All Wolf could see was darkness as he started to fall. He screamed until he dropped into a large hole in the ground. Wolf groaned, feeling cold dirt as he rubbed his sore head. "W-Where am I?" In his dazed state, he managed to see where he was. His yellow eyes widened in horror when he realized that he was sitting in a freshly dug grave! Panicking, Wolf climbed out of the open grave. But his fear grew when he looked around.
Wolf was no longer in warm and sunny Los Angeles, he was standing right in the middle of a graveyard in the dark of night! But this didn't look like an ordinary graveyard. With it's spooky, decaying trees and mossy tombtones, it was the creepiest graveyard Wolf had ever seen! He felt his fur stand on end from the tip of his ears to the end of his tail.
Suddenly, Wolf sensed a presence behind him. Shuddering, he turned around and saw Madame Spook smiling at him.
The ghostly woman kindly waved as Wolf stared at her in quivering horror. "Hellooo!" she greeted in her haunting voice.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Wolf screamed, falling backward into the open grave. Seeing the ghost float toward him, Wolf continued to scream. Fueled by sheer terror alone, Wolf scrambled out of the grave and started running for dear life. He had no idea what was going on. But he knew one thing; he had to get far away from that ghost lady as possible! He was already a mile away from the cemetery until a flurry of green vines burst out of the ground and ensnared him.
Sasha flew down and landed her broomstick safely in front of Wolf. "Mr. Wolf! Are you okay?!"
But Wolf was unable to speak. He was too busy hyperventilating. Fortunately, Sasha knew what to do. "It's okay! It's okay! I know you're scared and I don't blame you. But I promise I won't hurt you." She smiled. "Let's take some deep breathes." Sasha demonstrated by slowly inhaling as she counted to four on her fingers then slowly exhaled, counting backwards. Wolf managed to copy Sasha's technique and took some much needed breathes. Finally, Wolf was able to relax.
Sasha willed the vines to free Wolf. He looked at Sasha in stunned confusion. "So...have I finally lost it?" Wolf asked.
Sasha shook her head. "No, everything here is just as real as you are. See?" She put her hand behind Wolf's ears and started scratching, startling Wolf. But Wolf started to melt as Sasha scratched. After that near-death experience, he needed a good scratch.
"Oh! Oh, yeah! Right there! That's it! Ohhh! That's it!" Wolf said in satisfaction.
Sasha giggled, happy to see Wolf feeling better. She then started scratching Wolf under his chin. Wolf laughed as Sasha scratched him there. He enjoyed the scratching. So much in fact that his tongue started hanging out of his mouth. He panted happily as Sasha kept scratching.
"HEY!" a voice suddenly shouted.
Sasha stopped scratching and pulled out her wand. She aimed it toward the owner of the voice. It was an elderly man of average height with a gray mustache and a hunched over posture. He wore a black newsboy hat, a brown jacket, blue overalls and black boots that were caked with mud. The man held up his flashlight to see better. "I should have known you were behind this ruckus, junior witch!" His voice sounded like he swallowed a pound cake made of dirt and washed it down with more dirt.
"Oh, uh, hi, Mr. Grisby." Sasha said as she put her wand away.
Mr. Grisby sneered at Sasha. He thumbed over to his wheelbarrow. "So, I take it this belong to you?" It was Diane laying in the wheelbarrow. But she was a complete mess. Her glasses were broken. Her clothes torn and tattered. And her fur was matted with leaves and thorny vines.
"Diane!" Wolf gasped. He rushed to her aide. "What happened?!"
Diane's whole body was throbbing in pain. "I landed in this weird garden...when these crazy plants just came to life and attacked me! I barely got away!"
"This pestering pest spooked the snapping monster plants in the garden!" Mr. Grisby snarled.
"I'm sure it was just an accident, sir!" Sasha insisted.
But the crusty old man wasn't listening. Instead, he pointed an angry finger at Wolf. "I'll have you know that werewolves are forbidden in my graveyard!"
"Werewolves?!" Wolf had been called many offensive things. But being called a werewolf was a first. And he didn't like it.
"I've had holes dug up all over the place and not a single skeleton would come near my graveyard anymore!" Mr. Grisby snapped, looking Wolf square in the eye. "I bet you've been having the time of your life finding bones to pick your teeth on!"
Wolf frowned. He did not spend a year in jail to let some old fart compare him to a monsterous stereotype. Luckily, Sasha stepped in between Wolf and Ms. Grisby. "Mr. Grisby, just relax! Mr. Wolf and Ms. Foxington just got here. So, they can't be the ones responsible for your problem. Let's just bury the hatchet. Get it? Bury?" She chuckled a little. "Just a little graveyard humor..." She felt incredibly awkward as no one was laughing.
At least it was awkward enough to make Mr. Grisby leave. He grumbled as he walked away, taking his wheelbarrow with him.
"I'm sorry about Mr. Grisby. Don't let him get to you. He's not what you call a people person." said Sasha. "I mean, why do you think he's the caretaker of a cemetery?"
Wolf shrugged it off. "Makes sense." He looked back to Diane and noticed that she was rubbing her arm. "You okay?"
"No, I think I sprained by arm." Diane answered.
"Don't worry. I know someone who can take a look at that." Sasha said. "Let's get you two inside."
Sasha brought Wolf and Diane to Spookelton Castle. The two canines took in the creepy exterior of the castle. "So, what exactly is this place?" asked Diane.
"This is Spookelton Castle, one of Transylvania's famous landmarks. Lots of special events take place here." Sasha explained. "My sister and I sometimes take magic lessons here."
"Magic? So, you and your sister are witches or something?" asked Wolf.
"Junior witches, actually." Sasha corrected. "We're just regular human beings who befriended a witch one day. Next thing you know, we're studying magic too. But being a witch isn't a big deal, really."
"It's not?" Wolf asked incredulously.
Sasha shook her head. "Nah, anyone can train to be a witch. Learning magic is no different from taking piano lessons."
When they entered the castle, Wolf saw the rest of his friends with Rachel. "Guys!" He ran over to his friends and they all shared a group hug.
"Wolf! You're not gonna believe it, but this chick is a real witch!" Shark said, pointing to Rachel. "She does all kinds of crazy, witchy magic! It's crazy! The whole thing is crazy!"
Wolf looked around. "Where's Pirahna?"
"Well, he was so freaked out by all this, his little fart problem started acting up." Tarantula said, rolling her eyes. "So, Rachel took him to the castle's doctor."
"Why does a creepy Transylvanian castle have a doctor?" asked Wolf.
Rachel shrugged. "Well, a lot of accidents can happen in a haunted castle. So, Madame Spook decided to have a doctor stationed here."
Wolf looked puzzled. "Madame who?"
"Welcome! Whooo!" It was the disembodied voice of Madame Spook. Wolf yelped and jumped a mile. Diane rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, that's Madame Spook, she's in charge of the castle." Sasha said. "You can come out now, Madame."
Madame Spook did just that. She materialized before the Bad Guys, who had the natural response of screaming in terror. Wolf ran and slammed right into a suit of armor. Tarantula hid behind Rachel while Shark threw his arms around Snake, squeezing him like he was a teddy bear. Diane just stared in astonishment.
"Oh, my ghoulness! I'm terribly sorry! Please don't be afraid." Madame Spook said wih genuine honesty. Snake, Tarantula, Shark, and Diane were mesmerized as the ghostly woman floated to Wolf and helped him up. She smiled as she held his paws in her transparent hands. "You must be Mr. Wolf. I'm frightfully sorry for scaring you earlier. I'm Madame Spook."
Wolf couldn't believe it. He was staring face to face with a real ghost?! He looked at his paws, confused as to how a ghost can hold them in the first place. Curious, he put his paw through her arm...and it went right through her arm! The ghost's hands felt solid, but the rest of her was not! Wolf looked at the ghost with complete shock. "Is this for real?! Y-You're really a gh-a gh-" He was too scared to say it.
Madame Spook just smiled. "Ghost? Yes, I am." She patted Wolf's paw. "But I promise I won't be haunting anyone. Now, I'll have Rachel and Sasha take your friend to Dr. Fangwell while I accommodate your rooms for the night." Madame Spook disappeared witha poof.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Who said anything about us spending the night here?!" Snake said.
"Yeah! We don't need or want to sleep in a freaky, creepy haunted castle!" Shark added.
"I'm sorry, but you guys have to stay here." said Rachel. "We had a vision that you Bad Guys were in danger! So, we need to keep you protected!"
"In danger? Us?" asked Wolf.
Sasha nodded. "Yeah. So, as crazy as this sounds, this haunted castle is actually the safest place for you guys to be!"
Wolf was not okay with this. Haunted castles, witches, and ghosts?! It was too much. But Diane was hurt and she needs medical attention. "Alright, alright. We'll stay."
"WHAT?!" the Bad Guys shouted.
"But only because Diane needs help right now." Wolf finished. His friends were stunned, but Wolf wasn't wrong about Diane's condition.