"No, you don't understand. She needs me." The battered man in his frayed brown suit clenched his fists at his sides. For the first time in what seemed like months, he was sweating.
"She needs you?" Hunson Abadeer, curled up on his makeshift throne of strange skulls and other horrors stared at the pale blue man with wide, unblinking yellow eyes. "Mr. Petrikov, you sent her off when she most needed you! So, why are you here?"
"For her. It's not safe here for her to develop. A child needs to learn. She needs to flourish with people who love her," the man begged.
"Love her, you say." Hunson scratched his chin as if in thought. "Yes, well, I can't think of any other place that's more suitable for her than the Nightosphere." He gestured to the large expanse of the cave-like setting in which echoes of bloodcurdling screams and manic laughter reverberated across the walls. He grinned. "Do you like it? I named it that myself."
Simon scowled, frost gathering at the ripped ends of his suit. "STOP PLAYING WITH ME! I WANT THE GIRL!" He bellowed. Ice gathered at his fingers and white clouds spilled from his lips. Hunson regarded him with an air of nonchalance. "I could suck your soul right now," he said, "But I don't want to find out the effects of the powers of the crown and my amulet clashing when she's in the next room."
Simon deflated. "She's in the next room? Well, why didn't you tell me that?"
Hunson sipped from a glass filled with a thick, dark red liquid before simply saying, "You never asked."
"Well, then…can I see her?"
"Nope."
Infuriated, Simon blasted a few ice shards in the air. "Well, WHY NOT?"
"Mr. Petrikov, you must be tired. I mean, traveling from dimension to dimension must be so harrowing to your being. Come on, take a seat and stop treating me like I'm…evil." He chuckled after he said the last word. Simon frowned, but sat on a flattened stalagmite.
"I couldn't help abandoning her," Hunson started. "It was for her safety. I mean, I thought I was going to die when that gang of boys came for me but luckily," he brushed his tie with his knuckles," my little amulet saved me. Now they're in my pouch. You owe me some things, Mr. Petrikov. In the time you were with her, I didn't have my daughter for four years. Tell me: when she was with you, was she changing?"
"Her skin was already blue and her teeth were already sharp. Anything else?"
"What did she eat?"
"The color red. Listen," he started, but stopped when Abadeer raised his hand.
"Did you give her that stuffed toy?"
Simon paused, taken aback by the sudden question. "Y-yes, I did."
Hunson smiled wearily. "If you must know, she loves that horrid thing. I've tried giving her riches and offered her powers you can't even imagine and she won't let go of it for one minute."
Simon looked like he could cry.
"But enough of that," he continued, "I've been thinking. With your crown and my amulet, we could form a partnership. You got this far. Now, what do you say about ruling everything with me? You'd be able to see her on a daily basis, of course, and you two would be able to interact anywhere you please."
"Now, wait just a darn second-"
Hunson leaned towards him. "Mr. Petrikov, it's painfully evident to see that you're the one who needs her. Like me, you are a man with power and in this case, a choice. It's ideal; it's perfect, so why aren't you taking it right now?"
"There's got to be a twist to this."
He relaxed into his chair. "No twist. Just power and my daughter."
"Well," Simon wrung his hands nervously. "What if something goes wrong and the crown sets off again?"
"In my domain, it won't and if something like that was to happen and you were to pose a threat to my daughter, well, we'll talk about that at another time. Now, about our partnership...," he winked. "It'll just be like old times. What do you say, Simon?"
Simon gulped. "It's just been so long, you know? Will she still remember me?"
Hunson smiled and clasped his hands together. "I'm sure she will."
Just then, a stone door ground against the floor and a small voice inquired, "Dad?"