Lightning illuminated the night to reveal the horror's face. Pale albino white, as if he had seen a ghost. And eyes the color of the blood he feasted on. Claws as sharp as a werewolf's. Black and red armor to symbolize his past life as a warlord and conqueror.
It was then that the Prince, no, KING of darkness saw the intruder with his own eyes. Holding the glass of blood in his hand, he only chuckled and burst out into a laugh.
"What is this? The messenger sends a mere puppet to speak with me?" Dracula laughed. "I have known cowardice from my enemies, but never of a level such as this…"
"Puppet? PUPPET?!"
Slappy was REALLY mad now! He launched a green fireball Dracula's way, but when the dust settled after the dark magic hit him, the vampire wasn't even HURT AT ALL! As if the fireball had no effect on him!
"I am the master here!" Slappy said. "I am the one pulling my strings! And I am the one who makes all men and monsters, even YOU, my slaves who do my BIDDING!"
Unamused, Dracula took one last sip from his glass, then glared at Slappy.
"What…is a man?" He growled, his claws scratching his dark throne. "A miserable…little…pile…of…SECRETS!"
That roar boomed through the castle as he threw his emptied glass at the dummy. He caught it with his magic and tossed it against the wall, shattering it.
"Secrets…" Dracula continued. "That is what we have ALL become. Lost. Forgotten. Not just me. But you. The youths, yes, they know. But the men? The women? They have no belief in the nightmare. That will change. When I change the world. You REALLY think that a small wooden man can be a KING? I look at you and laugh. As will the rest of the world who thinks you are a joke. After all, you are, in fact…what do they call you? Ah, of course. A dummy."
Again and again and AGAIN! Slappy snapped, having had ENOUGH!
"I tolerated being called that insult for FAR too long!" He screamed. "And from YOU, of all people! I guess it's true what they say. NEVER meet your villains! So I will be the greatest one of all! Because I am no ordinary ventriloquist dummy! I am SLAPPY, the walking, stalking, talking, living dummy! And I will become the new King of Horror in this world, once I enslave it ALL! Including YOU!"
"King?" Dracula chuckled. "They called me the Prince of Darkness. But looking upon myself, what I was capable of, I thought, why be a prince when I can be King? And then, my very next thought was this: Why be a king when I can be a God?"
"Even GODS can fall, Mr. God of Monsters." Slappy said. "I won't even NEED my magic to bring you to your knees! I'll beat you senseless and FORCE you to worship and obey only ME, you stupid SLAVE!"
At this, Dracula only stood up. And shadows emerged from him as his dark magic emerged in the form of a red blazing hellfire.
"You have read about me. Yet still, you fail to notice the message." Dracula growled. "The God Of Monsters….IS NO ONE'S SLAVE!"
He charged with supernatural speed with a demonic scream, with Slappy meeting him with evil laughter. He crushed the vampire lord's fingers, making the dark king knock Slappy back with a knee to the chin. The dummy retaliated with a green magic blast, but Dracula teleported behind him to lash out with a claw!
The claw swipe managed to scratch Slappy, and when the dummy fell to the ground, Dracula fired more blasts of dark magical energy, with Slappy blocking them with his green forcefield.
That was when a swarm of shadow bats swarmed the dummy, biting at him as they flew by. Angered, he zapped out lightning to electrocute the bats, only to have them get vaporized into shadowy mists.
Dracula grabbed Slappy and bit him on the neck. Slappy bit back and refused to let go, forcing Dracula to rip him off and regenerate the torn flesh with a hiss of pain.
"Your tricks mean nothing, Dracu-lame!"
"Tch! Impudent soul! Only I am fit to rule upon the throne of this world!"
Slappy used his telekinesis to lift Dracula up and fired three blasts of magic energy. Dracula only caught them and sent them right back! Slappy only pulled out a Corrupted Mystic Manuscript and sucked the blasts in, catching Dracula as well!
"WHAT?!" Dracula growled. "W…What IS this…confounded contraption?!"
"I knew a guy like Bram Stoker for a LONG time." Slappy laughed. "And he came up with the PERFECT way to get rid of you once and for all!"
Dracula only yelled as the storm became too much for him, and he became ink on the pages. Slappy closed the book and locked it before destroying the key.
"Well, that takes care of that." He chuckles, eyeing the throne. "Hmmm…God, huh? I LIKE the sound of that!"
He made his move towards the throne then the book started to shake and glow red.
"Hmm?"
The book seemed to roar as it flew out of his grasp and into the floor, tumbling around like mad! Slappy only groaned in disappointment as the book continued to shake…
And with a magical explosion, Dracula ROARED as he broke free!
"Did you REALLY think a mere book could hold ME?!" Dracula roared. "I am no simple vampire. I am a GOD!"
He unleashed a blast of dark crimson-black magical energy as a beam, Slappy countering with his very own. The struggle between the immense powers of dark magic seemed to shake the very castle itself!
Much to Slappy's shock, Dracula began easily pushing forward!
"NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"
Slappy screamed as the beam easily scorched him. When it ended, Dracula teleported in a swarm of bats behind Slappy, and kicked him in the face and sent him flying into a wall. Dracula then repaired the damage to his throne with his magic as he walked up to Slappy, who struggled to stand up.
"This…this can't be happening! I'm the creepiest and scariest monster in the world! I have the soul of the most powerful dark wizard EVER! I'M the one who's supposed to be king!"
"You only have the soul of the most powerful dark HUMAN wizard ever." Dracula taunted. "Against a vampire who is no longer holding back…you are nothing…but…a TOY."
"AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!" Slappy roared. "I AM NO TOY! IF I CAN'T MAKE YOU MY SLAVE, THEN I'LL JUST PUT YOU TO SLEEP FOR ANOTHER ONE HUNDRED YEARS!"
He yelled as he blasted forth another blast of green fire. This time, Dracula only swatted it away effortlessly, making it smash harmlessly against a wall! Slappy found himself frozen with shock and fear. How?! How was this happening?!
"Fier had The Menace watching you in the old world. And now that terror you felt from him is back now, isn't it?"
He used his telekinesis to lift Slappy up and GRABBED him by the neck, slamming him against the wall!
"You were UNFIT to wield the stone's power. And you can rest knowing that I shall make the world far better than you EVER could. I will give them all MORE than goosebumps. FAR more…"
"Y…You CAN'T kill me!" Slappy yelled at him. "I'll just come back again and again! I can reform my body when as a ghost, I TOLD you that! You can't get rid of ME! When I find a way to get rid of you forever, and I MEAN it when I say that, I will enslave you ALL! You're just a soulless heartless monster who always goes too far! You don't scare, you just KILL! And that's no fun! What will happen when you have no one left to scare?! THAT'S why I'll make a REAL nightmare of this world! The horror I'll bring will be NOTHING compared to YOURS!"
"Am I supposed to see a problem in that?" Dracula asked. "I have spent CENTURIES as something beyond human, and I see now how weak and feeble they are. My limits were broken that day, and fear is nothing but a weakness. Those who fear grow to hate. What they hate is what they seek to destroy. They will find me HARD to destroy. And this will be the ULTIMATE revenge. They will all DIE by monster hands when I bring about the new era of monsters. And there will BE no place for the weak like you…"
He changed his grip to clutch Slappy around the head, his dark red magic pulsing into him.
"You claim to be immortal? In body, yes…but not in soul…"
He stared at Slappy, deep into his eyes, beginning to hypnotize him. And making him hallucinate the worst possible fear that the dummy hid from himself.
When he heard the words that he couldn't block out in his head, the curse that would send him into an eternal slumber, the entire curse that could work only when the sun had set on a day he failed to do evil, Slappy screamed.
And with a clench of his hand, Dracula crushed the dummy's head in his hand with a sickening CRUNCH!
The lifeless body of the dummy fell to the ground. Dracula stomped on THAT as well, crushing it completely before turning it to dust with a hellfire spell. Too bad there was no blood. But he had evolved to last longer without it. Like how a mortal human needed water only every few to several hours.
It was then that two more vampires entered. Bloody Mary and Alucard. Two of his greatest followers.
"Was there something troubling you, Father?" Alucard asked.
"Not anymore. Did you find it?"
"Yes, my lord." Bloody Mary showed him a red stone with a bat with open wings on it. "Inside the castle's cult chamber where you were reborn in. We will have the latest of our forces scour the world for the others."
"Make haste. We need them all before midnight. Alucard, attach the stone to the machine."
"Yes, Father."
Mary handed it to him and raced off, and the REAL Prince of Darkness made his way to a nearby balcony of the throne room. There stood a large laser cannon-like device. He attached the stone to the very center, the tip of it pointing to where the full moon would be once the proper hour arrived.
"At long last, the day I have waited CENTURIES for is finally about to come to pass." Dracula smirked menacingly as Alucard headed off to join Mary. "One down…six to go…"
He then sat on the throne and closed his eyes…sensing where the next stone would be.
There. The one the wooden man had used earlier. It was in an old mansion in a small town. Guarded by a bunch of weaklings.
"THERE you are…" He smirked.
He stood up and walked off. He would require no assistance fetching this one.
In fact…it would be all too easy…