Chapter 15

They won't be coming again.

Bad got word from Sonic of that, the ship has been sunk, the captain take care of and the crooks looking to go abroad have since surrendered themselves over to the police. It surprised Bad that it went so smoothly. "I got to admit Sonic, you did that without killing anyone!" Bad said.

Sonic paused briefly but then smiled. "But of course my King!" he said and then suddenly avoided eye contact.

Bad sighed aloud. "We got to end this druid once and for all, problem is I don't know where to start or how to find him…" he said.

"Then I suggest you speak with the Arachnid people." Said King Hydrin. "Their queen has webs throughout this world, rumor has it they have stretched to your lands as well. She knows all and can sense all, I am certain her help will be far greater than what we could offer."

Bad nodded in agreement. "I have heard of them too, they are a little tricky to get to cooperate, but we got a good thing going for us… One is Botan is wearing their offerings…" Garou said offhandedly as he held their son. "Another is Bad being the Shadow King…"

"That… many not be a good thing." Hydrin warned. "You see, the last Shadow king had gone to these people as well, demanding an offering for the sake of peace… he took the King into his legions."

Bad froze. "For real? Shit!" he muttered. "We got to try anyways…"

Garou agreed, "They are the best to get help from next to the dragons… but even that is more difficult than to get the Queen of Arachnids to assist you."

Hydrin sudden appeared that he wish to speak, however, he stopped himself as suddenly. But then, "Shadow King… sir… did… were you able to bring back my father?" he asked reluctantly, but there was a sense of hope in his voice too. Out of all the Nagas, Bad found the King, however he couldn't do anything.

"I did, but his soul was gone… I couldn't call upon it to bring it back… I'm sorry."

Hydrin however nodded in understanding. "I know it is a selfish request, but…"

"I get it, he's your dad… if I had the chance too…" Bad said but trailed off as Zenko came into the room. She had repacked her bag and announced she was ready to go.

"Big Brother Bad, were are we going to now?" she asked and smiled.

"We're going to see some really big spider people," warned Garou.

She shuttered a little, but then nodded in understanding. "It had to be spiders…" she whispered.

Bad laughed as he picked her up off the ground. "It's okay sis, you got big bro with you!"

"And me… why am I always a second thought!?" Garou demanded.

"Because, you're not her big bro!" Bad said and grinned.

Garou grumbled something below his breath, but he didn't say anything aloud. With that, Hydrin gave them directions to the Arachnid's nest and warned them to be careful. "The queen is very powerful, not even our strongest men would last against her. Mind your steps too. She can tell one's intent by their footsteps." He warned.

Bad nodded, they were given some supplies, and were soon on their way.

However there was a surprise for them as they were leaving. The doors opened to the palace that led outside, yet the moment Bad walked out, there were all the Nagas from the villages. They came to see him off, but then, they all bowed deeply to the earth as he walked by.

Even the children!

"Wait, why are you doing this? This isn't necessary!" he protested.

"To show appreciation for the King of the Shadows, who granted us life again," one of the young naga men said. "Hail King of the Shadows!"

"HAIL KING OF THE SHADOWS!" the people cried aloud.

No one got up off the ground until Bad and his family were out of sight.

"I ain't getting use to that," Bad muttered.

"I thought that was really nice of them" said Zenko.

He smiled to his sister's words, but in the end, he worried. Despite what he did, would this just have the people fear him more? Yes, he brought them back to life, but now that is hanging over their heads. Would they fear if the day were to come where he takes it all back? What kind of message did he just send to the little ones too? He prayed they wouldn't start worshiping him, thinking he will solve all their problems.

"You okay?" Garou asked.

Bad ran his fingers through his hair. "Dunno," he muttered. "I'll let you know soon enough…"

Garou merely nodded his head as they ventured deeper into the jungle. Despite how thick the foliage was, it wasn't that bad of a walk. "Hey… I noticed something… Botan grew overnight." Garou said offhandedly.

"What do you mean he…" Bad turned, he got a good look at Botan and realized, Garou was right! He didn't look like a baby anymore, and was already starting to grow and age! He had a good head of hair going on his head, and there were streaks of white within it. "Guess he's gonna have both our hair color huh?" Bad smirked.

Garou laughed. "Getting white hair before you even turn one, rough kid…" Garou said and gently patted Botan's head. He was out like a light, but it made Bad smile. The kid was growing up a lot faster than he anticipated. But still, this was no place for him to learn and grow, he has to get this business settled first and bring his son and Zenko back home where it's relatively safe and sound.

The jungle began to look and feel thicker in a sense, the air was growing heavy as Bad swore the place was getting misty as hell! Yet as they began to walk into the mist, they found it was anything but.

What clouded their vision was very soft strands of silk. "Looks like we're getting close." Garou said.

"Yeah… you met these people before?" Bad asked. He picked Zenko up off the ground and brought her upon his shoulders for safe keeping.

Garou appeared to think it over until he said. "I have only encountered them once or twice, they don't deal with vampires since vampires don't deal with them. Their blood is poisonous so that's part of the reason. The other part, the spider people are not picky eaters. They will eat the undead no issue."

"Oh…" Bad muttered. He then paused. "We should be on alert then huh?"

"More or less, perhaps maybe we ought to have some backup."

Bad nodded and then remembered what Hydrin said. Turning around, Bad looked to his shadow. "Hey, any of you Arachnid warriors there, can you help me out?" he called.

His shadow suddenly grew, a legion of twenty appeared and bow before him. One of them was massive in comparison. "Let me guess, you were the King?" Bad asked.

He merely nodded his head.

"Can you talk?"

This time he shook his head.

"Garou… you know what's wrong here?"

He thought it over. "Sometimes the Shadow King can remove aspect of their warriors, for them, the old king may have taken their ability to talk, to prevent them from warning others… I got a feeling the old king didn't keep his word did he?" Garou asked.

There was a look of anger on their faces, the larges appeared the most angry out of the legions. "Shit man… I can't help but feel I am at fault for this…" Bad muttered.

Yet as he peered down, a gentle hand came on his shoulder, it was the king of the Arachnids, he shook his head to Bad and them placed his hand over his heart. "You saying I wouldn't have had the heart to do that to you or your men? With what I did in the past two days man… I don't even know myself anymore!"

The shadow smiled and then he waved at Bad to follow him. Curious now, Bad nodded. They followed the King of the Arachnids down a different path, one that was oddly clear and yet covered with thicker webbing than what they were walking into…