Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High, because if I did you'd be watching this instead of reading it, and for this part Robert Englund would play Principal Krooger, and Lance Henriksen would provide the voice for Lord Darkness.
Just Good Fiends
(Continued)
"PRINCIPAL KROOGER! PRINCIPAL KROOGER!" shouted the strange hunchbacked little man who barreled through the door of the principal's office, nearly knocking over the coat rack that held his black fedora hat and green and red striped sweater.
"Yes, Mr. Gor," said Mr.Krooger, a rather plain looking little man sitting behind a black oak desk as he looked up from a stack of parchments he had been signing with a raven's quill pen, "to what do I owe this particular bout of hysterics? I didn't hear the usual commotion that comes with a mob of torch-bearing villagers trying to storm the school…though come to think of it we ARE a bit overdo for one."
Mr. I. Gor was the head of the henchmen department of Monster High, the assigning certain "lesser" monsters got. They were usually assigned to assist such students as mad scientists (a term outright stolen by the upstarts at Sky High; everyone knew mad scientists were villains or monsters), vampires, sorcerers and other "thinking" monsters. Though obedient and somewhat likable in their own bizarre way, certain ones were prone to panic easily, such as the head of the department.
"There…there's a new shape changer here at the school," gasped the hunchbacked man, "she…she…"
"A new shifter, eh?" smiled Mr. Krooger, "that IS big news. We could always use some new blood around here…so to speak."
"But she…she…"
"What IS it man? She is WHAT?"
"She ISN'T a monster," whined Mr. Gor, "she's a student from SKY HIGH!"
Principal Krooger nearly swallowed his tongue at the news. This was outrageous! A SUPER HERO walking the halls of his school? Unheard of!
"What in the underworld is she doing HERE?" he nearly shrieked. "Do you realize the full scale PANIC this could set off if the word got out to the faculty and students? Please tell me she is NOT connected to the Commander and Jetstream…if THEY show up here looking for her my career is GONE like a snowball in…well, you know where."
"No master…I mean, no MR. Krooger,' Mr. Gor caught himself, "the two students with her are the only ones that know the truth, and they caught me in the hallway and asked me to come relay the news to you. They should be in the outer office right now."
"That's…that's good to know," breathed the principal, "by all means show them in…and keep this TOTALLY quiet. The quicker we can get her out of here and back up there with the rest of HER kind, the better it will be."
Mr. Gor nodded his head emphatically and backed out the door, making way for Magenta, still in her black cloak concealing her features, and her escorts Fang and Claw.
"Thank the shadows you two were the ones to find her," the principal breathed in relief when he saw the twin brother and sister lycanthropes, "I should have known my best honor students would be there to save the night."
"Mr. Krooger," said Fang, "this is Magenta Violetta, she's a freshman sidekick from Sky High. It seems she got on the wrong bus this morning and wound up here by mistake."
"Oh you poor little thing," said Mr. Krooger, taking Magenta's hand and giving her a big grandfatherly smile, "I'll bet you had NO idea where you were. I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for you…usually NO ONE from Sky High even KNOWS about our little…academy here until their junior year."
"I never even knew this place existed," said Magenta, "I've heard whisperings of a villains school like what Royal Pain wanted to start, but never a school for…for…"
"Monsters? Oh, it's quite all right to say it," said Principal Krooger as he guided Magenta to a large black leather chair next to his desk and motioned for her to sit, which she did.
"Monster High isn't all that different from Sky High or even H.A.D.E.S.; yes, there IS a villain school too. Instead of teaching how to be the defenders of humanity and rescuers of the world we…well, we teach how to survive in the world and try to AVOID being the ones humanity needs to be defended from. Doubtlessly you're hero compatriots have had classes on how to fight certain ones of our kind…mostly vampires, rogue lycanthropes, various undead or dark magic wielding beings. But I'm afraid that they aren't taught that those are all EXCEPTIONS to the rules…the average monster isn't really all that different than a normal human when it comes to wanting a home, friends, making a good living, and what have you. The ones who don't follow the rules are the ones that bring the super heroes and the Hunters down upon us all."
"Hunters?"
"People who have been harmed in some way by a rogue monster and in turn dedicate their lives to destroying all of that particular species…or ALL monsters in general. Sadly these people get so caught up in their single-minded quests that they end up becoming just as bad as any evil monster could ever be."
Magenta had heard of Hunters such as Razor and Tiffany the Vampire Slayer, or the Colt Brothers who hunted all things supernatural. Even Coach Boomer considered these people lunatics and freaks to be avoided at all costs.
"Unfortunately more than a few of our students get touched by the Darkness and have to be…well, such things aren't for a delicate little thing like you to have to dwell on."
"Now wait a minute," said Magenta, getting tired of the condescending treatment, "I'm no frail little flower here, pops. I'm one of the kids who faced off with Royal Pain and saved Sky High from making a lasting impression in a section of the suburbs. In case you haven't noticed from my style I have NO problem with the dark side of things…or haven't you heard of the word "goth" until now?"
"Ah yes," said Principal Krooger, "that quaint little mode of dress and attitude. I must say many of us find it flattering that quite a few of you copy and emulate us. But I do have to take issue with the term "dark side"; in fact it is a term we DON'T use around here."
"But if you're all monsters, don't you LIVE in darkness?"
"No, we live in the NIGHT. There is a huge difference from night and Darkness, if that makes sense to you."
"It's like this," said Fang, "long ago all monsters were ruled by a being called Darkness. Under its control monsters were destructive and preyed upon normals. The first super heroes arose to battle and destroy those monsters…and over time we were able to throw off Darkness' rule and became free, but by then the damage was done and we were all looked upon as evil."
"Now we just try to blend in with society," continued Claw, "but we're not ashamed of who and what we are. Thankfully we're not connected in any way to Godawful and the rest of those giant monsters or we'd never get any peace."
"But for now," said Principal Krooger as he picked up the receiver of an antique looking phone, "I think it would be in everyone's interests if we let her school know where she is and that she's safe. Then we'll figure a way to get her home."
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"Yes, thank you so much for calling…we'll take things from here." Principal Powers hung up her ivory colored phone and sat back in her high backed white chair, not liking the conversation she had just had. She had never been in contact with Monster High at any time before in her career, nor could she remember of it EVER having happened with any of her predecessors. For the most part the two schools had simply ignored each other, though they let the junior and senior students know of their existence just to be safe.
Now one of her own students was at the school, surrounded by who knew what kind of horrors. Principal Powers had fought quite a few monsters in her own day, and she was trying not to think about what Magenta may be getting exposed to. She hit the button on her microphone to activate the school loudspeaker system, and thought for a moment about what to say.
"I would like the following students to report to my office…" she said into the microphone, "Will Stronghold, Layla Williams, Zach Braun, Jake Mitobura, Charley Dubble and Malcolm Bellows to report to my office as quickly as possible. Also, I'd like Coach Boomer to come as well for a special assignment."
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"And that is the situation," said Principal Powers to the six students and Coach Boomer.
All of the kids were surprised at the news of not only Monster High's existence, but now Magenta was stranded there and needed help.
"I chose you six to be student ambassadors to go to Monster High and retrieve Magenta as quietly and diplomatically as possible. Coach Boomer will be your chaperone."
"And if things AREN'T quiet?" asked Will, his mind filled with all the stories his parents had told him about their encounters with different types of monsters.
"That is the second reason I chose you six. Your powers will help you in the event things get "uncomfortable". Will, your strength and flight gives you the obvious advantage if a fight starts. Layla, Monster High is surrounded by old growth forest…I'm sure you will have plenty of backup, especially since we all know what effect wood has on any vampires. Zach, your glow…well, actually your Magenta's boyfriend. Malcolm's acid spit will do plenty of damage to ANY monster, and Jake's six arms and Charlie's carbon copy power will help them blend in if we need to be more subtle."
"I understand that," said Will, "but why is Coach Boomer going with us? No offense Coach, but shouldn't we have my parents go in and get her?"
"Because, smart guy," said Coach Boomer, "if your parents showed up there'd be a full scale riot, not to mention the parents would start showing up, and that's something NOBODY wants. And I'll have you know I've had PLENTY of experience fighting monsters…maybe even more than your old man."
"Be that as it may," said Principal Powers, "this is a chance to bridge a gap that's existed for far too long. If we can actually start a dialogue with the monsters of tomorrow, who knows what kind of troubles we can avoid in the future?"
Everyone agreed, then the group headed out to where Ron Wilson was already waiting with a bus to take them to Monster High both as a driver and another back up just in case any of the bigger monsters wanted to cause some trouble.
Once the bus left though, Principal Powers opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small red cell phone. She then speed dialed one particular number and was relieved when it was answered on the first ring.
"This is Principal Powers," she told the person on the other end, "and we have a situation here…"
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"That should take care of things," said Mr. Kroooger as he hung up his phone. "A group of representatives from Sky High is on its way here to pick up Miss Magenta within the next hour or so. We're also going to take the opportunity to show them around and let them see we're not all as bad as they might think."
Magenta breathed a sigh of relief. Though Fang, Claw and Mr. Krooger seemed nice enough, there was just an unsettling air about the entire place that kept Magenta on edge. The sooner she was away from there the better.
"We can take her to the front tower and wait for them to come there," said Fang, "then we can show them all around if they'd like."
"That would be wonderful," said Mr. Krooger, "but when they arrive I'll join you first. I want to make the most of this opportunity."
As Magenta and the two lycanthropes left the principal's office, another boy about their age came running up. He was tall and had sharp, bird-edged features but was still good looking with long black hair with a couple of owl feathers woven into a braid.
"Hey Talon," said Fang, "this is our friend Magenta, she's…"
"You've got to come," said Talon, breathing heavily, "there's trouble over in the east wing. Radu got a bunch of other suckers together and are roughing up some of the freshman changers."
"That jerk," snarled Fang, his features actually darkening as a five day growth of hair sprouted on his cheeks and his ears and teeth became slightly pointed, "I'll pants him and hang him from the flagpole at high noon…maybe he'll look better with an extra-crispy tan."
Magenta had started liking Fang, but seeing him start to take a wolfish form scared her. Whether it was his taking his alternate form or the fact her changer nature made her naturally skittish around predators, the fact remained she wanted him to go.
"Calm down," said Claw, noticing how her twin brother was unintentionally scaring Magenta, "we'll take care of him. Right now we need to keep Magenta safe."
"I could watch her," volunteered Talon, "you two go on and we'll meet you back here when you're done."
"Thanks pal," said Fang with a fang-filled grin, "we'll make this fast."
With that both Fang and Claw headed off down the hall, leaving Magenta with the new boy.
"Don't worry," he smiled, "I'll make sure you're VERY well taken care of."
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Fang and Claw were halfway to their destination when a side door opened and a voice called them.
"In here," said the girl's voice, "hurry!"
Both lycanthropes instantly reacted, stepping into the doorway as a girl dressed in black and purple leveled a wand at them.
"IMPACTUS!" shouted the girl as a blast of energy shot from the wand and slammed into Fang with the force of a speeding car, sending him flying back out the door and across the corridor against the stone wall.
With the speed of her alternate form, Claw launched herself at the girl while trying to avoid a second blast. She somersaulted in mid-air and brought a foot across the girl's chin, knocking her down.
"Well, well," purred Claw as she hefted up the girl by the front of her blouse with one hand while the other sprouted long catlike claws, "Samantha Sanderson, top student witch and girlfriend of that night crawler Radu. Why am I NOT surprised you're in on this?"
"The surprises have just started, you hairball sucking…" snarled the witch girl defiantly.
"Such language," Claw smiled evilly, "careful…or this cat WILL get your tongue."
Suddenly something dropped from the shadowed ceiling and landed on Claw's back. There was a fierce burning sensation as something bit through her leather jacket and into her right shoulder, forcing her to release the witch. She then reached back, grabbed something hairy and hurled it away.
What landed several feet away was a brown and black spider the size of a cocker spaniel, and Claw cursed herself for forgetting about Sanderson's pet giant spider "Frisky". The thing had bitten her, and though its venom wasn't lethal to a lycanthrope, it would still make her sick and slow her down. Now was not the time for that to happen.
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Out in the hallway Fang recovered from the double impact and started getting to his feet when a sickly green fist the size of a football slammed into his jaw, sending him back into the wall. His vision cleared as he saw a hulking seven-foot tall thing that looked like the baby face of a young boy atop a body built like a sumo wrestler. The thing's ill-fitting dark clothes did little to cover the zigzag scars along its wrists and around its neck.
"Okay Boris," growled Fang as he took his full wolfman form, "time to take you apart the way your "daddy" put you together!"
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The moment Fang and Claw were out of sight Talon roughly grabbed Magenta by the wrist and started dragging down another dark corridor.
"Get your hands off me!" Magenta yelled.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," replied Talon as he turned back to glare at Magenta with the cold black eyes of a bird of prey, "just keep your mouth shut and…"
That was as far as he got when Magenta kicked up and caught him right between his legs. Talon let out a strangled squawk and lost his grip as Magenta turned and started running the same way Fang and Claw had gone, hoping to catch up with them. She wanted out of this madhouse, and the Sky High gang couldn't get here soon enough.
She only got a short distance before she heard something behind her and ducked just as a large form with wings flew over her, barely missing her. It landed and revealed itself to be Talon in his alter form of a huge, human-like owl. Both his hands and feet were sharp talons as his body was covered in dark brown feathers with large wings on his back. His head was totally owl-like with huge, unblinking eyes that sent a chill of total fear through Magenta as her rodent nature reacted instinctively to him.
"I said don't make this harder," said Talon is a strange screeching voice, "now I'm going to…"
That was as far as he got before a long serpentine tail shot around the corner and slammed into him like a battering ram, knocking him the length of the hallway.
Magenta turned and looked to see the owner of the tail come slithering up. The upper body was that of a slim girl with long black hair wearing a loose fitting blouse tied at the navel. From the navel down her body was that of a monstrously huge serpent, the tail of which had knocked Talon for a loop.
"Th—thanks," said Magenta, a little repulsed by the girl's serpent appearance despite herself. Was EVERYTHING in this place part something that ate guinea pigs?
"No problem," smiled the snake girl, "Talon had it coming, especially now. He nearly screwed everything up."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't worry," smiled the snake girl, whose eyes seemed to glow and catch Magenta's total attention, "you should just relax. Relax."
Magenta did feel herself relax as she looked into the strange glow of the girl's eyes. In fact this was the most relaxed she felt all day. She felt so relaxed…she could almost…go…to…sleep.
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Claw could feel her legs start to buckle under her as sweat drenched her. She could fight off the venom in a couple of minutes, but those were minutes she didn't have. Her vision cleared just long enough for her to see Sanderson level her wand with an evil grin on her face before everything went black.
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Fang never made it to attack his opponent as he leapt but was grabbed in mid-air by the leg and slammed back into the stone wall. Stunned for a moment, he saw that Radu had appeared and attacked him. The vampire now stood over him, grinning to show his fangs.
"I told you this wasn't over between us, dog boy," sneered Radu as he pulled out what looked like a garland of white flowers that Fang was all too familiar with. He had no time to react as Radu looped it around his neck, and the smell overpowered him, forcing him to assume his human form and pass out.
"Wolfs bane," Radu grinned to his big green companion, "works every time."
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"Here she is," said the snake girl as she led the entranced Magenta into the great chamber under the school where the others had gathered. Both Fang and Claw lay nearby with wolfs bane garlands around their necks and bound with silver chains.
"Excellent Snakecharm," rumbled the voice in the darkness, "it is time to prepare for the final takeover of the school, and then…"
"But Lord Darkness," said Samantha, "Principal Krooger alerted Sky High about what happened and there should be some of her friends coming here any minute. What will we do about them?"
"Ah," said the darkness as it began to coalesce and grow smaller until it took a solid form of a robed and hooded humanoid of total blackness, "we take advantage of what has been brought to us. Observe…"
With that Lord Darkness stretched out what would pass for an arm, and extended a finger that touched Magenta on her forehead. She stiffened for a moment, and then her eyes turned totally black as the darkness reached into her and began to change her. She began to shake, then suddenly black and purple fur began to sprout all over as when she transformed into a guinea pig, but this time she did not shrink. She began to grow. The fur became longer and thicker as her body began to swell and transform, gaining pounds of muscle as her limbs twisted and long talons stretched from the ends of her stubby fingers. Her mouth opened and long, sharp incisors extended like those of a saber tooth tiger.
Finally the change ended and all the other rogue monsters look on in shock at the monstrous eight-foot tall guinea pig monster that glared at them with shiny black eyes.
"Now let her friends come," chuckled Lord Darkness, "I think they shall find she has had a bit of an attitude change…for the worse."
To be continued
Sorry everyone, this had to be extended a little more due to circumstances beyond my control. But it WILL come a LOT sooner than this part did.