Chapter 4: "I Can Ease Your Pain"

"Well, this isn't what I expected."

Abby and Hoagie were stuck inside a dungeon. The place was made entirely out of stone, with iron bars guarding the cells. There were ages old skeletons in the cells, some of them still clinging to the bars.

"This place keeps getting creepier," murmured Abby. So much for Crow's "Don't trust anything you see" crap. Well, that was some relief. At least she could trust her eyes again. Unfortunately, she didn't like anything her eyes were seeing.

"Abby, how did we get teleported here? Do you think we're dealing with a real wizard?" asked Hoagie.

"I don't know, Hoagie. I never believed in magic, but then again, Crow really was hurt by that thing. And I saw him burning it, there was nothing left but ashes. If it had been a robot, I would've been able to see the metal."

"Then we really are fighting a sorcerer," whimpered Hoagie.

"You've got that right, laddie." Abby and Hoagie jumped a foot in the air. One of the skeletons had started talking to them, it's jaw moving creakily up and down.

"It's talking," choked Abby.

"Aye, it's talking, lass," sighed the skeleton. It didn't sound threatening or scary, just weary. It's head was propped up against the back of the cell, and he raised a hand to greet them. "The name's McGregor. A'hm one o' the cursed."

"Cursed?" asked Hoagie, trying not to piss himself.

"Yes. I defied Alcarin way back when. We all did. So he left us here to rot. And rot we did, lad. He kept us alive all this time. The others went insane. Lost their minds. They don't even speak no more, don' even scream and groan like they used to. Me, I'm the only one that's got a shred of sanity left, and I'm losin' it fast. You can't last long when you got no one to talk to."

"You've got to help us!" pleaded Hoagie. "We need to get out of here and find the others. How do you get out of here?"

"Wouldn't know, lad. I've never been out of this cell," he replied.

"Come on, you came through here once! Don't you remember the way you came in?" asked Abby.

"Lass, that's been years and years..."

"Please!" she begged.

The skeleton sighed again, and tilted it's head back, as if it was falling asleep. Then he leaned forward and got to his feet. He walked over to the bars and clutched them tightly. "Go straight till ya come to the seventh door to yer left. Then...then take the third door on yer right, and keep goin' till you see a statue of Alcarin. Take the door opposite the statue." He collapsed, weakened from the conversation.

"Thanks, McGregor," said Hoagie, kneeling down.

"Lad...lad, take me hand. Take it," urged McGregor. Hoagie stared apprehensively at the skeleton. Take his hand? His hand?

"Please," pleaded the skeleton. Hoagie grasped it, and held on gently. Good god, this is creepy, he thought to himself.

"Promise me you'll kill him. It might stop this curse. Promise me, Hoagie." Hoagie gulped. "Promise, lad!"

"I promise," Hoagie whispered. The skeleton muttered his thanks and then collapsed to the floor. It looked like he wasn't going to say anything for a long time. Abby placed a hand on Hoagie's shoulder.

"Let's go, Hoagie. There's nothing we can do for him here."


"What the bloody hell is this?" asked Wally. He and Kuki were transported before they could even blink. Now they were in some other part of the mansion, a family room of sorts. There were large portraits on the walls, portraits of people that looked related to Alcarin. But there faces were horribly disfigured in some areas. One had his nose cut in half, another had a missing jaw, and another had spikes driven through her head.

"Wally, I'm scared," whispered Kuki. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand. Wally stiffened. Forget it, Wally. She doesn't love you. Just forget abou–dammit, I'm doing it again! He couldn't help it. He loved her so much. She had matured so beautifully, and yet she was still the same kind hearted Kuki he knew from the beginning. How could he not love her?

"It's okay, Kooks," he assured. Wow. Been awhile since I called her that.

"That Lord Alcarin, do you think he's magic?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yeah. I do," he replied, staring at the ground.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked, frightened.

"We've got to find him. Or the others. Whichever we run into first." He walked out of the room and Kuki followed, clutching his hand. They entered a corridor.

"Right or left?" murmured Wally. He heard a scream coming from the right of him. "Never mind!" He ran to the right as fast as he could, leaving Kuki in the dust. She caught up to him.

"Who is it?" asked Kuki, panting.

"Sounded like Hoagie. Come on, let's hurry!" he urged. They approached a large wooden door engraved with a dragon, and heard screams coming from the other end. Wally shoulder charged it and burst through the door, falling on the ground. Kuki leapt over him and landed nimbly on her feet. She looked up and gasped. Wally picked himself up from the floor and looked where Kuki was gazing. He gasped too.

"Oh, god," he whispered. The first thing he noticed was that it wasn't Hoagie. The second thing he noticed was that the man doing the screaming was covered in blood, his flesh had been slashed in several places, and his ribs were showing. He was chained to a chair.

"Help me," pleaded the man in a thick german accent. "Please..." Kuki and Wally couldn't even move. The sight was just too horrible.

"He's killing me. Torturing me to death," croaked the man. "Himmler...Himmler, you're a fool for trusting him."

"You're the one that brought him those warheads," shuddered Kuki. She couldn't even cry. She was too stunned to really feel anything.

"He promised me power. Promised me a life. He lied," he added stupidly. He spat up some blood and his eyes rolled back. Every breath he took spilled more blood.

"Go. Go and stop him. He'll destroy everything if you don't." He coughed again and almost passed out. Tears were pouring from his eyes. "Leave me. I deserve to die."

"No, we can help you!" cried Kuki.

"I am dying, Frauelein. Only death can save me from this torture," he whispered. Wally grabbed Kuki by the arm and lead her out of the room.

"No, stop!" cried the man, changing his mind. "Please! I don't want to die alone." They stopped, unsure of what to do. No one should have to die alone. Wally pulled out his handgun and pointed it at Himmler.

"I can ease your pain," he said quietly. Himmler looked up with gratitude in his eyes.

"I thank you."

"Wally, no!" shouted Kuki. Wally grabbed her and pressed her face against his chest so she wouldn't see. He fired the gun at Himmler's head, and he died with that look of gratitude on his face.

Nigel and Chad were stuck in a damp, dark cave. Nigel had already tripped over three stalagmites, and was very, very pissed.

"Damn it!" he shouted, kicking the stalagmite he had just tripped over. Oops, bad move. He started hopping up and down on one foot while letting loose a stream of curses.

"Arrgh, I hate this place!" he shouted.

"Calm down, kid," said Chad.

"Don't order me around, you traitor!" grumbled Nigel.

"You still call me that, after all we've been through?" asked Chad. "Did you forget about what happened in Australia and Father's mansion?"

Nigel stiffened. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's just...grudges are had to break, sometimes."

"I know what you mean," said Chad, nodding. "But you've got to learn to let things go, sometimes. I wish I had," he said with sigh.

"Erm," mumbled Nigel. Chad had suddenly become somber. What was he talking about? "You know, you used to be my hero, Chad, back in the KND. We all admired you. We still do, come to think of it. Whether we want to admit it or not."

Chad laughed bitterly. "Some hero. You never admired me, Nigel. You admired Numbuh 274, not Chad Dickinson. You loved me as an ideal, not a real person. I don't blame you. Everyone treated me that way, even my parents. And why not? What's the real Chad Dickinson worth anyway?"

Nigel stopped walking. "What are you talking about?" asked Nigel, dumbfounded. "We admired Chad Dickinson just as much as Numbuh 274."

"No you didn't. It's like I said. You loved the Chad that you thought you knew. The Chad everyone made me out to be. No one ever bothered to know the real me. Not my jackass football friends, my bumbling teachers, or my mom and dad. But like I said, I don't blame them."

"And why is that? Is it because you were afraid to show them who you really were? Perhaps you were afraid of the real Chad Dickinson yourself."

Chad gave him a wry smile. "That's it. Part of it, anyway. I hated being on everyone's pedestal, but I was too afraid to take myself off of it. Couldn't handle being a failure. But not anymore. I'm not a pedestal boy anymore. And life couldn't be better."

"Even in a chilly, pitch black cave?" asked Nigel.

"Especially," Chad replied. He pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and illuminated the cave.

"Why didn't you pull that out earlier!" shouted Nigel.

"Because it was much more fun to see you stumble in the dark. See how much fun not being on a pedestal is?" smiled Chad.

"Oh, it's a barrel of laughs," muttered Nigel. They continued walking through the cave in silence. Now that they had a flashlight, Nigel was tripping over far fewer stalagmites.

"I know what you mean about pedestals, Chad," said Nigel. "Everyone expects me to be the leader and to keep my cool, but after a while, I just kind of..."

"Lose it?" finished Chad.

"Yeah. But I need the team. If I didn't have it, I'd probably go crazy. I don't know what I'd do if I just lost control."

"One day you'll learn there are more important things in life than being perfect. Of course, it's up to you to find them, if you can," advised Chad.


"We only have one shot at this, Cree. So let's make it work." Crow had recovered rather quickly, and was now taking command again.

"And that would be?" asked Cree, struggling to keep up with Crow's fast strides.

"First, we get everyone out of the mansion. I'm taking this guy on alone, like I should have from the very beginning."

"Like hell you are," snorted Cree. "We'll get the kids out, but Chad and I are with you all the way."

"Cree, this is all my fault, it's up to me to–"

"We took an oath, Crow. Ain't gonna back out of it now."

Crow nodded and sighed. "Not like I could stop you two anyway."

"So then what? Are we just going to find the bastard and kill him?" asked Cree.

"Yep, it looks that way," he replied. "I just have to get to him before he launches the warheads." They were getting closer to the end of the sewer now. They saw some stairs that looked like they led to the mansion.

"That's convenient," said Cree, puzzled. "You sure you're all right with this, Crow?"

"Yeah. I think it's time The Reaper made his return. It's been five years, after all. He had to come back some time."

(A/N) Sorry this took so long. I was...on a cruise. I know that's not much of an excuse, but internet access there was 50 cents a minute, and no way was I payin that. To make up for it, I've got another chapter coming soon. Oh, and it looks like I lied about the story being short and not actioney. Oh well.