double D caught her before they crashed through the window.
When the guards would come in nearly a minute later, they'd find that they're most valuable piece was slightly disturbed, but still present.
And absolutely no sign of the intruders.
Ed, Ghoulia, Clawd, Hoodude, and Honey had made sure to get out of the closet as soon as they were able to. Deciding on a course of action was taking longer.
"We can't just start a fight randomly while we're on the boat. Not only would we get caught, but we don't know what those guys actually have." Hoodude rocked back and forth, wondering how he got here. This was just supposed to be an internship. "Not to mention we're all trapped here. They aren't alone, and they probably have people waiting on shore too."
"We get it, dude, but you're being a bit of a downer. Talking about how we're screwed doesn't fix the problem." Clawd didn't necessarily have any ideas either, but that didn't mean he wasn't ready to listen to some of them. "I'm sure we'll do just fine. Have you guys got anything that we can use?"
"Quite honestly, no. Admittedly, I can scope out the area thanks to the spy cams Ed gave me, but that doesn't clear up the location of the key." Ghoulia looked to Honey, a few thoughts crossing her mind as some things clicked into place. "Since you're the most familiar with this place, you most likely know the best places to hide things. Not to mention what kind of performance is going on tonight."
"Musical performance tonight, from what I've heard. A lot of indie bands for the most part, but they'll play loud enough." Honey waved at the ship vaguely, as if she hadn't thought about it too much. "And I do know enough about the structure but hiding a key ain't hard. Meaning it could still be anywhere."
"Then we just have to make a distraction, right? Stoker probably knows some of us are running around here anyway, so we can just draw all of the guys on this boat to one of us." Ed already felt a plan cooking up in the back of his mind, even if he figured no one would go for it. "And I figure it isn't anywhere too hidden. The key's probably hiding in plain sight."
"That is a good point. But who's going to do the whole distraction thing?" Clawd looked to Hoodude, raising an eyebrow. "You got some kind of musical chops you haven't been showing yet? Or do you know how to play any kind of instrument?"
"Not really. Anytime I even look at one, they usually break immediately." Hoodude scratched the back of his head, doing his best to think of something. "Then again, I guess you don't need to play it right to be distracting."
"Well, it wouldn't be a good distraction if we got escorted off stage within ten seconds. Besides, I don't think any of us want to be banned just yet." Honey Swamp looked at the zombie of their group, surprised to see a frustrated look on her face. "Something wrong, hon?"
"Ed disappeared and I think know where he's going."
The group stopped, looking around to find that their tall friend had literally just vanished. They weren't exactly sure when that happened, but he was surprisingly quiet for someone that seemed like the least subtle of his friends.
They heard the sound of a mic whining, the lull between music performances disrupted. They collectively moved upstairs onto the main floor. Ed was already on stage, wearing a feather boa on top of his outfit. The crowd was just as confused as they were, especially since there wasn't any theme being used to relay that they were copying the eighties.
"Sorry to interrupt you folks, but every parties got to have an extra performance or two! This one will just be a little different from the others." Ed leaned forward into the mic, noting that some vampires seemed to already be alarmed by his presence. He figured more would be on the way soon enough. "Now bear with me, this is going to be an interesting. No one is actually going to get hurt. Just remember that."
That was a lie. Ed was probably going to hurt some poor government agents, but they were working for Stoker. And it didn't seem like they were going to play fair anyway.
Ed started up the music before any protest could be heard.
[Readers: Play "You Spin Me Round" By Ninja Sex Party]
Hoodude blinked as the music came on, seeing one of the agents heading over to the stage. "That song is so old, I can hear my dad singing it."
"Well, the important part is that'll catch everyone's attention." Ghoulia wasted no time setting her drones out everywhere, sensors on and weapons primed. She shot the vampire agent that stayed behind with a paralyzing dart before grabbing his sensor. "There are pictures on the wall. What are they, Honey?"
"Pictures of every performer that's been on this ship. Hiding in plain sight, huh?" Honey moved close to a wall. Guess they knew where to begin. "One of those agents was nearby, so we might just be on the right track then."
It became pretty clear where they had to go next. And thankfully, Ed provided a good distraction for them so nobody would stop them from looking.
This is when Ed smiled widely and began the showiest display they've ever seen.
"If I,
"I could get to know your name.
"Well if I,
"Could trace your private number, baby."
Ed immediately started into a goofy dance, avoiding a pointed attempt by another vampire guard trying to throw something at him. The audience was extremely confused, but somehow considered it a good start.
"All I know is that to me,
"You look like you're lots of fun.
"Open up your lovin' arms,
"I want some, want some."
The other immediately got to searching, with Ghoulia being the only one to stay behind. She immediately sent her drones out, making sure to capture every angle of the room to find any more agents running about. Whenever one came in sight, she sent a paralyzing dart towards them.
"I set my sights on you,
"(And no one else will do).
"And I,
"I've got to have my way now, baby."
Despite Ghoulia's work, one of the vampires had gotten close enough to Ed, jumping on stage to grab him. Ed immediately countered it by grabbing his face, pulling it close to look him in the eyes. Ghoulia paused, unsure what was going on before Ed let the vampire go, the agent jumping onto another one afterward.
"All I know is that to me,
"You look like you're having fun.
"Open up your lovin' arms,
"Watch out here I come."
She didn't have enough time to question it. Ed grabbed another, holding them close with some tentacles as he twirled around the stage.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
He grabbed another, twirling around even faster before. The crowd was into it, even if they started to feel pretty sorry for whoever he had trapped in his clutches.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Ed flung them away suddenly, posing as the two hit their fellow members. Ghoulia was actually concerned at how many of them there was. Turns out a lot of people were loyal to the guy willing to make things easier for them.
Ed started the goofy song back up, eyes turning into… spirals?
"I,
"I got to be your friend now, baby.
"And I,
"Would like to move in just a little bit closer."
The others were keeping busy as well, looking behind the pictures. Hoodude had to avoid the wandering gaze of some the agents not wanting to start anything. He did make sure to stop, steal one of their pens, and knock a glass into his own head. It knocked out the agent instantly.
"All I know is that to me,
"You look like you're lots of fun.
"Open up your lovin' arms,
"Watch out, here I come."
Clawd moved from picture to picture, desperately moving from one to another. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder before it was roughly pulled away. He looked to see two agents fighting each other, one of them with spirals in his eyes. He didn't bother questioning it, starting the search again.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Honey was doing her best to find the key too, but sometimes it was just fun to watch Ed launch or juggle some people while somehow putting on an entire show. She was surprised security hadn't come around yet. Guess they figured out it was a part of their lineup.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Ghoulia was still paralyzing or shocking all the agents, but still kept an eye on Ed as he stopped, grabbing another two agents. She could see the spirals again, prompting her to realize what he was doing. It became pretty obvious what it was after he released them to fight back into the crowd.
He was hypnotizing them. She didn't know he could do that.
"I want your love,
"I want your love."
Ed suddenly shifted, a ripple going over him as he turned into his monster form. Everyone was surprised, but the swirl of his eyes quieted. Anyone that wasn't dancing before to the music was certainly doing it now. This caused anyone going against them to immediately caught in the chaos.
Ed shifted back to his human form quickly, watching everything fall into place. All he had to do now was hope that they got the key quickly.
"I want your love,
"I want your love!"
Luckily, it turned out Ed was right on the money. Hoodude found the key after searching under the picture of a vampire actress (at least he was certain it was) and found that there was a loose brick behind it. He took it as a sign, waving Clawd and Honey over to help him move it.
"All I know is that to me,
"You look like you're lots of fun.
"Open up your lovin' arms,
"Watch out, here I come."
Clawd pulled out the brick, nearly ripping it free from the wall. They could see something in the back, which Honey quickly grabbed. They opened up to find the key in their grasp.
Before they could register it fully, they heard a whistle. A quick look saw that one of the agents saw them, trying to get the others attention.
Ed saw this. He wasn't having any of it.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
He snaked his tentacles around some bags of confetti hidden in the wings, throwing them immediately. The crowd loved it immediately, though this was just a literal smokescreen to as they burst in the air, hiding his friends escape. The chaos and confetti made things much easier.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Ghoulia packed up her drones after this, getting scooped up immediately by Clawd. She pocketed the key as it was handed to her by Honey Swamp, and immediately hand Hoodude some stuff she stole from passing agents. Turns out, a zombie playing on an electronic device made them invisible to some people.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Hoodude, thankfully, understood, grabbing another glass off of a table. He hit it over his head again, tripping himself up to make add some extra damage. Plenty of them fell down in pain immediately
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Ed looked around the room, victory assured as everything fell into place. An idiot he may be, but he was a smart one that knew what he was doing. As he sang the last lyrics, he actually couldn't help but feel victorious.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round.
"You spin me right round, baby,
"Right round like a record, baby,
"Right round round round."
Ed smiled as they all gathered up to the stage. He was pretty glad that this place was an open-air thing.
"Thank you for your cooperation folks! Now, before security throws me out for hijacking your show tonight," Ed grabbed all of his friends, moving onto the railing. He could already hear gasps from the audience as he leaned back. "We're going to be off! See you on FrightTube!"
Some security members saw this happening, trying to catch up before they all tipped over the side. When they finally made it to the railing, they could only see a large dark shape in the water swimming off with a few people in its grasp.
They wouldn't have an explanation for their boss later that would ever make sense until later.
Eddy had received some pictures while they were underground, and they made him nervous. That would've been surprising considering they were mostly positive.
Double D and Ed's groups had gotten the keys with barely a fight. This was proven by several pictures, along with a weird video of Ed singing the most eighties sing imaginable. He was happy about it, and so were the others when they saw it.
That didn't mean that something was really setting off his paranoia, though.
"Eddy, you look like you're ready to drop the tunnel on us, and I'm really hoping you don't." Raven gave the skittish boy a once over. "Things are going pretty good right about now, so maybe we can just relax a little."
"Ray, you of all people should know that saying that will cause something to immediately go sideways." Eddy gave the girl a glare. He could honestly back up his statement by experience. "Considering we're in a tunnel going to an underground version of a theatre, you can understand why I'm anxious."
All of that was perfectly true. As if to make the Monster El Capitan theatre exclusive, the entryway was part of a series of tunnels that led to other places within Hauntlywood. It was a freaking maze, and while he knew it was magically supported, he didn't like it.
"He does have a point there. This is all going spectacularly well, and that should be a sign that things are about to fall on top of us." Cleo looked up at the ceiling briefly. She could already feel her claustrophobia picking up, along with her fear of the dark. "Hopefully not literally, but Eddy does have Transmutation under his belt at least."
"You're all just being negative. And even if you were right, this is all part of the hero's journey, right?" Apple didn't need to explain literary devices for them. It did little to assuage any fears anyway. "We need to face some conflicts, overcome them, and then get our reward! Even if that reward is just stopping a potential dictator."
"True, but I think we really need to focus. Stoker probably does know something is up by now and I wouldn't put it past him to try something dastardly." Draculaura as been alive for a very long time and saw many different leaders rise and fall. Stoker was certainly a type she'd recognize. "Whether or not he spared the expense for good help is another story."
Three out of five thought it was going to be a trap, and even one of the oppositions had a hard time saying there wouldn't be retribution. Eddy, ironically, felt himself relax at that. At least if something did happen, they'd be prepared.
That didn't mean the flash of a teleportation light, which they knew wasn't one of their people coming in, was welcome.
Eddy raised a hand, Transmutation on his fingertips as he trapped a figure that showed up. He blinked as he noticed the hunched form of a man wrapped up to his legs in rocks.
"Ygor? He sent you?" Draculaura seemed incredulous, caution now confusion as she stared at the man. "Did Stoker not have anyone else on staff right now?"
"…Ok, that was actually kind of rude, Draculaura." Cleo was genuinely surprised, almost laughing out of shock. That was almost uncalled for. "Don't get me wrong, having a backbone is nice, but wow."
"I don't think we need to worry. You did say that he was working for Stoker, right?" Raven received a nod from the vampire, causing her to shrug with a level of apathy. "Then maybe he is kinda stupid. Maybe dial it back though."
Eddy could not be reached for comment as he couldn't breathe from laughing so hard.
"Hey! I'm not dumb! I'm actually very smart!" Ygor did his best to defend himself, trying to wriggle out of the trap Eddy had put him in. "I knew where all of you were going to strike and made sure to get ready to swipe on of the keys while you were busy at one location!"
"I'm assuming you didn't realize there was a lot of us already and that we're kind of over achievers too." Apple winced as Ygor deflated and Eddy laughed even harder. She didn't mean to add salt on the wound there. "Well, it probably wasn't a bad plan. It just wasn't suited for us, however."
"I-I can still make this work! Don't you dare underestimate me, not before I can actually do anything." Ygor shuffled enough to get an arm loose, though they didn't see it due to his positioning. He desperate tried to grab something on his belt blindly. "I'll never disappoint Lord Stoker as long as I may live."
"I'm pretty sure Stoker does not care enough about you to appreciate that loyalty." Eddy walked over casually, flicking the man in the nose. Ironically, he was getting as cocky as he warned everyone not to be. "You're just a henchman. Don't sell yourself up just because you think Stoker will like you more."
It would be said later by everyone that this moment was where things went horribly wrong for a brief moment. And all because of one action by a dumb, yet clever Ygor.
The hunchback, finally grasping something from his belt. He didn't quite know what it was, but he made sure to lift it up and slam it onto the ground, much to Eddy's surprise. An orb exploded, erupting into yellow gas, prompting Eddy to accidentally blast Ygor out of his prison.
The monster had flown back, hitting the ground hard. He coughed as the gas entered his system, along with everybody else's. He did have some time to find out what he threw, looking at the shattered remains of a poorly drawn label.
Ygor had used the fear gas in his haste.
As soon as he realized this was when the fires officially started.
The saying "The third times the charm," applies to villains too. Though, it's not going to go well for them in this case anyway.
Hopefully you all like what I've done here. I based Double D's new invention exactly off of what I said it was from, while I based Ed's off an old episode from the cartoon. Eddy's will be revealed in the next chapter, which will focus mostly on him and his group. This is mostly to compensate for the long stuff for the other groups.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed! I'll see you all next chapter!