Chapter 5: Love's Betrayal

…Hexiciah Steam's Workshop…Present Day…

"Remind me again who this jerk Valentine is?" asked Dexter as he cleaned his glasses.

"Draculaura's old boyfriend," said Clawdeen.

"He came back in her life just before her 1600th birthday," said Lagoona, "worming his way like an eel after a tasty morsel."

"He seduced her heart," said Cleo, "all in order to fill it with so much love that when he broke it, it would break in half!"

"He just wanted it to crack and added it to his collection of broken vampire hearts," said Clawdeen, "and he would have gotten away with it if it weren't for all of us."

"And Toralei helped him almost get away with it!" said Cleo irately.

"And you paid me back by dumping me and Valentine in that horrible slime pit!" said Toralei as she lounged atop one of the large devices in the lab, "It took me weeks to get the stench out of my fur."

"You deserved it after stealing my special love crossbow!" said Cupid as she looked up at Toralei, "and how long have you been there?"

"Long enough to catch up with resent events," said Toralei. With that she gracefully leapt down to the floor and slinked over to Raven, Apple and the others from Every After, "so you're Cupid's Normie friends from that other world. What, are we Monsters not enough to take care of this little problem?"

"We wouldn't be in this situation if we weren't enough," said Clawdeen irately, "and put that down! Remember the last time you fooled around in here?"

"I wasn't doing anything," said Toralei innocently as she idly placed a random gadget she was fiddling with back on a nearby table.

"Sure you weren't," said Cleo.

"Okay, so, Valentine took Draculaura," said Cupid, "but why? What's his endgame? Frankie, you told me that Valentine turned Draculaura evil, but I thought he only wanted her to add her broken heart to his collection."

"That's what we thought as well when he took her," said Frankie, "especially Clawd."

"You should have seen him when we told him what happened," said Clawdeen, "he was mad enough to tear the world apart, if it meant getting Draculaura back."

"But then we cooled him down enough to realize that Valentine's showing up was no coincidence," said Lagoona.

"That and heartbreaking vampire having sparkly ring Draculaura wanted," said Abbey, "was not coincidence either."

"What kind of ring?" Avery asked.

"It better not have been an engagement ring," said an irate Cupid.

"A ring with a very large diamond set into it," said Frankie, "and I sincerely doubt it was an engagement ring."

"If only I had seen it for myself," said Cleo, "to think something so beautiful as a diamond was in the hands of that piece of jackal dung, Valentine."

"That beautiful diamond may just well be one of nine diamonds," said Robecca, "the necklace Draculaura found had a big diamond in it, so it's a distinct possibility that the other seven pieces of The Star of Rosskarn, whatever that is, the other seven are diamonds."

"Now what could Obsidian want with diamonds?" asked Tobias.

"To live forever?" asked Maddie, "that's what diamonds are, you know."

"Uh…right," said Frankie, "anyway, we tried to look for Draculaura but no luck there."

"Obviously," said Cupid, "did Valentine send any kind of message?"

"Or Irvin Weis for that matter," said Avery, "a ransom note or any form of communication?"

"Nothing," said Frankie, "not for a whole week."

"What about the authorities?" asked Dexter, "why didn't you call the cops or something?"

"Yeah, what about that?" asked Cupid irately, "Valentine kidnapped Draculaura, so why didn't you call the police or the MBI?"

"'Monster Bureau of Investigations,'" said Lagoona to Raven and the others from Ever After.

"Well, why didn't you call the authorities?" asked Raven.

"We did call the authorities!" said an exasperated and annoyed Frankie, "I may not be that old, but I'm not stupid!"

"Remind me how many days old you are again?" asked Toralei, "I want to remember when your birthday is so I can forget to send you a card."

"You never remember anyone's birthday," said Clawdeen, "not even your own!"

"How sad to not even celebrate one's own birthday," said Cleo.

"I never had much reason to," said Toralei as she eyed her nails.

At that Frankie's neck bolts sparked, "well, we'll just have to do something about that, won't we?" she asked as she smiled eagerly

"What do you mean?" asked Toralei suspiciously.

"We're gonna celebrate your birthday," said Frankie, "Ghoulia? Find out when Toralei's birthday is, then start planning to celebrate it next week."

At that Ghoulia moaned in confusion.

"What the heck are you talking about, Frankie?" asked Clawdeen.

"Is this really the time to plan an un-birthday party?" asked Lagoona.

"Anytime's a time to plan an un-birthday party!" said Maddie eagerly.

"Frankie! Focus!" snapped Cupid, "focus on Draculaura!"

"Huh? Oh!" said Frankie as she blinked, "oh, sorry, I didn't mean to get distracted. I mean, things have been so bad and gloomy recently, I thought a little happiness might do us all some good."

"It would but not right now," said Cupid.

"You're right," sighed Frankie, "anyway, we did call the authorities, but all they did was offer a bunch of empty promises and words. Not even Draculaura's father, Dracula, the Dracula, he's too busy with his businesses to help."

"To think that the same Dracula who once ruled the night," said Cleo, "now seeks to rule the world economy. Assuming my father doesn't get there first."

"So, you guys were on your own?" asked Apple, "no one else was helping?"

"Oh, we've had some help," said Robecca, "the entire student body of Monster High offered to help."

"And Headmistress Bloodgood," said Clawdeen, "she promised to do all she could."

"Which means little if any good," said Toralei.

"Don't you have anything better to do than drag things down?" asked Clawdeen, "we're all feeling bad enough as it is."

"Well, pardon me for being realistic," said Toralei irately, "we've been getting our tails kicked lately," she then looked at Apple, Avery, Raven, Dexter, Maddie and Tobias, "and frankly, I don't see how these weirdo Normies can help."

"Just you wait, we'll show you what we can do to help," said Raven. She then looked at Frankie, "but do go on, please."

"Yes, please, what happened next?" asked Cupid.

"Well, we spent the whole weekend most of the next week trying to find Draculaura," said Frankie.

"With nothing to show for it," interjected Toralei.

"Who's telling the story here? You or Frankie?" asked Cleo irately.

"Just adding my two cents," said Toralei as she hopped onto one of the tables, pulled out a nail file and began working on her claws.

"You weren't even there when the tide pulled out last Friday," said an annoyed Lagoona, "come to think of it, I can't even remember seeing you at school on a Monday."

"You're right, I've never seen you at school on a Monday, Toralei," said Frankie, "at least not before lunch on Mondays."

"You've been blowing off Mondays?" asked Dexter, "gosh, I wish I had the guts to do that."

"I agree, especially when we have a test on Mondays," said Raven.

"I admit, Mondays aren't my favorite days," said Apple.

"Forget about what day it was or what days Toralei's been skiving off!" snapped Cupid, "What Happened, Frankie?!"

"Please tell her," said Tobias as he grasped Cupid's hand in a comforting manner, "I honestly don't know how much more she can take."

"Alright, here's what happened last Friday," said Frankie, "I need to backtrack a bit first. When she found out what happened to Draculaura, Headmistress Bloodgood decided to suspend classes until the situation was resolved."

"Which means no school until Draculaura's back home and no more Kaijin," said Clawdeen, "we've basically been using Monster High to coordinate our efforts."

"Then things really got bad on Friday," said Frankie, "I was driving Hector downtown with Abbey, Clawd, Jessie and Jackson. We were testing out a gadget Jackson and Ghoulia put together to help find Draculaura."

At that Ghoulia moaned eagerly as she showed everyone her laptop screen, which was displaying the schematics for some sort of sensor device.

"Yes, we know you're very proud of your perfume detector," said Cleo, "it's really not that big a deal."

"A machine that can home in on the specific pheromones in a perfume brand is definitely a big deal," said Robecca.

"Venus gave Draculaura a special brand of perfume as a gift," said Clawdeen, "some kind of experiment on synthetics without harming real flowers or something."

"It was a really unique scent tailored to enhance Draculaura's natural beauty," said Lagoona, "Clawd went bonkers over it."

"And if Draculaura was somewhere where her scent could be carried on the wind," said Frankie, "even if the pheromones were too faint to even be picked up by a werewolf's sense of smell, the gadget would."

…Streets of New Salem…Last Friday…

"What do you think about 'The Scent Sniffer 1.1?" asked Jackson as he, Jessie and Abbey sat in the back seat of Hector with the top down, while Frankie drove and Clawd sat in the passenger seat. "or maybe 'The Perfume Pursuer 2000?'"

"Too swanky," said Abbey, "needs to be simple and honest."

"That's no way to get a product noticed on the market," said Jessie, "I've got a cousin back home who works in advertisement. You show him your machine, Jackson, he'll not only come up with a really classy name, but also a commercial and jingle to go with it. You'll be a millionaire in less than six months."

"It's not just Jackson's," said Frankie, "it's also Ghoulia's, remember?"

"I also have a cousin who works on business contracts," said Jessie, "he'll work it out so that you and Ghoulia get equal profits and credit."

"What difference does it make?" asked Clawd as he leaned over the door and up, trying to sniff the air as the car passed through the streets of the town, "if I can't sniff out Draculaura, then no machine can!"

"This gadget can and will," said Jackson, "it's just one idea Ghoulia and I have that'll allow us Normies to experience what Monsters take for granted. Your abilities make you special but also envious, not to mention frightening."

"You trying to sell Monster powers to Normies?" asked Abbey.

"No, not like that," said Jackson, "it's just that…there's still so much distrust between humans and Monsters. I just thought that if some Normies could experience what it's like to be a Monster, there'd be less discord between them."

"A good idea but it'll have to wait," said Frankie as she pulled up to a red light, "let's find Draculaura, then we'll worry about bring peace to Normies and Monsters."

"Turn left," said Clawd as he stood up, "the wind's shifting."

"I can't turn left, it's a one-way street," said Frankie.

"I don't care, turn left!" snapped Clawd.

"And risk getting a ticket?" asked Frankie irately as her neck bolts sparked, "I'd rather keep my license point free, thank you very much."

"There no cops around to give ticket," said Abbey.

"Yes, but if you look up at the poles where the stop lights are hanging," said Jessie as she pointed up, "you'll see those lovely little cameras the police use to catch speeders and other traffic violations."

"We'll turn left at the next light, Clawd," said Jackson.

"No, we're going left now!" snapped Clawd. With that he irately pulled Frankie out of the driver's seat and shoved her into the backseat. He then jumped behind the wheel and floored it, the tires screeching as Hector turned left while the light was still red.

"Are you out of your mind!?" exclaimed Jessie as Clawd drove Hector through oncoming traffic, the cars of the other drivers swerving to avoid a head-on collision.

"Clawd, I know you're upset," said Frankie, "but this is no reason to hijack my car! Especially while I'm still in it!"

"I know what I'm doing, Frankie!" exclaimed Clawd as he narrowly avoided hitting one car, then drove between two, "Draculaura's this way!"

"My gadget would have picked it up!" said Jackson.

"I don't need some stupid smelling machine!" snapped Clawd, "I can feel it! She's this way!"

"Then just pull over so we can call the others!" said Frankie.

Instead of pulling over, Clawd drove the car onto the sidewalk to avoid a particularly thick patch of traffic.

"Okay, now you're endangering pedestrians!" said Jessie fearfully as the car narrowly missed dozens of people diving out of the way.

"Did I say you were upset, Clawd?" asked Frankie as they narrowly avoided running over a mother and child, "you're nuts!"

But then Clawd stamped on the brake, nearly launching everyone out of the car, only for Clawd to put Hector in reverse, back up several yards, brake again and then pull into a side alley.

After several seconds the alley opened up into an enormous empty lot that had only one other outlet. Clawd slammed on the brake once again as he saw a figure standing in the middle of the lot, a figure that turned out to be a smirking Valentine.

"You!" shouted Clawd as he leapt out of Hector, while Frankie and the others got out as well, "Where's Draculaura!?"

"Well, well, well," said Valentine, "the brave hero and his companion have tracked down the vile villain in order to rescue the princess. A classic tale if there ever was."

"No games, Valentine!" shouted Frankie, "what did you do with Draculaura?!"

"Where, oh where, is she indeed?" asked Valentine, "she's safe, if that will ease your frantic hearts."

"If stupid playboy vamp has hurt Draculaura, I'll turn him into undead popsicle!" snapped Abbey.

"Not if I don't roast him first!" shouted Heath in a muffled tone.

"Heath?!" exclaimed Frankie, "where are you?!"

"Hang on a second!" said Heath.

Just then Frankie and the others heard and saw Hector's trunk shake several times, "just hang on, where's the emergency release on this thing!?"

"They didn't put emergency releases in car trunks until 2002," said Jackson as Frankie hurried back to Hector and pressed the trunk release button beneath the dashboard. The trunk popped open, at which a hyperventilating Heath bolted up.

"Oh, thank goodness!" gasped Heath, "I thought I was stuck in there forever!"

"What the fudge were you doing in there?" Jessie asked.

"Uh…seemed like a good idea at the time," said Heath sheepishly, to which Abbey briefly laughed.

"Well, that was an amusing distraction," said Valentine, "but I believe that we get down to business, to talk turkey, as the Normies often say."

"You want to get down and dirty, Valentine?!" growled Clawd as he tensed to attack, "that's fine by me!"

"No! Don't resort to violence!" said Jessie as she, Abbey and Heath restrained Clawd, "it's what he wants! It's what they want!"

Frankie and the others then saw several figures emerging from the shadows of the surrounding buildings; five Normies dressed in gray and eight in wild colors.

"So it's true," said Frankie as she glared at Valentine, "you're working with Obsidian!"

"We have an understanding," said Valentine as the Orphnochs and Fangire surrounded Frankie and the others, yet didn't close in, "but you can relax, dear friends. These associates of mine are just here to make sure you don't attempt any unnecessary violence."

"But why?" asked Jackson, "why work with Obsidian?"

"That's what I want to know," said Frankie.

"The winds of fate are blowing towards the darkness, Ms. Stein," said Valentine, "we Monsters must either harness that wind to sail towards its ultimate destination, or be chaotically cast to oblivion."

"What does that mean!?" exclaimed Clawd, "and what does it have to do with Draculaura!?"

"He means either join or be destroyed by Obsidian," said Jessie, "Valentine has made his choice."

"And you all must choose as well," said Valentine, "Frankie Stein, you're a reasonable and relatively intelligent Monster. Just think about it; do you honestly believe that a pitiful handful of gaudily armored Normies have even the most miniscule chance against the overwhelming might of Obsidian? What chance do they have against those whom have amassed dark powers the likes you can barely dream of? Not to mention the near innumerable hordes of Kaijin from Dai Shocker and the dark science of Foundation X."

"If the forces of darkness are so powerful," said Jessie confidently, "then how come all those evil organizations and Kaijin tribes affiliated with Dai Shocker and Foundation X, how come they all died at the hands, or should I say kicks, of Kamen Riders?"

"The right leaders for the forces of darkness haven yet to appear to assume their proper mantles," said Valentine.

"Is that why you've sold yourself to Obsidian?!" demanded Frankie, "you want to be some kind of dark leader?!"

"Oh, I'm just helping the transition from light to dark," said Valentine, "the one to assume the mantle of leadership has yet to step up to her responsibilities yet, but she will in time."

"Then cut the crap already!" snapped Clawd, "where's Draculaura!?"

"Calm now, Clawd old sport," said Valentine in a placating manner, "I already said she was safe. You'll see your beloved Draculaura soon enough, after we talk a little business that is."

"Oh, I get it now," said Frankie grimly, "how much?"

"Excuse me?" asked Valentine in a genuinely confused tone.

"How much do you want as a ransom?" asked Frankie, "that's why you kidnapped Draculaura, right? You want money? Do you want one of us to steal something valuable for you?"

"Or maybe hostage exchange," said Abbey, "Draculaura for someone else."

"Oh, I have no intention of holding onto Draculaura," said Valentine, "if she wants to return to her friends and loved ones, she's more than welcome to. I just wanted to talk with her for a while, that's all."

"So you kidnapped her just to talk?" asked Jackson, "What kind of sicko vampire are you?"

"Just that, sick," said Frankie, "first you try to seduce Draculaura all so you could break her heart and add it to your sick collection, now you abducted her all so you can have a conversation!?"

"And what a conversation it was," said Valentine, "I admit, I had quite the impression on her. Didn't I, Draculaura?"

It was then that the line of disguised Kaijin parted, revealing a teenage vampire girl dressed in black with red eyes. Yet closer inspection revealed that she was uncomfortably familiar to Frankie and the others, with the exception being Clawd.

"DRACULAURA!" exclaimed an overjoyed Clawd as he rushed towards the black-clad vampireess, only for Draculaura to raise her right hand and send out a pulse of energy that blasted Clawd off his feet into the air. He shot towards Abbey so fast that she had no time to dodge as he landed on her with enough force to knock her down and fall awkwardly on her leg, followed by the sickening sound of bones breaking.

"Keep your filthy paws off of me, dog!" snapped Draculaura as she glared at Clawd, "the day I let a werewolf so much as lay a finger on me is the day I put a stake in my own heart!"

"Draculaura?!" exclaimed a dumbfounded and horrified Frankie as Jackson, Jessie and Heath helped Clawd and Abbey back up, "what…? How…? Why…?"

"Well, that leaves just 'when, where and who,' doesn't it, Frankie?" asked Draculaura contemptuously. "you always were too stupid for your own good."

"I don't believe it!" shouted Clawd, "the Draculaura I know would never say and do such hateful things!"

"I guess you don't know me that well, dog," said Draculaura. She then walked over to Valentine, threw her arms around and kissed him lustfully on the mouth, while Valentine returned the embrace and kiss with equal dark passion.

"No…it…it can't be," said a heartbroken Clawd as he fell to his knees, while Frankie, Heath, Abbey and Jackson looked only as partly devastated.

"What the hell did you say and do to her, you blood sucking son of a bitch!?" shouted on outraged Jessie.

"I unleashed her!" exclaimed Valentine triumphantly as he and Draculaura stood side-by-side, "who would have thought that beneath that childish, crybaby exterior beat a heart of darkness!"

"I thought vampire hearts didn't beat," said Jackson.

"Is figure of speech," said Abbey as she leaned on Heath for support while glaring hatefully at Valentine.

"It can't be…it just can't be," moaned Clawd.

"Believe it or not, dog," said Draculaura, "this is the real me. I am vampire! I am darkness! And I am the one whom shall deliver all nine pieces of The Star of Rosskarn to Obsidian and leave this world to rot!"

"What is The Star of Rosskarn?" asked Jessie.

"None of your concern," said Valentine, "now, I've delivered Draculaura to you safe and sound as promised; now you'll repay me in kind."

It was then that Frankie noticed that Jessie was using a normal cell phone to send out a text but hid the phone behind her back. Realizing that help was soon on its way, Frankie decided to stall for time as much as possible.

"Alright, you did keep your end of the bargain," said Frankie in a slightly unsure tone, "though I didn't realize that we even settled on a deal. What do you want now, Valentine?"

"What's rightfully Obsidian's," said Valentine.

"I told Valentine and his shadowy friends that the first piece was locked in the Monster High catacombs," said Draculaura, "but what I can't tell them is where Bloodgood has the keys to her safe, or what the combinations are, or even where in the safe the necklace is."

"So here's the deal," said Valentine, "one of you stays as a hostage while the others return to Bloodgood. The hostage goes free when we have the necklace."

"And if we say no?" asked Frankie.

"Then one of you dies here and now," said Draculaura coldly, "maybe more. We only need one hostage and one to come back with the Star piece. The question is who?" she glared at Clawd, whom by now was curled up in a ball on the ground, whining with emotional agony, "should I put the dog out of his misery?"

Draculaura then glared at Abbey and Heath, "or maybe liquidate the lovers? Fire and ice are so incompatible, yet you try to make it work. It sickens me."

"Keep talking, traitor!" snapped Heath, "you'll get yours soon enough!"

"I don't believe you've turned bad!" shouted Abbey, "you must be under dark whammy!"

"Of course! A spell or an enchantment or something!" said Frankie. She then looked at Valentine, "that's the only way you could have gotten Draculaura to even like you! What'd you use this time? A love potion? Hypnosis? Whatever you did, we'll undo it!"

"Maybe I should kill you, Frankie," said Draculaura coldly, "so I can finally shut that stupid mouth of yours!"

But then Draculaura looked at Jessie and Jackson with the expression of a predator sighting its prey, "or maybe one of the humans! I only just rediscovered the exquisite taste of human blood."

"No, you didn't!" said a horrified Frankie, "you…you fed on a Normie?"

"I killed a Normie!" said Draculaura as she smiled with wicked glee, "At least four this morning, and dozens over the past week. I had forgotten the thrill of hunting and catching a human, you can almost smell and taste their terror as you expose your fangs and prepare to bite. If only I can describe how intimate it is when my fangs first penetrate the fragile flesh and arteries. And then, the blood! Ah…the blood! Nectar and Ambrosia pale in comparison!"

"Don't forget the ecstasy of feeling one's prey drift towards death," said Valentine, "the thrill of power when a human's heart beats its last."

"That too," giggled Draculaura.

"You spent almost your whole immortal life without blood," said Frankie, "you wouldn't even touch meat!"

"And I curse myself for ever thinking myself so foolish," said a disgusted Draculaura, "to think that a vampire could ever be satisfied with mortal food, let alone vegetables and fruits!" she then spat in revulsion, then regained her dark composure, "but I'm better now, much better, and still thirsty."

"I still don't believe it!" said Frankie as her neck bolts sparked furiously.

"Do you want me to prove it?!" asked Draculaura, "I'll prove it!" she then gestured towards one of the Fangire, "bring the half breed!"

"No!" shouted Frankie as she, Jessie and Heath tried to get to Jackson before the Fangire grabbed him, yet the other Kaijin jumped in and restrained them.

But then one of the Orphnoch pulled out its cell phone, read a message on it, ran up to and whispered to Valentine.

"Oh, it seems we have an unexpected guest to our little party," said the flamboyant vampire, "another human, one I believe young Jackson is most familiar with."

"What?" asked Frankie as two Orphnoch entered the lot, dragging a furiously struggling human that she and the others did know; a girl about 16 with short black hair, pale skin, black eye shadow and wearing a black sweater and pants.

"Clair!" exclaimed Jackson as he recognized the girl.

…Hexiciah Steam's Laborotory…Present Day…

"Clare?" asked Avery with confused caution.

"I don't think this is our Clare," said Raven.

"This is Clair Childs," said Lagoona, "we met her and some of her mates during a Halloween Party a while back."

"She and Jackson have a thing," said Clawdeen, "you'll like her, she's cool."

"She's alright," said Cleo, "for an emo Normie."

"I hope she'll be alright, after what happened next," said Frankie.

…New Salem…Last Friday…

"Jackson!" shouted Clair as she franticly struggled to get away from the two Orphnochs, yet their grip on her arms remained firm as they brought her to Valentine and Draculaura.

"Clair!" shouted Jackson as he struggled to get free of the Fangire restraining him, while Frankie and the others also fruitlessly fought to get lose.

"Oh, this is much better," said Draculaura in a wickedly delighted tone as the two Orphnochs forced Clair to kneel, "another Normie couple in love. It's said among vampire lore that the blood of a human in love is that much sweeter, that and high blood sugar, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?"

"Alright, you win, Valentine!" shouted Frankie, "you can have the necklace! Let me call Bloodgood and the necklace is as good as yours! Just let Clair go!"

"No! You can't do that, Frankie!" said Jessie, "We all agreed that they can't have it!"

"I don't know what's going on, but whatever they're asking for, don't do it!" said Clair defiantly, "if these horrible creatures want something, don't give it to them! I'm not worth it!"

"Oh, but you are," said Valentine as he walked over and caressed Clair's face, at which she turned her head away in disgust.

"Don't you touch her!" shouted Jackson as he nearly broke free of the Fangire's grip, "if you so much as lay another finger on her, I'll…"

"You'll do what, poindexter? Beat me to death with a laptop?" said a humorously laughing Valentine, "there's no loud music here to transform you into your chaotic other half, as if he'd care what would happen to your girlfriend."

Just then everyone heard the sound of an approaching motorcycle. From the other end of the lot rode Kiva on his bike.

But then Draculaura aimed her hand at Kiva and sent out a pulse of dark energy that knocked Kiva off his bike. Draculaura then levitated Kiva into the air and over to her and Valentine.

"Another foolish hero," said Valentine, "this is getting tedious."

"Allow me to stir things up!" said Draculaura as she blasted Kiva with a massive amount of dark energy. Kiva shouted in agony as sparks flew from his armor.

"I'm bored already," said Draculaura dryly as she idly waved her hand, violently tossing Kiva towards one of the buildings. He hit the wall hard and fell to the ground. With a flash of light, the transformation reverse, leaving a bruised, bleeding and smoldering Siegfried on the ground.

"Siegfried!" exclaimed Kivat as he hovered around his partner, "you've got to get up!"

"I'd be more than happy to, Kivat," said Siegfried as he tried to get up, only to be grabbed by two Fangire, while a third grabbed Kivat, "but they have other ideas."

"You'll be dealt with in due time, Rider," said a contemptuous Valentine, "but first thing's first." He then looked at Draculaura, "you ready, my dear?"

"Always ready, my darling," said Draculaura as she walked up to the still kneeling and captive Clair.

"I said you could have the necklace!" said Frankie.

"And we will have it," said Draculaura as she grabbed Clair by her hair and jerked her head back, "after I've quenched my thirst!" With that she leaned down and bit Clair on the neck, the helpless girl screaming in agony as the vile immortal began drinking her blood.

"NOOOOOO!" shouted Jackson as, without warning, flames appeared over his body. The summoned fire grew so hot that it ignited the Fangire holding him. The creature thrashed about in pain as it was forced into its true form, only for the flames burning it got hotter and hotter. With a loud CRACK, the creature shattered, its pulsating soul rising up into the air and vanishing.

All the while, Jackson ran forward and tackled Draculaura, forcing her away from Clair and igniting the two restraining Orphnochs, forcing the creatures into their true forms, then crumbling them into dust.

"Put me out!" shouted Draculaura as her dress caught fire, "put me out!"

"Get him!" shouted Valentine as he franticly tried to smother the flames. At that the remaining Kaijin assumed their true forms, abandoning Frankie, Siegfried and the others and rushing at Jackson.

But then Jackson crossed his arms in front of his chest and let out a cry of unbridled rage, unleashing a massive wave of fire that slammed into the oncoming creatures, burning them out of existence.

"I think we've worn out our welcome for the day, my darling," said Valentine as he helped a still smoking Draculaura back to her feet.

"I think you're right, my dearest," said Draculaura. She then pointed and accusing finger and glared at Frankie, "remember this, Frankie Stein! The night that is Obsidian is falling! This world of yours will die! And there's nothing you and yours can do to stop it!" with that she and Valentine burst into swarms of bats that flew off into the sky and vanished.

"Uh…what just happened?" asked Heath.

"I know not," said Abbey.

"Clare!" shouted Jackson as the flames vanished from his body. He ran to Clair, whom had collapsed to the ground, "Clair! Are you…?"

"Jackson...I…I feel so…" whispered Clair as she clutched at her bitten neck, trying to cover the two holes where she was bitten, yet there was no bleeding, "I…I think I'll be alright, but…what happened to you?"

"I…I don't know," said Jackson. He then looked at his hands in disbelief, "I don't know."

…Hexiciah Steam's Workshop…Present Day…

"We still don't know what happened to Jackson," said Frankie, "even though Ghoulia's been running every test she can think of."

At that Ghoulia moaned something along the line of 'I'm working on it!'

"Could he have latent magic powers?" asked Raven.

"That's one of the first things Ghoulia checked for," said Cleo, "that and if he somehow tapped into Holt's powers."

"Holt's a fire elemental bloke, like Heath," said Lagoona, "only more unpredictable."

"But what about Siegfried?" asked Avery, "and that girl, Clair?"

"They're okay, for now," said Frankie, "Siegfried's still weak from whatever dark energy Draculaura blasted him with and he hasn't been able to transform. Clair's still weak too, despite everything Headmistress Bloodgood could arrange; fresh blood transfusions and everything that can heal a vampire bite that's in the books."

"They're still here at Monster High," said Clawdeen, "just as we've been since Monday."

"Thank Ra for shower cubicles in the locker rooms," said Cleo, "that and the Headmistress agreeing to let my house staff bring everyone's wardrobes from their homes here."

"Yeah, we've set up school as our headquarters," said Frankie, "but even so, Draculaura doing what she did really lowered the voltage on everyone."

"I can't believe it," said a horrified Cupid, "Draculaura, that sweet, kind, innocent vegan vampire, she bit a human. She's killed and feed on humans."

"I don't know if it's true or not, my cotton candy angel," said Tobias as he held Cupid's hand, "but it's clear that this Valentine has a horrific hold on Draculaura."

"That's why I had to bring you back, Cupid," said Frankie, "you're the only one who can undo whatever Valentine did to Draculaura."

"Can you, Cupid?" asked Lagoona, "can you?"

"By Olympus, I'm gonna try," said Cupid defiantly as she stood up, "I don't know what vile means Valentine used to corrupt Draculaura's heart, but I'm gonna undo it, even if it kills me, and we demigods are pretty hard to kill."

"She's telling the truth," said Apple, while Raven, Dexter, Avery and Tobias nodded in agreement, "I saw her accidentally shot by one of her own arrows and she shrugged it off like it was a paper cut."

"It's a demigod thing," said Cupid to an astonished Frankie.

"I'll bet," said Frankie, "so, how do you want to proceed? What do you need from the rest of us?"

"It'd help if I could get a look at Draculaura," said Cupid as she and the others stood up, "I need a really good look if I'm going to figure out whatever vile thing Valentine did to her."

"How close do you need to get?" asked Robecca asked.

"Close enough to make physical contact if possible," said Cupid, "if I could get hold of her hands for a few seconds, half a moment at the most, I'll know exactly how to help her. But if necessary I can make do with maintaining close eye contact. Just get me within ten paces and I'll do the rest."

"We'll see what can be done," said Frankie.

"Well, in the meantime, I think we should go see my brother," said Clawdeen.

"Oh, that's right," said a worried Cupid, "Clawd must be in the depths of despair. Someone needs to talk to him."

"What are you gonna do?" asked Apple.

"I don't know yet," said Cupid, "again, I have to be close to tell just how broken his heart is in order to know how to begin healing it."

"If his heart were any more broken, it…" said Cleo, whom then frowned in disgruntled confusion, "you know, I can't honestly think of a proper metaphor."

"Just say he's hurting, a lot," said Lagoona.

"Then let's go see what can be done to heal his heart," said Cupid.

With that they all walked out of the workshop and up through the catacombs towards the school proper.

They emerged into the hallways of Monster High. Apple, Raven and the others from Ever After were startled and amazed at the seemingly infinitely diverse student body of the school; vampires, werebeasts, aquatic creatures, gargoyles, ghosts, Cyclopes, centaurs, insectoids, students with extra limbs and eyes, students that were little more than gelatinous blobs, tentacle creatures, just to name a few.

And all of the students of Monster High were friendly towards Apple, Raven, Dexter, Maddie, Tobias and Avery, while happily welcoming Cupid back home.

Yet all was not well in Monster High. Our heroes from Ever After saw preparations for readying the school to stand firm against an intense conflict; classrooms had been converted into makeshift dormitories, stockpiles of food, water and medical supplies were in other classrooms, while even more classrooms had been turned into makeshift infirmaries.

"It's like you're getting ready for a war," said Cupid to Frankie.

"Headmistress Bloodgood isn't one to be caught without a plan," said Frankie, "oh, there she is now."

Up ahead, speaking to several other students, was the Headless Headmistress, whom happened to be carrying her head in her arms at the time.

"Uh…is she…?" asked a moderately disturbed Raven, while Apple, Dexter, Tobias and Avery looked on with equally distressed.

"Oh springs and sprockets!" exclaimed an overjoyed Maddie, "what a noggin she has!" She sprinted forward towards Bloodgood, reaching into her hat to pull out a measuring tape, a note pad and pencil.

"Maddie! No!" shouted Raven, but it was too late as Maddie skipped up to Bloodgood with an eager smile on her face.

"Out of all the heads I've seen walk into my Tea Shop and Haberdashery," said Maddie to Bloodgood, "yours is the most awe inspiring!"

"Uh…well…thank you, young lady," said an equally startled, confused and flattered Bloodgood.

"Please," said Maddie, "allow me the extraliciously fantastic honor of designing a hat just for you!"

"She doesn't mean any harm, Headmistress!" said Cupid as she, Raven, Apple, Frankie and the others ran up to them, "she's just…well…she's just…"

"Maddie," said Raven, "that's her in a nutshell."

"Nope, this is me in a nutshell," said Maddie. She then took of her hat and bowed gracefully, "Madeline Hatter, and I'm in a nutshell."

"It's good to see that you've made such…interesting friends when you transferred schools, Ms. Cupid," said Bloodgood, "and welcome back. I hope your talents will be able to alleviate some of the suffering that a certain young werewolf has been forced to endure."

"I'll do my best, Headmistress," said Cupid, "now where's Clawd?"

"Where he's been for a while now," said Clawdeen, "on the Casketball Court."

Our heroes then traversed the school hallways and outdoors to a basketball court, only for Monsters. There, playing a game of two on one, was Deuce, Gil and Clawd, the latter looking miserable but focused as he dribbled the ball while trying to get past Gil and Deuce. Closer inspection revealed that Deuce and Gil were heavily winded and were on the verge of exhaustion, while Clawd still had plenty of energy.

"How long has he been playing?" asked Cupid.

"Couple hours or so," said Clawdeen as she checked the time on her phone, "it was either that or watch him curl up in a ball and cry."

"Trust me, watching Clawd Wolf cry isn't as satisfying as it seems," said Toralei.

"Why are you still here?" asked Cleo.

"Like I've got anything better to do," said Toralei.

"You wanna watch something, watch me," said Cupid. With that she walked onto the Casketball court and caught the ball that Deuce tried to pass to Gil.

"Huh…Cupid?" asked Gil as he and Deuce nearly fell over from exhaustion, only to be caught respectively by Lagoona and Cleo.

"Yep, I'm back," said Cupid. She then walked up to Clawd, "hey, aren't you gonna welcome me home?"

"Cupid? Uh…yeah, welcome home," said Clawd in a neutral tone. He then sat down and placed his head on his knees.

"I hear you've been through something awful lately," said Cupid as she sat next to Clawd, "wanna talk about it?"

"What's to talk about?" asked Clawd, "Draculaura doesn't love me anymore. She'd rather be with Valentine. I should have known all along that it would never have worked between us."

"You mean you being a werewolf and she being a vampire?" asked Cupid, "nonsense! Of course it would have worked! You had such fangtastic chemistry last time I was here."

"Things change," said Clawd, "I don't know what I did wrong, but whatever it was, I blew it with Draculaura, and now she's gone forever!"

"You didn't do crap!" snapped Tobias as he walked over, "that bloodsucking bastard Valentine, he stole your girlfriend!"

"Who are you?" asked Deuce as Cleo got him a cold bottle of water, while Lagoona refilled Gil's tank.

"My boyfriend from a parallel dimension," said Cupid, "but that's not important right now; getting Draculaura back is."

"She made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want anything to do with me," said Clawd, "I'm just too stupid to accept it. Maybe I should just forget about Draculaura and move on."

"'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,'" said Toralei.

"Unless you have something truly constructive to say, Toralei," said Cleo, "I suggest you scat!"

"I am being constructive," said an annoyed Toralei, "Draculaura's gone over to the dark side and dumped Clawd. There's nothing we can do can change it, so the sooner he gets over her and moves on, the better."

"You would say that, wouldn't you," said Cupid crossly as she stood up, "you never liked Draculaura. I'll bet deep down you're enjoying this. That's right, you're taking pleasure from Clawd's broken heart!"

"As if!" said a genuinely insulted Toralei, "you think I'm that bad? I may be a chaotic rebel, but I'm no sadist. The last thing I want is for the likes of Valentine, Irvin and Obsidian to win, that and kill a lot of Kaijin in the process."

"Then help me help Clawd," said Cupid, "the sooner we get him back on his feet, the sooner he can start fighting to get Draculaura back!"

"Oh, you want to rebuild Clawd's confidence?" asked Toralei, "well, why didn't you say so?" with that she walked up to Clawd and roughly pulled him to a standing position, "stop acting like a child who had his favorite toy stolen and go get that toy back already!"

"Not exactly the words I would use," said a slightly uncomfortable Cupid, "but you're on the right track."

"So you had your girlfriend kidnapped and brainwashed to hate you," said Toralei, "that's no excuse to fall apart! Now pull yourself together, get out there and make Valentine pay for what he did!"

At that Ghoulia moaned something urgently.

"She's right, we still don't know what Valentine did to Draculaura," said Frankie, "we may need him alive to undo what he did."

"Then we'll find him and torture him into fixing whatever he did to Draculaura," said Toralei in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, torture Valentine," said Clawd as the faint trace of a smile appeared on his lips.

"I think you may actually be onto something, Toralei," whispered an astonished Clawdeen.

"I know, I amaze myself sometimes," said Toralei.

"You know, I've been thinking," said Raven, "if I were in your shoes, Clawd, if someone I loved had been taken from me and turned evil, I wouldn't be moping around feeling sorry for myself. I'd be doing everything in my power to get that loved one back and making the one who took that loved one pay for taking the loved one in the first place!"

"Yeah, don't just make do," said Avery, "do better and inflict some pain on Valentine!"

"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade," said Maddie, "make life take the lemons back! Get mad! Say to life 'I don't want your darn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these!?'"

"You tell it to life, ghoulfiend!" said Lagoona

"Demand to see life's manager!" exclaimed Maddie, "Make life rue the day it thought it could give Clawd Wolf lemons! Life doesn't know who it's dealing with! You walk right up to life and tell life that you're the werewolf who's gonna burn life's house down! With the lemons! You're gonna find some engineers who'll invent a combustible lemon that'll burn life's house down!"

"Or burn Valentine's house down!" said Toralei.

"Burn his house down," said a fully smiling Clawd, "yeah, that's what I'll do. No! Better yet, I know exactly what I'll do to Valentine when I catch him!"

"Care to enlighten us?" asked Toralei.

"First, I'm gonna tear his lips off," said Clawd, "that's what I'm gonna do. Then, I'll gouge his eyes out! Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do."

"Maybe you should save the eyes for last," said Raven, "you know, so he'll get to see what you're doing to him."

"That works," said Toralei, "so, anything else, Clawd?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna tear his arms and legs right out of the sockets!" said Clawd, "and then, I'm gonna hit him and he'll fall. Then I'll look down, and then I'm gonna laugh."

"That's going a little too far, but whatever floats your boat," said Lagoona.

Just then Howleen dashed into the area, a frantic look of desperation on her face, "it's Clair! She's…she's…"

"Oh my ghoul," said a stunned Frankie. With that she and Howleen ran back inside the school, followed by Clawdeen, Apple, Raven and the others.

"I thought she was getting better!" exclaimed Frankie as they ran through the hallways of Monster High.

"She was but not anymore!" said Howleen, "something's gone wrong, really wrong!"

They soon reached another classroom that had been converted to an infirmary, where on one of the beds, attached to machines monitoring her vital signs, lay an unconscious, diaphoretic and barely breathing Clair, while at her side was Jackson, holding her hand and looking like his own heart was about to break.

Nearby, leaning on a makeshift crutch, was Siegfried, with Kivat hovering nearby. Siegfried was furiously arguing with Bloodgood, while nearby stood the school nurse and several volunteer Monster medical personnel.

"I don't care how convinced you are of this!" said Bloodgood irately, "it is only hearsay and theory on your part!"

"On my world it is more than a theory!" snapped Siegfried, "the girl is suffering a rare case of blood poisoning that only I can cure!"

"What are you talking about?" Apple asked as she walked up to the two arguing adults, "if Clair is suffering, then…"

"This isn't a physical ailment, Apple," said Raven as she stood near Clair, "this is dark magic."

"Which is what I've been trying to explain to our gracious host and the respectable doctors!" said Siegfried, "I've seen this kind of vampire bite on my world! Some Fangire don't always drain their victims of their life energy all at once. Sometimes they infect them with a cursed bite and leave them to suffer."

"She's cursed?" asked Jackson.

"In theory, perhaps," insisted the Headless Headmistress.

"It's no theory," said Kivat, "I've seen humans suffer the same symptoms before. They seem to recover from the bite, but three days or so after the bite, they slowly turn transparent, depending on the victim. Don't believe me? Take a closer look."

"She is paler than usual," said Cleo.

"She's not just paler," said a horrified Lagoona, "she's practically transparent! Look! I can see her bloody blood vessels!"

Apple, Raven, Avery and the others looked closer and indeed, to their shock and appalled horror, could see Clair's veins and arteries in slowly but surely increasing detail.

"Won't be long before we can to see her bones and organs," said Kivat, "by then it'll be too late to do anything."

"If the child is to live, I have to act now!" said Siegfried. But then he doubled over by a sudden fit of violent coughing. When he recovered and stood straight again, there was blood dripping from his mouth and on his hands.

"You can barely take care of yourself, let alone cure the girl!" said Bloodgood.

"It's my life, I'll do whatever I want with it," said Siegfried, "even going so far as to sacrifice what little time I have left in order to save another."

"What do you mean?" asked Frankie, "you're not…you're…"

"I'm as good as dead," said Siegfried, "that blast of dark energy from Draculaura has damaged my cellular structure. I've got less than a week to live before I completely fall apart."

"Why didn't you say you were that sick!?" exclaimed Jessie as she, Ian and Lance hurried over. With them was a teenage boy about 16 or so with short brown hair and wearing everyday clothes for a normal teenager.

"Chad," said Frankie.

"You told me Clair was getting better!" exclaimed the boy, Chad, as he rushed over to Clair and held her other hand, while Jackson maintained his hold on Clair's other.

"That's Chad, another Normie friend and Clair's best friend," said Clawdeen. She then glared at Siegfried, "now why didn't you say you were in such bad shape?"

"It would only have upset you all," said Siegfried, "and you would have devoted irreplaceable time and resources to try and save me."

"We can still try," said Frankie, "you can't just give up and accept the end! You're a Rider! We need you!"

"Sometimes a Rider has to accept his fate," said Avery, "we do the best we can until fate is revealed, even if that fate is to make a final, heroic sacrifice."

"Ain't that the truth," said Ian, while Lance gave an acknowledging nod Avery, Tobias and Dexter, whom nodded back.

"Yeah, I know," said Jessie, "but I don't have to like it!"

"You think I'm happy with this?" asked Siegfried, "I have a wife and child back on my world! There are people back home whom are waiting for me! If I had another alternative, one where I could live and so could Clair, I would take it without hesitation, but there isn't time to find that alternative."

"You don't know that!" said Clawd as he walked over, "you can't just give up. I didn't."

"And I'm glad you didn't," said Siegfried.

"Yeah, good to see you've pulled your head out of the ground," said Lance. He then looked at Siegfried, "are you sure there isn't another way? It's not like you're replaceable. We need you."

"You need Kiva," Siegfried, "and what I'm going to do will make sure you still have Kiva after I'm gone, and in far less time that it would take for Alabaster to select and send another."

"How?" asked Bloodgood cautiously.

"By using my own Fangire abilities to transfer my powers into Clair," said Siegfried, "she will acquire a Fangire's natural healing abilities and immunity to the poison that's killing her."

"She'll be part Fangire?" asked Jackson as he stood up.

"You're going to turn her into a half-bred freak like you!?" exclaimed Chad as he too stood up.

"Chad!" said an irately insulted Clawdeen, while Frankie and the others looked at Chad with equally irate eyes.

"Oh…uh…sorry," said Chad sheepishly as he lowered his head slightly in shame of his intolerant outburst.

"Again, if there was any other way, I'd choose it in an instant," said Siegfried. He then doubled over in another violent coughing fit that left more blood on his hands.

"Hey, take it easy," said Frankie, "you should sit down and save your strength."

"I need to act before I lose what strength I have left," said Siegfried as he straightened up and washed the blood off his hands, "my human half is growing weaker by the moment, as is my Fangire half. I need to perform the power transfer before either side grows too weak to act."

"Do it," said Clair harshly as she opened her eyes, which had taken on a color of foggy glass.

"CLAIR!" shouted Jackson and Chad as they rushed back to her side.

"Hey, both of you," whispered Clair, "I must look like a mess, and I feel worse."

"That's just the morphine talking," said Chad, "you'll be back to your usual misanthropic self before you know it."

"I heard everything," said Clair, "I'm done for if you all don't let Siegfried do what he's gotta do."

"You really want that?" asked Jackson, "you want to become part Fangire?"

"For all we know you will be a Fangire and try to suck out everyone's life energy," said Chad.

"I wouldn't do that," said Clair, "sucking energy, not my thing." She then closed her eyes and winced in agony as her skin became more transparent.

"It's now or never!" said Kivat as he hovered over Clair.

"I'm going to do it with or without your blessing," said Siegfried to Bloodgood, "and if you try and stop me, you'll only damn Clair to a lingering, agonizing death."

"Headmistress, please," begged Jackson, "let him try."

"Alright, do it," said Bloodgood reluctantly, "but be it on your soul if it doesn't work."

"It will, I've seen it done before," said Siegfried as he walked over and sat next to Clair, taking her hands in his.

"You've never done it before?" Chad asked.

"I've never died before," said Siegfried, "this is something a Fangire can do only once, and only when he or she is close to death themselves. But trust me, you're about to see a miracle."

At that Siegfried closed his eyes in concentration. From his back emerged a pair of glass fangs that glowed with a golden light. The glass fangs rose up and separating from each other, one fang hovering over Clair, the other hovering in front of Siegfried.

"Now wait just a damn minute!" exclaimed Bloodgood, but was too late as the fangs plunged into the hearts of Clair and Siegfried.

Both gasped painfully as a beam of golden energy flowed from Siegfried and Clair, connected by the two fangs. The beam vanished after a few seconds, as did the glass fangs, leaving both Siegfried and Clair apparently unharmed.

But then Siegfried collapsed to the floor, just as Clair sat up, her skin and eyes resuming their normal pigmentation.

"What…what was that?" asked Clair as she tried to get up, yet Jackson and Chad tried to keep her sitting.

"A…miracle," gasped Siegfried as he tried to get back up but barely managed to reach a sitting position. Ian, Jessie and Lance hurried over and helped him to a chair, upon which everyone was shocked to see Siegfried's skin was spider-webbed with stain glass patterns, only instead of being full of colors, the patterns were nearly black.

"It's done," said a panting Siegfried as more and mover black patterns appear on his skin, "the transfer of power is complete. He then looked at Clair as she looked at him, "now you're like me; a child of two worlds."

"I…I don't know what to say," remarked an astonished Clair as she looked at her hands, then at her arms, "I don't feel any different, except for feeling a heck of a lot better."

"You'll be feeling more soon," said Kivat as he hovered near her shoulder, then flew over to and hovered in front of Siegfried, "I won't say you shouldn't have done that, partner, just that I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, my friend," said Siegfried, "but now we must part ways. Your new partner is going to need you, a lot."

"I know," said Kivat, "anything you want me to say to your wife and son?"

"Nothing that hasn't already been said," said Siegfried, "my wife knows about the video file I left in for her and my son in case I didn't come back. You'll tell her to open the file, right?'

"I will," said Kivat, "goodbye, Siegfried."

"And now I must bid you all farewell," said Siegfried to Frankie, Raven and the others, "and do not weep for me for long. One Rider has fallen, but another will soon rise to take my place, to fight the good fight and stand firm against the forces of darkness."

At that Siegfried took a deep breath as the black patterns on his skin turned white and glowed brightly. His body then shattered, from which emerged a pulsating Fangire soul that shone like a small sun. The shining soul rose up into the air and vanished.

"He'll be back someday," said Kivat as he looked up, "he'll regenerate and be reborn, hopefully as good a person as he was before." He then flew over and landed on Clair's shoulder, "well, new partner, you've got a long and dangerous road ahead of you, but the good news is that you won't be traveling it alone."

"We're here," said Jackson as he and Chad took her hands in theirs, "and we'll help you in any way we can."

"Count us in too," said Frankie as she and the other Monsters nodded in agreement.

"Us too," said Apple as she, Raven and Maddie nodded.

"One Rider can always count on the help of another," said Avery, while Tobias, Dexter, Lance, Jessie and Ian nodded.

"Gee, thanks, I guess," said Clair, "now, anyone here know what I'm supposed to do now that I am a Rider?"

It was then that Iris Clops ran into the room, "Headmistress! They're coming!"

"How many?!" asked Bloodgood.

"A lot," said Iris, "at least ten of each Kaijin!"

"That's the most we've seen of them at one time," said Ian, "Irvin's really stepping up his game."

"We can't fight ten Orphnochs and ten Fangire!" said Cleo, "Clair just got her new powers and doesn't even know what to do!"

"I can figure it out," said Clair as she stood up, gently but firmly pushing Chad and Jackson aside, "I don't know how, but I'll think of something."

"Well, you'd better think fast," said Maddie, "the scene's about to change."

"What are you talking about?" asked Clawd.

"I'm talking about this," said Maddie.

…Book End General Hospital…Psychiatric Ward…Realm of Ever After...

Ophelia D. Katzenburg stood in front of a mirror in the hospital staff changing room. A more casual yet alluring blouse, skirt and high heels had replaced her normal business attire. A glamour spell had dyed her hair dirty blonde and turned her eyes hazel, which she further disguised by adding a set of horn-rimmed glasses.

"Why Ophelia, you make quite the desirable doctor," said the vile proxy as she slipped on a white labcoat and fixed a nametag to the lapel, "or should I say, Felicity X. Bushman, MD, PhD."

With that, the vile proxy walked out of the changing room into the hospital proper. She navigated the corridors without hesitation, memorizing the route to her target. The patients, orderlies, nurses and real doctors she passed gave the impostor no mind, except for the occasional smile and 'good day,' which Ophelia returned without fail.

She reached one of the rooms housing long-term care patients. She took out a file folder from a slot near the door. Using a magical key card, Ophelia unlocked the door and stepped inside, where she found Milton Grimm intensely pacing back and forth.

"Good day, Headmaster Grimm," said Ophelia as she walked towards a folding table and two chairs that had been set up. She sat down and placed the folder that was Grimm's file on the table and placed her hands together, "how are you feeling."

"I'd be feeling a lot better of these idiot doctors would let me go so I can get back to work!" said Grimm irately, "they have no idea the danger we all are in! A danger caused by that irresponsible rebel, Raven Queen!"

"Yes, Raven Queen and the danger she's at the center of," said Ophelia, "tell me about her. I'm all ears."

It was then that Grimm actually saw Ophelia, "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Why, I'm your new psychiatrist," said Ophelia as she gave a warm, disarming smile, "didn't they tell you? I'm here to make sure you get well again. Trust me, Headmaster Grimm, you'll be right as rain again before you know it."

…The End Is Just The Beginning…