Spike + Vampire: Highschool of Monsters (Freshman)

Dreadmire Academy's Main Building

Spike, leaving Lyra and Bon-Bon under Zariel's watch in his room, spent most of his classes thinking about how to approach Jack to challenge him to a duel. He only ever saw him in the cafeteria during lunch, and nowhere else in all that time. He never even saw him in the halls on the way to class. Just where did he go? After the next bell rang, Spike walked up to his teacher Steven Magnet to inquire about him.

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Magnet?" Spike asked. The Saurian turned around to face his famous student.

"Ah, Lord Spike! Did you need help with something? Did you have any questions about how the famous Werewolves of Sparta managed to keep the Persian Empire at bay for so long?" Magnet asked.

Steven Magnet was Spike's Monster History teacher. His lessons were easy to follow and he himself was a great person to get along with, but Spike had other questions.

"Actually, I wanted to now where I can find Jack Volgaroth," Spike said.

Mister Magnet's mood shifted instantly. He no longer looked like the cheery and flamboyant teacher that Spike had come to know anymore. Now he looked like a person going scuba diving for the first time and coming face-to-face with a bull shark. Not a good sign for him.

"I uh, I don't know where to find him. Mister Volgaroth seems to enjoy his privacy," Mr. Magnet said in a cracking voice. Spike was curious now.

"Why... why is everyone so afraid of him? Even Sunset's mood changes when talking about him," Spike said. "From what I saw, he doesn't really do anything to make monsters fear him."

Mister Magnet turned around and looked Spike right in the eye. "To be honest, young man, Volgaroth doesn't really interact with others much apart from those girls that follow him around."

Spike saw them before. A group of masked girls that follow Jack around and seem to serve him. It was something kinda creepy for him to watch, but it still didn't answer his question. Thankfully, Magnet continued.

"People seem to be scared of him in a way how people might be afraid of a hurricane: as if he was a pure force of nature," Magnet said. "I could see it in his eyes whenever I saw him. It was like looking at the face of evil, itself. Why are you interested in him?"

"I... I want to challenge him to a duel," Spike said.

Steven Magnet dropped the papers he was holding in shock. He quickly bent down to pick them up and spoke in a hushed tone. "Well, if you want to fight him, then I suggest you pray. A lot."

It was easy for Spike to tell that he wasn't going to get anymore answers out of Steven Magnet. Spike left the classroom and made his way down the hall to his next class. As he walked, he saw another teacher, Ms. Clover, standing by the door to her classroom. Maybe she would know something about Volgaroth. Spike made his way over to her with a smile.

"Hello, Ms. Clover!" Spike greeted.

"Good evening, Lord Spike. Can I help you with something?" Ms. Clover asked.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about Jack Volgaroth," Spike replied.

Once again, Spike was given the "chilling fear" look. She looked at anything that wasn't Spike's eyes and fidgeted where she stood. Even her warm smile dropped into a fearful grimace.

"W-well, I d-d-do have him in m-my c-class," the poor woman stuttered out. Spike knew he had to be gentle about this, so he kept going.

"Do you know where I can find him?" Spike asked softly. He felt like he was talking to a scared child rather than a grown adult.

"W-well, he hasn't been in class for a couple months," Ms. Clover replied. "Ever since you arrived, he's been showing up less and less."

That was interesting. Spike arrived at school and Jack has suddenly started skipping class. That... was kinda suspicious. Ever since Spike arrived, things at this school have been borderline disastrous. The Hunters attacking the school and an outbreak of a deadly disease that nearly got Spike killed. Too crazy to be a coincidence. Spike knew that he didn't have physical evidence, so now challenging him was more important than ever. Spike looked back to Ms. Clover.

"Ms. Clover, I really need to find Jack Volgaroth. Do you know where I can find him?" Spike asked with urgency.

"I think by now he's heading towards the gym," Ms. Clover replied.

"Thanks!"

Building up arc energy to his legs, Spike enhanced his speed and zoomed down the hallways of the main building, out of the doors, and towards the gym. Fate had to be on his side, because Spike saw Jack standing right outside the gym doors. As usual, he had that huge grin on his face. He looked at Spike with the same dead-fish eyes.

"Bienvenido, mi amigo. To what do I owe the pleasure of your interest?" Jack asked. "I can tell you've been looking for me."

Panting from the run, Spike stood up straight to address Jack. "Jack Volgaroth! I challenge you to duel me!"

Both guys stood there for a good while before Jack started to chuckle. His chuckle suddenly turned into a full belly laugh as he clenched his stomach. Jack's laugh was just as eerie as his smile, icy and weirdly hollow. Still, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Jack wiped a tear from his eye as he finished laughing.

"You want to challenge me to a duel? You're the second monster who's ever done that," Jack said.

"What happened to the first guy?" Spike asked.

"Last I heard of him, he was on suicide watch in Belleview Asylum. Poor guy couldn't handle fighting me for long."

That was very concerning. Spike shook off his concern and looked Jack dead in the eye. "So do you accept my challenge or not?"

"Hmm. You know what? I do," Jack said. "I haven't had a good fight in a while. Would be nice to have someone help me shake off the rust. When do we have this little bout of ours?"

"Tomorrow night! And I have a condition for this duel," Spike said.

"Name it."

"If I win, you have to answer any one question I have with absolute honesty."

"Hmm... fine. But I have a condition of my own if I win. If I win, you have to help me with something I'm working on."

"What is it?"

"I'd rather tell you after I win."

The certainty in Jack's voice lit a fire in Spike's ego. He clenched his fists tightly and glared at Jack, who only smiled wider in return. The two were locked via eye contact and didn't even move for a while. Eventually, Spike heard someone approaching from behind him. An arm wrapped itself around Spike's shoulder in a friendly way. He turned and saw his buddy Rumble standing there.

"Heya, bro! I thought we were going to study hall together and talk about how trash Pipsqueak is at Fortnite!" Rumble said.

"Uh, yeah! We were going to do that!" Spike said.

Before the two of them could leave though, Jack spoke up as he left. "Oh, Spike! I had enjoyed watching your success at this school, so I'll make sure to give you a good fight in the ring!"

Spike and Rumble left the gym and walked down the path. Rumble was clenching his chest and breathing heavily. He looked like he was just a normal human that just saw a grizzly bear walking away from him, like the bear didn't attack him and just walk away.

"That... was the most terrifying moment of my life. I thought my heart was going to freeze in my chest!" Rumble said. "What was that Jack said about fighting in the ring?"

"I challenged Jack to a duel," Spike replied. Rumble looked as if Spike just grew three heads and a pair of breasts.

"You actually challenged Jack Volgaroth of all people?!" Rumble yelled. "That guy will turn your body into sushi and your soul into a milkshake!"

"Have you seen him fight before?" Spike asked.

"I've seen the video of the last guy he fought before it was taken down," Rumble replied. "It was taken down for a reason."

That would explain people's fear of him, if there was a video of him when he's actually fighting. He must be a terrifying foe if he scares other monsters and even other Demons. Still, Spike knew that he had to fight him if he was going to prove his suspicions right. All he had to do was trust his demigod blood to help him win.

As the two made their way to the main building, a couple of people dressed in white uniforms walked around the front doors as if they were waiting for something. Spike had never seen them before. There were two girls and a guy waiting outside the building and saw the two as they approached. One petite girl with orange hair, fair skin, and green eyes smiled as Spike and Rumble approached them.

"Hi. Are you friends with Lady Twilight?" the girl asked.

"Uh, yes. Who are you?" Spike replied.

"My name is Georgia Marmalade," the orange-haired girl replied. "These are my friends Tyler and Grace. We're all Thralls of Twilight's and we wanted to ask her if she was going to help us get a new TV for our dorms."

This was new for Spike to hear. Thralls? Spike had a vague idea of what that was, but he decided to ask anyway. "What's a Thrall?"

"Thralls are humans that vampires and other blood-drinking species keep in order to feed themselves," Georgia replied. "I myself really enjoy being Lady Twilight's Thrall. She and her family treat us better than others."

"Do you live on campus?" Spike asked before thinking. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her feed from anything apart from me."

"Thralls are kept in a separate dorm in the woods," Tyler said. "Twilight and the others visit whenever they need to feed. We get great food and medical care in exchange for our blood. Thralls like us get to live pretty good lives."

"Has Twilight been feeding from you recently?" Spike asked.

"Not as much as she used to," Grace said. "She does check in on us and makes sure we're happy and healthy. She even plays video games with us."

That was something that Spike would never have expected to hear about Twilight. Still, it was sweet to hear that Twilight was spending time with her Thralls and even playing video games with them.

"What kind of games does Twilight like to play?" Spike asked.

"Well, any video game that she's interested in," Georgia replied. "Though, don't tell her we said this, but she's really bad at Fortnite."

Tyler started laughing. "Yeah, she's terrible at it! Four of her five slots were filled with med-packs and Splash Juice and her only remaining slot only had a common pistol, with which she missed every shot. And as if that wasn't enough, she got into a heated shouting match with some 13-year old edgelord in the chat that was shouting curses the whole time!"

Spike and Rumble both started laughing at picturing the bookworm Twilight Sparkle Tepes playing Fortnite and screaming at a 13-year old edgelord that just discovered the word "fuck" for the first time. It was just what Spike needed to get his mind off his upcoming fight. Still, he had to be ready for it. He had to make sure he was right or wrong about his suspicions.

• + +

The Arena - The Day of the Fight

Spike had walked out into the arena with an anxious crowd cheering for him. He saw that Rumble, Zariel, and the rest of the Pack was gathered there to support him. Even Lyra and Bon-Bon were there sitting amongst the Pack. He was wearing the plastic armor he wore for his first duel with Sunset and was staring at the second door where he expected Jack to appear. The ref, Professor Flintheart this time, walked out into the arena and spoke into the microphone.

"Good students and faculty of Dreadmire Academy, we're gathered here tonight for a most auspicious bout of primal power tonight!" Flintheart said. "Our contenders tonight are two of our most powerful students, not to mention our most famous!

Flintheart gestured to Spike. "In this corner, the son of the Night Matron herself, Spike Roman!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and even roars and screeches for Spike. Some of them even changed into their true forms in excitement. Flintheart then gulped and gestured to the other gate with a poorly-hidden fearful tone.

"And in this corner, the son of Headmaster Grogar and the Grinning Demon himself, Jack Volgaroth!" Flintheart said.

There were no cheers from the crowd this time. All that could be detected was silence and a slight chill in the air. The gate opened to reveal Jack Volgaroth himself wearing a similar set of plastic armor. As he walked up to Spike, he noticed a change in Jack's demeanor. His grin seemed bigger as if he was excited and his eyes no longer looked like those of a dead fish but now looked focused and predatory. When he spoke, his voice was still flat and hollow.

"If we're going to give these folks a good fight to see, I think I should give them an impression of what they're in for," Jack said.

Jack raised his hands in the air, and something creepy happened around them. The light from the lights around them was dimming in a way that was anything but natural, and the darkness seemed to spread from Jack and move outward. It was as if Jack himself was swallowing the light and casting the arena in shadow. And his one red eye changed, as well.

Instead of a more human-looking red eye, his pupil was a reptilian slit that lay horizontal in the pool of red that was his glowing iris while his sclera was pitch black. His teeth had sharpened into jagged fangs and his fingers grew into rending claws. Jack's ears grew longer into sharp points and a pair of smooth black horns grew from his forehead. Spike started to worry as he began to hover in the air. Then, he voice became deeper and creepily echoed, though still flat and hollow.

"So, Spike Roman, shall we begin our fight?" Jack asked.