Chapter Thirty-One

When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in bed. I don't remember how I got there, but I don't really care either. Stupid Tulio! Glancing over to the other bed, I saw the sisters fast asleep, Alyss curled up in a ball sucking her thumb, while Catherine was laying on her stomach, the top half of her body dangling over the side, and she was muttering "om, nom, nom". I smirked at that little scene. Still wearing my jammies (an overly large TMNT Michelangelo sweatshirt and black shorts), I left the room and went downstairs for breakfast.

In all honesty, it did feel a bit strange to not have Tulio hovering nearby. It was almost like he had been my personal guardian. Good riddance, I say! I quickly thought. What he had said to me last night was so rude! But it was true... I mean, who does he think he is saying things like that?! He says he loves you...

Bypassing the dining area, I went straight to the kitchens. Everyone down there was distraught about losing Tiana, and I couldn't blame them. She had been a great person, and in all honesty, she had been my favourite princess from the Disney franchise. I was going to miss her cheerful attitude and determination to get something done.

After making myself some toast with butter and orange marmalade, I left the kitchens and sat in the dining area right beside a window. Nibbling my toast, I watched as people passed by either acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, or entirely on edge, jumping at the littlest noises. I sighed. This used to be a wonderful place to live, but now it had to be the most dangerous, and it was all because of me... Siren. I opened my mouth to take another bite, when I saw Tulio across the street. His blue eyes locked with my golden brown ones, and I froze, my heart now hammering in my chest. For a moment, I thought he was going to come this way, but then he turned and continued down the street. To my utter astonishment, I was actually disappointed. Heaving another sigh, I set my toast down, and stared at the table top.

"See, what did I tell you! She's down here," I heard Catherine say and from my peripheral vision, I saw the sisters occupy the the seats opposite me, "And she's got toast!"

"I'm totes jelly," said Alyss with a small pout.

"I'm a peanut!" Catherine proclaimed.

Normally, I corny joke like that would have made me laugh, or at the very least smile, but I continued staring at the table top, and simply pushed my leftover breakfast to them.

"What's wrong, duck?" Catherine said, becoming serious. Alyss started munching on toast.

"It's nothing," I muttered.

"Was it Tulio?" Catherine persisted and my head automatically shot up.

"No," I blurted out.

"Liar," Alyss remarked.

"Well, what happened?" Catherine asked with a sly smile.

"Nothing," I replied.

"Did he kiss you?" Alyss inquired.

It suddenly became uncomfortably hot in the room, and I shifted in my chair.

"No surprise after you kissed him first," Alyss added.

"I told you guys I only did it to break Danny's heart," I said, my face still red.

"So then what happened to upset you?" Catherine demanded, and I told them everything that had happened last night after they had ditched me. I even mentioned that I had just seen him a few minutes ago.

"And how do you feel about that?" asked Alyss.

"I... don't know," I admitted, "Lonely? Sad? B-but I don't - can't -" Can't what, exactly?

"I see what's going on here," said Catherine and I stared at her expectantly, "The nargles have infiltrated your brain!" She nodded knowingly. I blinked at her for a moment before I burst out laughing. Pretty soon, tears were leaking out of my eyes, and I couldn't breathe.

"Feeling better?" Alyss inquired. Not being able to answer, I just nodded.

"Hey, guys," said Sam as she and Danny arrived. They were looking at me quizzically and I couldn't calm down enough to talk to them.

"Did we miss something?" Danny Phantom inquired.

"I think I broke her," said Catherine in amusement.

Siren woke up, gasping, and sat up in bed. For the first time in her existence, she actually felt scared! One minute she was throwing a tantrum because she had forgotten that Hook was dead and she was furious because he had lied to her about Tulio, and the next a slash had appeared on her forearm and a burning sensation ran throughout her body. The feeling was unbearable, and her cry of rage turned to one of pain. For a moment, she was vaguely aware of Chernabog watching her through narrowed eyes, and then she blacked out. What had happened? She didn't know. But it couldn't have been anything good. Even worse, one of her minions had seen her in a moment of weakness. If word of this got out, the other villains would challenge her! There would be mutiny on her hands! She had to cause more mayhem and fast!

Jumping out of bed, Siren spun around, transporting herself to Nesidy, and landed in a flower garden. she knew exactly where she was: right outside the white mansion that housed, Snow White, her little sister Anne-Marie, and six of the seven dwarfs (Happy being dead).

"Magic Mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?" Siren recited running her hands over her hair. With her magic, she made it appear as if her long curls were cut short to shoulder length, and when she blinked, her scarlet eyes became a golden brown. She then produced an apple out of thin air. For a moment, it glowed black, but then turned shiny and red. Siren giggled before skipping up to the mansion's door and knocking. When the door opened, Snow White peered out cautiously, but upon seeing "Aralyne" she smiled and widened the entrance.

"Snow, who is it?" Doc asked from inside.

"It better not be any strangers! I already don't like Anne-Marie going out to see Eilonwy and Irenie!" Grumpy growled out.

"It's just Aralyne," Snow called back out to them, then motioned for the villainess to enter the mansion. "What a pleasant surprise," she added closing the door behind Siren, "Please, do sit down."

The villainess found herself in a kitchen and sat at the large table. The six dwarfs entered the room and sat down as well to chat with their guest. Snow took one seat beside her, while Dopey took the other, a large smile plastered on his face and his ears wiggling excitedly.

"What brings you here, Aralyne?" asked Bashful, blushing and trying to hide behind his beard.

"I heard people were getting sick and I wanted to make sure you were all okay," said Siren feigning innocence, "In fact, I brought you this, Snow." She held out the apple to Snow White. "You know what they say, an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"Oh, why thank you!" Snow said in delight, taking the fruit. Siren watched eagerly as Snow White took a large bite of the poisoned apple. The princess suddenly gasped as the apple suddenly became rotten and worms poke out of it. It fell from her hand and landed on the floor with a splat! In just mere seconds, her skin paled even more than what it normally was and her eyes glowed black. Blood suddenly dripped from her cold blue lips.

"What - a - What di - achoo!" said Sneezy.

"What did you do to her?!" Grumpy finished for him.

The villainess laughed maniacally, and let her disguise fade away.

"I-i-it's Siren!" Doc gasped pointing at her. Dopey shook and ducked behind Sleepy.

"Ya won't get away with this, ya witch!" Grumpy snarled.

"Oh, do shut up," said Siren, enjoying herself. She waved her hand at them, and suddenly all of the dwarfs' eyes glowed a fiery orange. Their skin became tough and leathery, their ears growing in length, and their teeth becoming sharp and yellow. Just like Snow White and many others before them, they became Siren's minions. "Have fun," she sneered. Snow White and the dwarfs left the house one by one and she followed them. Once they were outside, the new zombies took off in seven different directions at an amazing speed and within moments, the screaming began.

When we heard screaming, I suddenly stopped laughing and we all looked outside the window. People were running down the street, looking over their shoulders to escape from who-knew-what. And that's when we saw Dopey, Sneezy, and Bashful following them at unusual speeds. Well, I thought it was them. They looked creepy with leathery skin like goblins, pointed ears and teeth, and orangish eyes.

"Not again," Danny muttered.

"Another zombie attack? So soon?" said Sam, her brow furrowing with worry.

"Let's go," I said jumping to my feet.

"Uh, in our pj's?" said Alyss, and I looked over at the sisters. Alyss was was wearing purple footie pajamas with a yellow duck on the front, Catherine was wearing a white tank top with blue pants decorated with sheep hopping over fences, and me - well, I was still wearing my TMNT Michelangelo sweatshirt and black shorts.

"We don't have time to change!" Catherine exclaimed, "Besides, I look adorable in these pajamas!"

Ignoring their prattling, I grabbed them each by the hand and yanked them out of their chairs. Together, the five of us left the inn to go fight off more zombies, or at the very least help those in need.

We didn't get very far when Dopey suddenly turned on us, saliva dripping form his open mouth. I skid to a halt and shivered. When I reached behind my back to grab Excalibur, I realized I had left it in my room, like a complete idiot. No! Dopey charged at us, and we all dodged, the girls and I running in different directions, and Danny shooting up into the sky.

The ghost boy then did a U-turn in the air and slammed his fists into Dopey's face. The other two dwarfs were aware of the commotion and also came after us. Sneezy coming after me and Alyss, Bashful going after Catherine and Sam.

"We need weapons to fight with," Sam said in frustration as she jumped away from Bashful.

"Well, we don't have any," I said, swerving out of the way and punching Sneezy in the jaw. It was like hitting a boulder! Wincing in pain, I pulled my fist back and shook it. Damn!

And to make matters worse, that's when the rest of the dwarfs and Snow White arrived. The former princess was chasing a little girl similar to her in features, and I realized it was Anne-Marie.

"No!" sobbed the child as she tried to get away from what used to be her older sister. She tripped and fell, screaming as she stared up at Snow.

"Anne-Marie!" I shouted leaving the others behind and going after the child. Right before Snow White could get to her, I snatched Anne-Marie up into my arms and took off running. I had to get her out of here! Unfortunately, the dwarfs decided to leave my friends alone and corned us against a building. I was prepared to use my body as a shield to protect the little girl when a couple of arrows flew out of nowhere, becoming embedded in Doc's, Grumpy's, and Sneezy's heads. The three of them exploded into dust. I looked around for my rescuer and was surprised to see Tulio not far with a bow, and a quiver full of arrows on his back.

Aaaand there he was again, protecting me. Dammit!

Danny then flew forward, knocking Bashful and Dopey into the wall. That just left Snow White.

"My sister!" Anne-Marie sobbed into my chest.

"Listen to me, Anne-Marie," I said as Alyss, Catherine, and Sam came to subdue the Snow White zombie with rope, a pick ax, and a shovel. Where they got these, I have no idea. "She's not your sister any more! She'll kill you if you get anywhere close to her!"

"Are you okay?" Tulio demanded running up to us.

I reluctantly nodded and said through gritted teeth. "Thank you."

My friends had taken care of the last of the zombies, all of them now piles of dust. Anne-Marie continued to cry in my arms, guilt gnawing away at me. She no longer had a family. All she had was Snow and the dwarfs, and now they were all dead!

"Did you really have to go and break all of my new toys so soon?" a voice pouted from above us.

We all looked up to see me standing on a building, and glaring down at us. No, not me -

"Siren," Danny snarled landing beside me.