Chapter 4: Old Foe New Threat
- Amity Park Hospital -
Vlad Masters walked out of the hospital in a defeated rage. Necrosis. Thats what the doctors called it. The wound on his neck and on his back, the flesh around them was rotting away. The doctors said it was irreversible, the best they could do was slow it down. Vlad knew it was that monsters intention to torment him like this.
True he was alive, but now he had to watch as his body slowly and painfully rotted away. It would take years, according to his doctors, for the process to kill him maybe as many as twenty or thirty, but it would kill him. Worse all of the doctors had said that it would be painful, constant tormenting pain as the rot spread throughout the rest of his body. It still burned and mostly likely it always would. Even in ghost form the necrosis remained, though it looked more like a festering wound in his ghost form.
He sighed in defeat, he was going to die a horrible death and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Maybe that creature could reverse the damage, but he had a feeling that it would much more likely want to finish the job rather then save him. Depression turn to anger once more as he thought of Danny and his blue haired whore.
Curse them! This was all their fault! He would kill them both for this if it was the last thing he did! Vengeance was the only thing he had to live for now. He would do anything to be given enough power to defeat those he had cursed him to this living nightmare!
"Anything?" A warm, pleasant voice asked right behind him.
Vlad jumped and spun around turning into his ghost form as he did. He flinched as the pain from the necrosis increased. Damn this blasted wound!
What he saw before him though gave him pause. It was something that appeared to be a man. A man covered in a white robe with a white hood that hid his face. Vlad squinted, the man didn't seem to have a face! Darkness was all he saw in the hood, though the darkness seemed more like a mask.
"You are Vlad Masters correct?" The robed man asked again. Vlad now noticed the slight aura of light that clung around him.
"Who are you and how do you know me?" Did every single supernatural being in the universe know about him?!
"My name is not important, mortal, but you may call me Sypher for now. And I know many things you will never realize."
Vlad got into a battle stance. That monster had said the exact same line. "So you are the scaly freak's associate then? Did he send you to finish the job?"
"Hardly mortal, though Draconum and I are... old friends... you might say."
Vlad relaxed... a little. "So what do you want then, 'Sypher'?"
"You said you would do anything to get your revenge, correct?" the hooded man asked pleasantly.
"Yes! What of it? Do you think you could defeat the creature that did this to me?"
"I would have a better chance then you, mortal, but I dare not chance it. No, I am offering you power and my aid."
Now Vlad was interested. "What do I have to do?"
The hooded man crossed his arms. Vlad realized his skin was just as black as the shadows within the hood. He was masking his entire body for some reason.
"Simple, aid me in defeating Draconum."
"Defeat that monster?! You are out of your hooded head you fool!"
The man was suddenly right in front of him. Vlad realized he was hundreds of feet in the air and only the mans hand on his throat was keeping him from falling to his death. A pair of shining white wings that sprouted from the man's back kept them air born.
"You dare mock me?" The man's voice rolled like thunder over the white clouds, "You?! A descendant of Vladimir Dracula? Your whole family line is damned to Hell for the atrocities your ancestor committed, but I am offering you redemption! And how do you repay me? With Insults! Where I not one of the Highest I would kill you for your offense!"
"I..." Vlad gasped the mans grip was almost as strong as the monsters had been, "for... forgive... me..."
They were back on the ground again, the man was a safe distance away. Vlad grasped his throat gingerly as air rushed back to his lungs. He was sure he would find an imprint of the man's hand on his throat from the iron grip. Instead he found nothing but the necrosis wound. He stared at the hooded figure. Had it been an illusion?
"There now," the man's pleasant tone returned to him, "was that so hard."
"What..." He coughed, "What do you want me to do?"
"Listen closely mortal, I do not like to repeat myself..."
- Fenton Works -
Draconum was sitting next to Danny on the couch watching TV. For being so intelligent he didn't understand almost anything about humans. Draconum cocked his head to the side as a character on TV threatened another one with death.
"I don't understand. If he wants to kill the other human why not just kill him instead of throwing insults back and forth every six seconds?"
Danny laughed, "Its a movie, Drac, its just for entertainment. These guys are actors on a set."
Draconum blinked, "So they aren't really trying to kill each other?"
"No."
Draconum thought for a moment. "So then whats the point of this?"
"Like I said its entertainment. People like seeing explosions and stuff."
Draconum blinked again, "So if I blew up a building people would like it?"
"NO! Well I mean some might, but the thing about a movie is no one gets hurt. So no matter what happens in the movie you can cheer because you know it wasn't real."
Draconum shrugged. "I would rather have a real fight myself, but I can see why average humans would enjoy this."
Danny laughed again. Ancient as his friend was he was still new to human life. He had completely freaked when a car alarm went off down the street and it had taken Danny ten minutes to convince him not to rip the car apart. He wasn't exactly fascinated by technology claiming magic was much more effective, but some devices did get him to laugh. The talking wall fish in particular seemed to amuse him.
Ember jumped over the back of the couch and landed between them with a small thud. She didn't waste a second in making herself comfortable by snuggling up next to Danny.
"Hey, baby-pop!" She said happily.
"Hey Ember." He kissed her on the cheek.
She frowned at him. "Thats it?"
He grinned. "If you let it end there, sure."
She grinned back and kissed him hard on the lips. She broke off when she heard Draconum chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" She asked turning red.
"Oh nothing..." He said waving his hand and pretending to concentrate on the movie. His smile said other wise though.
"Why you perverted..." She lunged at him, but he rolled off the couch out of the way.
"Now, now little missy is that any way to talk to your elders?" He grinned at her.
"I'll get you don't worry!" She declared standing up and sprinting towards him.
"Come on Ember you can get him!" Danny cheered from the sofa.
Draconum just smirk and jumped over Ember as she ran at him causing her to stumble into the hall and fall flat on her face. Danny grimaced as she came charging back out of the hall way. Draconum chuckled and jumped straight up merging with the shadows on.
"Hey, that cheating!" Ember yelled towards the ceiling.
Draconum appeared behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist picking her up. She struggled for a moment then gave a defeated sigh.
"Fine, I surrender."
He grinned and headed back to the couch dropping Ember in Danny's lap as he passed. He sat back down and laughed as Ember and Danny attempted to untangle themselves.
"Ugh! Ember stop! Ouch that was my arm!"
"Wait tell I get my hands on you Draconum! Ouch! OUCH! Danny cut it out!"
"Then stop moving around! Hey, don't put your hand there!"
"Oops, sorry."
Draconum grinned at them. "Need some help?"
"You wait! I will get you for this!"
"Ouch!" Danny wrapped his arms around Ember to keep her from struggling, "Calm down!"
She huffed, but stopped moving around. She was laying on her back now across his legs.
"There now see just slide that way."
She slide down the towards Drac until her head was resting on his lap then stopped. She sighed contently and stretched out . Draconum chuckled and leaned back to watch some more TV. Danny just sighed and did the same as Ember made herself comfortable using him as a head rest and Draconum as leg rest. She sighed contently again.
"So whats on?" She asked lazily.
"I don't know..."
"Then give me the remote..."
The voices of Draconum's two young friends fell into the background as he focused on...something. He sensed something powerful nearby. He couldn't place the feeling, but he knew had had felt it before, long ago. He concentrated for all he was worth, but just as suddenly as the power had come into focus it vanished. He frowned in annoyance. Power like that couldn't just up and vanish... unless...
"Drac are you alright?"
"What?" He asked shaking his head and looking down at Ember who was still laying across them.
She sat up and looked closely at him. "Whats wrong?"
He thought for a moment. He shouldn't worry them, after all he wasn't sure the owner of that power was here to make trouble.
"It's nothing." He said after a pause and turned back to the TV.
Danny and Ember looked at each other worriedly. Neither of them liked this. Draconum never kept stuff from them.
"Drac, what is it?" Ember asked again.
"It's nothing." He repeated.
She reached out placing her hand on the side of his face and gently turned his head so he was looking at her again. Two days ago she would have been nervous just being around him, now she could reach out and touch his face without the slightest hint of fear. Even though he could kill both of them without blinking, she wasn't afraid to be so close to him.
'Thats because he is our friend, our truest friend. He wouldn't hurt us even if we tried to kill him.' She thought to herself. 'He would do anything to protect us.'
"Dracy?" She asked worriedly.
"I don't know what it was. I just know it was strong." He replied quietly. "Almost as strong as me."
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
"Is... is it an enemy?" Danny asked.
"I don't know." He said quietly.
"What are the chances it is?"
He looked at them both. He was worried, they could see it in his eyes.
"I don't know." He said again.
This time when he looked at the TV his eyes were unfocused as if he was searching for something with his mind. Danny could feel his friend's mind focus on something then change focus fast, yes he was searching for something. The worry reamained etched on his features though. What could make Draconum worry. What creature could possibly inspire even the slightest bit of fear in the Overlord of Shadows...