Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Damn cold and damn empty was this void the great undead lich was now imprisoned to. Yet, slowly, for every passing day his powers where regaining strength. His ability to levitate objects had been fully restored along with his great skull blade had returned to him. 

Holding out his hand to the sky, he summoned it. Holding the massive bulk of a blade in one hand with excessive pride. As dark as the blade was, he could still stare into it and see his reflection, but it wasn’t the same now. When he saw himself, he saw a defeated man. Though all his power and magic, he was beaten by those street trash Lee brothers. Measly fleshlings defeated him, him, Skullmageddon the great undead master of the shadow warriors. If that wasn’t worse enough, what Marian did to him at the end. How embarrassing.

 After that humiliation he went through at the end of the game with Marian he’d be a laughing stock throughout his whole palace. He let out a long sign, while he hunched over in shame.

It was over, and if he perused her again, she’d most likely do worse to him then a punch below the belt. A chill ran down his spin at the thought. He tightened his grip on the sword and recollected his thoughts to the task ahead of him. He dashed forward, swinging his sword, raising it high before bringing it down onto a boulder, slashing the large rock in two. Imagining that it was really Billy he slashed in two. Then slicing another stone beside it, that one would be stupid Jimmy. Taking the stone remains, levitating them in the air before smashing them with his fist into pebbles. Someday he’d make it all a reality. He’d make them all pay.

It was happening to you again, it always happened at the eight minute mark before going on stage. Your nerves would get to you, and your legs wouldn’t stop shacking. “Breathe, breathe (y/n)”, you repeated to yourself over and over again into the backroom mirror. It would all go away when you start singing, singing was your life and pride, and tonight the new song was gonna blow everyone out of the water.

“The stage is almost set, just having some last minute lighting checks. You should probably head out to the platform about now.” Your stage manager said as he walked in briefly, making sure you heard him once and taking off to notify the rest of the crew. Jordan, was his name, nice man, when he wasn’t running around like a headless chicken, then again, he was paid to do that.

You could hear the screams of the audience get louder as the announcer stepped on stage.

“Here we go…again.” You murmured, Heading down under the stage floor before two men from the tech group stopped you to check the mic on your headset one last time, then making your way on to the platform that would rise to the top of the stage any minute now.

Having reduced the turf he inhabited to small piles of rubble, he finally let go of the blade, letting it disappear into the void with magic until he needed it again.

“It’s on!” He quickly announced to himself remembering what time it was. 4:30 was the exact time his favorite program would come on.  Quickly, he rushes over to a small circle of turf where a TV set was propped up by a few rocks to help it stand. Beside it, a seat craved from a boulder, misshaped, yet almost resembling a throne. He was overjoyed, jamming down the power button with one of his giant clawed fingers almost breaking it in the process.  With a flash, the TV was on. The screen was broken on both sides and the picture was wavy. He smashed his fist over top over it, trying to clear it, but it did little to fix it. After a while the picture finally came through.

A cubby man in a gold suit with a microphone stepped on the stage as the audience roared with joy.

“Hello, hello everyone! We all lookin’ forward to tonight’s show, huh?” He asked, as the audience roared with approval.

The man in responded by holding up a hand to his ear. “I don’t think anyone heard that. Let’s try that one more time.”

“Are we lookin’ forward to tonight’s show!?” He shouted, waving his arm in the air, encouraging them to scream louder with some of the people jumping up and down.

“Before we get started I just want to take a moment to thank all you people for coming out here tonight.” What was supposed to be a moment was now going over the 5 minute mark of useless chatter, with an irritated Skullmageddon throwing curses and rants. If the TV wasn’t broken enough, he would have thrown a rock at it.

“Get on with it, tubby!” He snarled and crossed his arms.

Growing bored, his thoughts went to better days; when he grew annoyed with something he could just disintegrate it into ash with a wave of a hand.

It wasn’t until the sound of thundering screams brought his focus back the TV screen. That annoying speaker was gone and smoke started to fill the stage with flashing lights as a figure started to rise out of the floor.

Music started to play as a girl in a frilly black dress, boots and gloves danced around the stage.

He started clapping his hands like a giddy little child. “This is it; this is it, fucking finally!” All eyes on her now...or…eye sockets?

Off the ceiling and onto the dance floor

Flashing colors are shimmering bright

As she watches him move, to her delight

Like a tiger she waits in advance for

Her attack when the moment is right

In the jungle of laser beams, tonight

Follow me, Follow me!

Your love is callin' me! Callin' me!

Take hold of me,

Like a sorceror controllin' me

Couldn't be any clearer

Upon my magic mirror, I can see

Your true nature callin' me.

In a matter of moments she'll seize him

Like a lioness out of a dream

Gettin' ready to pounce with all her might

Like a kitten with yarn, she will tease him

Have him comin' apart at the seams

As they dance in the laser beams tonight

Follow me , Follow me!

Your love is callin' me! Callin' me!

Take hold of me,

Like a sorceror controllin' me

Couldn't be any clearer

Upon my magic mirror, I can see

Your true nature callin' me.

As she finished, she reached out her hand to the audience, which always got them applauding like crazy, with the video cameras zooming in on her to make her look like she was holding it out to the viewers at home.

She thanked the audience and blew a kiss before the cameras whipped back to the cubby speaker getting back on stage.

Skullmageddon quickly punched the power button, before that chump opened his yap again. He took a moment to stretch and sat back on his rocky throne. He tilted his hat over his skull and went silent.

There was nothing left, but his thoughts and the only thing he had on his mind was that girl. Her face, her hair, her curved body and the way she suede as she danced. And her voice, it was divine, like that of a goddess. Damn beautiful, that’s what she was.

More lingering thoughts soon became joyful fancies, of her and him. On dates to the grandest and most refine places on earth. It’s a shame she didn’t know him, or how great a singer he was himself, his voice practically matched the beauty of hers. He was sure he could have her head over heels the moment she heard him.

He stood up, finally coming to a conclusion. That girl deserves more, she could use a powerful undead man like him and he’d make all those inferior creatures bow down to her like a queen. His queen.

After a few hours of signing autographs for your fans, you retired to your hotel room, removing the fancy dress and slipping into simpler attire, a light blue dress with a pair flats.

Another victory, they really did love the show tonight.  If anything you wanted more in life it was this, you made it to the top, doing what you enjoyed doing the most, being a performer, and an adored singer.  Also, you weren’t half bad at playing acoustic guitar, though you don’t play as much as you use to, after becoming a singer.  

You stretched, and yawn tiredly; not realizing just what time it was. 10:51 at night, before heading to bed of you pulled back the curtains to take in the view from the height of your hotel sweet. The city was glimmering with all the nightlife it had to offer.  Bright, beautiful, an open world you could sing your heart out too. You left the curtains open for the dim light of the city to shine down as you sleep.

*3 months later*

The skeletal lich, hungered for power, strength and all the worlds magic, but yet again, he had lost himself to human beauty. For 3 months, all his ambition, all his plans were now clouded with obsession and fixation for the young singer. His long hours of purgatory within Skullmageddon's dim and dark jail in space would melt away to sweet feelings and dreams.

He held a stone the size bowling-ball within his palm. He hummed her songs to no end as he worked his blade into the stone, craving it, giving the stone its shape and smooth surface, brushing the remains away a moment after. Looking over his handy-work a moment afterwards. It was a face, the girl, the root of his desires. He grew unamused with it quickly and set it down with a group in a corner of other roughly shaped and scratched, they were either failed works or just unlikeable to him.

He retired to the little rock pit that was his home, with a few more stone statues decorating the surroundings of the wall-less home. He removed his cape while standing by a full body length statue of the young singer, with a cheerful smile and arms created as a coat rack offering them out to him happily.

"Why thank you, My Scooby-Wooby." He cooed, hanging up the cape on the statue and winking at it.

Going over to the TV set, he pushed the button a little lightly this time. The thing already had no remote and if he broke the power button he’d have nothing at all. The once plain stone throne now had two other craved statues, staring happily up to who ever would sit upon the throne. He plopped down in the seat and kicked his legs up, letting them lay on a small boulder like a foot rest.

Through the static the time was 4:17, still early, but he could wait through a few stupid commercials. His thoughts wondered about her, and fully hearing her new hit song he came by in a few commercials. To his surprise, the time it went by much faster than he realized.  The hostess was already on stage ready to announced the girl in to sing.

The stage was black, until a few darkened silhouettes step forward and on to the stage. Several lights started to flicker on and off, taking the shape of birds in flight with the rest of the stage lights flashing over the stage dancers. They were in costumes, large bird wings stretched out over their arms as they flapped up and down as they dance around the stage. There faces decorated over with white, black, and brown bird like heads.

Soon after, everyone’s beloved singer took front and center, her white dress glistened with hundreds of tiny sequins with a few feathers stitched in on a few places, which gave off a flittering effect as she moved.  Skullmageddon’s face lit up with total amusement, with the red beams in his eyes glowing in his sockets furiously as he took in the whole sight of his lovely crush. Although, he found it a little disappointing having to see his pretty maiden depriving her beauty by hiding it behind a mere plastic ballroom mask. Well, at least it matched well with the shoes. A few short moments and she had the microphone in hand, dancing around before she began singing. This got the crowed shrilling with wild anticipation.  

Wandering lonely for as long as I can recall

Through the day and the night

Struggling every day for food and water

 I don't know how I'm still alive

In the air my eyes drew skyward

There you were in a blaze of glory

Giving reason to my life

As a second grows infinite

Long before the minute

You have rescued me

And I promise to return it

Every day to earn it

 Rescued finally

 Cause of you, I survive,

Savior of the sky!

Years in the future I still linger at your side

 I wouldn't dream to have more

 (Tonight I'm) eagerly waiting your decision to keep me

 Or to leave me as before

 In the air my eyes drew skyward

There you were in a blaze of glory

 Giving reason to my life

 As a second grows infinite

 Long before the minute

You have rescued me

 And I promise to return it

Every day to earn it

 Rescued finally

 Cause of you, I survive,

Savior of the sky!

 In the air my eyes drew skyward

There you were in a blaze of glory

 Giving reason to my life

 As a second grows infinite

 Long before the minute

 You have rescued me

And I promise to return it

 Every day to earn it

 Rescued finally

 Cause of you, I survive,

Savior of the sky!

As a second grows infinite

 Long before the minute

 You have rescued me

 And I promise to return it

 Every day to earn it

Rescued finally

 Cause of you, I survive,

Savior of the sky!

Throughout the fancy light show and dancing, Skullmageddon’s mind was lost in the far regions of space within his mind, thinking how good he would look by her side singing along with her. Imagining the crowd roaring and screaming in fits of insanity. Seeing her smile at him, like she’d smiled to her fans, seeing her blowing kisses at him like she always did on stage, but he’d would make sure he was the only one to have all her sweet kisses.

Ah, the day he regains his ability to teleport away and abandon this frozen stone wasteland, he’d be at her side in a flick of an eye. And the chance to ask her out on the hundreds of dates he plan to have with her. Him and her, walking down that big red carpet to eat at one of the snazziest restaurants in the world.  Huddled cameras snapping away, showing him in all his glory as he courted his young radiant beauty down the aisle.

Sure, that was all a long way off, but it didn’t hurt to dream in the meantime.

The program had long ended, before he came down from his fantasy-filled high. With nothing much left to do, he turned the TV off.  Leaving the small pit and found an open area. Sitting at its center, he sat and crossed his legs and began to meditate, finding his center, focusing on reconnecting to his lost powers and abilities. Hoping to find that lost chain of energy and reawaken it within him.

Chapter Text

*2 weeks later*

There was a light breeze off the ocean as you sat on the balcony of your hotel room, tuning your wooden guitar, strumming the stings a few times until you were satisfied. It’s been ages since you last touch this thing and while you had the time you might as well play to retouch on your skills before you got to rusty. You played softly, running your finger against the guitar pick along the sliver strands lightly, playing few chords before starting on a little melody. Eventually, you’d always end up wrapped up into it all, playing on, almost subconsciously. Fast, slow, soft, loud, depending on the emotions you were feeling at the time.  

You looked down, noticing your shadow increasing, as if the light from the sun was fading as it did in the evening.

At that sudden moment it felt cold, enough to see your own breath and make your skin prickle with goosebumps and your hair stand on its end. Then there was that sensation, that funny feeling you get when you sense someone eyeing you down for a moment or two until you turn around to see them standing there. Yet, this time, it felt worse than those incidents, unbearably worse.

It felt like daggers piercing painfully into your backside, feeling like every muscle and nerve had be paralyzed. Now, like a stiffened stump, just sitting there with your legs like roots embedded into the ground with no motion at all.

You tried to find your strength to look at whatever this thing was, but you couldn’t bring yourself to turn around. Instead, you looked at the guitar in your lap. Perhaps the polished frame could work as mirror to reflect this thing staring you down. You faced the guitar in front of you and lifted it high enough to see behind your right shoulder.

Then you saw it.

A blur of green, and inside it was a floating skull with empty eye holes staring mindlessly back at you in the reflection.

You bolted up from your seat and let the guitar drop, making a loud ‘clang’ as it hit the ground, and then abandoned it altogether and stormed out of the room screaming in terror.

Running on mad fear, you darted by the people coming and going in the hall ways as they all stared in confusion and bewilderment at you flashing by them. Having no intention to use the elevator, you rushed the stairs that lead all the way down to the hotel’s lobby. You were practically knocking down everyone one that was unlucky enough to use the stairs at that moment, with some of them losing grip of their luggage they were carrying and cursing you out.  

You past through the last pair of doors that lead to the front lobby crowed with people and pushed through them to finally escape through the front exit.

It wasn’t till you where hours away from the hotel till you felt safe again. You flagged down a taxi and demanded him to just drive on, anywhere far off you could get to. You finally asked to dropped outside a payphone near a minimart out in the middle of nowhere and dialed your agent Gerald.

Not sure how you were going to tell him about this, or any one else for that matter.

*1 Week Later*

You waited for over an hour back stage, sitting in a chair up in front of one the many large mirrors as the makeup artist applied the last layer of makeup. Since it was already the month of October it gave you the chance to think up something special for the month for the audiences. A new song to dedicate to all the spookiness and scary themes the month had to offer.

You looked at the mirror, seeing your face all decorated to look like a zombie with pale green skin, black patches around the eyes and a painted stitch line running across your lips and cheeks.  The woman nodded in approval at the mirror then helped you to remove the hair apron tied around your neck. After that she hurried to pack up all her tools and materials in a suit case and some bags then left altogether, while you remained seating up against the mirror and table.

Jordan the stage manager came in a few minutes later to give you the heads-ups and how long you had until show time, but you weren’t completely listening to his words and he had already taken off to do his rounds.

You were practically staring holes into the table by now.

What happened last week at the hotel was still eating at your mind. In the end, you decided to not tell anyone what happened that day. You just made up an excuse to your agent that you didn’t like the hotel you were staying at and left, then got lost somewhere on the rode and had to be picked up. You did your best for the last days to brush people off, but some people might have noticed you were being quieter and less talkative than you usually where.

Still, you knew what you saw. As clear as day. It was a skull staring you down as you sat on your balcony.

Why was it there? It looked so real, but still, it might have been someone’s prop to scare you. Like one of those hidden camera shows. Although, if it was, why didn’t anyone stop you from bolting out of there to explain that it was all a prank. But no matter what, you weren’t going to brush it off and tell yourself you were just imaging things. There had to be some rational explanation for all this.

“(y/n), why are you still baaaaaaackkk-ahhhh!” Jorden hollered and lost his grip on his clipboard. Hearing it fall to the ground a second later.

That moment, you looked up from your seat, a little startled from hearing Jorden screaming. As you were about to turn toward his direction to see what all the ruckus was, just when something through your eyes back to the mirror in front of you.

There it was, that same green glowing skull from the hotel. There, floating above your head as you sat. Your mind went blank with you just sitting there returning your mindless stares back at the skull in mirror. Now you knew for sure this thing was real.  You finally sprang from you chair to get away from it. Just as you turn to look back at it again, it had already faded out like a light switch.

It was gone.

You place a hand at your heart, feeling like it would pop out of your chest at any moment.

“Oh-my-god, oh-my-god! Did…did you just see that shit?!  Jorden cursed out frantically.

You looked to him and just nodded in reply.

“W-what was it doing there?” You asked still a little shook up.  

“I don’t know, it was just there, staring at you.”

This thing, why was it here? What did it want from you?

“You think it was a ghost?” Jorden asked.

“Do ghost look like floating skulls?” You replied, shooting him with a puzzled look.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen one before. Maybe they can.”

“You know, like the grim reaper or something?” Jorden dumbly suggested.

Grim reaper? The guy that collects a person’s soul when they…

You gasped then broke down crying into your hands as tears escaped you. This thing, was it an omen over seeing your death.

“(y/n)?” Jorden called out. “Are you alright?” He then tried patting your shoulder, but it did little to help.

“What the hell happened!?”

The whole group, band, tech, manager, practically everyone was now standing at the door before they barged in coming to your side.

“What did you do to her?!” A man that was a taller then Jorden stepped in front of Jorden, starring him down.

“Look, I didn’t do shit, we saw this ghost skull thing! It freaked the shit out of both of us!” Jorden squatted, holding his hands up in defense. The man was griping his fist now, the man wasn’t buying it. “Believe me! We both saw it!”

You were a crying mess right now, not paying to much attention to your surroundings. In the end, the manager had to escort you out, while Jorden was left with all the angry and annoyed guys the room.

“What happened?” She asked sternly, looking ready to throw the book at Jorden as well.  You didn’t respond at first. You were still crying and rubbing the tears away, smearing your makeup all over in the process.

“I wasn’t Jorden, he didn’t do anything.” You finally spoke up now that you’ve calmed down.

“Then what was he babbling on about, something about ghosts and skulls?”

 No one would believe you if you told them that Jorden was telling the truth. They’d think we were both crazy. You would have to lie, that was the only way to avoid this from escalating any further. But it also meant throwing Jorden under the buss.

“He’s been drinking tonight, so he’s a little tipsy. He wanted to tell me a ghost story and…well, it was just too much for me to take.”

“A ghost story?” The manager said, sounding skeptical at the very idea.

“I hate scary stories. Half the time I can’t even bring myself to watch horror movies, it’s that bad.” You tried your best to sound genuine with your pack of lies.

The manager curled an eyebrow at this. “Well, either way, where still going to have a long talk with Jorden after this.” She led you to a group of chairs in the private lobby where you sat until you felt calmer and more relaxed. 

In the end, the show had to be canceled that night.

You went to bed early once you got back to the new hotel you were staying at. You hit the covers moments after arriving. Everything that happened tonight you desperately wanted sleep to erase all of it, like it all never happened and you could wake up in the morning and forget all about it.

You turned over in your bed, taking the covers with you, with them now huddled up around you like a giant sleeping bag. You fought yourself to just go to sleep, trying not think about that horrid skull that burned into the back of your mind and then having to cross Jorden to save your own skin. Eventually, merciful sleep finally took you, giving you peace at last. For now.

A few hours into to the night and the room became brighter all of a sudden. You didn’t open your eyes yet, but you could see the black fading from behind your eye lids to a bright yellow, like some had shined a flashlight in your face.

You finally sat up and was about ready to bit the head off of whoever was doing that, until you opened your eyes.

You felt your blood turn cold as you stared at it. Again, the glowing skull was here to torment you. Now it was here in your room and floating at the lower end of your bed. This time it looked like it was carrying something, like a small rock crammed into its jaw. You didn’t take much time to find out, you screamed the next moment and ducked below the covers as your only defense. You waited a minute, then two, you poked your head out to check. Then ducked back under, seeing that it was still there.

You started to panic, shivering uncontrollably as your heart was thumping out of your skin by now. 

“Go away,” You whispered as your shook under the covers, like a child afraid of the boogie-man, only this time this was all real.  “Go away, go away. Please, please, please.”  You repeated in tears. You didn’t want to die yet. What sin have you committed to deserve to go to hell for?

 You watched the glow from under a blanket, waiting for whatever happens when the reaper takes away your soul.  You went laid still, not making even the slightest noise.

It felt like forever until you saw the glow pass across the room, then it decreased in size getting smaller and then it was dark again.

Finding your courage, you poke out your head to look around. It was just you now, laying on your bed in darkness. You laid back and signed in relief. You then turn to your nightstand and grabbed your phone from it, 3:27 AM it read.

Well, your night of peace was just screwed over, hell if you could get yourself back to sleep after that. Reaching over to the over nightstand, you grabbed the TV remote and clicked the power button.

A better idea to distract yourself, then to keep thinking about that fucking ghost thing. You flipped through channel until you found something that amused you. Maybe you’d get tired and fall back asleep with the TV on, that usually did the trick. You watch til four o’clock, then five and then six, you weren’t getting tired at all. Still, just kept watching the TV. At some point around seven o’clock, you lost consciousness and finally fell back to sleep.

4 hours later, and you finally stirred from your bed. It was one o’clock in the day and you’ve missed 4 calls, one was even from your agent. Probably wondering where the hell you where right now.  As you pulled the blankets away from you, you heard something heavy hit the round beside you. It looked like a bumpy stone from your angle.

You then retrieved it off the floor to have a closer look. You turn it over to fined a happy jack-o’-lantern grin. It was a happy jack-o’-lantern pumpkin craved in stone. Who ever made it was pretty skilled in there line of work, it had some many little details to it, it could have been an ordinary pumpkin just painted dark grey.  You saw words at the bottom.

It read…

Happy Halloween.

Far off, over the seas in the far east was a city of glowing neon signs and flicking lights. Yet the bright and colorful city could not distract from the dangers that roam the city streets and alleyways.  This city was overrun with crooks, hitmen and dealers in all sorts of illegal business. But these where all pity criminals, compared to the numerous gangs that inhabit this city.  Once at the tip-top of that chain, were the Shadow Warriors.  However, now that their leader had disappeared their gang was mostly in shambles, half of the gang had already disbanded with some going off to take part in other illegal activities or joined a different gang altogether. They didn’t even have a base to even defend themselves from rival gangs.

All that remained in the city where five guys that ran a business in dealing drugs in a rundown apartment building. As for the other half, they dwelled at Skullmageddon’s Neon fortress or either at the shrine on the countryside of China.

The five men in the city would spend most their time playing poker, drinking or whatever killed the time away until someone came knocking with a hand full of cash. Sometimes they’d have to wait days until someone came.  Their apartment room where they did their business had seen better days, much betters. The carpet had been massacred, much of it ripped out to the wood below while patches of it where strewn about the room with piles of trash that where never removed or cleaned away. The walls had been faded to grey from constant use of cigarettes and cigars, leaving the place reeking with the smell of ash. Either they where use to these conditions, or they ignored it all.

Right now, two were occupied in a game of poker. One man was one of the many members of the old gang that went by the name Abobo. They where giant hulk-like men that usually took on the work as the muscle in the gang, always charging in head first in a fight. The other man was a William, not as brave as his fellow gang member across the table, he’d rather be the one holding a bat or some sort weapon before entering the fight. Better to be smart about it, having a weapon while the enemy had nothing but their fist made it easier than playing fair.

The other men sat on a tattered old couch smoking their cigarettes while one had his nose trapped in a porno magazine.

“Bet!” The Abobo stated, releasing out a puff of smoke from his cigar as he spoke.    

“50.” William said.

The Abobo snorted. “50 bucks, what a joke.” He murmured to himself.

“I’ll call your cheap ass and raise it to 250.” He proclaimed, feeling confident with himself.

William bit at his lip, trying to hold back from looking nervous. Staring at the pile of money on the table, then to his deck of cards then back to the money. Then placed 250 down.

“Call.” William finally said, still looking down at his deck of cards. He was so fixated on them, didn’t even notice if the guy heard him or not.

“I said call.” He repeated and looked up after hearing some cards hit the floor below.

The man had dropped his deck and was staring blankly in his direction, jaw flapped open with his cigar slipping from his lips and falling in his glass of alcohol.

“What’s with you?” William ask, confused and curving and eyebrow at him. Until he saw flashing green lights from behind him, turning around to see the skull that hovered over the room.

“What the fuck is that?!” One of the men on the coach yelped out and then spring from the couch almost tripping on the end table the stood in front, covered with empty beer cans and bottles.

“Where are they!?” The skull said demandingly with a ghostly echo to his voice.

 No one spoke, they all just stared at one another with crossed looks.

“Do not play daft with me, you boneheaded dolts! Where are they!? Where are my geishas, my combat machines, my great army of Shadow Warriors!!”

William’s eyes widened with shock. He recognized the voice.

“Boss?” He uttered out, taking a small step toward the skull.

“Where are my men?!!”

The skull flashed in front of him, shouting his ear off.

“Uh, well most of them left.” One of the men said dumbly.

The skull then turned to him, glaring, perhaps ready to give him an ear-full too.

“We all thought you where dead…I mean dead, dead. As in gone, kaput, terminated.” He continued.

“After that fight with the Lee brothers, we never saw you return from that space portal. We assumed you…had been done in by them. So, we left.”

“Running away like dogs with your tails between your legs where you? If I was here right now, I’d skewer you all with my blade!”

Another man put up his hands defensively as he quivered.

“W-what where we suppose to do? We had no command in charge, we weren’t even getting enough cash to keep the gang goin’.”

 In his anger, the skull flared then thrash about the room like a lighting bug. Muttering random profanity and curses.

“Who is left then?” He said in a low growl.

“There’s us, we just stayed in the city. Some of them took the fortress, doing who’s knows what with it. Then there’s the shrine, some might be there too.” The man replied nervously.

“Then you will find them, ALL of them!” He proclaimed, “I haven’t regained enough power to bring myself back to this realm yet.”

“Uh, sure boss.”  William complied obediently, nodding his head along with the other men.

“You will tell them their master has returned to this world. And whoever refuses to pledge their allegiance to me…kill them.”