Drell took out a stretch as he then appeared and smiled. "Fudo family..." he gave a small nod. "Ladies... Gentlemen... Spot."
"Patch." the dalmatian puppy corrected.
"Whatever..." Drell ignored that.
"Drell, you look well..." Patrick smiled nervously. "What can we do for you?"
"I would like to spend some time with your son and only your son." Drell said.
"Me...?" Atticus asked nervously.
"Yes..." Drell smiled.
"Why?" Jessica asked.
"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Drell yelled, then remembered his indoor voice and gently and quietly continued. "Darling..."
"Um, okay, sir." Atticus said.
"Excellent..." Drell sounded pleased.
"Just why do you want my brother?" Jessica asked.
"DO NOT SPEAK OUT OF TURN!" Drell glared to her, then leaned back. "Come along, August."
"Atticus." the brown-haired boy corrected.
"August, Abacus, same diff..." Drell shrugged.
Atticus soon sighed before going with the strong warlock. Drell smiled to him and put his arm around the boy and walked with him.
"How long will he be staying with you, Drell?" Emily asked.
"For as long as I wish..." Drell replied. "No worries, I'll have him back before he needs to get up for school tomorrow."
"Why not just keep him if you like him so much?" Darla said before covering her mouth.
Patrick and Emily gaped at their youngest daughter.
"Uh, this won't take long, will it, sir?" Atticus asked.
"Don't fuss with me..." Drell replied.
"Yes, sir." Atticus said.
In the other realm...
Skippy was celebrating having a night off and even had some drinks as he giggled and danced to music he had playing. Drell then walked in with Atticus and stopped the music. Skippy pouted and looked defeated. Drell handed him a mop and walked with Atticus into another room. Skippy simply sighed before getting to work.
Drell sat Atticus down in a chair. "Stay right there."
"Yes, sir." Atticus said.
Drell walked off into a room and shut the door behind him.
After a moment...
"SKIPPY, WHERE'S MY COFFEE!?" Drell yelled.
Skippy ran into the room with a cup of coffee, trying not to spill it. And where to his luck, he didn't spill one drop of it.
Drell took it and sipped his coffee. "What took you so long...?"
Skippy stood by, waiting for any more instruction.
"Is Michelle's daughter still alive?"Drell asked then.
Skippy nodded.
"Good." Drell nodded before taking another sip.
Skippy smiled sheepishly.
Drell then spit out the coffee which instantly made Skippy frown. "Not sweet enough, go think about what you've done."
Skippy bowed his head and walked off. Drell soon sighed and then decided to get back to Atticus. Atticus looked up.
"What's your friend's phone number?" Drell asked.
Atticus gave the number.
Meanwhile, Cherry was upstairs and in her pajamas as she was tapping away at her laptop. She then soon heard the phone ring. She then reached over and answered her phone. "Hello."
"Hello, is this the Butler's residence?" Drells's voice asked.
"Yeah, who's this?" Cherry replied.
"This is Drell." Drell said.
"GAH!" Cherry dropped the phone in slight alarm.
"Should have seen that coming." Drell groaned.
Cherry then went back to work on her laptop.
"Time to pull out the big guns..." Drell said in a warning voice.
Cherry hummed as she continued to work on her laptop until she would get ready for bed. She then felt a chill down her spine like something bad would happen. "You ever get the feeling that something really bad is about to happen?" she then asked, seemingly no one.
There was then a swirling hole in her wall and a hand reached out. Cherry screamed and fell down from her bed and hid underneath it. But the hand soon grabbed her; not leaving without her. Cherry yelped as her ankle was pulled as she was dragged to the portal.
Once she was in, the portal closed up and the room returned back to its original state. Cherry was soon brought into a new room. Her eyes widened as she looked all around.
"Cherry and Atticus," Drell smiled fondly. "At last, we finally meet."
"Didn't we already meet the other day?" Cherry asked.
"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Drell yelled, then leaned back, trying to relax himself. "I want to congratulate you two on your many adventures since the orphanage."
"What orphanage?" Cherry asked.
"You know, the orphanage you both grew up in..." Drell prompted. "Until Cinderella's father adopted you of course."
"You know about that?" Atticus asked.
"I know everything about you two..." Drell came behind the two and put his arms around them as he smiled to them. "I've been following you two all your lives, even when your parents gave you up for adoption when you were both about two-years-old."
'Wow, so you are like our Guardian Angel." Atticus smiled.
"Yeah, you could say that..." Drell replied.
"Why did they give us up anyway?" Cherry asked.
"It's a long story deep within your family bloodlines, I'm not sure if you're both ready to know now," Drell looked up distantly. "You're only in middle school after all. Plus, when you go in high school, you'll be learning how to use and control your magical elements and abilities."
"That is true." Atticus nodded.
"You'll both learn someday..." Drell said.
"Uh, sir, is it possible for me to bring my puppy along?" Atticus asked.
"This puppy of yours, is he a familiar?" Drell then asked about Atticus's nonhuman best friend.
"Um, no." Atticus said.
"I'm sorry, but familiars only..." Drell walked off and folded his arms. "Besides, who could teach him to do such a thing?"
"Isn't Sabrina's pet cat actually a warlock?" Cherry asked randomly.
"Yes, but he's sentenced to 100 years to be cursed as a cat." Drell said.
"Isn't he technically a familiar then?" Atticus smiled sheepishly.
"I suppose so, but I doubt he'd be helpful," Drell crossed his arms. "He did try to take over the world of course."
"I'm sure he'll learn his lesson soon." Atticus said.
"Mm-hmm..." Drell sounded doubtful.
"I mean it." Atticus said.
"Yes, but you don't know Salem Saberhagen like I do..." Drell firmly put his hands on his hips.
"At least give him a few years to prove that he's matured." Atticus said.
"We'll see, my boy, we'll see..." Drell came up behind Atticus with a small smirk.
Atticus felt nervous about the smirk, but did well to hide his fear.
"I'm rather fond of you two..." Drell grinned at the two children in his room with him.
"You are?" Atticus and Cherry asked.
"Oh, yes..." Drell grinned. "You two are most important... I've even known you two before you guys even realized it."
"Is that why Jessica knows who you are?" Atticus asked.
"That, and I used to be her babysitter when my mother was still in charge of the council until she retired," Drell replied. "I was basically my mother's little helper back then, but since I'm a close friend of your father's Atticus, I was around your house a lot before you were born."
"Cool." Atticus smiled.
"I feel weird around you..." Cherry said to Drell.
"Ah, there's nothing to be scared of, I'm a gentle soul..." Drell smiled to himself.
Skippy walked by with the mop and panted out of severe exhaustion.
"Where's my lemonade?" Drell looked to him.
Skippy looked to him, then pointed to his mopping.
"Surely you knew I'd want lemonade after you working so hard..." Drell folded his arms. "I suggest you make some..."
Skippy looked unfortunate and went to the kitchen.
"Aren't you being unfair?" Atticus asked.
"What do you mean?" Drell looked back.
"Kinda harsh..." Cherry siad. "I mean, he did hard work for you and you asked him to make you lemonade."
"And your point would be...?" Drell didn't see what was so bullying of his actions.
"You are acting like a bully to him." Atticus told him.
"I am not!" Drell retorted.
Skippy walked in with a pitcher of fresh lemonade.
"Why is that lemonade PINK!?" Drell glared at Skippy.
Skippy backed away nervously. He soon saw that Atticus was right as he saw Atticus was the one now smirking to see that the strong warlock was wrong. Skippy gripped his collar nervously.
Drell swiped the pitcher of lemonade. "Uh, never mind that, I should be thankful you made me some anyway... Now, are the seeds out of the lemons?"
Skippy paused for a moment and then nodded nervously.
"Are they...?" Drell asked.
Skippy gulped, then took the pitcher and took out a lemon, trying to squeeze the seeds out, then squirted his eye and hollered in hissing pain and ran into the wall.
"You do realize you can just use your magic to get rid of the seeds, right?" Atticus asked.
Skippy looked up to Atticus with one eye twitching with a pout and snapped his fingers in defeat. Drell just laughed at Skippy's pain and suffering.
"Ahem!" Atticus cleared his voice; not afraid of the strong warlock anymore for some reason.
Drell walked over toward Atticus and clamped his hand on the boy's forehead.
Atticus growled and tried to reach up to him to strangle him. "Someday, I'm gonna be stronger than you! It's not over until the fat lady sings!"
"Hey, leave my mother out of this." Drell glared.
Atticus glared back, but the two then laughed as that was kind of funny that Drell insulted his own mother.
"Are those two actually getting along?" Cherry asked.
Skippy merely shrugged as he put some ice over his swollen eye.
"You're kinda funny for a jerk." Atticus said.
"And you're pretty tough for a Wiccan." Drell smirked.
"Thanks." Atticus smiled.
"And nice overdose of the broccoli." Drell smirked.
"Well, I love my greens..." Atticus shyly admitted.
"What about spinach?" Drell then asked.
Cherry cupped her mouth and seemed to gag at the mention of 'spinach'.
"I'd love to try that." Atticus smiled.
Drell laughed. "Sounds good to me..."
Cherry shuddered and looked like she was going to throw up.
"Hey!" Drell slapped her back. "What's wrong with you?"
"Spinach is disgusting..." Cherry whimpered.
Skippy soon brought out a can of spinach. Cherry cupped her mouth and ran out of the room and there was then throwing up sounds heard.
"Let's just ignore those sounds and see if Atticus will like this." Drell said before taking the can.
Atticus was a little nervous. "What harm could it do?"
Skippy then zipped out of the room. Atticus simply rolled his eyes before Drell opened it up.
Drell inhaled the scent and sighed and gave it to Atticus. "Eat up, Sport."
Atticus took out a spoon and decided to try the spinach.
"Oh, come on, eat it all from the can, no spoon." Drell said.
"But-" Atticus pouted. "That's unsanitary."
"Just do it." Drell said.
"Sorry about this, Mom..." Atticus muttered before taking a deep breath and gobbled down the spinach from the can. He continued to gobble down the spinach until he ate it all and swallowed all of it.
"Good?" Drell folded his arms with a smirk.
"Kinda nasty, but yeah." Atticus said before he felt his muscles get bigger.
"It makes you grow big and strong," Drell encouraged. "Just think of it as a way to 'Go the Distance'."
"Please don't start singing." Atticus begged.
"What's wrong with my singing?" Drell asked.
Cherry rubbed the inside of her ears. "The horror... The horror..."
Skippy nodded in agreement. Drell was about to tell them off before he was lifted up in the air. Atticus struggled slghtly, but he did it.
"Wow..." Cherry blinked.
This also caused Drell to gulp.
Atticus smirked to this. "Ya scared, Big Bad Warlock Boy?"
"Maybe a tad?" Drell smiled nervously.
"Thought so." Atticus smirked.
"Put me down please..." Drell said.
Atticus let go of Drell. Skippy now had a cold compress on his head, his eye infection had given him a terrible headache.
"Luckily the affects of vegetables aren't the only way to get stronger." Drell said.
Skippy nodded.
"What's with you?" Drell asked him.
Skippy pointed to his swollen eye as he held the cold compress on his head.
"What happened to his eye?" Cherry asked.
"Beats me..." Drell sipped his lemonade and gagged. "GAH! Seeds!" he then spat in Skippy's other eye.
Skippy screamed and fell against the floor.
"Whoopsie..." Drell replied but he didn't seem to mean it.
Atticus was about to lift Drell up so he could actually mean it.
"I said sorry!" Drell replied.
Skippy whimpered as his eyes were stinging. Atticus soon used his magic to heal Skippy's eyes, but started to struggle with lifting Drell. Skippy blinked and seemed to feel much better.
"Oh, poor Stimpy..." Cherry said.
"Skippy." Drell told her.
"Yeah..." Cherry said before patting the mute man on the head.
Drell just simply rolled his eyes, but then smirked back at Atticus as the affects of the vegetable seemed to wear off.
"Guh..." Atticus held himself. "I don't feel so good now..."
"Oh, maybe you should go home and lie down..." Drell suggested.
"I don't think he's gonna make it back home." Cherry said.
"Oh, looks like he'll have to stay for the night then..." Drell grinned.
"Uh, I'd like to go home if that's possible..." Cherry sweated nervously.
"You may go home then." Drell said.
"Okay, uh, bye, sir..." Cherry said. "Uh, how do I get back home?"
Drell chuckled to her. Cherry yelped as she was through a swirling vortex and it threw her back in her room and she crashed against the wall and landed flat on her bed in agony. Drell smirked before taking Atticus to his spare bed that he surprisingly had in his bedroom. Skippy came in the room and got the covers and everything set up and ready. Atticus seemed to be fast asleep as he was tucked in for the night.
"Nighty night..." Drell whispered. "Son... Erm,... Atticus."
Skippy noticed that.
"Shut up." Drell glared at him and walked off.
"What is going on with me?" Drell asked himself.
Skippy shrugged and walked off.