Cleo DeNile was the CEQ (Corporate Executive Queen) of the Ptolemy Empire. Cleo had interned there after college and before they knew it Madame Ptolemy retired and appointed Cleo as her replacement. Cleo doubled their influence, profit margins and expanded all areas she touched.

In New Goreleans there was a restaurant called the Count's Palace. The fine establishment had been there for three centuries. Cleo DeNile liked the scene, bought it from the owner, and flew her ghoulfriends down for lunch.

Clawdeen Wolf-DeMew had become a name brand in Scaris, France. She dressed mainly for adults but of all sizes and genders. She was presently trying to decide on going into the children's market. Clawdeen had personal creations for the pups in her family but those were home made, she wasn't sure if she wanted any little kid to look like her pack.

Lagoona Blue was an environmental lawyer but taking time off for three sons. They were Lagoona's world-pool. She had also separated from her husband Gil and working on sharing custody.

Abbey Burns had settled into the quiet life of a florist. Her friends were surprised since she was allergic to pollen but she and her husband Heath swore they loved working with flowers.

"Please, if Toralei could become Headmistress of Monster High and not destroy it then you certainly could look into coaching there. Just for fun for starters, Abbey." Clawdeen said as they sat in Count's Palace.

"Pass. We are busy with floral arrangements. Weddings, funerals, parties. That stuff." Abbey said, the yeti swallowed her snapping-turtle soup.

"No, Abbey, I can't believe you. What are you really doing?" Clawdeen pressed.

Abbey placed her empty bowl on the table. "Fine, my real work is espionage. I am spy, as is Heath."

Clawdeen, Lagoona and Cleo started at Abbey's flat expression.

"Joke." Abbey smirked.

The sea-creature and mummy laughed but the werewolf puckered her lips and wondered if it were the truth. Which was the truth?

"Anyway, I have pictures of the boys at practice!" Lagoona said pulling out her iCoffin 31. The image hovered in a hologram of three low-sodium boys (ages eleven, eight and six) were in tights at ballerina practice.

Her friends went 'awwww' and Cleo brought out her own iCoffin 33.

"So cute. Are those Venus' girls in the back?" Cleo asked, she knew they were because they were in her daughter's classes.

"Oh yeah, the boys are their backup dancers. Those little cyborgs are graceful! Remind me of Robecca so much!" Lagoona said shifting through the pictures.

"Uh-huh. Right, they're in Meme's class. They just about beat my Meme in Honor-Heads-Roll." Cleo said smiling whiling tapping her fingernails.

Melpomene 'Meme' and Raziya DeNile-Gorgon were dragon ghouls Cleo and Deuce adopted. They were looking for unhatched eggs but they met the two sisters in the foster care and brought them home. They barely remembered life before their Dad and Mummy and were looking forward going to the famous Monster High one day.

The two young ghouls were doing homework at their home in New Salem, Massachusetts. They were content and waiting for dinner. Their dad slept during the day and worked at night because his restaurant has most guests at midnight. He was the sous chef there but before leaving them with their Nanny Clover Beild. Their gender identify was androgynous and they were a funny and loving caretaker.

In the shower Deuce Gorgon wore goggles. He was applying lotion to his head and groaning when he felt the empty spaces on his scalp. Deuce wasn't ill; he stayed active and was very fit, but still saw snakes slither at the drain of his shower. Watching his hair leave him Deuce groaned.

At dinner his daughters didn't care that he was wearing a jersey with the hood up. They told him what they did at school and he listened. In between their stories and chewing Deuce was relieved that his wife was out of town the next two days. He wanted her with the kids but he needed to do things without her knowing.

At Dr. Frankie Stein's free clinic Deuce popped in to ask his friend for a favor.

"Implant snakes into your skull?" Dr. Stein repeated to her long-time friend.

Deuce was worried she how loud she said that but acted calm, "There's open space in there, drill away."

"Deuce,"

"I know you're a nonprofit saint of a doctor, respect, but I will pay you for the job." The gorgon encouraged.

"Deuce, are you sure you need that? It's all cosmetic and really close to your brain." Frankie warned, the surgeon in her was curious how the snakes were attached in the first place but the friend in her didn't want to unnecessarily crack open a skull.

"I trust you with my brain, Dr. Frankie. I trust you'll do a hell of a job and I trust that you won't tell anyone about this." Deuce said, trying to smile coolly instead of sloppy begging.

Frankie sucked the air between in her teeth, "Cleo doesn't know about this."

"Don't be scared. I scared enough for the both of us." Deuce said, running a hand over his receding hairline.

The restaurant could survive a night without the sous chef. At home on the first floor Deuce listened to surround-shake-the-ground-sound music. He lay on a couch and felt the vibrations, he also felt one of his remaining snakes grab the glass cup before it fell on the carpet. The green dudes needed air after hiding under the hoodie all day. The song was loud Deuce heard Cleo's voice rising as she walked down the hall.

Cleo was on her Blu-Fang yelling at a colleague. She heard her husband's favorite band and walked into the room. Seeing her husband wearing nothing but sunglasses and a scarf over his head made was a nice 'Home Welcoming'.

"Hey Babe, you're home early." Deuce said, leaning his head on his bent arm and tapping his fingers on his chiseled waist.

The corners of her cheeks were sharp when she smiled and her eyes were artic and smoldering at the same time. "What are you hiding?"

Faster than he could say 'what', Cleo said, "You're wearing your dull-party smile, you didn't stack your clothes because you just jumped out of them, you're sweating but not flushed so tell me what you're hiding. Are the ghouls alright?"

"They're fine. They're at the math tutor's." He assured her.

"Was there another fire in the kitchen?" Cleo asked, hands on her hips.

"Hey, we are nine days good." Deuce said, though he worried him not being there risked a fire hazard.

Cleo waited thirty seconds then said, "Tell me. Please."

The gorgon sighed. "I need you to know I really love you, like a lot-"

"Oh my Ra." Cleo groaned and sat on the couch across from him.

"Cleo, I'm fixing it, I'm still the dude you fell in love with twenty years ago and I'll be that dude for the rest of our unlives." Deuce said, on his knees and holding Cleo's fang-wedding-ring. "Even if I'm…getting….old."

"Oh, sweetie, is that what this is about?" Cleo said, she wanted to laugh but his face was sad, so she went nice, "Deucy, you've made me wait for you to get old for a long time. Having a slightly younger- okay, six-thousand-years younger husband makes me happy in every way but over time I've become...refined and you're still…you."

Deuce nodded, she wasn't being exact but he knew precisely what she was talking about.

"You'll always be mine and I'll always be yours, but we need to sacrifice a little to make it to eternity." Cleo said, her forehead leaned on his.

The gorgon leaned into kiss his mummy wife but met with her finger.

"Now tell me or I'll scream." Cleo said sweetly.

Deuce groaned and removed the scarf from his head. There was a bald patch right in the middle of his four snakes left. Cleo shut her eyes and waved her hand as if fanning a campfire.

"Cover it, cover it, cover it!"

Deuce did so. He let Cleo push him back so she could stand up.

"Dear Ra, that is nasty."

"I know!"

"I'll take care of this-"

"I talked to Frankie-"

Cleo gagged a laugh, "She tried to talk you out of it and find the warm fuzzy place in your heart right? Even so we need don't need plug-ins we need to regrow your real hair! I'm calling Ghoulia, she can help…that…"

"So I'm not crazy. It is that bad."

"Deuce, you mean the earth and afterlife to me but I am not sleeping with a Q-ball." Cleo said with demand.

The gorgon took the phone out of her hand and put his hand around her soft waist.

"I'm going prove that's not true." Deuce said, his last few snakes swiping at her dangling earrings.

"I need a lot a convincing." Cleo challenged.