"Hey Nick, I gotta ask you this?"Brian asked.
"Yeah?"
"How come I can't touch you, and you can't touch me in this dream- But in that other dream where you look like you the Stay Puff Toilet Paper Boy, you were as solid as me?"
"That's because Chiros controls that dream. He's much stronger than I am. I can barely hold this together, and now you want touch added? And you guys call me the brat!"
"Aw shut up,"Brian said, "I wish I could smack you like I normally would."
"You'll get to do that in a minute,"Nick said his voice more distant.
"Nick?"
"Sorry,"Nick was louder this time, "We have to hurry!"
Brian followed Nick's ghostly form around halls and twists and turns, Brian had never been through, until they reached one particularly dark scary hallway, with an odd mist coming from it,"Let me guess. This way!"
Nick couldn't laugh at Brian's joke, he looked straight up terrified for Brian's sake,"This is as far as I can take you. It's not too late, you can still turn back! I can tell you how to get out!"
"I'm getting you guys!"Brian said firmly,"As Kevin said before, we leave this place all togther."
Nick's form began flickered in and out, Nick looked off toward the gloomy hallway, his eyes wide,"Oh no..."
"What? What's wrong? What's happening Nick?!"
"I have to go! I can't hold this and the other dream anymore, Chiros will know! You can find your own way from here, can't you?"
Brian looked to Nick,"You're leaving? You can't!"
"Just go straight,"Nick said softly, his image slowly fading.
"Nick, you can't just go and leave man!"Brian said getting whiny.
"Chiros can smell your fear. Don't give him a reason to come after you right away. Remember, your dreams are real here..."
Nick was gone. Brian was alone, again! Brian wiped his face and let out a breath. He had to calm down. He chose to come this way, and now he had to follow through. They were counting on him! Once he had slowed his pulse rate and his breathing, he slowly but surely began to walk down the hallway. He was careful not to make any loud noises. At the end of the hall was a black mist and a pad locked door. Brian almost groaned, how was he supposed to get through this? Where was Nick when he needed him? But then... Brian looked at the padlock, "dreams are real," Nick's whisper tickled in his ear, then he saw the key. Brian reached out to take it in his hand,"Thanks Nick."
Brian entered the room silently, leaving the door open a crack. He tucked the key into his one good pocket and prayed it would stay there until he got ready to use it again, if he had too. The room was lit in an odd light. Brian ducked the low ceiling of the room, until he came into a high ceilinged room. There were five beds, four were occupied, by Kevin, A.J.,Howie, and Nick. Brian had done it! He had found them! Brian tried to run to the beds, but something was stopping him. He heard the laughter, that maniacal laughter...
Brian turned to face Chiros. He had lost his bus driver apparel and was now wearing a long black robe. He held a large scepter and he was still puffing on that cigar,"So you have come to me, though I do not quite know how you found my lair."
Brian stood still, not moving not breathing.
"Wise choice in the end. People seldom make it easier on themselves, they all insist on fighting me. I always win in the end. But don't get me wrong, the fighting is the best part of the fun!"Chiros laughed, he looked over to Brian's friends, and laughed,"Young and stupid. That's what I like. Your friends put up very good struggles, but in the conclusion, they gave in. I tried to pick off the weak and scared first. I took the curly haired one that likes to talk, Howard. He was easy. I tried to take the youngest, Nickolas, next. But you kept him from me. I retrieved young Alexander shortly afterward, and Kevin. They proved to be excellent new editions to my collection here in the castle. Did you enjoy my monsters? Did you enjoy the dance?"
Brian looked dazed.
"I hope you did, because you are going to be with us a very long time. Now it is time for you to come..." Chiros began to puff more on his cigar causing a cloud of confusion around Brian making him very drowsy. Brian began to lose sight of where he was and who he was. He was sooo tired, all he needed was a little sleep... Just a little.
Brian awoke to Chiros laughing, he was itching, when he looked down he saw that he was covered with fur, werewolf fur!! Oh no, he was that tacky werewolf! He tried to scream, but howled instead. NO! What had he done, he had gone to sleep, and let his friends down!
"No, you haven't! There's still time, you're not fully asleep yet, you're not fully under his control! You've still got control of your dream. Dreams are real. Do something Brian..." Nick's voice came into Brian's head, he looked up to see a transparent image of Nick looking down at him with pleading hope in his face.
Brian looked at Nick's face, he looked back and saw the slumbering forms of his friends on the beds. It was this, that made Brian take control. He growled. He saw Chiros. Chiros had his back turned, he hadn't heard Nick or seen him, and he wasn't paying attention to Brian anymore. Brian bowed his head for a charge. He charged Chiros. Chiros wasn't expecting this and was thrown off his guard, "Foolish mutt, I'll teach you. My monsters come to me."
The mummy Nick, vampire Howie, Phantom A.J., and Hyde Kevin appeared. They began to combat with Brian as well.
Chiros aimed his scepter and opened fire on Brian, who used his new werewolf agility to get out of the way of the deadly beams and from the false versions of his friends. Brian roughly decided not to direct his attacks at Chiros, but at his scepter. It seemed to be his source of power. Brian only hoped he was right. Chiros laughed as he fired on Brian, one beam did land. Brian fell out on the ground sizzling from the wound. Chiros towered over him,"And now, it ends..."
This was his chance, Chiros raised his scepter and Brian went for it. He used his uninjured hind leg to kick the scepter out of Chiros's hands and onto the floor beside him.
"No! YOU FOOL!"Chiros screamed, but that scream was in vain,"You imbeciles, get my scepter away from that beast!"
A.J., Nick, Howie, and Kevin all leaned towards the scepter, but...
Brian smiled a wolfish grin at Chiros, "It looks like I win." Brian bit the scepter in half with his massive werewolf teeth and strong jaws.
A flash of bright light erupted out of the scepter along with lots of smoke and vapors. Brian hid his face. When it was all over he sat up. The hideous mockeries of his friends were gone... Dust. He looked at his arms, the fur was gone. He felt his face for fur and felt none. He tested his leg, no burn! He jumped up, "I'm not a werewolf! I'm not a werewolf! Guys!" Brian ran to the beds, where his friends were strapped down,"Guys wake up! Guys?" I hope I'm not too late, he began unstrapping them from the beds. He wasn't. Howie stirred first, "Hey Brian. Man, I was having the weirdest..." he sat up, "Where are we..?" Then it all seemed to settle in on him,"Oh.. Oh..."Howie sat up and shook his head,"Man, I was Dracula... and tried to bite you man, I'm sorry..."
Brian was hugging him, then pulled back,"That's right! You did try to bite me! I don't know if I should hug you again or hit you!" He hugged him.
Brian and Howie shook the others awake.
Kevin, A.J., and Nick all woke up slowly. Nick was rubbing the back of his head and wincing.
"Are you guys all ok?"asked Brian.
"Yeah, thanks to you, Bri,"A.J. said,"This guy is a hero!"
"Yeah, there should be a comic book about you!"Nick agreed whole heartedly.
Brian blinked and looked at Nick incredulously,"About me? You mean, about you, don't be humble! If you wouldn't have helped me out, and brought me here... Then you told me what to do when all looked like it was lost.."Brian looked at Nick,"He did it."
Nick shook his head,"It was you Bri, you had the courage to do it. You could have left. I would have just as easily have shown you the unguarded way out of this place."
"Nick, Brian, what are you guys talking about? Nick was lying here with us," Kevin said looking confused.
"Yeah, but he came out and talked to me too.. He like dreamed a second image of himself out to help me,"Brian said,"Chiros didn't even know!"Brian smiled with pride.
The others looked back at Nick in awe, "How did you manage that Nicky?"
Nick shrugged,"I wasn't even sure if I could do it. I don't know what gave me the idea to try."
Everybody thought about that, and punched Nick in the shoulders, their way of saying, "Way to go Nick!"
"So Howie, what happened with you when you first disappeared, man?"asked Kevin.
"It was like one minute I was talking to A.J., and the next minute this hand covered my mouth and pulled me through the wall. I kind of blacked out then, and when I woke up I was Dracula. And I had the feeling of having orders to do. I went to get A.J."
"Oh yeah, that's when you came trying to get a midnight snack,"A.J. said,"I was walking with you guys when you all just vanished and I was all by myself. And then Howie came along, but he was acting stranger than usual. Then he showed me those choppers and I had to show my masculine side."
"Masculine side? As I recall, the only side I saw of you was your back side when you went running down the hall yelling don't bite me, and you barricaded yourself into a room," Howie laughed imitating A.J. running down the hall covering his neck with his hands.
"Yeah.. Well, you would have too!"A.J. defended his actions.
"Well, I was walking with Nick and Brian, and I turned to ask them a question and they were gone. I was thinking about how stupid I was when A.J appeared. Dang, you should have seen how he was looking... He stared me down, and he talked in this real spooky calm voice, and gave me orders. Then he told me to listen to music that wasn't there. The funniest thing was, I heard music. And then I woke up and I was Jekyll and Hyde. It was like I was living the book. I was Hyde, in my library when you and Nick came in, Brian."
"I remember... "Nick said, he continued to rub the back of his neck, then the memory came to him," You hit me!"
"What?" everybody looked at Kevin and Nick.
"Brian and me went to the library, and Brian left telling me to stay put, he wanted to check out some noises. After Brian left, psycho Kevin came out and chased me, and then when I thought he was gone... He knocked me out with a fireplace poker!"
"That explains the bloody poker I found on the floor of the library!"Brian exclaimed.
"Bloody?"Nick raised an eyebrow and removed his hand from something damp and sticky in the back of his head. He brought his hand to his face and saw the red blood,"Oh man, Kev!"
Kevin began to examine the back of Nick's head.
"Kev, that's child abuse,"A.J. laughed.
"Oh shut up, its not bad, it's just a bump... All that blood's coming from a cut next to it..I think I may have scratched you with the poker harder than I hit you,"Kevin picked up a sheet from the bed they were all sitting on and began stanching the blood.
"You guys know what?"Howie stood up slowly.
"What?"
"Lets get out of here!"
"Yeah!"
Then the whole castle shook.
"What the.."
"I WILL KILL YOU ALL FOR CROSSING ME!!"
"Uh-oh.."Brian said.
"Bri, I thought you killed him!"
"I did too!"Brian said,"I mean, I broke his scepter in half, and it blew up and he was gone..."
"Oh man! Don't you read comics?"Nick demanded,"You didn't kill him, and now he's ticked! We gotta get out of here!"