Well, here I am again. I'm not stopping for long, just to give you a final version of this old story that's caused me many a nightmare. It'll take a while to read, I hope. I'll stop in later to drop off the finished version of this other fanfic I've started, but not tonight. I'd like to apologize in advance for leaving off at such a tender place, and for the possible cliches I may have accidentally infiltrated. Good luck reading all this, and enjoy the show.
Chapter 1
A bang, a flash in the woods. An odd couple looked up from their bench to see a strange, yellow light accompanied by a faint hum. After the maniacal laughter started, they finally go to find a place less populated by the strangely common ‘demons’ of Kellwood.
Close to where the two mortal Kellwood residents sat, in Kellwood Forest, an unusual scene was in progress. A tall young man, looking curiously white with large, sharp, bat-like wings, cackling in the face of his adversaries: a quivering Alp and a rather pale young man with a glowing pendant. The Alp stood seething in the presence of the ‘horrible demon’, as the word Scotodino translates to, shakily aiming a shotgun at him. The pale man, too, looked to be rather sick; the skull-shaped pendant glowed a fierce yellow and the hum grew more noxious by the moment.
The demon smiled maliciously and horridly; like all the others of his race he had FAR too many teeth in his mouth. “So. Are you going to shoot me, Tony? I’d have thought you’d hate to hurt friends. Aren’t I your friend? But, it doesn’t matter anyway. A mere human gun couldn’t hurt me, I thought you knew that. Or have I overestimated you once again?” The scythe in his hand flashed momentarily.
“Youse is not my friend,” stated the Alp, his voice almost as quavering as the gun hand. “I’s never known youse in mine life. I’s only known Zeno, and youse is NOT HIM!!! NOW WHERES IS SHE?!?!”
The man looked tiredly at the Alp, and said, “Tony. She’s not here. I would know. We’re not evenly matched for the moment; save it for another day.”
“HOW CAN YOUSE SAY THAT?
SHE’S YOUSE @$*! SISTER!!!!!!” screamed the Alp. The young man merely shook his head, and started walking toward whence he came. The Alp glared at the still sickly grinning demon for a few moments, and then ran back with the young man.
“UNTIL NEXT TIMES, ZENO!!!!!!! I SWEARS IT!!!!!”
Chapter 2
Back at the ages old cabin on the fringe of Kellwood Forest, the old gang held a much graver meeting than of previous times. Tony sat sulking in a corner, glaring at Hexavier for not acting in a more satisfying way against their formal friend. Kavonn sat fingering his large top hat, watching with polite attention to the once and always gang leader.
“Alright. So you and Tony met up with Zeno? Did he sound like he was having any problems? A short temper? Do you think he was hiding anything?”
Hexavier sighed heavily and answered, “No. He was as confident and cocky as could be; but he could have been hiding something. I really can’t be sure.”
“So what happened, Tony? Did he taunt you with iron again? Has he learned something so that your talents won’t work on him?” The angry man merely glowered at the boss; he hated these meetings. When Tony didn’t answer, the man responsible for the party heaved a heavy sigh. “Listen, Tony, you can’t let him control you! I know you’re angry, but just THINK once in a while, wouldya?!”
Charby sighed at the stubborn Alp’s attitude, then said, “Meeting dismissed.”
As the members of the demon gang shuffled out, Charby remained in his accustomed seat, staring at the pale stars slowly going out as the sun began its rise, and thought of a human he once knew, who had been blown out like one of the quickly diminishing stars. Victor
Chapter 3
At about 7:30 in the morning, Menu came into the cabin to put food in the refrigerator, when he saw Charby asleep on a chair, leaning on the windowsill with a regretful look on his face.
“OY! Breakfast!!”
“Good Lord, menu, if I didn’t know that you live to eat, I would swear that you devote yourself to causing me the most titanic headaches.” Menu chuckled wickedly, and put a plate infront of his old friend.
“Here, you look like you ain’t gotta bite in ages!”
“Yes, yes, as if I haven’t heard THAT one almost every day of my life,” grumbled Charby, and pushed the plate away.
“I’m not hungry. I’m going to bed. Say hi to Claire for me, willya?” Menu sighed at the sight of the plate untouched. Waste of a good deep-fried bacon breakfast. He knew that Charby hadn’t eaten in many days. But, that was his business, and Menu wasn’t about to force feed him a screaming, wiggling human. Maybe a chicken, though. Yeah, Charby likes chickens. But where was he going to find one?
“Don’t bothers, he won’t eats. At alls.”
“Stinkin’ mind reader, go bother summun else.”
Tony stood up from the corner he had never left. “I woulds; but den, youse knows as well as I’s does dat-“ He was interrupted by the questioning look on the wolf’s face.
“How long have you been here?”
Tony snickered. “Since dats meetings last nights, which youse so conveniently forgots. So what was youse doin’ last night, that weres so important youse couldn’t come?”
Alp and Werewolf glared at each other for a few tense moments, neither saying anything.
“Claire’s waitin’ fer me, don’t wanna keep her. Good ta seeya, ‘old pal’.” Menu left, none too secure. Tony had won, and they both knew it. The Alp smirked, and then went out to find Hexavier, wishing that he didn’t get so distracted all the time.
Kavonn donned his hat and wand and went into the woods to have a little ‘fun’.
Menu reached the cave that he and his wife Claire called home, and Charby, unable to sleep, set off to seek the council of the Vampire King.
Chapter 4
“Charby! It’s been a long time, how are you my good friend?”
“So and so,” Charby sighed. “Tony and Hexavier have seen the one who calls himself ‘The Demon King’ not too far from here. How has being the vampire king been?”
“So and so, same as you. Kind of tiring and boring. You won’t like it when you are King, but it has its merits.”
“It better. Sounds absolutely horrifying. Any news on what killed Victor?” The Vampire King grimaced.
“None yet. But, Charby! For the life of me, I have no idea why you need to avenge him! Even if it was something supernatural, and the odds of that are almost 500 to one, what makes you think it’s still alive? Or that it killed him on purpose?”
Charby merely looked at him with an assured eye and a grim smile. “I KNOW.”
“Fine, very well, it’s your business anyway. It was nice seeing you again, Charby.”
“You, too, Zerlocke.”
A man ran through Kellwood Forest, stretching every branch so that they would snap back at his pursuer. Unfortunately for him, this had no effect. Mad cackling fell from above, and the panting man made one last desperate effort to get away before he was completely encased in long, dark grey tendrils.
“Greetings, my good man. A fine day, is it not?” The voice sounded young, but not child-like. A young man, then. Sounded rather high; short? And of course, it had an obviously mocking tone. The poor robber, still rapped up in the young man’s-what was this? Hair? In any case, he was still trapped.
“You do know that it’s not polite to not look at other people when they talk to one, correct? Look at me.” He struggled all the more.
“Monster!! Noone’s caught me yet, you aren’t normal, you (*#)^%$ monster!!!”
The theif’s captor seemed amused; he wouldn’t know, he refused the man’s request.
“Monster, you say? Are you sure you wish to confirm that? Look at me.”
“Why should I $*#*$%&( look at you, I already know what you are, you @#%$!!!
The young man tutted. “Such words. But it’s not a request; this is an ORDER. LOOK AT ME.” And with these last, the subjugator gave the poor man such a squeeze that he finally leaned over to see what kind of man had this strength. Then again, in horror, as the Hat Guardian of Kellwood Forest smiled with his widely slit eyes, whispered to himself, “Yes, yes. That’s the look.” And tightened his hair around the man with inhuman strength-SHSHLSSCCCRACK
Chapter 5
“What I want to know,” commented Hexavier as he and Tony walked the forest, “is how he can hide a kingdom in a city.”
“Maybes his new-founds stupid-ism gaves hims super @$$hole powers or somethings.” They chuckled at that for a bit, and kept walking.
”Seriously’s, though, where woulds he-“
“Tony? What? Tony?! Oh, SHI-”
SLAM!!
“Claire my sweet!”
“Menu my doggie!”
The loving couple embraced for several minutes, then settled down.
“So, how was your day?” Claire passed Menu a cup of tea and took one for her.
“Eh, fine. That jerk Tony was pushin’ me around, think I oughtta let him meet my baseball bat. Missed a meeting last night”
“Oh, that’s fine. We were doing something much more productive than an old meeting.” Teacups clinked and they chuckled.
“So how about that potion? Ya know, one that lets me turn back into a guy again? I miss bean’ able to wear pants.” Claire’s shoulders drooped, and she replied,
“Not going well. But we have lots of time right? Right Menu?” He was staring out the window, his ears on end and a worried expression on his large brown eyes. “Menu?”
“Ah, I gotsta go, sweat-pea. I’ll be here later tonight, aright?” And with those words, he bounded out the door, a grim-faced gold wolf disappearing into the afternoon haze.
Chapter 6
“Yes, beautiful, isn’t it?” Zeno looked with his newly caught prisoners in mock awe at the huge, black kingdom that belonged to him. “It’s not really that big you know, just about the size of my dear, old village…”
Tony and Hexavier stared at him malignly, disgusted at what he had done to the place he was born, but all they could do was stare.
Tony was trussed up like a pig, all in iron bands that hissed slightly as they burned his skin, his hat removed and his eyes blue with wide pupils, wincing constantly.
While Hexavier was held confined more comfortably with layers of rope, his face was contorting and impossibly pale with rage. His usually blank, pale pink eyes were almost red with fury and want, and his hands twisted this way and that, choking an invisible neck. His amulet that could have helped him vent his uncontrollable anger was now hanging on the neck of his enemy, faintly glowing with a definite mocking impression.
Zeno, on the other hand, was in great health, wearing Tony’s hat and Hexavier’s amulet-neither doing anything to empower him, merely a clearly working attempt at breaking their spirit. His wings spread wide, over 12 feet across, his wingspan finally consisting with his weight. In one hand, he grasped with ease the Scythe that had corrupted him so many years ago, and the other clenched a chain. The chain was quite interesting; Hexavier recognized it as an Invinci-rope; new to the Demon Market, but making a killing in sales. It was as light and supple as a silken rope, but it was a certain kind of metal that was impervious to everything but the fire of the smith that forged it. From the hand that grasped it, it fell down until it circled the neck of a young woman. From there, it continued to chain her hands together, and then her feet, so that she was still able to walk but not of her own free will. The woman was dressed simply and elegantly in a long dress, but she wore it as if it were rags. Her hair grew in long, heavy black locks about her pale, still face, and fell into her pure, opal white eyes. ‘Queen’ Mye.
Chapter 7
“ZEENOO!!! YA STINKIN’ &*%*^&(^^%, I’M GONNA KILLYA!!!!” Menu launched himself from the trees, aiming his rather sharp claws at Zeno’s throat.
“WHA-?! YOU!!” Zeno, with a look of outrage on his white face, threw an energy field around Mye and himself, tossing the huge werewolf down in the process-but not before several deep scratches made their mark on the terrible demon’s face. “Hmm, I underestimated your friends, boys. Not that it matters much, it’s still not enough.” Zeno was panting from the effort of the field-it was only a while ago that he had mastered the technique, and his mocking tone had a taste of fear in it.
“‘Underestimated’ is an understatement, Zeno. It’s high time you paid the piper-now what will you give him to buy back your life…”
SNAP! C-CLACT! and a huge be-hatted wolf growled menacingly at him from next to Menu as a dark grey gently smiling figure drew from the trees.
Zeno sneered as he worked the energy field again, just in time to prevent Tony jumping from behind and tearing his wings.
“So what have we here? One mutt, two pathetic losers with magic hats, and a dead guy with a magic skull? I suppose you’ll next have that annoying flower faerie that used to stalk me come and try and blow me up using flower bombs?”
“Yep,” Azelea smirked from behind Zeno, and showed him the item in her hand. “But it’s technically not a bomb. Holy Hand Grenade. Self-sticking. It was made to get rid of vampires in a different dimension, but it’ll do for a corrupting demonic weapon, don’t you think?” And with that, she pulled the ring out with her teeth and threw it at the huge scythe at Zeno’s side. Kavonn stared at her in alarm, and started for the woods as fast as he could. Menu and Tony got the cue and raced for shelter, but Hexavier strayed behind.
“Come ON, ya brain-dead zombie!!” Azelea grabbed his arm and pulled him away as the grenade exploded, the shrapnel scattering a silver constellation across the darkening sky.
Chapter 8
Back at the cabin, there was a lot of tension in the air. This time, Menu had come. Kavonn glared angrily at Azelea from across the table, and Tony looked pityingly at Hexavier who sat there silently, with no expression to speak of.
“So Zeno’s gone?” Charby looked at the group, waiting for an answer.
“Yep, he’s gone for good. Noone can escape from my grenades.”
“Except for him,” contradicted Hexavier. “He’s still here. He teleported at the last second. Along with Mye, and the bits of scythe.”
Azelea scowled at him. “How do you know?”
Hexavier turned to her, his eyes redder than usual, and said, “There was a flash and smoke, you probably thought it was the grenade. After it went off, the metal in the air disappeared. He’s still got Mye, because that leash he had her on is indestructible, and if he had left her there it would have still been there. It was gone.” Hexavier shuddered as he said the word ‘leash’, but other than that, he looked fairly normal.
“Alright, thank you for affirming that fact, Hex. But now we have to figure out where he is…” As Charby and the crew pondered this predicament, another one was forming in the caves under the Scotodino Kingdom…
Chapter 9
A young boy wandered the many caves, waiting for an unknown somebody. He was a very strange one; at first glance the boy couldn’t have been older than 12, but his queer eyes told of a madness that did not fit his youth. For all his life, he had been nothing more than a slave, albeit one with privileges and access to the hidden secrets of what kept the Lord Zeno on top of his kingdom. He knew he was one of the many scotodino that made up the city, but he didn’t look anything like them, other than his grey-white skin, shiny black hair, and strange, round heavily shadowed pale yellow eyes. The inhabitants of the caves did not make fun of him for 2 very simple reasons: one, they were slavers who could barely talk if they wanted to, and two, the young mysterious boy belonged the Lord Zeno.
“BOY!! Come and fetch comforts for Mye!” The large demon strode into the caves, the human-like queen slowly trailing behind on her chain.
“Yes, sire.” He had done this nearly every day since the demon lord had started keeping him to take care of his queen. She had always seemed to enjoy his company; at least, she looked a little more lucid, and once she had almost smiled. But the rest of the time, Queen Mye was practically an inanimate puppet, a marionette, if you will, her strings the chains that her puppeteer constantly held. Until today.
As Damon, as we’ll call him for now, arranged the motionless woman on various cushions, all of them of the finest material, the lord looked at him and his wife in indecision, looking slightly worried as if he couldn’t make up his mind about two very important things. Finally, the self-proclaimed king turned Damon with a very worried look. “Boy, I’ve had you for a long time, and I know you’re a responsible person. I have to go for a few days. GUARD HER WITH YOUR LIFE. I’ll know if something’s happened, so make sure she’s safe in this city, or things will NOT be pleasant.” And with that equally pleasant remark, Lord Zeno swept out of the caves, a look of regret and furiousness distorting his features as Damon turned back to the queen with a look mingled with greed and hope.
Chapter 10
“Alright, boys, we’re going to take a small break from our usual today. We’re going to do something fun.” Tony looked uneasily at Hexavier, who merely shrugged his shoulders, neither having any idea of what was going on. Kavonn started smiling more smugly than ever, and Menu was slavering in anticipation.
“What we are going to do, specifically, is something I like to call,” Charby paused for dramatics, his smile growing wider by the moment, “ ‘Demon Hunting’.”
But underneath the Demon City, rather metaphorically than physically under the caves where the slaves dwelled, boiled a group determined to bring Zeno’s kingdom crashing about his ears. In the woods, hidden by a force field, a small mish-mashed army of doubtful usefulness was performing its pace exercises as a female wolf elf with odd eyes screamed directions and insults. A tall, pale man with spiky golden hair and a toothpick hanging jauntily from his mouth approached the woman, and said, “Ain’t you being a bit too hard on ‘em?”
“Not now, Sadick!” whispered the woman, and started screaming again. Sadick sighed, and turned to his companion-an adult lemuro with purple colored rings.
“Well, if she doesn’t train them, who will?” K’ale asked him.
“I dunno. Do you think we chose too weak an army?” Sadick replied, staring vacantly at the stumbling, but human-like, demons that made up the troop.
“I TOLD you we should have asked the real demons, but NOO-OOO. Of course, they have to not be TOO SCARY because of our FEARLESS LEADER.” LaBelle popped at his shoulder in mid-muse, causing him to freeze and almost poke her eye out with his toothpick. “Hey, be careful with that thing!” Sadick shuddered, and carefully broke the toothpick in two and threw it on the ground.
“Hey, LaBelle. Lemme ask you a question.” The wolf elf looked on curiously.
“Okay…”
“Do you like spiders?”
“n-NO! Ew, they’re all gross, and hairy, and leggy…”
“How would you feel like if you met one as big as you are?”
“Ugh-I see your point.” She in turn shuddered at the image.
“And THAT’S why we aren’t drafting the big ones.”
Chapter 11
A rustle echoed slightly in the calm forest, and Menu pounced at once. “Ah foun’ one!” he shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the hysterical imp struggling in his jaws.
“Excellent! Let me interrogate it before you-“ Charby’s words were cut short by frustration and the loud cracking sounds that came from Menu’s direction. He stared at the gold wolf angrily as Menu finished off the small demon with a few, loud, guilty slurps.
“Menu?”
“Yeah, Charby?”
“That’s the third one today.”
“Sorry, Boss.”
As Charby nodded his satisfaction, Kavonn said, quite calmly, “I do believe I’ve found someone of some use.”
“Finally! Menu, don’t get near this one.”
A gunshot echoed, followed by a low grunt, and Kavonn’s voice came again, rather weakly, “No need, sir, this one can take care of himself.”
Charby and Menu rushed to Kavonn, where they found him with a bloodstained coat, with magical sparks healing him from where the bullet had hit him, and a blonde, pale man was struggling in Kavonn’s tendrils, a medium sized gun evident in his hand.
Charby grinned, and said, “Good work, Kavonn, you can let him down-disarm him, if possible.” Kavonn snuck the gun into his pockets as he gently unwrapped the hysterical man.
Chapter 12
“Now then, my good man, what news have you of the demon war?” Charby walked around the tightly tied up man.
“G-god, I’ll n-never t-tell!!!” Charby sighed. Another difficult one.
“What side are you on?”
“Y-you d-demon b-&^%$*^$ will n-never g-get wha-“
“We are fighting against the demon king. What side are you on?”
“Y-you’re ag-gainst-? H-how can I b-be sure?!” Charby smiled satisfactorily-they knew where the man stood.
“Aw, &^%*. Wait a s-I know you.” For once, the man sat still, staring at Charby. “The vampire, that one that’s gonna be the king. Some kinda prince, right?”
Charby smiled elegantly. “Very correct, sir. And I give you my word, as a hypothetical prince, that all of my colleagues are seeking the destruction of ‘King’ Zeno’s reign.” The man sighed, and started.
“My name’s Sadick. I’m a part of a rebellion that’s been going on since the tyrant took over. I’m a major general there. If you swear again that you won’t hurt anyone or spoil any secrets, I’ll take you there.” Kavonn looked at Menu, and Charby nodded.
“Menu, go get the gang.
Chapter 13
Damon listened for a bit to make sure that the lord was gone, then sat down infront of the queen. He was going to perform an experiment.
“C-Queen Mye? Are you there?” He studied the still form. “The lord’s gone. I double checked.” Still no answer. “Speak, speak, why don’t you speak?!”
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, for the first time anyone had known since the new lord had taken reign, the queen of the demons opened her mouth… and sighed.
“Well, screw you too,” Damon thought, and returned to his duties.
“So… long…” Damon paused in his work, wondering if what he heard was real.
“Oh, my head… Where…?” Excited, the young boy raced to the queen’s side. Her voice was queer, a girl’s words in a woman’s voice. “There was Zeno… A kingdom? What the heck’s been happening?” The queen looked down at the boy as if for the first time.
“Zeno? Dear, sweet, little Zeno?” Mye looked confused, trying to stand up but falling back on the cushions.
“I-I am no one; The King’s personal servant. I take care of you.”
“Well, then. Nice to meet you. What’s your name? Where did you come from?”
“M-my name?… I’m just called ‘boy’, but there was one person who didn’t. She called me Damon. She was supposed to be my sister. The people who brought me up were regular kitchen slaves, they hardly paid attention to me, only feeding me and letting me learn how to read… at least a little. The girl was nice. I knew this wasn’t my family, cause they’re regular scotodino and I’m… like you, I guess. Not really human, not demon. I think. Maybe that’s why the lord made me start working for you when I was nine.” The bland words left an awkward taste in the air, and Damon shuffled on his feet uncomfortably.
“Hmm… Damon, do you-“ But the queen’s words were cut short as the door banged open.
Chapter 14
“Mye!!” Boy and woman turned towards the open door with horrified expressions; there was noone there, but neither had shouted the queen’s name. All of a sudden, she looked as if she was being squeezed, and someone started laughing.
“Get away, whatever you are!!” Damon rushed towards Mye’s rescue, but was pushed aside by the invisible entity.
“Oh, my god. You’re all right. You’re HERE!” Mye struggled under the invisible person’s grip, but they held on tighter.
“Who are you?” she cried out in desperation.
“Whoops, mine bad,” said a low voice, and then all became clear. A man who looked remarkably similar to the queen was hugging her with all his might, looking as if he was trying not to cry. An Alp in black and white stood in the corner, looking slightly sad. A jittery, blonde man chewed furiously on a toothpick, closely watched by a short, strange little grey man.
“Hexavier?” Mye’s face looked doubtful for a moment, and then lit up in joy. “I waited. You can’t imagine how long.”
“Right, now we’s gots ta gets outta dis joint, da man won’t be playing wid his scythe forevers.” Mye looked up at Tony with relief, and detached herself from her brother.
“Of course, you’re right. Damon can lead the way, I think he knows these caves by heart.” Damon looked up at her, a slightly crooked, relieved smile, and started for the door.