Summary: Dracula arrives on the scene, in request of Head Mistress Bloodgood. But he seems to have plans of his own accord.

This interlude is the start of the second arc. The new chapters will no longer be centered around one specific character anymore as I'm playing cleanup to the open plots (chap. 1-7) and trying to get into the heart of the story.

I'll be introducing an original character "Dr. Sable" in the next chapter which will include a big flashback on the Hyde/Jekyll family.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

Dracula's ears perked up once again as the figure tailing him left audible trails of his tracks. The wind blowing his coat, the twigs he broke as he stepped and the sound of a heartbeat. To anyone else, the figure could easily sneak up on a person, but to the impossibly sensitive ears of the count, everything was on stereo.

As Dracula continued walking, he pulled out a cigar from his jacket pocket and lit it, "How have things been since I've been gone?", he asked, taking a drag.

"Dreadfully exasperating." The figure responded after a while, "Your daughter and her team of whores have been nothing but a nuisance for the past couple of months."

Coming up near a light post, Dracula stopped and turned around, "I have been informed of their rather… interesting journeys. They've uncovered a lot of secrets."

"Don't I know it", the figure sneered, "A lot of our peers have been taken down thanks to them. Ms. Revenant has become remorseful, Lord Stoker has been imprisoned and even Whisp has begun reforming her ways to become a "good genie". I am truly disgusted by their weakness but even more so with the girls' interference."

"I worked long and hard to earn my position Count" the figure spat out, "I built up a reputation and I did that by earning the trust of creatures who don't even fully understand the definition of the word. And I don't intend to lose my reputation thanks to a couple of bitches who have yet to learn their place."

Nodding his head, Dracula took another long drag on his cigar and blew it in the direction of the voice,

"Those worthless pieces of shits got what they rightfully deserve; they were never worthy enough to join the house and they have sullied the very existence of it. They were god blessed to get deterred by my daughter and her gang of hooligans, because I would've murdered them all myself. So let me ask you this, now that their gone and I'm back, how exactly do you intend to keep your status now Mr. Hyde?"

Hearing his name, Hyde stepped out of the shadows. Despite the bright lamp that stood mere inches away, the light seemed to refuse touching him – For even the lamp knew that Hyde was a creature to steer from. Hyde was used to being called ugly; he himself knew that his looks were far worse than any monster that walked the earth. It didn't bother him though, he liked to think that his outer appearance reflected the demon he was on the inside and that fact made him all the more terrifying.

Hyde's black eyes bored into Dracula's "If you truly believed that I required your absence to further my gains, then you have mistakenly under estimated me."

Dracula stepped closer, leaning in towards him; his porcelain face still without emotion but his voice was cold as ice, "The only mistake I've seem to have made is leaving you to believe you have any kind of power to look me in the eye as if we're equals."

"is this the parteth wh're i standeth afeard? thou art a daw to believeth yond i wouldn't has't did prepare something to mine own advantage at which hour meeting thee."

Old Shakespearean. Hyde didn't teach himself the dialect, no, no. He was there in England during the sixteenth century, and he wanted to make sure Dracula was now well aware of that fact. Mr. Hyde was a man of secrets and kept himself shrouded in mystery. See, Dracula believed himself to being the only creature in New Salem – hell, the whole world – who had lived for more centuries than he could count. But he wasn't, not anymore.

If Dracula was surprised, his face didn't give any indication of it. Mr. Hyde was a man he didn't know well, and his own narcissist complex kept him from ever delving into Hyde's past. Now he stood before a man who could very well hold enough power to be seen as an enemy.

"You are more than what meets the eye, I'll give you that. But never forget that I too have tricks up my sleeve. Goodnight, Mr. Hyde." And with a snap of his fingers, Dracula was gone.

Hyde smirked as he began his trek back home. Yes, this was going to be fun.

Reaching home, Hyde snuck in through one of the secret passages that were scattered around the huge mansion. Walking through the long halls, the lanterns that illuminated the passageways danced around, almost as if in fear of touching him. As he approached the doors to his chambers, he noticed someone standing nearby: Sable, dressed in an oversized mickey mouse shirt and her usual silk bonnet. It was well past two in the morning which meant that his wife should've been asleep hours ago. Or so he hoped.

Not wanting her to find out about his escapade, he gave her a smile that showed off his uneven shark like teeth, "My, my, do you need some help falling asleep my dear?"

Sable didn't answer, and when Hyde came up closer, he sucked in his breathe and nearly swore. Uh-oh. She was doing that thing. That thing where she stood tall, hands on her hips, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. It was the universal sign for women that said "I'm going to kick your ass."

"You must take me a fool."

"Whatever do you mean?" Hyde feigned confusion.

She glowered at him, she knew he was up to something – something rotten. But the only evidence she had was the raw sick feeling she had in her gut.

"Whatever you're up too, I'll find out. And I will stop you." she threatened.

"What I have planned involves you my dear, but all will be known when the time is right." Twisting the knobs to his bedroom door he asked, "Since you're here, shall I help you back to bed".

With a roll of her eyes, his wife said, "If I wanted something soft served, I'd get some ice-cream from the kitchen."

"I love it when you talk dirty like that."

"You can have your two minutes flopping around if you want, it's my duty as your wife to fake it."

"Surely you treat me too well" Hyde smirked as he led his wife to his bed, who was already tossing aside her shirt.

Oh yes. This was going to be much fun indeed.