Dark Body, Light Soul (Or the Tale of the Stalfos)

Chapters

1: Not Part Of The Deal
2: So That's Where My Plot Went!
3: Why, Yes, I'm Here To Pick Up My Laundry
4: Rattled From The Revelation
6: The Legend of Keeta
7: Wisped Away
8: Who 2 Trust
9: Jack of All Trades
10: Sweet Symphony
11: Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
12: Alliance
13. Battletoads. Your Argument Is Invalid
14. The Calm Before The Song Of Storms
15. The Obligatory Song Chapter
16. One More Song
17: What In The Blue Hell...?
18: The King's Decree
19: Game, Can We Have Words Outside? Later?
20. I Feel Like I'm Entering...
22: Meeting...Nah, Not Yet
23: Risk: Necro City
24: No Respect
25: Insert Witty Title Here
26: Facts of Life (And Death)
27: Ultimate Showdown, Part Duex
28: Awkward Ensues
29: ...a Zone of Danger
30: Dead End
31: Toxic Times
32: Under De Swamp
34: No Exceptions
34.5: Teeth-Clenched Teamwork
NCS 1: Dan's Bad Robe Day
35. Jawbreaker
36: And Now For Something Exactly The Same
37: Flowers for Daniel
38: Invasion of the Bone Snatchers
39: In Which This Story Receives A Bad Ending
40: The Price You Must Pay, Part 1
41: The Price You Must Pay, Part 2
42: The Price You Must Pay, Part 3
43: Shadows of Doubt
44: The Station Proper (and Improper)
45: Past, Present, Future
46: Fighting Dreamers
47: Waking the (Not Quite) Dead
Prologue: Me, Volvagia, And Some Random Guy
5: Ladder Matches and the Things They Burn
21: Leaning On The Fourth Wall, Much?
33. Mansions and Skaterparks
48: Forward, Backward, Over, Under

1: Not Part Of The Deal

Chapter 1: Not Part Of The Deal

I yawned as I woke up from my sleep. Wow, I just don't remember the last time I slept so well. I stretched my limbs as I picked myself up off the ground. Wait...ground? Last I checked, I fell asleep in a bed. I opened my eyes. This was not my room in the apartments. I was not sure where I was, but there were a lot of trees, it was hard to tell what the time of day it was, and I could smell something stagnant in the air. Maybe it was a swamp?

I looked around and managed to get myself on my feet. If that pill really did work, it didn't do such a good job of making me Volvagia, I thought to myself. First things first, I need to find something that can show my reflection. For some reason, my stomache wasn't growling. Usually, when I wake up, it's very angry that I ignored it all night and wants me to make it a sammich or something. Hey, less I have to eat, the more I can survive the week. I noticed light bouncing off of the surface of a small puddle to the right. Maybe I could use it and see what happened.

Well, folks, I got there in 5 seconds. And within 2 seconds of looking at the reflection in the puddle, I lost all claims to masculinity with the girliest shriek you will EVER hear. As soon as I reclaimed my sanity and a shred of dignity, I looked at the reflection again. Staring back at me was a skeleton. Yes, you read that right, a skeleton.

I gotta say, he looked pretty...badass. An iron pauldron on each shoulder, light blue gloves on his hands, with matching shorts and cloth boots, and a brown belt around the waist. Only thing I didn't really like was the helmet: way too small to be of any use if it's not covering your whole head. Wait, do I spy...? Yes! Spike bands around the ankles and wrists! This guy looked like he died in battle, and just came back to life to strangle his killer!

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. If he's staring back at me, there's only one logical explanation for it. I opened my eyes and raised my right hand. He raised his left. I tilted my head to the left. He tilted his to the right. I sneezed. "Bless you," he said.

"Thank you," I said absently. Wait...WHAT?!? I looked back at the reflection. He was laughing. Laughing! I wasn't laughing, why was he laughing?!? He had that deep voice, you know? The one a commanding officer would have when he wanted his troops to remember their place.

"Hahahaha! Oh, it's been too long since I've seen another soul around here!" the skeleton laughed. "I'm just amazed he looks like me!"

"Like you?" I asked. I lifted my hand to my face and sure enough, it had a light blue glove covering it up, with a spiked wristband where the glove ended. Past it was nothing but bone. Looking down at my body, it matched even more. The shorts, the belt, the shoes with the spiked bands around the ankles. My shoulders were even covered by the iron pauldrons that the reflection wore. He was right: I was the spitting image of him. What exactly happened to me?

"I bet you're wondering what happened to you," the water skeleton said. Ooh, he's good. "I don't rightly know myself. But, right now, that doesn't matter, because I need your help."

"My help? I don't even know where I am, much less why I'm dead!" I protested. "How can I help you?!?"

"It's actually pretty simple," he responded. "See, I'm a bit...cursed right now to stay in this little puddle until someone, or something, can break that curse. As you can imagine, not many individuals really come this way."

"No, I actually couldn't imagine," I deadpanned. "I've only been here for 10 minutes, so I don't know which paths are more travelled than others."

He nodded in contemplation. "You may be telling the truth...but you're the only one I can rely on right now. So will you help me?"

I had to think on this. Sure, maybe I had just lost my mind and am actually talking to myself. I wouldn't be surprised, since it seems to be a common habit, according to close friends. Maybe this skeleton isn't cursed: it's a punishment for doing something evil and he's looking for an unwitting pawn to release him so he can catch up on lost time. Or maybe, this is the most likely idea, just MAYBE this is a crazy, lucid dream from that black pill I ingested before I went to sleep. One way to find out, and I really didn't like my choice.

"Alright, I'll help," I sighed. "But before I do, I need 3 questions answered."

The skeleton laughed again. "I've spent nearly half a millenium stuck in this puddle! A few more minutes isn't going to hurt me!"

Great, I'm dealing with a snarky skeleton. "First off, where am I?" First and foremost in any adventure: know where you are. You can't save the world if you don't know you're supposed to be here, not there.

"That's a simple one," he nodded. "You're in the Black Marsh. Really nice place, but filled with disease and ruin. Only resiliant creatures and undead monsters can thrive here."

Undead monsters. So glad I could join their group. "Second question, what exactly are you?"

"Do your eyes not work? Oh, that's right, you don't have them anymore." He let out another laugh. I shot him a glare. Or tried to, since you need, y'know, eyes, to shoot glares. He got the message, though. "Alright, alright, alright. Most creatures call us 'skeletons.' Me, I prefer our given names. The Stalfos."

Stalfos? Oh, no, I KNEW I recognized that look! Oh, this one's gonna be beautiful to try and explain to the next passerby I meet. I took a deep breath. This last question was really gonna grate at me if I kept it to myself.

"How exactly did you get here?"

The skeleton...excuse me, Stalfos...seemed to sigh at this question. "That's not for me to say so soon. If I get out of here, I'll answer that question in full."

He tapped his chin, as if he had forgotten something. Then something clicked. "Ah, we've been talking this whole time, and I never even properly introduced myself!" He removed the poor excuse of a helmet and held it over where his heart should be. "You may call me Keeta. Who do I have the honor of addressing?"

Should I use my real name? ...no, I never believed it to be what I wanted it to be: intimidating. But looking at myself, I remembered a hero who was a skeleton. Would he notice? Not likely, but I gave it a shot, anyway. I removed my own helmet, but instead of putting over where my heart should be, I tossed it to the side. No way am I keeping that thing. "My name is Daniel Fortesque," I responded. "And I shall free you from this prison."

2: So That's Where My Plot Went!

Chapter 2: So That's Where My Plot Went!

"I really should have found some kind of weapon before coming in here," I said to myself. The dungeon Keeta had sent me to was an underground one. Only a fool would go into such a dangerous place and think he wouldn't need something for self defense.

While I thought of something durable to use, I decided to start thinking about the black pill again. According to the old man's note, my form was related to what killed me first. But last I checked, Volvagia was the one I got my game over on. So why wasn't I a fire-breathing dragon with a funky flaming hairdo and only two arms?

That's when it clicked: what killed me first. Did it mean what actually made my life hit 0? But whatever it was, I was revived! I got back up to fi-

...............

I facepalmed. Of COURSE it meant what made my life hit 0 first: because you can't be "revived" unless you were originally "dead!" Okay, brain, time to rewind the clip! I mentally backtracked through the Fire Temple I had just went through yesterday. Let's see...nothing, nothing, nothing, keep going, STOP! End of Forest Temple, I collapsed as I missed sending a magic volley at Phantom Ganon! ...no, that's not it. Otherwise, I'd have black armor, a skeleton head, and an awesome black horse to ride.

Keep rewinding, keep rewinding...here we go! Two big Stalfos guarding the key I need to progr-oh, that was painful. I remember now: I had captured a fairy back in Jabu-Jabu's dungeon, and kept it with me until I got to the first Stalfos battle. I was stabbed through my defenses, then he caught me off-guard with a jump attack, which I tried to block. This proved futile, and my PC collapsed to the ground before the fairy revived him.

Well, that's one mystery solved. I think. That's what I'll go with for now. I found a metal shield jutting out of the ground near the entrance to the dungeon. It's not a weapon, per se, but I've seen what Captain America and those Defender Heartless can do with one. Just put your mind to it, and a shield is the most dangerous weapon you could ever wield. I examined it a bit. It was kind of like the wooden shield I bought at the Renaissance Faire back when I was 12 years old: the top was smooth, the sides were smooth, and the bottom curved to make a point. Although it didn't have the dragon hoarding the treasure on it.

Sorry about that little bit of nostalgia, it was a nice shield. I put the metallic shield on my left arm, hoping I'd find a good attack weapon to compliment it. I moved to the front of the dungeon, testing the weight of the shield. For a metal, it was pretty light. Hopefully, it would hold up against whatever enemies were down there.

There it was. The door to hell itself. Maybe. I wasn't particularly sure at this point. I grabbed the handle and pulled. It didn't budge. I pulled a bit harder. Still nothing. I did the comical thing, grabbed it with two hands, stood on the side of the door and pulled with all of my might! .........still didn't move an inch.

Sighing, I leaned against the stubborn door. "Well, this is a bust. How am I supposed to save Keeta when the dumb door's lo-WHOA!" The door suddenly opened and I fell down the stairs. For every step I hit, I seemed to lose another bone, until by the end of it all, I was nothing more than a skull on a spine. My first adventure in...wait, was this Equestria? But Keeta said the Black Marsh, and that's in Tamriel, and we're Stalfos, and those are in Hyrule...and am I really contemplating this while I'm a shattered wreck?

Amazingly, my limbs worked in spite of the fact that they were not attached to me. Focusing, I had my right arm crawl towards me and align itself in place. Then, I willed my left arm to meet me, made a shade more difficult by the fact it still had the shield equipped. I locked it in place, and crawled to my legs. I had attached them and was just about to get up when I stared at my legs. My feet were curved outwards.

...............

Son of a bitch, I put them on backwards, didn't I?

2 Minutes of Putting Everything Back Together in the Right Order Later:

I walked down the dark corridor, the pathway lit only by strategically placed torches. If it weren't for those flaming sticks of light, I would assume that this place had been abandoned. As I reached the end, there was another door. Thankfully, this one was easy enough to open: I pulled it towards me and closed it as I walked into the open room.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you something: wherever I was, it seemed to be paradise for the undead. Skeletons (or were they Stalfos, too?) were operating trading stands, zombies were rolling the dice, and all sorts of so-called creatures of the night were having a good time. As I approached the edge of the area, I was greeted by a ghost.

"Hello, there, stranger!" she giggled slightly. She seemed young. Quite the opposite of what I was expecting. Wait a moment...was she a horse? She sure seemed like it: she had four hooves, the mane and tail, and the muzzle of one. Curiously, I peeked at her flank. ...nope, nothing there. I immediately shifted my attention away as soon as I confirmed that.

My greeter tilted her head slightly. "I've never seen a skeleton of your shape before. What kind are you?"

What kind? The human kind, I wanted to shout. But as I examined the room a bit more, I noticed she was right: there were zombified ponies, skeleton gryphons, vampiric Diamond Dogs, even a dragon ghost. But nowhere did I see even a single, solitary thing like me. Maybe I was where I thought I was?

I decided to give her my best answer. "I am a Stalfos. Daniel Fortesque, if you're looking for a name."

Maybe it was just me, but her eyes seemed to widen when I gave her my psuedonym. Was that a good sign? "A Stalfos?!? Oh my goodness, we haven't seen a Stalfos since the King and Keeta!" The King and Keeta? So maybe Keeta wasn't lying after all. I was about to ask her a question, but she gave me a "SILENCE!" motion. "Listen, Stalfos aren't really welcomed around here. They were all destroyed when the current King dethroned Igos and claimed it for himself. Only Keeta survived, and he was cursed to be a reflection in a puddle until the day he died."

"But isn't Keeta already dead?" I asked without thinking. "I mean, you can't be a Stalfos unless you're dead, can you?"

She stared at me. "...that's a good point. Then why can't he get out?"

I dropped my voice to a whisper. "That's what I'm here to find out," I told her. "Can you help me, Miss...?"

"Oh!" She clapped her hooves together. "Sorry, I was just so excited to see someone new, that I forgot my manners! I'm Melody! Decendant of the Forte Family!"

Conspicuously close to a double-soft Melody, I thought to myself. Aloud, I said, "My question still stands, Melody. Can you help me break Keeta's curse?"

She eyed my shield. "Well, Mr. Fortiskay," she began. I winced. Even though it wasn't my real name, having it mispronounced still bugged me. It's one of the reasons I rarely used my real name. She didn't seem to notice as she continued, "if you want to break his curse, either Keeta has to die, or you have to convince the current King or Queen to release him."

"Why either or?" I asked.

She shrugged. "That's just the kind of curse that was placed on him."

A loud ringing erupted from the top of the market area. Melody and I stared as a gryphon with a crown dropped down from the top. He wore one of those malicious smiles, one that said, "You're lucky I'm kind enough to allow you to live." My ghostly friend gasped.

"That's the King! Mr. Fortiskay, if he sees you, he'll destroy you! Hide!"

I had to think fast. How do I hide in a marketplace? Um...aha! I jumped behind an empty stall and found a set of blue robes. Could I convince him I was a zombie of some sort for a moment?

As I threw the clothes on, quickly covering myself, armor and all, the King spoke.

"Greetings, my subjects! Your King has graced you with His presence! However, I'm afraid my being here was not entirely a nice visit." There were a few mutterings in the crowd, wondering what he was talking about. "As you know, the last of the Stalfos has been wiped out, and their sole survivor, Keeta, lies trapped in the Black Marsh until the end of days!" There were a few claps, some cheering, and one whistle. Were we really that badly thought of? "But, it has come to my attention that I, your King, was mistaken!" More hushed whispers. "One of the evil Stalfos has infiltrated our little town and is planning to destroy it by releasing Keeta!" There were gasps all around. "Therefore, in order to get rid of this threat, I hereby issue a proclamation: capture the Stalfos and bring him to me! Whoever brings him to me shall be crowned as my next heir when my time comes!" With that, whooping and hollering came from all around the market place. "I wish you luck in finding this evil monster and delivering him to me. And always report any findings of suspicious activities to guards. That is all, you may continue your work." With that, he flew back up.

The crowd mostly went back to work as I slowly started taking the robes off. Melody, however, stopped me by placing a wide, yellow hat on my head. "You can't show your face, Mr. Fortiskay! Others will notice."

"It's Fortesque," I said as calmly as I could. "Four-tis-cue. Not Fortiskay!"

"Whatever," she brushed it off. "But you still can't show your skull around here yet!" I was just not off to a good start on my journey. She motioned at me to follow her. I nodded slowly.

"Hey, Melody? Who owns that stand?" I asked.

She shot me a smile. "My father does! His name's Allegro. Don't worry about paying us, because I'm sure you'll find something to do around here."

I could only hope.

3: Why, Yes, I'm Here To Pick Up My Laundry

Chapter 3: Why, Yes, I'm Here To Pick Up My Laundry

Melody and I weaved through the crowd, trying to avoid being too noticeable. Every stall we passed, they were trying to sell something weird.

"Rotton meat! Get yer rotton meat here!"

"Fresh earthworms straight from the soil! Don't be cheap: get some!"

"Even the undead need to keep their bones strong! Milk by the bottle here!"

"Need weapon, stranger?"

Odd. That last one seemed aimed at me. I turned to see a burly zombie dog with a smithy's hammer. I guess he thought I didn't hear him, because he asked me again. "Need weapon, stranger?"

"Well, I want one, but I'm afraid I can't pay you, friend," I answered.

The blacksmith frowned. "No pay. Prove weapon's worth."

Thankfully, my yellow hat covered my face, so he didn't see a flash of worry cross it. "Prove weapon's worth?"

"Yes," the dog nodded. "Me make weapon, you take weapon, enter nightly tournament." He gestured to the poster beside him. Melody gave me an irritated glare. It was the look that said, "We kind of need to be somewhere!" I ignored it for the moment to take a look at the poster.

COME ONE, COME ALL! EVERY NIGHT, STARTING AT 18:00 HOURS, BEAR WITNESS TO THE BATTLES OF LEGEND! ZOMBIE VS. SKELETON, VAMPIRE VS. WEREWOLF, GHOST VS. GHOST, AND ALL THE COMBINATIONS YOU CAN THINK OF!

PARTICIPANTS NEED ONLY A WEAPON AND SPONSOR, SHOULD PARTICIPANT WIN, THEY GET AN AUDIENCE WITH KING GRIFFON, AND THEIR SPONSOR GETS RECOGNITION FROM THE UNDERWORLD, DON'T BE STINGY, SIGN UP YOUR LIFE TODAY!

King Griffon? Where have I heard the name Griffon before? And if winning this tournament got me an audience with the king, maybe I could convince him that Keeta isn't a bad...individual. Melody's glare still weighed on me, but it changed from "HURRY UP, DAMN YOU!" to "You're actually participating, aren't you?"

I sighed. "How soon can you make me a weapon?"

The blacksmith barked in delight, accidentally dropping his tongue onto his anvil. He picked it up and put it back in his mouth before answering. "It 15:50 now. Me have good weapon by 18:00. You prove me be good blacksmith?"

I managed to get my shield out from under my robes without revealing my bones. I reattached it to my left arm, and nodded. "Yes, I prove you be good blacksmith."

"Name and Undead type?"

"Dracula, Vampire."

"You're registered, here's your number, when it's called, get your arse to the arena. NEXT! Name and Undead type?"

"Stubbs, Zombie."

"You're registered, here's your number, when it's called, get your arse to the arena. NEXT! Name and undead type?"

My turn. Let's hope Jack did a good job. I gave the register, who looked like he was the bones of an old unicorn, my name, leaving out Fortesque since it might attract unwanted attention.

"Daniel, Skeleton."

The name taker looked up. In front of him was an individual wielding a crooked red sword, a brown kite shield with a Diamond Dog's paw mark on it (Jack informed me it was "symbol of sponsor," but I think he just wanted to color it), blue robes, and a yellow hat. He simply shrugged and handed me my number. 72, my favorite.

"You're registered, here's your number, when it's called, get your arse to the arena. NEXT!"

I walked into the corridors of the underground arena. As I entered, the ghost of a male gryphon handed me a sheet of paper. (How ghosts manage to hold onto things is beyond me.) "Here are the rules. You seem to be the only one sponsored by Jack's Weapon Emporium. I guess you took pity on the old codger, eh?"

I was the only one sponsored by him? "Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, for you, no. For him, yeah. If you die at anytime, he gets nothing. Other places, like Pandora's Pizza Parlor, Jim's Earthworm Farm, and even Rash's Repair have at least 4 sponsored fighters. Even if two of them are pitted against each other, the sponsors still go up in the ladder."

"He must've had a bad streak if I'm his only fighter," I commented.

"Maybe," the apparition noted. "Rumor's going around that every one of his fighters have lost the first round, so not many choose to let him be their sponsor."

"Poor guy," I muttered. "Maybe I can break his streak. We have 128 fighters in this tournament?"

"Actually, no. There's only 80. The other 48 are going to be monsters we captured. we're pitting them against the most recent additions." With that, he flew off to greet contestant number 73.

Wait, did he say "most recent additions?" That means...the first 32 fighters are fighting real people, while the other 48 are going up against a group of monsters. And lucky me, being number 72, was going to fight them before I really got into the fray with one of the other contestants.

Crap.

"Welcome, contestants! We are proud to announce that all 80 of you have finally been registered!"

I was barely paying attention. I had no idea it was going to be this packed. According to the rules, monster fights were first, then it was battle between the contestants. Therefore, not only was I going toe-to-whatever with some ungodly creature, but it would be in front of a crowd. And worse yet, I got to do it earlier than everyone else. As if I didn't have enough on my plate as it was.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to announce that our first monster match is..." There was a pause as our announcer guy grabbed a piece of paper from the Monster Ranch section. "...a chupacabra!" There was a gasp from everyone except me. Wasn't like I was gonna face it, right?

...fuck, I did it again. Now I'm definately going to be fighting that thing next.

"And the chupacabra's opponent is going to be..." He reached into the contestant's hat, "...number 56!" Everyone turned to a male pegasus ghost with a mace and viking helmet.

"Very well! That monster will learn its place at the hooves of Balter! Where is he?!?" The gates opened as Balter flew out of the room. There was a bit of a scuffle, followed by a scream. The crowd went silent as a munching noise was heard. The outside announcer finally spoke: "The chupacabra has forced Balter to cross over, meaning the chupacabra advances!" There was a scream of joy outside. So much for him, I chuckled.

"Our second monster match..." The announcer flourished before he pulled another monster from the ranch, "...is a cyclops!" More gasps. I didn't gasp at this one, either. I've heard how destructive they are, but I still kept my cool as best as I could.

"And his opponent is..." Another pause as the next number revealed itself, "...number 72!" So early? And...against a cyclops?!? Everyone kept looking for entrant number 72 until I gave a soft cough. I gave my voice a grim feel to it, so everyone thought I was intimidating. Looking back...I don't think it worked.

"Very well. I will deal with it." The gates opened again as I gripped my sword and walked into the arena.

"Here's round 2 of the monster fights, ladies and gentlemen! Our gladiator this round, entrant number 72, the skeleton fighting for Jack's Weapon Emporium, Daniel!" There wasn't much cheering for me, other than the Forte family. And by that, I mean Allegro and Melody. The wider gate across from my own opened to reveal my ugly opponent. Seriously? I couldn't believe that zombies were actually smart enough to capture him. Then again, Dr. Zomboss created that machine to crush you in Plants Vs. Zombies, didn't he?

"And his opponent: brought in from the gates of Tartarus itself, the mighty cyclops!" There was a huge roar of applause. Apparently, skeletons in general were looked down upon. I think it's about time I change that, and make sure King Griffon knows what I think. That's what I hoped, anyway. What actually happened was probably the most hair-raising experience of my life.

The cyclops came out of the gate, full speed, slamming his monstrous club down where I stood. I rolled out of the way and started attacking his legs. Every swipe opened a fresh gash, pouring a fresh stream of blood, but it seemed to heal quickly. After three more swipes, the monster tried to crush me like a bug, stomping everywhere. Every time he did, I lost my balance and had to regain my senses. Soon, however, he stomped close enough that I couldn't recover as fast as I needed to. He raised that grotesque foot over my body and prepared to flatten me.

I rolled out of harm's way, however, just enough to where I could grab onto his side and start climbing. I move to the outside, where he easily spotted me and swatted me off of him. At the velocity I was going (I think that's how you say it?), it was no surprise my landing ended up dislocating my ankle. I quickly went to work getting it back into the right spot without removing my disguise. The cyclops started moving towards me again.

"Oh, come on! Get back in place, ankle!" I pleaded with myself. The giant was two steps away...one step away...YES! Ankle's back in order! I jumped out of the way of his club just in time! I got on it before he could pull it away, and he lifted me up to eye level. At least, for his eye. He raised his unarmed hand and slammed it onto the club. I avoided it and jumped onto the back of it. The cyclops reared his head back...

...and headbutted his hand. I could not think of a dumber thing to do. Instead of dodging this attack, I held out my crooked sword, aiming right at the eye. I realized a bit before he collided that the sword wasn't lined up and I slid into place. As expected, he jammed his eye right into my blade. With a guttural scream, he tried to smack me off. Instead, I left my blade in his eye and jumped off of him as he started hitting himself, trying to dislodge the offending item in his iris.

Soon, his own power was diminishing and he collapsed onto his back. I used this opportunity to grab my sword from his eye. Instead of finishing him, I sheathed the blade back into its scabbard on my back. It was here that I noticed a shadow over me. Instinctively, I jumped to the left, then stepped to the right as the club landed on the cyclops' face for the last time. At this point, I couldn't help myself. I put my hand on my hips, tucked my knees in tight, and started doing the Time Warp.

This was met by laughter, applause, and whooping and hollering. "And our winner, amazingly, is Daniel!" the announcer shouted enthusiastically.

4: Rattled From The Revelation

Chapter 4: Rattled From The Revelation

Victory is always sweet. Sometimes, it's bittersweet, but it's still sweet. My victory was probably sweeter than Pinkie Pie's sweetest item at Sugarcube Corner. (But please don't let me taste it, I don't think I could stand it.) Not only did I win my match, but it was against a FREAKING CYCLOPS, I broke Jack's Sponsorship curse which cited that the warriors he sponsored were to lose in the first round, and I think I'm getting some respect put back into the skeletons.

"Took you long enough, Skullhead! Thought we'd never get to the 3rd match with you in the reins!"

...okay, maybe the fans simply have a bit more respect. The arena opponents? Not so much. Looking at the remaining 78 contestants (remember? Balter crossed over), I realized that I was the only skeleton, let alone Stalfos, competing in the tournament. Maybe Jack didn't get more representatives because he sponsored a skeleton? Not cool, undead asswipes. Not cool at all.

The preliminaries were boring after my match. At least, the monster matches were. They must've beefed up the beasties, because the undead that had to fight them? Most of them wound up losing the un- prefix. The notable ones that actually got through the monster prelims were Stubbs, a gryphon zombie who gutted a huge spider (thank God he got the spider, I don't think I could've handled it); Wisp, a pegasus ghost that completely dominated an ogre (think cyclops, but smaller and far more cunning); and Carmeline, a unicorn vampire who...well, the details are a bit messy, but with her around, we wouldn't have to worry about flesh golems, that's for sure.

After that came the better part of the competition: undead vs. undead. Unfortunately, we were all sent to the bunk areas where we would stay until we were called up for the next match. I used this time to think about the tournament. With 128 contestants (and I'm including the monsters), there should be 127 matches total. I just had to figure out how many of them I was gonna be in. Let's see...128/2 is 64, and I participated in that. Then it's 64/2, which comes out to 32. I'll participate in that one, too. Then divide THAT by 2, it'll be 16. From there, I did the rest in my head. I had to go through 5 more matches before I could claim I was the champion.

Now came the tough part: figuring out who my opponents would be. ...oh, no. My next opponent was the chupacabra that tore Balter a new one. Did I mention I really need to keep my brain from taunting the lady? If I won against him, I assumed that Wisp would come out on top against the manticore. Then the 16 bracket will probably have me up against the...big, glob of darkness. There's no other way to describe it. Seriously, it simply glared at the Diamond Dog it was fighting, and he simply disappeared. I mean "poof!" vanished. The 8, as I was told, would have to be held tomorrow since there were so many battles today alone.

Although we were forbidden from watching the rest of the matches, we were at least allowed to go outside and chat with fans/sponsors/family/etc. I cracked my bones (which showed that you don't need muscles for it, ha!) and walked into the courtyard. I expected to see Melody and Jack there, congratulating me on a well-earned victory. What I didn't expect...

...were the fans. Yes, fans of the blue-robed, yellow-hatted Stalfos (who they thought was a skeleton) who made a complete fool of himself after he felled a cyclops by poking it in the eye. Granted, the fans were small, not exceeding the 20 mark including Melody and Jack, but it's still surprising. Especially when they're wearing the same clothes as me.

"Ha! Jack knew! Jack knew skeleton break curse! Now Jack recognized!" the zombie dog bounced up and down happily until his lost left leg made him faceplant. I couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune.

Melody wrapped her hooves around my neck. Or, she would've, had she not flown right through me. I heard a sheepish chuckle as I saw her ghostly arms drape around my shoulders. "That was amazing, Mr. Fortiskay! Cyclops usually last until the quarterfinals, and you took one down in the prelims!" A roar from the small crowd agreed with her. One of them, who I recognized as the ghostly gryphon who gave me the rulesheet, approached and added, "You even knocked out all of the arena's expectations: they thought the cyclops would be using your arm as a toothpick when you were slashing at his ankles!"

I was then approached by Melody's father, Allegro. Now Allegro, like his daughter, was a ghost: a pony-ghost who just so happened to have the mark of a spool on his flank. So apparently, the dead ponies can have a cutie mark? So many questions...and no way to answer them yet.

"My daughter has told me a bit about you, Mr. Fortiskay," Allegro said. Agh, mispronouncing my last name ran in the family. "I wasn't sure what to think of a skeleton entering the tournament, since you're the first one in about 15 years. But I must say, with just one victory, you're becoming the talk of skeletons."

"Hopefully, it's a good thing," I said.

"Almost. Some are praising you for your victory, others are skeptical that you're even a skeleton. Some are even suggesting that you are..." Allegro looked left, then right, and motioned for me to come closer. I abided and leaned towards him, hand over where my ear would be. "...alive."

I tilted my head slightly. I guess being alive was a crime in an undead city? "I can assure you, I am dead as dust," I told him. "Or, undead as dust. Wait, dust isn't undead..." Before I could mutter more nonsense, Allegro cleared his throat. And now you are wondering how a ghost, who has a clear throat in the first place, cleared a clear throat.

"You need not prove it to me," he said. "But I believe your fans over there would like assurance." He gestured to the small crowd, who stared at me intently. I rolled my right shoulder. They wanted proof, they'd get it. I removed my yellow hat, showing the crowd my skull. There was a huge gasp, followed by a bit of cheering. I'd say that I smiled, but I couldn't really change that: I'd be smiling even if I was pissed off because I couldn't change facial expressions.

After chatting with a few of the fans (mostly skeletons, but there was one vampire who enjoyed the dance), I retired back to my quarters to prepare myself for the next match. It was here that I allowed myself to rid myself of the hat and robe, so I could think properly. Although I couldn't "close my eyes" since I didn't have eyelids, I could still shut out light as if I had them. I took in a deep breath as I prepared myself.

"How are you liking Equestria so far?" a familiar voice sounded out.

I immediately let the light back in as I found myself face-to-face with the old man. He still had that outfit from when we first met. I let a growl escape from my throat. "It's better than my old life, but still not what I expected. What happened?"

"Why," the old man said, feigning shock, "I just wanted to send a nice, upstanding member of society like yourself to the land of dreams that even the most dedi-"

"You can stop right there, Olman," I interrupted. "I am NOT a 'nice, upstanding member of society' by any stretch, this is NOT the land of dreams, and may I dare ask why I'm a pile of bones and not the fire-breathing lava dragon that I believed I would be?"

The man tapped his cane against the floor. (Again, it appeared out of nowhere! How does he do that?!?) After a moment's silence, he finally spoke. "Fine. Truthfully, that pill did nothing."

My jaw literally dropped. I picked it up, put it back in place, and voiced the only word I could think of. "What."

"The pill. It did nothing. It was just black cherry Kool-Aid in a gel capsule. It didn't transport you to Equestria, I did," he said, a dark smile dancing across his face.

I crossed my arms. "So you're telling me that I actually didn't have a choice, that I was going to be transported whether or not I took that fake pill?"

"Oh, nononononononono," he wagged a finger. "Had you chosen to give it to someone else, or toss it away, I would've taken it away from them and looked for another potential player."

"Potential player? Are we playing The Game?" I asked. Oh, and you just lost.

"Well, yes and no. Yes, in the fact that everyone here is just a piece to form the world we wish to create. And no, in the fact that there will not be winners and losers. The only thing that matters is who's left to appreciate the impact they've left on Equestria and its surrounding areas."

I put my robes and hat back on. I figured they would be asking for me soon. "So what part do I play in your little game?"

The old man chuckled. He seemed to love keeping me in suspense. "That, my good knight, is for me to know and for you to work towards. And I'm afraid that's all I can tell you at this point."

He turned to the door and opened it. Instead of the arena, as I expected, it was simply space. I swear, I could see Jupiter out there. But not Uranus, because that joke's far too old.

"Hold it!" I shouted. "I'd at least like to know the name of the guy who sent me here!"

He didn't turn. He didn't stop. But before he closed the door behind him, he answered. "I have many names, Daniel Fortesque. The one you have called me, Olman, will be what you call me. We shall meet again, after the tournament." The door shut as he uttered the last word.

It immediately swung back open as a zombie in the shape of a young dragon opened the door. "Entry 72? Daniel?" I nodded. "Your match is up next. It's a monster battle against the chupacabra, so try not to lose your head."

I nodded. Grabbing my sword and shield, I made my way to the arena. First things first, I need to clear whatever problems lie in this city. Then I can focus on getting back at Olman.

6: The Legend of Keeta

Chapter 6: The Legend of Keeta

"Keeta was one of the handful of Stalfos who didn't treat others like they were dirt," Melody explained. "He was kind, amicable, and always trying to improve li- er, death for everyone. Even though Igos hated Keeta's actions because they contradicted his thoughts, Keeta was never apprehended or labeled a traitor. And it was one of the few times a non-skeleton ever thanked Igos for it, because he was just a force to be reckoned with.

"Many times, monsters had found their way into the city and terrorized us. Had it not been for Captain Keeta and the other noble Stalfos, Necro City would have been destroyed long ago. Over time, however, the other Stalfos became more and more corrupt, leaning towards helping themselves and the skeletons over the good of us all. Soon, Keeta was the only noble one left. Then, two years ago...everything changed."

Jack picked up the story from here. "Around that time, Griffon enter city. Release huge force of gryphons and ponies to attack city. All Stalfos other than Keeta and Igos fall. Igos dethroned and executed, Keeta sealed in lake prison. Griffon claim throne next day, and Necro City thrive ever since."

Let those words sink in for a moment, I know it's a lot to take in such a short amount of time. I had to deal with it, too. So that's why Stalfos were never seen as good: they were simply products of necromancers who wanted nothing more than to bone everyone else in the rear while they rose to power. And skeletons were looked down upon since it reminded them of Igos's tyrannical reign. Judging by their silence, I guess they had finished the story. Now it was time for some Q&A.

"So if Stalfos are looked down upon, why do you trust me?" I asked.

Melody put a hoof on my hand. "Because I can just feel it. If I believed you to be evil, I would have turned you in the moment you told me what you were."

Jack was fiddling with my sword. His handiwork. "You break Jack's curse. You prove he good blacksmith. You earn his trust."

Friends to the end. How could I expect any less? "What about my fans? Will they turn when they find out?"

They both glanced at each other. Jack spoke first. "Highly likely. Most undead oppressed greatly by Stalfos. Especially zombies."

"According to the Stalfos, zombies were nothing more than weakened versions of their living selves, and should be put back in their graves," Melody piped up. Jack shot her a dark glance. "What? It's what they said!"

"And yet, Keeta was kind enough to help them," I reminded them, dusting off my hat. "So earlier, Melody, you said you wanted to help free him. Why?"

Melody looked at me. "Because he was kind to us all. He didn't treat one group better than the other. Even under King Gryphon's rule, ghosts are still treated unfairly, and skeletons aren't even considered citizens anymore. We need Keeta here."

I turned my attention to the Diamond Dog. He shrugged. "No look at me. I only been dead 18 months," he acknowledged. "But if Keeta noble as Melody say, go ahead." Now that I think about it, Melody's words and Keeta's don't line up. I had an idea why, and I was about to voice them until I heard a knock on the door. I quickly threw on my robe and hat as the dragon zombie opened it again.

"There you are, Daniel. Your match is up next. It's against the ghost warrior, Wisp. Good luck." He noticed Melody and Jack were here with me. Looking left and right, he finally pointed to them. "Who are they?" he asked.

I pointed to them each and said, "He's my sponsor, she's my personal cheerleader. Anything else?"

The undead drake shook his head. "Nope. We'll see you in the arena." He closed the door and left.

I put my shield back over my left arm as Jack handed me my blade. Its glow was gone, but I could have sworn it was there during my fight with the chupacabra. What did I do? Jack patted me on the back, saying, "Bring more business for Jack. Want earthworms for dinner one night."

I was about to leave when something struck me. "I almost forgot: I just showed my face to a group of skeletons and one vampire. Won't they turn me in when given the chance?"

Melody laughed. "No, silly! Skeletons would never turn in a Stalfos because one, that would mean taking the lone bone man out of the tournament, and two, Stalfos treated skeletons nicely, remember?"

I nodded, but I still wasn't completely sure. "Okay, but what about the vampire?"

Jack spoke up there. "Who, Vega? No. Always appreciated good swordsman. And appreciated better dancer."

I readjusted my shield once more. Wisp wasn't one I wanted to underestimate. His fights against the ogre and Stubbs were...well, I heard that match was pretty amazing, making me a bit sad that I missed it. Not the ogre battle, his one-on-one match with Stubbs. The match was so close, you could cut the tension with a butter knife. Stubbs eventually surrendered after he lost his arm and Wisp tossed it out of the arena. (Again, how do ghosts DO that?!? Gotta ask Melody next chance I get)

The gates to the arena opened once more. As I walked out this time, though, half of the crowd actually went crazy; cheering, clapping, and whistling at the sight of me walking. Of course, when I had their attention, I decided to blow their minds. I did a 180, and started walking back towards the door. The crowd gasped. Was their underdog finally turning tail? The moment I got to the door, I started moving back to the middle of the arena...by way of moonwalking.

"Here comes Entrant 72, Daniel! Wait, he seems to be leaving. Did he forget something? Or is he finally...wait, what in Tartarus's name is he doing? He is walking to the door, yet moving back to the middle." Just insert those sentences in the correct spot, and it'll make sense. I could just hear the laughter of the crowd, along with a "WHOOOOOO!"

Of course, all good things must come to an end. "Hey, bone head!" I stopped my impromptu dance to face my opponent. One advantage of being a ghost that I hated: sneaky little bastards could go anywhere without making so much as a meep.

"And while Daniel was busy with...whatever he was doing, entrant number 44, Wisp, has just entered!" The crowd roared again. As I thought, he was well liked. The pegasus rose into the air and pointed to the left. The left-hand crowd cheered with enthusiasm. He then pointed to the right. Same reaction. I decided to get in on it, too. I pointed to the left. Amazingly, they cheered. I pointed to the right. They booed.

Tough crowd.

7: Wisped Away

Chapter 7: Wisped Away

Wisp made the first move. As soon as the signal was given, he dashed forward, steel mace in mouth. I blocked with my shield and countered with a quick thrust. Unfortunately, I went right through him. He didn't suffer any kind of pain. He gave a small, evil chuckle. "Sorry, but you're going to have to do better than that to land a hit on me," he commented. I felt the mace slam against my spine, sending me right into the ground. I rolled to the right as Wisp stomped the spot where my head used to be. I got up, shaking from the previous attack.

Ghosts were always a bitch to harm, much less kill. Of course, I didn't plan on taking away lives of the dead. ...did that make any sense whatsoever? Anyway, I only know a few ways to harm one, mostly all from video games. First, normal weapons do nothing. If you have a demonic weapon, one made of silver, or one imbued with magic of any sort, it will hurt. Others will simply go right through them, like my trusty swo-oof! Maybe I shouldn't be thinking on random things right now, I thought as my head flew off my shoulders. Thankfully, my hat was still attached, so no one saw my face.

For some reason, Wisp took this time to appeal to the crowd instead of capitalizing on my situation. As he got the other ghosts to start doing the eerie howl (y'know oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo), I had my head hopping back to my body while my body felt around for my skull. Thankfully, we reunited within half a minute. I spun my skull onto my neck, just because I could. As soon as my head stopped spinning, I was face-to-face with Wisp once more.

"I really thought you'd be a bit more of a challenge," he sighed. Once again, he smashed his mace against my ribs, strong enough to send me right into the wall. Damn! What's that mace imbued with?!? Knockback?!? I thought angrily. Timeout...is it imbued? I took a look at the mace once more. It had a clear aura. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was there. The air around the mace was distorted! That meant I could use it to my advantage! Only one problem...I had to find a way to get it out of his hooves.

Wisp looked ready to end it all here and now. He moved fast. Really fast. Too fast to turn, as I sidestepped and made him crash into the wall. Damn, he didn't drop his mace. And, most likely, he wasn't going to fall for that trick again. He shook his head and glared at me. I just couldn't resist. "I'm over here, Everclear!" I shouted. He charged at me again. This time, I held up my shield to take the brunt of the impact. It slightly worked, but it still didn't disarm him. It really made me wish my weapon was enchanted: then I didn't have to take his. "Hey, wanna see what your spine looks like? Oh, wait, YOU DON'T HAVE ONE, COWARD!" I taunted. I shoved him out of the way and stayed defensive for a moment. Strangely, I saw a white light in the corner of my 'eye.'

Glancing, I smiled inwardly: my sword! It was glowing again! I knew Wisp was still going strong, so I had to do some big damage with this hit. But what could I use against a ghost? Maybe...freeze him? Yeah, that could work. As soon as it came to mind, the aura once again changed, this time to a light-blue color. I saw Wisp was now seething with anger.

"I've played around LONG ENOUGH!" he bellowed. "STOP STRUGGLING!" He charged lighting fast, mace at the ready. "Maybe you should chill out," I suggested. I tried to sidestep, swinging my sword as he passed. Keyword: tried. Though I did connect with my blow, his mace still hit me, completely shattering two of my ribs. Wisp, however, was not so lucky. My blade had managed to connect with his wing, and though it wasn't severed, it was frozen solid, preventing him from taking to the skies anymore. He faceplanted, dropping his weapon close to his side.

I glanced at my weapon and was saddened that the glow had disappeared again. Was its magic only temporary? I didn't have time to think it over as Wisp shook off his pain and picked up his mace again. This was going on for a bit longer than I expected, and I'm pretty sure it was going on for much, MUCH longer than Wisp believed it would. I decided to sheath my sword and tossed my shield into my right hand. There was a certain move I've been wanting to do ever since I got this thing...

Wisp was now seething with anger. "That is the LAST STRAW!" he bellowed. "I'M GOING TO TURN YOUR BONES TO DUST, AND SCATTER THEM TOPSIDE!" Wow. I really rustled his jimmies. How about I rustle them some more? "You can try," I offered. He galloped towards me, which was far slower than using his wings, as I ran to meet him. Mace met shield as we fought for dominance. I figured now would be as good of a time as any to use that move. I backed off, forcing Wisp to tumble forward.

Before he could recover, I grasped my shield and shouted, "For freedom!" I then did a quick 3-uppercut combo on his jaw, where he held his mace, punctuating every hit with, "STARS! AND! STRIPES!" The second hit knocked the mace out of his mouth, while the final hit sent him right through the arena wall. Quickly, I tossed my shield back to my left arm and picked up the fallen mace. When Wisp returned, I held the mace above my head. I expected him to charge at me, just so I could send him flying as he did with me. Instead, he collapsed to his knees. He said something, but I couldn't quite make it out.

"Um, once more? I didn't get that the first time," I said.

Wisp complied. "You win. I concede the match."

"And there you have it, everyone! Daniel has forced Wisp to concede victory, meaning Daniel moves on!" The crowd roared as I approached Wisp.

"Quite a match you gave me," I commended. "I believe this is yours." I put the mace back in his mouth, which he proceeded to place onto his back. (Seriously, I have GOT to figure out how ghosts do these things)

"You, too," he sighed. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to have a chat with you."

8: Who 2 Trust

Chapter 8: Who 2 Trust

As we went into my room, I felt a mace press against my good ribs. Oh, this was not gonna end well.

"Alright, skelly," Wisp said coldly, "just what are you?"

"What are you talking about?" I countered. "You already know I'm a skeleton."

"Oh, no you're not," he said. "Skeletons can't use magic. Yet, your blade managed to freeze my wing when it couldn't touch me before. You're not a skeleton...at least not a normal one. So what are you?"

Caught. Damn. Looks like keeping up a skeleton disguise was going to be a bit tougher from here on out. "You're a perceptive one, ain't ya?"

"What can I say?" he asked. "It's my old special talent."

Special talent? I guess now's a good of a time as any to see his mark. It was the shape of a magnifying glass pointing towards a deer cap. "You used to be a detective?" I asked.

"Now who's the perceptive one?" Wisp asked sarcastically. "Yes. But we're not here to talk about my past. We're here to talk about what you are."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, I just tell the guards I found a Stalfos, and that's the end of you."

"So I'm just screwed over either way, then?"

"I would say...wait, how?"

"You'd say 'wait, how?'" I joked. He smacked the good ribs, not hard enough to break them, but enough for me to remember he could. I sighed. "You really want to know?" He came into view and nodded. I took off my hat and robe, watching two of my ribs hit the floor. I picked them up and waved them at my guest. "This is your fault, you realize?"

His look...drastically changed. He went from anger to...despair. "You're one of them!" he shouted. "You're a Stalfos!"

I put a finger to my teeth. "Keep it down! We don't want the whole city to know! Besides, I'm here to help y'all with your problem."

Wisp managed to regain his composure and lower his volume. "Sorry. It's just...aren't you guys supposed to be, y'know, extinct?"

"Hate to break it to you, but including me, two of us are left walking." I picked up my ribs and placed them where they belonged. I felt them reattach, but the cracks still showed where they had parted company with my body. Now how did I pull that off? I thought.

"Wait, how did you do that?" Wisp asked. He pointed to the ribs I had just reattached.

I gave him the honest answer. "I dunno. It just...repaired itself." What else can I do that Olman hasn't told me about?

There was that familiar knock at the door. I quickly threw on my robe and hat as Mr. Zombie Dragon entered the room. "I got some good news for you, Daniel," he said.

"I'm the winner of the tournament and don't have to fight anymore?" I said, half jokingly.

I was awarded with a strange glance. "How did you...? Well, not exactly. Your next match will have to be tomorrow, since the last fight between your next two potential opponents resulted in a draw." Oh, goody. I needed a bye from the tournament. "Oh, and your next match is against...ooh, you're going up against Dracula tomorrow. Be at the arena at 10 a.m. Have a nice night!"

Soon, it was just me and Wisp again. I decided to give Wisp the same story I gave Melody and Jack when they found out about me, again leaving out my true identity and my meetings with Olman. Amazingly, he took the story in stride. When I finished my tale for a second time, he decided to ask a few questions. First on his mind: "What do you get from helping Keeta out? You knew nothing about him when you ran into him other than what he told you. He could be lying."

"Well, one, it's kind of a problem of mine. I give others the benefit of the doubt. Second off, I know he's probably lying. But everyone's saying Keeta is out there, stuck in a puddle because of King Griffon's curse. If I break it, he'll be indebted to me. And I kinda need the...power." At least, that's what I reasoned. Then again, the 'they owe me one' excuse never worked for bad guys, so I was probably going to have to deal with that problem in all honesty.

"So Jack made your sword, and it's not enchanted, nor is it silver or demonic. We've established that you have no idea how you're imbuing it. So what about the shield?"

"The shield?" Right...if it was a normal shield, my uppercuts shouldn't have affected him after he lost his mace. And yet, the third hit still sent him flying. I shrugged it off and said, "It's silver." Another note for the files: find out the origins of this shield. Speaking of those files...

"Mind answering a question of my own?" Wisp nodded. Here it goes. "Ghosts are known for going through stuff, right? So how in the name of Azura's Star do you hold stuff?"

Wisp tilted his head. "What kind of question is that?" he asked. "I can hold my mace because it's enchanted."

"No, I mean normal items, like jars of dirt."

"Ah." Wisp took a deep breath. "That's a question everyone's been asking, including ourselves. We just pass it off as the item's enchanted, but we can't use that excuse for jars of dirts or money."

...well that doesn't help me at all!!! "Okay, thought I'd ask because it was just bugging me."

Wisp grabbed his mace and stretched. "Well, you've got a long day ahead of you, so get yourself a good night's rest, Daniel. Good luck with the rest of your matches."

I gave a small salute as he left. Pretty soon, I'd be bothered again, so might as well get some relaxation.

After a while, he finally appeared. "I must say, you're doing very well, Daniel. Or should I shorten it to Dan?"

Light refilled my vision as I acknowledged Olman's presence. Seemed like I was in his realm this time, judging by the fact we were looking at stars instead of the dank arena room.

"Daniel is fine," I said. "Nice to see you again, Olman. Are you going to keep appearing when no one's around?"

"Whenever I wish, actually. I just prefer to do so when no one's around so I can deliver valuable information. Which is why I'm here. I bear a warning."

"A warning? Does it have to do with my tournament? Is Dracula really THE Dracula?"

Olman raised an eyebrow at this. "No, it's not about...Dracula. It's about your recent group of friends. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them, if I were you."

I was about to ask why, but I decided against it. For one, I had a pretty good idea which of them could be trusted and those who couldn't. Two, there were multiple questions I had that I believed took priority. "Very well," I nodded. "Anyway, remember when I asked why I wasn't Volvagia? You never answered that. Was that because it would be impossible?"

The geezer took off his hat and dusted it off. "I could have if I wanted to. But that would have brought up a handful of...complications."

"Such as...?"

"For one, you'd have been dead within the hour. Volvagia is a lava dragon, meaning he thrives on heat far more than a normal dragon. Even if I sent you to the Dragon Lands, it would still not be hot enough. The only way you'd survive is if you kept burning the land, and I doubt the residents, and the other gods, would appreciate it."

"Other gods? As in, it's not just me stuck here?" I asked.

"BINGO!" Olman shouted. "It seems to be a growing trend; everyone finds a human, asks them if they want to go to a new and exciting land, and then we send them to said land. This year we decided to go to Equestria."

"Glad I was your first candidate," I snarked.

"Actually, no. You're my seventh. Everyone else gave their 'pill' to a friend they thought would like to go. So...you're kinda late to the party, Daniel."

Okay, glad to be your SEVENTH! I silently retorted. There were still three other questions. "So how do I know if I'm dealing with one of the 'pieces?'"

"You won't," the man responded, replacing his normal hat with an Abe Lincoln-esque stove hat. "If you think you know one, you can always ask. Just remember, if they're not, they'll think you're insane."

"Oh, that's not something I'm worried about," I assured him. "What about my shield? I just found it beside Necro City's entrance."

Olman inspected the shield critically. After a moment, he nodded and said, "It's the shield of a crusader. Imbued with holy magic to protect its owner. I'm amazed you can even hold it: you usually have to prove your worth to wield it."

I killed a cyclops, a chupacabra, and I bested a badass ghost. I think I proved myself very well. ...totally forget the fact that all of those things happened AFTER I got my shield. "One more question for you, big guy. During my match with the chupacabra and Wisp, my sword started glowing. What happened?"

I think Olman nearly had a heart attack from that statement. "Glowing? Impossible. Skeletons have no magic latency. Stalfos have a bit of it, but not enough to cast spells or imbue weapons."

"That's what I've been told. Yet, I made a chupacabra explode and froze Wisp's wing with a thought and a slash."

The geezer motioned for me to hand him the weapon. I gave him a look that said, "I'd better get this back before tomorrow," before I gave it up. He didn't seem to notice, though, as he was too busy inspecting Jack's craftsmanship.

"Hmm...standard kris style...modified into a sword, that's impressive...and with red steel, that's rare...but what could possibly..." he stopped there. Eyes widened, he started muttering. "Impossible...and yet...I can't..." He finally handed the blade back to me.

I, of course, was curious about what the big deal was. "Your faithful pawn would like to know what's so special about his weapon of choice," I reminded him.

"I, um...cannot say. Talk to Jack about it," he deflected. "I must go, but remember, Daniel: be careful. In a place like Necro City, you should always be wary of who to trust. It may save your life." And like that, the sky dissipated and I was in the dark.

9: Jack of All Trades

Chapter 9: Jack Of All Trades

Midnight. Or, I believed it was midnight. Being underground kinda messes with your sense of time when you've been used to the sun for so long. And, y'know, a clock to make it a lot easier on yourself. All the shops were closed until morning, most of the signs reading they'd reopen at nine o'clock sharp. Jack's Weapon Emporium was no exception. Of course, the dead don't sleep. I know this because just about everyone was out on the street having a good time. Was Jack among them?

Turns out he wasn't. I approached the shop just as Jack was putting away the last of his tools. He turned and caught sight of me. "Ah, Daniel. Why you here? Shouldn't match be now?"

"Got cancelled. It was a draw," I dismissed. "Mind if we talk?"

Jack nodded. "Yes. Jack on way home now. Honored to have Daniel join."

I looked around for any suspicious ones. Nope, none yet. I followed Jack carefully, constantly switching between him and for potential spies. Boringly enough, there were no such things. Jack reached his home (which was nothing more than a small, thatched roof cottage, which just brings up MORE questions!) and motioned for me to enter. I complied, shutting the door behind me out of habit.

The house was pretty nice. Everything seemed to be on ground level. There was a living room where we entered, a kitchen area to the right with a fireplace, and a table not too far from it. So I guess when the undead took over Necro City, they didn't bother to remodel. I honestly don't know, I just quit questioning their logic at this point.

Jack then let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was getting tired of holding up that charade." Whoa! Did he just make a complete, grammatically correct sentence?!?

I removed my hat, asking, "Jack? Since when were you so...?"

"Cultured? Refined? Able to construct a sentence with all of the proper words? Probably as long as I've been dead," Jack replied. Though he kept the same gruff voice, his speech...just blew me away. Who knew?

I couldn't help but whistle. ...don't ask. "Pretty sneaky, good sir. You had me fooled into thinking you were a vocabulary-challenged blacksmith."

"That's always the goal," he nodded. "No one suspects a Diamond Dog to be so good with speech. Or anything, really."

I was about to ask a bit more, but he cut me off. "We both know you didn't come here to listen to me rattle on about it. So what do you need?"

At least he keeps his 'get to the point' attitude. I handed him the blade he had forged for me earlier that day. "Your blade has been acting strange. It's been...glowing...during some of my matches. What exactly is it?"

A smile danced across the dog's face. "I figured you'd be asking about that sooner or later." He held out his paw, asking for the blade. I sighed as I handed it over to him. I swear, this blade has changed hands more times than I've swung it. He then proceeded to go over the finer details of the blade, which I had already learned from Olman.

It was when he got to the hilt that he caught my attention. "A secret of mine is that I know everyone, living or dead, gryphon or manticore, has some kind of magic potential. Skeletons and Stalfos simply have...a difficult time channeling it. This right here," he pointed to a blue gem right at the cross, "helps them overcome that difficulty. It slowly charges the blade over time, but you can speed it up by focusing."

"So when the blade was glowing, it was a signal that it was charged up and ready to go," I stated. (Captain Obvious!) "How do I activate it?"

"With your thoughts," Jack stated. "It leaves your opponents guessing, and their only clue is the aura's color." He handed the my sword back to me. "Start by focusing your energy."

I took a breath as I blocked out the light. Give my sword strength, give my sword strength, give my sword strength, I chanted inwardly. After a minute of nonstop focus, the aura had finally appeared.

"Good, good," Jack smiled. "Now, the blade can't carry a huge charge, and is only good for one...let's call them 'spells' for now."

"Isn't that what they are, though?" I asked.

Jack shook his head. "No. A spell is spoken. A mute can use this same technique, as long as his or her mind can still work properly."

"So why not call it an 'enchantment?'" I offered.

We both put a hand to our chins, pondering if that was a proper idea. "It'll work, I guess," Jack shrugged. "Anyway, you said you destroyed a chupacabra when you slashed it and it exploded. I'd say you gave your blade an explosion enchantment."

Nice. A telefrag power, I chuckled to myself. "And against Wisp, I froze his wing. I guess that was an ice enchantment, if anything."

"Exactly," Jack said, taking the stance of a professor. "Now, how about learning a new enchantment? Think about an element. Any element."

Naturally, you say element, the first one that comes to my mind is water. As it came to mind, the white aura turned into an aqua blue.

Jack nodded. "Very good, a water enchantment, good for countering fire and such. With this sword, your greatest ally is your imagination. I have no doubt with this knowledge, you stand a chance of defeating Dracula."

"About how much, exactly?" I asked as I sheathed my sword (which still had the aqua glow).

"Probably about 38%," a small voice piped up.

I jumped out of my sk-erm...clothes at the surprise. Floating right behind me was Melody, grinning wildly.

"Damn it, Melody!" I yelled, hanging from the ceiling. "Don't do that!"

"But it was funny," Melody pouted. I've gotta admit, in spite of the fact she scared me out of my mind, she was super cute when she pouted. I dropped from the ceiling, scattering a few bones around the house. After I gathered them and placed my missing clothes back on, I returned my attention to our newest guest.

"What do you need, anyway, Melody? Shouldn't you be with your father?" I asked.

"Father's busy with work," Melody sighed. "Even though the shop's closed up for the night, his business has been booming ever since the crowd found out you got the clothes from us. Now everyone's crazy about the so-called 'Daniel' style!"

The 'Daniel' style? No, I thought. If the real Daniel Fortesque heard this was his 'style,' he'd be tossing and turning in his exhibit. "Jack appreciate company, but Melody trespassing," the zombie dog said.

Melody tilted her head. "Trespassing?"

"It means entering someone's property without permission," I cited off-handedly.

The ghost nodded. She then commented, "By the way, Jack, I was here long enough to know you know how to properly speak."

Jack groaned. "Of course you would be..."

I stretched my limbs. Even though I didn't need sleep, I couldn't help but want some. Probably a force of habit. "Hey, Jack, you have a bed? I think I'm ready to clock out."

I was met with two confused looks. Right...they don't know that kind of metaphor...is it a metaphor? I yawned as I corrected myself, "I mean I'd like to sleep."

Jack pointed to a door by the kitchen area. "Guest room is right over there. Although you know you don't need sleep, yes?"

I nodded. "Force of habit, I guess. I needed sleep when I was alive, and I haven't gotten out of the groove yet." Before I went to bed, I shook Jack's paw. "Thanks for forging my sword. It actually saved my bony ass."

Jack returned my shake and replied, "Like I said, I'm a great blacksmith. I just needed someone to prove it." Melody hugged me before saying good night. A lot was on my mind as I opened the door. Just in the past 24 hours, I became a Stalfos; stumbled across the land of the dead (heck, boy, ain't it grand?); participated in a tournament and advanced to the final 8 by slaying a cyclops, making chupacabra salsa, and making a ghost raise his white flag; and learned how to enchant a sword with my mind. I had more action and adventure in that whole time then I ever did back on Earth!

As I blocked what little light there was and tried to sleep, one question suddenly popped up and started gnawing at my thoughts.

Why exactly is a living gryphon leading the dead?

10: Sweet Symphony

Chapter 10: Sweet Symphony

I woke up to...actually, I don't remember what I woke up to. I yawned and tried to go back to sleep, like I usually do when I wake up. I fluffed up my pillow before trying to close my...HOLYSHITMYHANDSAREBONES!

The result was me falling off of the bed, scattering myself all over the floor and reminding me that yesterday was, in fact, not a dream. The door to my room opened, revealing a grumpy, zombified Diamond Dog. You remember Jack, right?

"Can you keep it down? You'll wake the dead." Undead jokes, how original...

"I think I woke myself up with that. Hey, since you're here..." my hand (couldn't tell which one it was) motioned to the jumbled mess that was me. Jack simply shook his head and closed the door. I sighed as I began putting myself back together.

5 Minutes of Reattaching Myself Later:

I left my room, hoping I didn't sleep in and miss my match. I quickly grabbed my stuff, gave a thanks to Jack for allowing me to stay, and bolted to the arena. I slowed down as I remembered that the stores opened at 9 a.m., and my match was at 10. Wouldn't Jack be at the forge if it was 9? Actually, now that I think on it, I was just given my clothes and weapon, and I found my shield, but what if I wanted to actually buy something? Did they use bits as currency? And if not, what WAS the currency they used? How was I going to earn it?

Focus on that whenever you need to get something from them, I reminded myself. For now, you need to get to the arena.

The trip there was actually lengthy. Not because of the distance, but because I was constantly being greeted by passerbys. Some wished me a good match, others tried to strike up a real conversation (like how I managed to freeze a ghost's wing), while a handful of jerks threatened me with "deader than death" threats if I chose to climb all the way to the top.

It was around 9:30 by the time I finally reached the arena's main gate. I know this because I greeted the ghost gryphon, named Rick, who told me my match was in 30 minutes. I didn't bother to go to my bunk, instead hanging around the gate that lead to the main area. I'd better review what I know about Dracula, I thought.

Let's see, what I've got on him so far is that he's a tall unicorn, dark gray coat with a white mane, and has a castle as his mark. ...no, I refuse to call it a "cutie mark." It's simply a mark unless they specifically refer to it as a cutie mark. Besides, there's nothing "cute" about a castle. You can try to make it cute, but it's...sickening.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. He has a love of the fireball spell, and fires off three in rapid succession. He can teleport out of harm's way, which he usually does after an attack. When the chips are down, he'll fire dark energy, which is kinda useless to most undead, isn't it? Lastly, he seems to be able to hover in the air whenever he damn well pleases, so he could stay above ground and make my life hell. Then again, this is all from the video games that I play and this guy could have nothing to do with any of them, therefore I have no clue what he'll do.

Yeah. This match was going to be beautiful.

"Welcome back, everyone, to the Great Tournament! We're down to our final 8 contestants, and they've all worked hard to make it this far! Now, without further ado, let's get on with the first match!

"Introducing first, sponsored by Jack's Weapon Emporium, christened the Skeleton Knight by his own fans, entrant 72, Daniel!"

The crowd roared as I stepped into the light. As much as I wanted to act like a fool, I figured I had a reputation to uphold now. Didn't stop me from going to the edge of the arena and giving a random skeleton pony a brohoof. As I turned, the lights suddenly dimmed. Big time.

"And his opponent, sponsored by Necro Blood Inc., the self-proclaimed Lord of Darkness (and we're not about to contradict him), entrant 63, Dracula!"

The crowd roared again. The vampire tilted his head, making a sickening CRACK! as he did so. He then glared at me with blood-red eyes. Just saying this for the record, I couldn't resist this next part, and I'm sorry.

I pulled out my shield and sword, ready to fight. "Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!" I yelled.

Dracula looked confused for a moment. But he quickly regained composure and actually went with it! "It was not by my hand that I am once again given flesh! I was called here by humans who wish to pay me tribute!"

Wait, he's quoting the line, word for word. Could this be THE badass himself?!? I have to keep going. "Tribute?!?" I used my shield hand to point an accusatory finger. "You steal men's souls and make them your slaves!"

My opponent conjured a glass of red wine with his magic (or was that blood?) and took a sip. "Perhaps the same could be said of all religions..."

I can't believe this is happening! I need to hear the story behind how HE got here! "Your words are as empty as your soul!" Now I'm just hamming it up, swiping my shield arm in front of me. "Mankind ill needs a savior such as you!"

"What is a man?!? A miserable little pile of secrets!" He threw his glass at me, which I blocked with my shield. Suddenly, he was in my face. "But enough talk," he finished our scene with a sharp jab to my chest, sending me into the wall, before shouting, "HAVE AT YOU!"

Meanwhile...

I bring a report, your majesty. We found him.

I knew my spy wasn't mistaken. Where is he?

It seems he is a contestant in the tournament. The crowd seems to love him.

But which one is he?

He goes by the name of Daniel Fortesque.

...interesting. He must be seeking an audience with me to slay me.

Is he that foolish? No one in their right mind would dare try to harm you. The finest warriors guard you with their lives.

No one in their right mind would dare to befriend a creature such as him. And yet...you did.

He is merely a means to an end. He can lead us to Keeta. From there, we can finish what you started two years ago.

Has my reign been that long already? How the time flies...

What do we do now?

Let this...Daniel Fortesque...finish the tournament. Once he reaches the finals, send a group to apprehend him.

By your word.

Oh, and one more thing.

Yes, your majesty?

Don't spare Melody, either. She sheltered him, and is therefore a sympathizer to them.

.........

Is that a problem?

N-no, sir. She will be dealt with, as well.

Good to know. Don't fail me...my faithful subject.

11: Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

Chapter 11: Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

You wanna talk about sucker punches? Yeah, I just got the king of all sucker punches. Although, when you think about it, I was just asking for one with my little performance. I'm just amazed I managed to keep a grip on my sword. As I peeled myself off of the wall, I noticed Dracula had disappeared from sight. I looked around, moving slowly to keep from getting caught off guard.

...yeah, like that ever works.

The moment I hit the middle of the arena, I felt a huge blast of wind sweep me off of my feet. As I landed on my back, I saw the vampire in the air, flapping his feathery wings.

...............WHAT THE BLEEDING HELL?!?!?

When did he get a set of wings?!? And where can I get a set of my own?!? Unfortunately, neither set of questions could be answered right now, and the latter could never be answered, as his horn started to glow. Three orange spheres circled around him, and with a shout, they all converged on me. I regained my footing quickly, swinging my sword (which, amazingly, kept its aqua glow from way back at Jack's) and sending a torrent of water towards the fireballs. While two of them disappeared on contact, the third still clipped my right arm, burning a part of the sleeve close to my shoulder.

I didn't do as much as I thought I would as my counterattack hit Dracula. It hit his right wing (his right, not mine), causing him to lose his flight advantage for the moment. Other than that, though, he was undamaged. I charged towards him, sword in front of me with intent to skewer.

Wow. I am just NOT thinking things through in this fight.

The Lord of Darkness used that horn of his to push my blade to the side, leaving me wide open for him to turn on his front legs and give me a solid buck, breaking a good amount of ribs. Then, just to add insult to injury, he YAWNED as I got back up.

"Your performance is pitiful. If you do not step up your game, I will end it very soon."

I'll give you pitiful, I thought spitefully. Now was the time to focus. I put both hands on the sword and started to charge. Dracula seemed to get what I was doing, because he teleported right behind me and delivered a spine-breaking shot with his wing. Amazingly, my spine didn't break, so I guess I should be thankful for that. But this was getting bad; if I didn't turn this around now, I was not continuing, tournament or my new life.

I resumed charging my weapon, hoping I could get it battle-ready before the next attack. In spite of wishful thinking, it wasn't happening. His horn started to glow again, creating two shadow-fire balls. He fired the first, forcing me to stop charging my weapon so I could dodge it. The second one was let loose the moment I jumped out of the way of the first. At this point, I could only do one thing. I held my shield up, hoping I didn't turn into dust as the two forces collided.

What happened next was...well, undescribable, but I'll do my best. A huge explosion echoed throughout the stadium (and possibly throughout all of Necro City) as a bright light engulfed my vision. When my sight finally came back, I noticed multiple different things. For one, my shield had transformed from a kite shield to a huge, tower shield, switching between a solid white and a pitch black color. Dracula stood there, dumbstruck that his attack didn't turn me into an ingredient for alchemy. As I raised my sword (which had FINALLY obtained its white glow), I thought about matching his speed so I stood a chance. The glow became more golden, hopefully confirming my mental command.

I ran towards him, moving far faster than I could even imagine. He could sense my movement, however, as my first strike missed him completely. When he went for the counter, however, I flicked my shield wrist, knocking his hoof to the ground. My diagonal cross attack created a fresh wound in his side, causing him to wince. Even so, his wing still shot out, dislocating my shield arm. Pretty soon, it came down to who would tire out first, each of us exchanging blow after blow. For every time my sword created a gash, he would have a spell burn another part of my ensemble, and for every bone he broke with his hoof or wing, I had managed to land a shattering blow, though I don't think I broke anything.

The final attack, Dracula knocking me into the air followed by a spike to the ground, shut down any hopes of winning this fight. I picked myself up and reassessed my damage. Multiple broken ribs, dislocated shield arm, skull was probably fractured, spine was aching, multiple holes in my robes revealing my frame, and I barely had any strength to stand. Dracula, for his part, looked as if he had barely been touched. Already, the wounds from my first attacks were healing, only leaving behind scars to signify anything had happened.

He gave an evil laugh. "I must admit, your last ditch attempt was very entertaining. But I'm afraid this is where it ends." He charged his horn for one final attack: multiple orbs, some of darkness, some of fire, and some of electricity. I shut out the light, knowing that this was gonna hurt. Badly. And I didn't want to see any of it.

There was the sound of explosions. But...I felt nothing. I let the light back in, to see the battlefield engulfed in smoke. Standing in front of me was the badass himself.

His smile was still there, but what he said next was...uncharacteristic of what I believed in, even from the spoof that was "Dracula: Dead and Loving It."

"You wish to free this land, don't you?"

I couldn't quite speak up. But I did manage to get it out. "Y-yeah. But..."

"No buts. You wish to free this land, and that's all that matters. I will allow you to go on."

"What? But y-"

"Don't think I'm GIVING it to you. You can continue, but in exchange...I want your loyalty.”

I picked up my sword and, pointing it to the ground, started charging it. Don't let him catch on. You just need to charge it enough for a knockback. "My loyalty? What makes you think I would give it to you?"

"It's not a choice, Daniel. It's an order. Give me your loyalty, and what little life you have will be spared."

"Are you sure you're really Dracula? I don't remember him being a comedian." Just a bit more...

"I am as much the Lord of Darkness as you are a pitiful human."

Almost...wait, WHAT?!? How did he...actually, I shouldn't be surprised. "What gave me away?"

"Seriously? 'Symphony of the Night?' Do you have any idea how many humans have repeated that scene when they meet me? But your time's almost up. Join me, or else."

The smoke's almost cleared. He's going to end this soon. "Take your offer and shove it. You know where." There's the glow! Now, let's knock him out of this ring...

"Tsk, tsk. I thought you would be smarter. Now..." he held out his front hoof, which held a dark fireball, and shouted, "ENJOY YOUR STAY IN HELL, PEON!"

Against all of the logic I was taught, I did the only thing I could think of. I hit the fireball with my sword. Instead of splitting and destroying me, it actually flew back to Dracula. He back-hooved it, sending it back to me. Soon, it was a deadly volleyball match, where the loser was going to be burnt to a crisp. Every hit made the fireball go faster, and soon it was to the point where we couldn't even stop attacking for fear of swinging too late.

That's when the most idiotic of plans presented itself to me. The walls were actually angled, similar to an octagon. If the fireball hit the wall, it could bounce off and hit Dracula from behind! No logical flaws whatsoever! ...except that the arena PROBABLY isn't magic-proof, and even if it was, the fireball would PROBABLY hit an innocent in the stands, and even if it hit Dracula, he would PROBABLY...oh, screw it, let's try it.

As soon as I made my final hit, I hit the ground and rolled to the right. Dracula, as I predicted, hit the projectile where I had been moments ago. It flew fast, hit the wall...and went straight to me. I gulped as I used my sword as a futile shield, hoping beyond hope that I would not be incinerated.

Strangely enough, it worked. The ball of doom and sadness hit my sword and into a wall, rebounding and hitting Dracula in the back. He screamed in agony as the flames engulfed him. Soon, the screams died down and he collapsed to the floor. Grunting in pain, I used my sword as a cane once again. The glow was gone again.

"Okay...the fireball...was NOT...supposed...to go...at an angle!" I panted.

"WOW!!! Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know about you, but it doesn't get much closer than that! And what a comeback! The winner of this match is the Skeleton Knight, Daniel!"

The crowd's roar basically made the whole stadium rumble. I even heard a little chant from them: "Let's go, Daniel!" "Daniel sucks!" "Let's go, Daniel!" "Daniel sucks!"

...great. I am now the John Cena of Necro City's arena.

12: Alliance

Chapter 12: Alliance

"I don't think you should've won," Jack said.

"I don't think you should even be standing," Melody added.

"I don't think I should be conscious," I finished.

My sword, sheathed, was laying by my bed; my shield, shrunk back to normal, was leaning on the wall beside the door; Jack and Melody were reattaching my broken bones and relocating the ones that moved to places they ought not be; and I...I was a complete wreck. Let's face it: that last match? The only reason I even walked out of there on my own two feet was because Dracula didn't finish me off with that last attack and tried to get me to bend to his will.

"That should be it," Melody said, patting my bones. "The dislocated bones have been placed where they belong, the broken ones are starting to restore themselves, and you're just about back to normal."

I gave a soft laugh. "Normal? Please. The moment I came here, 'normal' decided to retire from the business."

"Trust me when I say it'll come back." Jack held out my blue robes. It looked like Swiss cheese and Bleu cheese combined themselves to create this thing. "Unlike this ragged robe of yours. You're going to need a new look."

"Yeah. I should get a look actually says 'Daniel Fortesque,' not 'Vivi,' y'know?" I asked. A few blank expressions answered that. "...actually, don't answer that, you don't know Vivi. But a new look's not a bad idea, considering next is the semi-finals."

"How about a RED robe to go with your yellow hat?" Melody suggested. I could only stare at her, while Jack raised his eyebrow in confusion. "...right, palette swap won't work so well."

"Hell, why not just go out like that?" Jack asked, gesturing to my current look. (If you need help, just take a look at the story's current picture, minus the metal cap)

"But what about staying...um...what's the word?" Melody tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Incognito?" I offered. "At this point, I no longer care. And, who knows, maybe no one will notice." Yeah, fat chance of THAT happening, if Wisp could figure it out!

"Actually, I have an idea! I'll be back with your new wardrobe!" And like that, Melody shot off through the walls. Jack coughed something, but I didn't quite catch it.

"Well, I'll leave you to prepare for the semi-finals," Jack said. "You're doing well, don't stop now." He opened the door and walked out. I guess I could use this time to meditate.

Was my meditation interrupted? Yes. Was it by someone I expected? No.

"I must say, I was very impressed with your last minute comeback."

Light reentered my vision as a dark gray unicorn with a white mane appeared before me. Now how did he get in here? Door's probably unlocked. "Ah, hello. To what do I owe the honor of meeting you, Lord Dracula?"

He chuckled at my courtesy. "At least you are as respectful as my servants. It's a shame you turned down my offer."

"My victories, whether they be through skill, strength, or sheer dumb luck, should be earned and not given to me," I said, "nor should they be, with all due respect, part of a deal."

He nodded in agreement. "So I must ask: how did you get here, and why do you not look like a human?"

Oh, boy. I'm gonna have to explain it a third time. "If I answer, will you tell me what you're doing here?" I believed it to be a fair trade. And he believed so, too. With that, I recounted my tale for the third time, this time actually revealing Olman, but still not saying my true name.

"So...a game that the gods play. What exactly is Olman the god of?" the vampire inquired.

"I wish I knew. He'd make it a lot easier on me," I sighed. "So anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be in...is it Transylvania or Castlevania?"

"It's a long story, if you're willing to listen," Dracula replied dejectedly. He then went on to reveal that yes, he lived in Transylvania, in a huge castle called, you guessed it, Castlevania. (Seriously, the castle was allowed its own zip code) After multiple consecutive defeats among the Belmont Clan (and friends such as Eric Lecarde, Grant Danasty, and Shanoa, to name a few), he decided to move Castlevania to this little town called Suburbia, allowing a rising actor named Lawrence Thompson to be the tenant while he was away.

"As for being here in the Black Marsh..." he started, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. The draco zombie entered the room once again.

"Well, Daniel, you're on the final stretch. Your semi-final match is against Morva. Try to make it as exciting as your match against Lord Dracula." That was all he said as he left. The kid didn't even bat an eye at me!

"Um...wow. Kinda expected a bigger reaction. Anyway...about you being in the Black Marsh?" I motioned.

"Um, oh yes. The Black Marsh. Actually, you've noticed the plant monsters that I keep in my lair, yes?" If it's anything like the games, how could I not? They were all deadly and could tear you a new one as they ate your old one. "The Black Marsh is where I gather the seeds. From there, they grow wherever I plant them in my castle. I simply participate in the tournaments whenever I feel the need to test myself. After losing to...those brats...I had to practice. This is the first time in 7 years I've come to Necro City and fought in a tournament."

"I say you did good, all things considered," I complimented. "But why did you ask for my loyalty instead of turning me into bone dust?"

"I have an explanation. But that is for later. Right now, you have a match." He opened the door and walked into the hallway. He stopped and said one more thing: "Necro City is unknown to the world. I am one of the few who wish to make it known."

Unknown? Why would the undead wish for this place to BE known? I thought. I picked up my sword and focused, allowing it to be charged when I fought Morva. Actually...what was Morva? I completely forgot. Sheathing my sword with a frown (that I couldn't make, curse my form!), I picked up my kite shield. I opened the door to find Melody with a new set of clothes.

"Here you go, Mr. Fortiskay!" she said enthusiastically. Ugh...here we go again... "I think you'll like this outfit! It suits your 'warrior' side perfectly!"

I have sides? That's news to me. "What do you have?" I asked, unfolding the clothes.

............

God help me, I think the real Daniel Fortesque is now up, about, and searching for his own way into Equestria, just to find and murder Melody and me.

He has passed the quarter-finals, my lord.

Against Dracula? That old vampire must be slipping to lose to such a weakling.

Or Fortesque is stronger than we thought.

DO NOT DARE SUGGEST THAT WORTHLESS SACK OF BONES IS STRONGER THAN THE LORD OF DARKNESS HIMSELF!

I-It was only a suggestion, sire! I didn't me-

Be silent! Hm...

What is it, my lord?

His next opponent seems to be...different somehow.

Morva, the Dragon Prince? He is a rare creature, like that undead drake that keeps giving everyone their match updates.

No...he has an...otherworldly aura around him. Amazingly, it is one I see on Fortesque, as well.

Otherworldly...aura? What do you mean?

I had believed they had stopped that thing 30 years ago.

Stopped what, sire?

...it need not concern you. Keep an eye on Fortesque, remember the plan, and make sure to have everyone on standby.

By your orders. ...your majesty.

This had better be important if you are not yet gone.

What should we do about...Dracula?

...nothing. He is no longer a threat, if Fortesque was able to defeat him.

B-but, if he was holding back, or F-Fortesque actually IS st-

Finish that sentence. I dare you.

.........

I thought so. Relay the orders.

Y-yes, sir.

...he is one lucky bastard to make it past Dracula. But Morva will stop him. And if not...the finals are guaranteed to be in my favor.

13. Battletoads. Your Argument Is Invalid

Chapter 13: Battletoads. Your Argument is Invalid

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now in the semi-finals of our tournament. No one wants to lose, having come this far. So let's get to it!"

I looked at myself once more. I still couldn't believe this was supposed to be my 'new look.' Hopefully, Morva would laugh his ass off and I could just end it quickly. Then again, that's just wishful thinking.

"Introducing first," (That's my cue!) "sponsored by Jack's Weapon Emporium, the Skeleton Knight, Daniel!"

The crowd roared in excitement. That roar turned into a gasp as I entered the arena. No longer wearing a blue robe and yellow hat, I was now equipped with...well, imagine InuYasha's outfit. Now take away the necklace and turn his red robe into a purple color. And no, don't add a hat, because I ditched it. That's the best I can describe it. I could see a few spectators covering their mouths, trying to stifle a laugh. I don't blame them a single bit.

"And on the other side, sponsored by Jim's Earthworm Farm (seriously?), the Dragon Prince, MORVA!" Oh, I had a bad feeling this guy was gonna be big. But it also opens up a line I could say should I win.

My bad feeling, however, was unfounded. He wasn't a hulking, badass zombie dragon like I was imagining. Instead, it was...well, let's just say I thought King Griffon was the only living thing in Necro City. I also thought I was the only Legend of Zelda monster roaming around here. Morva proved me wrong on BOTH counts.

How he managed to convince everyone else he was an undead dragon was beyond me. I mean, for one, he wasn't a dragon, he was an armor-wearing lizard. Dragons have no reason to wear armor, as their scales are extremely tough. Second, he had a sword on his left hip. Dragons have sharp claws and fire breath, so why would they need a sword? To his credit, though, he had what looked like pretty bad wounds no normal creature could survive.

"So, you're my next opponent?" I asked seriously.

"We are not opponents. I am a predator, and you are my next victim," he growled as he pulled out his sword. It wasn't anything special at first glance: a longsword made of steel, the hilt was a blood-red color with a black grip. He had no shield, so he must use the sword for defense as well as offense.

"I know your kind: you're no dragon, just arrow fodder for adventurers in training." I pulled out my own sword, which had no charge (I forgot to charge it fully, okay?!?), and my shield. We both took a battle-ready stance, waiting for the first move.

That's when I noticed it: his sword was glowing; a dark blue surrounding the blade. Morva swung his blade, releasing a bolt of lightning that went by my shield. But it was enough to distract me. When I regained focus, his sword was coming in for a thrust (its aura remained). I barely blocked it, but I still felt a jolt go through my bones. (Fun fact: Skeletons can take damage from electricity, but they have a natural resistance to it. WHEE!)

He then went for an overhead slash, but met nothing as I jumped to the right and shield bashed him. It wasn't damaging, but I wasn't trying to damage at first: just disorient him to charge my own blade. Morva held his blade above his head. What was he planning? We locked gazes, not daring to move an inch. After a minute, my blade obtained that white glow. Now, what were lizards weak against?

Before I could answer, he closed the distance between us. Instead of attacking with a thrust, he instead jumped over me and delivered an overhead swipe. Again, I blocked, but the enchantment sent electricity through my bones again. "How about you get a taste of your own medicine?" I suggested, sending my still-white glowing sword into his side. It hit his armor, but I got the effect I was looking for: he cried out in pain as he felt a shock go into HIS system.

I kicked him to the ground and began charging my sword again. He got up quickly...is that a smile on his face? Something's not right. "Electric, huh? Our blades are the same," he said.

"Far from it," I responded. He held his blade above his head. Don't ask how, but I could just feel energy surrounding him. Three pillars started to rotate around his body.

"Behold, the power of the Dragon Prince! Dragon Strike!" Morva pointed his blade at me, and the pillars shot towards me. Even worse, a fourth, larger pillar of energy appeared in the middle of the three smaller ones. I was too stunned to move out of the way.

Bad News: That hurt. Badly.
Bad News: The clothes Melody handed to me before the match? Now destroyed.
Bad News: My bones were charred black.
Good News: I was alive and standing. (Skeleton resistance, yes?)
Good News: My normal clothes (the pauldrons, gloves, boots, shorts, spiked bands) were charred, but no worse for wear.
Good News: Morva had his back turned, believing he'd won.

Now, usually I don't attack an enemy when his/her back is turned unless it's a free-for-all and they're preoccupied, but I wouldn't get another chance like this. It was time to capitalize.

After I finished charging my blade (which was just an extra 5 seconds), I ran towards Morva, shield up. Let's get a flashy finish, preferably with fire. And boy, did I know THE flashiest finish with fire.

"Special delivery for Morva!" I yelled. He turned just enough for two things. The first was to see my sword, imbued with a red aura, coming towards his chest. The second was for me to see that look of terror. I quote Hobbes: "It's that dawning moment of comprehension I LIVE for."

The blade hit, sending him into the air. Somehow, I flew after him and started swinging rapidly at his body, every strike delivering another gash that was quickly sealed by the intense heat of the fire. I must have hit him twenty times before I readied for the final overhead blow. I held it for two seconds, waiting for him to turn and face the blade.

We both went down, him on his back with the blade pinning him to the ground, and I was on one knee, panting. I didn't think it would take much out of me. I chuckled to myself.

"Wha...what's so funny?" Morva asked.

"Hehheh...soon, they'll be drag'n your ass to the infirmary," I said.

I think he got the joke, because he groaned and closed his eyes. I removed my sword from Morva's chest and sheathed it. Another fight, another victory. Somehow, this fight was easier than the last. But then again, there was one more before the end of the tournament. Who was my opponent in the finals?

You know the end-of-match drill: crowd roars, announcer yells Daniel is the victor, we get people cheering and booing, and I walked back to my quarters. The walk back was different this time, though.

I passed through the gates and bumped into a pegasus. Did I mention that they seemed to be the race of ponies that fought the most in this tournament? Because they were. She was different, though. Her wings weren't feathery, but more bat-like. She had a blood-red coat, with a black zig-zag pattern around her hooves and chest. Her eyes looked serpentine, with the same red as her coat. Her mane was jet black, with yellow bands at regular intervals. Her tail, though...it looked like she had two of them, one fully black, the other half black/half yellow. She wore gold bands around all four of her legs, with another set around her front left and back right hooves.

Just between you and me, she looked pretty hot for a pony. And very dangerous. "Um, hi," I said. She just glared at me. "My name is-"

"Daniel Fortesque, the Skeleton Knight, Champion of the Overworld," she interrupted. Champion of the Overworld? When did I get that title?

"Y-yeah, that's me," I confirmed. "Who do I have the honor of speaking to?"

She flashed a smile, showing very sharp teeth. Another vampire? "You will learn when we meet in the finals. You...ARE advancing to the finals, yes?"

"What? I-I mean, of course! I just finished my match and won!"

"Then go prepare yourself. I want our match to be..." she leaned forward, close to where my ear would be, and whispered, "glorious." She trotted past me to the gate and entered the arena, where the audience just went crazy.

Well...she seemed nice.

14. The Calm Before The Song Of Storms

Chapter 14: The Calm Before the Song of Storms

"Ah, there you are! I have good news for you." Yep, our favorite unnamed undead drake had approached me on my way out.

"Do I get to guess again?" I asked.

"Not this time, because it was creepy the LAST time," he remarked. "Apparently, the king himself wants to see the final match, but he's too busy today. As a result, he's asked for that match to be tomorrow at noon. So you're free for the rest of the day."

On the outside, I nodded and walked away. Inside, however...Thank Azura's Star, I need this break!

I retired to my room (old habits, y'know?) to find Melody sitting on my bed. With a smile. Not her happy-go-lucky smile, though. This one seemed forced. "Congratulations on your semi-final match," she said through clenched teeth. I think I had something to do with it. Scratch that, I DEFINITELY had something to do with it.

"Yeah...not my longest or best, but I won. Nice, yes?"

"V-very. And...your clothes are destroyed," she pointed out. Her smile twitched. Yep, it was about that terrible excuse for an outfit.

"Yeah...sucks. Good news is, I don't fight anymore today," I said, "so I can get...a new one?"

Her smile was now nonexistant. It was the first of one of the few times I've ever seen it gone. It was...well, I don't think I told you how worried I was about fighting Dracula, but here's the comparison: fighting Dracula when you're not "the Chosen One" is like fighting a simple demon when you don't have any special powers. You COULD win, but the chances are slim, and you are more likely to just go wild than you are to actually put any type of plan into it. The reason? Because you're scared, and you don't want to die. (Oh, and I speak as if you've never been in a fight in your entire life)

Melody...managed to scare me far beyond that level whenever her smile disappeared. She floated towards me, looked me straight in my eyeholes, and muttered, "Those. Were. Hoof. Picked. By. Me."

"Ehehehe...um..." I chuckled nervously. No doubt about it, I'm screwed.

"I'll give you one more costume. But so help me, Daniel Fortesque, if you ruin this one, I. Will. Take. One. Of. Your. Bones." I don't know which is scarier now, the fact that a cute little ghost girl is threatening me, or the fact that the only time she pronounced my name right is the one time she's been royally pissed at me. Both so far.

I nodded. "On my honor, my next costume will not be ruined in the arena," I promised.

Melody finally broke her gaze and had that cheery smile back on. "Okay, Mr. Fortiskay! Hey, will you be going back to Jack's place to recover?"

I sighed. I forget if it was a sigh of relief or annoyance. "I'm not sure yet." Then something clicked. I've only been to Jack's place and the arena. What exactly does Necro City hold for me?

"How about a tour of Necro City before you go, then?" Melody asked. Am I that easy to read?!?

"That would be...nice," I said. "It's pretty small, right?"

*Around 3 hours later*

For the record, yes, Necro City IS pretty small. About as big as Loyal, Wisconsin. Everything is within walking distance, and everyone knows your name and your favorite hangout spot. In all honesty, the main difference between Loyal and Necro City was the fact that Loyal had 4 more bars/taverns (call them what you want) than Necro City. But, I digress.

Our tour ended in front of a place called the Slammed Skeleton. I honestly think it has a double meaning: it got its name because a skeleton was slammed to pieces when he/she was drunk off his/her nonexistant ass. That would be awesome, but at the same time, insulting.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"Because this is the only place that will serve anypony, anygryphon, anydog, and any other species that has yet to be discovered!" Melody beamed. "And it's the only place skeletons can enter." Great to know I'm accepted in a place where skeletons are slammed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you...y'know, underage?" I asked.

"Huh?" Melody looked confused. Then she gasped. "Oh! Actually, no. I'm actually 23 years old!" What?!? How does she...you know what, never mind. Just...never mind.

"Alrighty then," I commented. "So, what else is so special about this place?"

"Well, it's a rare thing, but they actually have karaoke," Melody said happily. "I come here whenever they have it, and I thought you'd like to join me."

She didn't think wrong. One thing I prided myself on, but didn't really show off, was I had a decent singing voice. In fact, I was told I could give famous people a run for their money. But I think that was more flattery than it was fact. "So what kind of music do they play here?"

"It's completely random," Melody replied. "It ranges from classical, to dubstep, to rock, to rap." I winced at the last one. Don't get me wrong, rap is a decent genre, but I listened to the WORST of it back home, so I wasn't as keen on it as I was everything else. I was about to ask how they had so many genres, but Melody had already went into the bar. I sighed and followed suit.

You ever seen the old western movies where a bar is rowdy, then the hero/villian/new guy walks in and EVERYTHING stops? That's exactly what happened when I walked in. Everyone was staring at me. Did I mention I wasn't wearing a disguise, which probably meant everyone knew what I was? I slowly walked to the bar and motioned to the bartender, a skeletal unicorn. Couldn't tell the gender, though. "Um...could I get a drink?" I asked.

"What kind would you like?" he asked. Yep, voice confirmed it was a male. Too bad there wasn't a menu around, because I could use one. So many straight drinks, mixed drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, etc. and I had no idea where to begin. Then I realized that I had no money on me.

"Two glasses of your best apple cider," Melody said, throwing four bits onto the counter. He used his magic (wait, didn't I hear skeletons had no latent magic? What the flying feather?!?) and placed it in a chest behind the counter. I couldn't see it, of course, so it's just an assumption.

Our drinks were quickly made and placed in front of us. I must once again question how the hell we can drink and keep the fluids in us. Melody didn't seem to have this problem as she downed her pint in one gulp. Wow, for a mare in a filly's ghostly body, that was very impressive. I sipped my cider. The only thought that crossed my mind was Holy snapping piranha plants.

I looked under me, and noted that there was no mess. So somehow, the liquid can stay inside of my system in spite of the fact I HAVE no system. Looking around, I took in the sight. There was the bar itself, about 7 tables with four chairs surrounding each one, two tables with six chairs, a stage in the far back, and a set of instruments for any genre indeed. A sign beside the stage said, "Karaoke Night. Tonight's Genre: Any." ANY genre?!? Oh, tonight would be good.

"Hey, Daniel." I turned to see Wisp beside me. He's a sneaky bastard, isn't he? He placed three bits on the counter and, to the bartender, said, "One Gray Gryphon." It was in front of him within seconds.

"Wisp, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Karaoke, of course," Wisp replied. "And I saw you walking in here. Isn't she a bit young for you to buy her a drink?"

What happened next, I still have no fucking idea how it happened. I saw a hoof go through my head, punch Wisp, and knock him off of his stool. "I'm a 23-year-old mare in a 10-year-old filly's body," Melody pointed out. "And he's NOT buying me a drink."

"Then you're buying his drink then? Understandable, he hasn't been around long enough to get any money himself," another familiar voice responded. I looked over Melody's head to see Dracula sipping a glass of red wine. Couldn't quite tell what kind it was.

"Yeah, it's a bit sad, isn't it?" I chuckled.

"Not so," the vampire said. "It means she considers you a close friend."

"Maybe something more?" Wisp chuckled. Again, a hoof went through my head to knock Wisp off of his stool. She's a bit touchy, isn't she?

I picked up my drink and motioned to an empty six-chair table. The other three followed me, albeit Wisp a little bit dazed. As I sat down, there was noise from the stage.

"Could I have your attention, please?" a female zombie gryphon announced. "Karaoke Night is starting in 5 minutes. Get your singing voices ready, and talk to me if you want to participate."

"Daniel join?" Jack asked. Wait, when'd HE get here?

"I hope so, I want to see him humiliate himself," Morva added. Wha...how...I... I downed the rest of my drink in one gulp.

"Quite a motley crew we have here," Wisp pointed out. Tell me about it: a young, ghostly Earth Pony mare in a filly's body, a Stalfos from a different dimension, a warrior ghost pegasus, a vampire unicorn that's actually the badass of badasses, a zombie diamond dog blacksmith, and...whatever the hell Morva is. I suspect he's a lizard man, but I KNOW he's disguised as a zombie dragon.

Suddenly, a thought just appeared in my head. One that I may or may not regret later on. "Hey, how about we ALL make fools of ourselves? We all go up there and sing at least one song."

My idea was rewarded with three different fluids covering me as their owners spit at me. Dracula simply sipped his wine a bit slower, and Morva had no drink of his own. Jack, Wisp, and Melody, however, had dumbfound expressions on their faces. "I am NOT going up there!" they all said simultaneously.

I glanced at Dracula. He simply gave me a look that said, "I'm staying right here, thankyouverymuch." Morva simply shook his head. Then, a better idea came to mind.

"Okay," I said. "I'll go on my own. I'll take my turn, and I'll even perform for you when it's your turn if you stand by your decision. But, you have to drink for every time after my initial appearance if you're NOT performing."

Everyone eyed each other uneasily. Well, everyone except Dracula. That guy is stoic as hell. Melody was the first to recover.

"Haha...nope, still not performing," she said.

"Not convincing me," Wisp added.

"Jack blacksmith, not singer," Jack pointed out.

"Sorry, but my...friend...is the singer, and I only sing with him," Morva sighed.

"I guess I could entertain you," Dracula said.

"WHAT?!?" the other four yelled.

"We can sing any song, yes?"

"Yeah, the sign says any genre welcome this time," I said, pointing to the sign to back me up.

The zombie gryphon spoke again. "It's that time, ladies and gents! We are now starting Karaoke Night! Let's give it up for the brave souls that are going to perform tonight!"

I nodded at Dracula and stood up. I walked up to the gryphon and bowed. "I would like to sing, ma'am," I said.

"Really, now?" she asked sarcastically. "I thought you were here to ask me on a date."

"I would, but I don't stand a chance," I replied. "Anyway, quick question. Can I enter multiple times?"

The gryphon tapped her claw lightly on the stage for a moment. "I don't see why not," she finally answered. "Just try not to hog the show, Mr...?"

"Fortesque," I said suavely, "Daniel Fortesque."

She gasped. "Daniel Fortesque? THE Daniel Fortesque?!? The same Daniel Fortesque going to be fighting in the finals tomorrow?!?"

I chuckled and nodded. I swear, she actually squeed. "I am SO happy to finally get to talk to you! Do you remember me?!?"

I thought for a moment. Unfortunately, for the life/death of me, nothing came to mind. "Sorry, but it's escaping me right now. Care to refresh my memory?"

"Marcy Corsione, gryphon zombie and one of your biggest fans, especially when you threw the chupacabra's head to me! I finally got something special from the arena, and it's all thanks to you!"

Wow...I had absolutely no idea. Who else is a fan? "Um, glad to please, erm, a fan of mine. So..."

"Oh, yes!" Marcy clapped her claws together. "Go on stage, and good luck!" She sighed dreamily as she added, "I hope your singing is as good as your fighting."

I nodded slowly. I walked up the stage as Dracula chatted with Marcy. The band took their respective places and looked at me as if they were wanting to know the song they were to play. I went to the lead guitarist (who was a ghost diamond dog in what looked like a red suit) and gave him the song title. He nodded as he relayed the message to the rest of the band.

I heard the drummer hit the sticks to signify the beat...

15. The Obligatory Song Chapter

Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to get out! The songs that will be playing are songs I chose, with the help of Dashydra (who chose her OC's song) and Glassed (who gave me Daniel's second song). When a character is singing, their text will be colored, while a crowd or the whole band will be italicized. Enjoy the Obligatory Song Chapter!

Chapter 15: The Obligatory Song Chapter

A trumpet sounded to start the song. After four bars, the guitar joined in. Another four bars and the crowd started clapping their hands, stomping their hooves, just keeping to the beat. So they DO know this song, I thought. Then I was gonna have some fun. After four more bars, I started singing.

Time, I won't ever give in
No matter how hard you pull me in
I know gravity ain't an excuse,
I just wanna make things a little more smooth
Majority is still asleep
They're tired of those dreadful dreams
Now let me shout and wake you up
Let me wake you up

The drums started to help the crowd keep the beat. Another four bars and it was time to get wild.

When the sunset dyes the sky so bright,
She freaks me out with the secret smile
Stars above start to shine
For miles and miles, I wonder why
Is this a curse or just your heart
No other rhythm with those flowers flowin'
I know you can stop its flow on a whim
So I have learned to swim!

Until the time is up, I can't give up on you
Before the time is up, I leave all my regrets
Between the lines of lies, I am lost again
Until this time is up, I'll never give this up!

Until the sun is up, I can't give up on you
Before the time is up, I leave all my regrets
Between the lines of lies, I am lost again
Until this time is up, I'll never give this up!

I was enjoying myself far too much. I started to clap along with the crowd as the song continued. The trumpet sounded to signify my singing was needed soon.

Oh, why you want to tie me up?
Get out of my way, cause I'm on my way.
I don't care about imaginary boundaries
but somehow I'm afraid to go over them
Cover up, all the skies and memories
Creativity is all that I've got
So let me shout and wake you up
*band stops* LET ME WAKE YOU UP!

*band resumes* While the fireflies dance on a full moon night
She tempts me with her glistening eyes
The sky above, changing its color
From dawn til dusk, I wonder why
Is this a curse or just a wild guess
So I'll flow it on the clouds without wings
All of a sudden the end might come
So I don't act like someone else!

Until the time is up, I can't give up on you
Before this time is up, I leave all my regrets
Between the lines of lies, I am lost again
Until the time is up, I'll never give this up

Until the time is up, I can't give up on you
Before the time is up, I leave all my regrets
Between the lines of lies, I'm confused again
When the time is up, I'll take what I've got to take!

I took a bow as the guitar played the final riff. The crowd clapped and stomped in joy as I jumped off the stage. I could even hear whistles in the noise. Makes you wonder how they manage it.

My table was showering me with praise. "Pretty sweet, Dan," Wisp nodded.

"Encore, please?" Jack asked.

Morva simply held his glass up when it was his time to speak. He seemed...sad.

Melody looked away, but she still spoke. "That was...amazing. I agree with Jack, you need an encore."

"Maybe in a moment," I replied. I took my spot beside Melody as Dracula stepped up to the stage. I wonder what he was gonna sing? Is his voice even any good? I've never heard him sing in any kind of media that involved him. Let's hope it was good.

Wait, was he levitating a guitar himself? Just what was he going to do? The beat started quick, and Dracula started to play his instrument. Then the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks.

Dead I am the one, exterminating son
Slipping through the trees, strangling the breeze

My thought process at that point was, Seriously?!? THIS was his song?!? Dracula, you are now top villain, EVER!

Dead I am the sky, watching angels cry
While they slowly turn, conquering the worm