Note: As we're getting closer to Halloween each day, I feel the urge to update the story more frequently. Sadly, that might not happen. Things can get busy, and I might not have enough time for certain things. Hopefully, I have an opportunity to write more than one new chapter for the story this month. If I don't, then understand that I was unable to do so. Before we move on, I have to say something to two reviewers.

Big Bossk Man 92: I initially thought about using Robin Bat (from Amnesia) for the first enemy Star Fox and the vampire hunters encountered, but I decided to simply use a monster who parodies the first bosses from the Castlevania franchise. Wolf/Volk might have something more powerful than the Bat Master. In any case, our heroes had better be careful. As for Slippy and Peppy, they'll be lucky enough to be harvested for their blood. If they get turned, then Star Fox still has the two cures on hand.

King Tutanfoxenkhamen III: I can't tell you everything that out heroes will encounter. There probably won't be any werewolves, primarily because certain stories have vampires and werewolves being enemies. Wolf/Volk could have anything at his disposal, so Star Fox needs to be careful. If they aren't, then they'll end up dead or as new vampires. I hope you're ready for what happens next.

Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter eighteen.

Chapter 18: On the Second Floor

Walking up the stairway, Fox was intent on getting to Star Wolf and defeating them. The others followed him, but had a hard time catching up with him. No one could really blame the orange tod, however, due to recent events. Peppy and Slippy had been sent down to the dungeon, Lucy had been captured, people had either been killed or turned into vampires, and Krystal had to keep Wolf from finding out she was helping Star Fox. If they were all too late, then Star Wolf would unleash an undead army upon the Lylat System, possibly intent on spreading it throughout the galaxy. Everything would be in utter chaos, and there would be an untold amount of death and destruction.

Upon reaching the second floor, Fox, Falco, Fara, and the Helsings found themselves in another hallway. However, unlike the first floor, there were several doors on each side. It looked almost like a corridor one would see in a hospital or a hotel. That did not change how empty the castle seemed to be. With nary a soul in sight, the hallway was desolate and quiet. It was not an area one would want to be in for long, especially if they were afraid of empty spaces and prolonged silence.

Thinking that Lucy could have been kept in one of the rooms, Fox began to open doors and check what was on the inside. Falco, Fara, Orlando, and Owen did the same, even stepping inside each room to look around. None of them saw Lucy, not even anything she could have left behind. It was clear that she was not on the second floor, but somewhere else. Wherever the doe was, they needed to go there and save her. The question was: Where could she have been kept?

Fox stepped out of a room, thinking about what Krystal had said to him through her telepathy. She had said that Lucy was being kept in a room, but did not specify what floor the room was on. He hoped that the cobalt vixen would message him again, but he feared her getting caught by Wolf. She might have been a vampire like the one-eyed lupine, but that did not mean that she was as powerful as he was. The space pirate-turned-vampire was essentially Dracula, and the Cerinian-vampire was just another person he had turned. With that in mind, Fox knew that Wolf would probably kill Krystal if she were to be outed as a traitor.

Checking another room, the group found nothing inside of it. Like the rest of the rooms, there was no sign of life, or any indication that someone lived in it. However, it was much different than the others. The room's floor was blood red, and the walls looked as if they were on fire. Not a single window was in the room, much like the others. With its disturbing atmosphere and no proof that anyone would live in it, anyone would get uncomfortable in a matter of minutes.

The moment everyone stepped out of the room, Orlando could hear something approaching. Whatever it was, it moved slowly, as if it was too heavy to move at a faster speed. However, the coyote told everyone to keep their guard up, as the creature could catch them by surprise. As such, Fox and Falco had their blasters out, intent on shooting the incoming enemy. Fara had Owen stay behind her, not wanting him to get hurt. Everyone stood their ground, holding out their weapons and looking around for where their aggressor would pop out of.

All of a sudden, something began to run towards the group. On instinct, Falco pushed Fox out of the way, while telling Orlando to do the same for Fara and Owen. The moment the creature had passed, everyone stood up and saw it stop, allowing them to see what it looked like. It was a massive wolf-like creature with blue fur, red eyes, albeit with ears that belonged to a different animal. No matter what it was, the monster was still a threat, and another obstacle that was keeping Star Fox and the vampire hunters from reaching Star Wolf. They just needed to kill it, assuming it didn't have a few nasty tricks in its fur.

"What is that thing?" Fox asked.

"I want to say it's Cerberus," Fara said, "but it's blue and only has a single head! Either way, we need to kill this thing!"

"Everyone attack!" Orlando said.

The creature swiped one of its paws down at the group, but they dodged it. Fox fired at its eyes, managing to distract it for a bit. Falco did the same, but only managed to hit one of the monster's eyes. Orlando had Fara take out her cross, so that she could throw it at the wolf-like beast. She did so, which merely scratched her enemy in its chest. Owen's turn was next, so he threw holy water at the monster, which burned it and made it back up.

With all the damages that it had taken, the wolf-like monster became angry. It opened its mouth, firing several fire balls at the group. Luckily, they were able to dodge them, albeit at the cost of being surrounded by flames. Orlando doused the flames with holy water, which extinguished them almost instantly. As such, the group was able to continue fighting. However, they agreed to keep a distance, knowing that they couldn't get too close to their enemy.

Looking at its enemies/prey, the wolf-like creature charged forward. However, that gave Star Fox and the vampire hunters an advantage. Fox and Falco opened fire with their blasters, hell-bent on defeating the monster. As it was preoccupied with its enemies, it was unable to stop Fara from throwing her gilded cross at its chest. It failed to damage the monster, so it was Orlando's turn to attack, and he climbed up one of its legs and staked it in the heart. Owen watched what was happening, and he felt as though something was wrong. It didn't seem easy to battle the wolf while it was up.

Shaking off its enemies, the wolf-like creature leapt up, intent on pouncing its prey. However, Owen warned everyone to move. After that, the monster landed on the floor. Before it could get up, Owen asked his grandfather for a stake. Taking it, the young coyote rushed up the blue wolf monster's back and drove the stake into its heart. Once that happened, everyone waited in anticipation, hoping that the fatal blow would be enough.

The wolf-like monster let out a monstrous roar as the stake pierced its body. It began to shake uncontrollably and glow, letting out a bright light. Everyone began to run away, fearing that it would lead to an explosion large enough to kill everyone in the castle. Owen jumped off the monster, joining the others. The creature disintegrated, meaning that it had been destroyed by the young coyote's final attack. When it was dead, Star Fox and the vampire hunters took a moment to catch their breath.

"Gee, kid, where did you get that idea?" Falco asked.

"Well," Owen spoke, "I saw that your attacks weren't working on the creature while it was standing up, so I decided to stake it in the heart once it was in a position where it was laying down."

"That was clever of you, Owen." Fox said.

"He can be brilliant sometimes." Fara said.

"But, for now, we need to move on!" Orlando said. "I can sense a great evil on the next floor!"

Realizing that they had no time for idle speech, Star Fox and the vampire hunters decided to carry on. While approaching the stairs to the third floor, the group discussed what they would do. If Star Wolf was on the third floor, then they would use everything they could to defeat the space pirate-turned-vampires. If they weren't, then Fox and Orlando would lead the onslaught against any monster that came their way. Fox's main priority was finding Krystal and rescuing Slippy and Peppy, though he wanted to personally put an end to Wolf. As for Orlando, he hoped to kill Star Wolf himself, so that he could be seen as a great vampire hunter.

In the throne room, Krystal was seated next to Volk. She did not use her telepathy to scan for her allies, knowing that she would be outed. All the cobalt vixen could do was wait for something to happen. While waiting, however, she saw everything freeze around her. The Cerinian-vampire herself could move, but nothing else was given the same chance. All around her, time has been frozen, and she had a feeling she knew who had made time stop.

"Krystal." A voice said.

Turning her head, Krystal saw Death standing near her.

"Oh," Krystal said, "Death, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I came with some bad news." Death said. "Not only have two of your teammates been imprisoned in the dungeon of this castle, but so have several others that you might be familiar with, such as Katt Monroe."

"Let's not forget Lucy Hare." The cobalt vixen said. "Star Wolf pulled her into the castle, but they have her in a room on the thirteenth floor. Hopefully, I'll be able to help Fox save them."

"That's the other bad news I wanted to tell you." The Reaper said. "It would appear that Fox McCloud is marked for death."

Krystal was shocked when she heard that. While she always knew that Fox wouldn't be around forever, she didn't want his last day of life to be today. It was clear that Star Wolf was planning to kill the orange tod as soon as they saw him. Fear in her non-beating heart, Krystal knew that she had to stop it from happening.

"Death, that can't be right!" She said. "You must've made a mistake in your schedule!"

"Sadly, I did not make a mistake." Death said.

"There has to be something I can do!" Krystal said.

"Until Fox enters the third floor, you cannot do anything." The Grim Reaper said. "For now, just wait to see what happens."

Death soon parted ways with Krystal, vanishing from her sight. After that, time resumed its flow, causing Volk to see the expression on the cobalt vixen's face.

"Are you alright?" Volk asked.

"Sure, I'm alright!" Krystal lied.

"You sure about that?" The one-eyed lupine looked at her quizzically. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm just in anticipation for whatever will happen next!" The cobalt vixen said.

All of a sudden, Leon tapped his rapier on the floor. Panther stood up, which was what he was supposed to do when something was wrong. Volk watched him, knowing that there was something coming. Krystal wanted to smile, knowing who it was, but she couldn't. With one of her loved ones marked for death, the cobalt vixen was dreading what would happen next. Someone was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. Even if there was some way to prevent it, it wasn't immediately possible.

"Someone's coming." Panther said.

All of a sudden, the door to the throne room came open. Following that was a very familiar voice.

"Star Wolf, this ends now!"

Note: Well, Star Fox and the vampire hunters have reached Star Wolf, but it seems that Fox might die in this encounter. Will the orange tod really kick the bucket, or will he be able to survive? If he does die, who will kill him? Will it be Wolf/Volk? Will it be Leon? How about Panther? Will it be someone no one would have expected?

Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!