Chapter 4..... Previously on "The Mad Thwapper Saga"...... "Wait," interjected Nick. "Are you suggesting Nay may be in on this?" "I'm not suggesting anything," replied NightAngel reasonably. "But at this point isn't everybody a suspect?" Before anyone could respond there was a loud THWAP and another pained squeal eminating from the speakers in the Security cam room. The Mad Thwapper had struck yet again. NightAngel heard that familiar squeal and her heart threw an extra thump in fear. "Oh no!" She took off after the sound as Teri yelled. "Not alone, NightAngel!" ********* In rapid succession, NightAngel, then Nick, and then Elise raced out of Abra's Techworld and vanished down the corridor, leaving Castlemom Teri blistering the air with swear words. "Damndamndamndamndamn!"she snarled, wishing she had something to throw for no apparent reason.....just because. Slowly she realized she wasn't exactly alone in the room and it was probably less than appropriate for her to be exhibiting such behavior in front of a "list-baby", although no one in their right mind would ever make the mistake of censoring themselves in front of Abra more than once. She caught the surreptious look Abra tossed her out of the corner of those silver-blue eyes before the long-haired Techno-wizard buried herself discretely back in Final Fantasy IX without comment. "Nobody ever listens," grumbled the disgruntled Castlemom. "They go rushing right out there to get themselves thwapped again....Grumblemuttermumphf..." She trailed off into unintelligible mutterings while she dialed Abra's cell phone to alert Tab. She wasn't real concerned about asking Tab to go out in the halls searching for victims, since the Vaquera was notorious for her weapons knowledge and her unrivaled skill at swinging her infamous VaqBat. Teri had no doubt Tab could take care of herself. But then, she ammended to herself, she usually thought that about Vampires too but look what happened to Nick! With a sigh she hung up from recruiting Tab's assistance and quickly dialed Vachon's number. If he was in the Castle, it wouldn't hurt to warn him. He'd probably help them locate the culprit, if he thought his Vaqueras were in danger. To her surprise and consternation, the phone rang unanswered. Odd..... She tried to shake off her concern and placed Abra's phone back where she'd found it. "Abra?" she reminded the tech-noid. "The announcement?" Without missing a move, and without looking away from the huge TV screen Abra handed Teri the Intercom transmitter and the Castlemom realized that was probably the most she would get at this point. With a resigned sigh, Teri made the announcement herself, hearing her voice echoing through the halls with the ominous warning. She started to hand it back, but with a final look at the engrossed gamer, she hung it up herself and turned of the intercom system. She considered saying good-bye, but figured it was probably a wasted effort. Not that she could blame her, Teri had spent many an addicted hour lost completely in her favorite N64 games as well. She smiled at the unseeing teen and made her exit. As she headed down the hall trying to figure out where to go from here, it belatedly occurred to her that she was ignoring her own warning and was out traversing the corridors alone. Well, no help for it. She'd hurry. She ducked through a doorway that led to a hidden stairwell, one of those magical, convoluted passageways that exited impossibly on the other side of the Castle. She was closer to her own quarters now, and though it hadn't been all that long ago that she'd awakened to find El Thwapitan missing, she was tired and her head was beginning to throb. *Must be the stress* she thought to herself. She'd pop into her room for some Advil and maybe search her room again. Elise was positive that the Thwapper had used El Thwapitan on them, but that huge knot on the back of Nick's head made Teri wonder. And just maybe Vachon would be there..... But why hadn't he answered his phone? Teri opened her door and immediately knew she wasn't alone. After years of close association with Vampires one just sort of developed a sensitivity to their presence. "Vachon?" she called hopefully, moving toward the inner chambers of her quarters and away from the dangerous windows. "No' 'ardly, missy," said a voice behind her as she entered the windowless inner room. "No V-man 'ere." She leaped and squawked in startlement even as the thick Cockney accent identified the speaker. "Screed!" she snapped. "What are you doing here?" "D'ya means 'ere h'in yor flop?" queried the bald carouche. "Or jus' 'ere h'at th' Castle?" "Whatever..." answered Teri wearily. "You must be here for a reason. What do you want?" "Well," Screed answered, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Teri noticed with a sickened grimace, the little pile of rodent corpses there on the floor beside him. "H'oi was jus' lookin' fer a mite ta eat, mate, you know. This ol' Castle h'is always good fer tuckin' h'into a li'l bubble 'n' squeak. But, well.....you know tha' new fanger wot lives down th' way, she was in h'a heck ova snit. Frew me out of dicky Nicky's room an' sent me 'ere." "Oh yeah?" asked Teri. "And what were you doing *in* dicky Ni--- er.. Nick's room to begin with?" Screed answered with a noncommital shrug. "Oh, Oi owed 'im a favor, Oi did." He got an ornery grin on his face, a truly frightening sight on the carouche. "Seems 'e was 'aving a bi' ova 'rat' problem h'in 'is closey-woset." "Umm-hmmm." Understanding dawned as Teri put things together. "So Elise wasn't kidding. It *was* you who was terrorizing the Knighties and set off NightAngel into the murderous rage that ended up with a splinter embedded in her hand." "Wot-evah," echoed Screed. "So, how about doing something useful for a change?" asked Teri. "Loike wot?" "There's a maniac running around the Castle thwapping innocent people. How about keeping an eye out and seeing if you can help spot this person before somebody else gets hurt?" Screed's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Wot's h'in it fer me?" "Oh, I don't know. A sense of well-being? Knowing you're doing the Castle a service? And by the way, vampires aren't completely immune from this one. Nick was hurt pretty bad. Apparently this fiend used wood or something...." She noticed that the carouche didn't seem all that concerned about what had happened to the detective. "And now I've tried to call Vachon and he's not answering his phone. I hope nothing's happened to him." she admitted quietly. If Screed valued Vachon's friendship as much as she thought he did, maybe that would raise his curiosity about the Thwapper. Instead of taking the bait, though, Screed just smirked. "Well, now..... 'e probbedly would 'ave answered h'it iffen 'e could find h'it." "Screed! What did you do?" "Me? Wot makes yew think Oi 'ad h'anything ta do wif h'it?" Screed met her unblinking stare for a few minutes. When it was obvious she wasn't backing down he shrugged again. "Oh, 'e'll be awright. 'E should be able ta find h'it easy enuff. Oi jus' needed a li'l pocket change." "You stole his phone and sold it???" she asked incredulously. "Oh geez! Some friend you are! Hey...."she had another thought."You haven't had El Thwapitan recently have you?" Maybe she should be checking flea markets for it! "No. Oi can't see much ova market fer malenki rubber polo mallets." "Well, it was a thought." She sighed again and wished the Advil she'd just taken would hurry up and start working. "Listen, if I get 'Nay's approval to ...um....'hire' you as Castle surveillance temporarily, d'you think you could help us out? You can see in the shadows where the security cams can't." "Oi moight consider h'it," agreed the carouche willingly enough. "Fine. Now if I can just find 'Nay." Teri turned and headed back toward the door, but stopped and looked back. "Oh, and..... before you leave? Don't forget to clean THAT up." Screed looked at the indicated pile of rat bodies without comment. Once again ignoring her own orders, Teri spun on her heel and left the safety of her room. ****** Another Strike....by Castlebrat The figure couldn't believe its luck. Two victims right in a row, how lucky could one person get? But still the figure continued to skulk silently through the castle halls. Who knows, perhaps it would run into yet another person foolish enough to wander the halls alone. Turning the corner the figure stopped in its tracks.... Was that TERI walking alone in the halls? And even after making that announcement about not walking alone. Leave it to a castle listmom to not listen to her own warning. The figure was not about to pass up the chance to thwap another castle listmom. Slowly it began to follow the preoccupied listmother. Must be patient and wait till the best spot to make an attack. It wasn't long before the perfect place came along. THWAP! The thwapper had struck again. And again all that was left of the attack was the echo of an evil BWAHAHAHA!! ********* By GersGal The Thwapper then heard another sound that was left from the attack....a shrill scream from a poor innocent listmommie that had fallen victim because she was distracted due to her concern for her listbabies and the resident vamps! From a distant area of the castle, gersgal heard her listmommie's scream. Armed with her arsenal, gersgal began to run toward her listmommie's screams........ ********* by Teri "OUCH!!!!" Teri stumbled in surprise at the unexpected strike, tripping over her own feet and sprawling in an undignified heap on the stone floor. Nothing was really hurt except her pride, and of *course* there would be a couple Castle ghosts hovering nearby to giggle over her ungainly somersault. Of course. You never fall down if no one's watching! She rubbed the back of her head and pouted, sitting there on the cool stone and grumbling to herself. "HEY!!!!" she suddenly shouted, spooking the ghosts into fleeing into the shadows. "I'd recognize that thwap anywhere! THAT WAS EL THWAPITAN!!!" ******* by GersGal ~gersgal came to a sliding halt beside her listmommie and held out her hand to help her listmommie up. "We absolutely must stick together", gersgal told Mommie Teri, "And we simply must disarm this mad thwapper and return El Thwapitan to it's rightful owner!" Mommie Teri could barely control her laughter as she surveyed gersgal's getup. Gersgal looked like something out of a Rambo movie, complete with hand grenades, guns, sherikins, nunchucks, ammo, extremely sharp razor blades, an armored tank, a guillotine, and other various weapons of war and torture. "Uh,...gersgal", Mommie Teri's voice was shaking as she tried even harder to keep from bursting out laughing, "Don't you think you are overdoing things just a bit?" "Of course not!", gersgal replied with a very serious look on her face, "Remember, the mad thwapper hurt Nick!!!!!" "Ahem", Mommie Teri cleared her throat, "Before you bring down Armageddon upon the mad thwapper, perhaps we should go find the rest of the listbabies?" "Good idea!", gersgal agreed with her listmommie, as temporarily Mommie Teri was successful in diverting gersgal's attention from her much sought after revenge.......... Mommie Teri was secretly relieved that the only weapons in the castle were harmless ones, made of rubber, foam, and the like. Mommie Teri then began to wonder if in fact gersgal had acquired her arsenal from the castle, or somewhere else?!?!?!?!?!?!? ********by Teri Teri was very grateful that GersGal cared enough to come rushing to her aid, and was more than a little touched. To think that she'd come out of her way, abandoning (albeit temporarily) her vengeful quest on Nick's behalf? Mind-boggling! Teri tried not to giggle again as Rambette purposefully strode forward, her impressive looking Machine gun held in front of her like some guerrilla freedom-fighter. The List-mom was thanking her lucky stars that Tab had evidently steered the vengeful one away from the *real* arsenals and led her to the Castle displays of costume weaponry. Just the thought of a real gun with real bullets in those determined hands frightened Teri to her very core! They silently crept down the corridor together, Teri sticking close behind GersGal, and both keeping their eyes peeled for any suspicious looking characters. Suddenly from out of nowhere came a blast of eerily cold air and a whispy form materialized right in front of them. Teri yelped and GersGal jumped nearly out of her skin, her hands tightening convulsively on the trigger. The weapon spat quite an impressive round of realistic sounding bullets, peppering the opposite wall (and the hapless ghost) with a gazillion foam rubber projectiles. The new arrival merely sighed reproachfully and gazed mournfully down at its perforated mistiness while it waited for them to regain their composure. Once it decided their nerves had calmed as much as it could hope for, it chose to speak. "Youuuuu seeeeeeek one whooooo damagesssssss othersssss?" It was difficult for the mortals to make out its whispery, gravelly voice. Teri shook off the trembly shudders that the sound gave her and tried to concentrate on its words. "Therrrrrrrre arrrrrrrre twoooooooooooooooooo whoooooooo waaaalk the hallsssssssssssssss......not farrrrrrrrrr. One followsssssssssssssss..... ssssssssilently..... watchiinnnng......." "You saw someone following someone else? Was it the Thwapper??" The ghost shrugged, or tried to with what passes for shoulders on a non-corporeal entity. "Soooooomeone followsssssssss anotherrrrrrr......" "Can you tell us where?" asked Gersgal, ready to race off in whatever direction was indicated. The ghost looked pointedly at the weapon still clutched tightly in GersGal's hands and drifted off down the hallway a short distance before turning its eerie eye-sockets back to her and Mommie-Teri. "Follooooooowwww....." came the raspy reply. "Follooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww...." GersGal and Mommie-Teri exchanged nervous looks and GersGal visibly gulped, tightening her grip on the gun. The two slowly set off after their semi- transparent friend, both wondering what....or who.... they'd find when they reached their destination. ********* Elise's Choice..... by NightAngel NightAngel followed Elise (who still was under the vamp's whammy) for a short while as the mortal made her way to her room. Reaching the stairs that lead to the Knightie's living quarters, she decided that Elise was safe enough and started to her own room (recently moved to the under construction Vaq wing since the Knighties wouldn't let her sleep). NightAngel, against her better judgement, headed back alone to change clothes and get ready for work. (After all, she was still in her nightgown.) Elise took a few steps toward the stairs and then turned back as the compulsion lifted slightly and she thought she heard a thwap. She shook her head, and started upstairs toward the sound. *** Her mind was fuzzy as she headed up the separate flight of stairs and across to Nay's bedroom. *This isn't my room. Maybe it's through that door over there.* She shrugged and continued into the bedroom and through the adjoining door to another's private quarters. The room was empty and the bed very large and inviting. *I seem to have gotten lost...* She had a three bears moment as NightAngel's whammy suddenly reinforced itself and she felt exhausted. *I have to sleep...* A moment of clarity hit her as she dragged her weary body across the inviting bed and wrapped her arms around a pillow in comfort. *Nay won't mind if I use her bed for a time. It's quiet and I know she's off somewhere fighting with that silly laptop. I'll just take a 15 minute nap...* *** NightAngel walked through the darkened hallway toward the Vaq wing, when she felt her slight connection with Elise fade. The stubborn woman resisted her influence, so she pushed into her fragile link with the mortal and forced her vampire will on the weakened mind. *Sleep. You need to sleep...* The reinforcement took hold and NightAngel felt the mortal's final anxiety lift as she dropped off to sleep. Elise was looking far too pale for her own good, donating to Nick on an almost nightly basis had her so anemic that she was nearly at death's door. *She needs to sleep for a while. Maybe it will wake her up to the danger that she's been exposing herself to.* A few turns along the way and NightAngel was in her room. *** LaCroix was in his private bath enjoying the warmth of the sauna when he heard his bedroom door open and close, and a mortal heartbeat. *Not Renee... Rhythm's not as it should be...* He scented an unusual perfume in the blood that had crossed his threshold and got out of the tub, shutting off the jets and pulling the plug. "This should be interesting." He mumbled as he dried off and reached for his bathrobe. *** Elise was fast asleep on LaCroix's bed, dreaming of her last encounters with Nick. She had begged him to bring her across (although many believed that she was crying because he wouldn't feed from her this last time, Nick had told her that he wouldn't damn her into his existence). That was why she stormed off in tears, and now as they dampened LaCroix's pillow, the memories haunted her. /FLASHBACK TO EARLIER IN EVENING/ "Nicholas, please. I made my decision. I want to come across!" Elise stood tall, trying to show that she was ready for this choice. They had talked about it numerous times. He had even sent her to NightAngel, the newest vampiress in the castle, trying to show her that immortality wasn't a big thrill. It was a hardship that made you an outcast. "Elise, I know you care for me, and I care for you, but I can't damn you to this existence. I wanted to show you what it's like to be a vampire to wake you up, not bring you across. I thought you'd have understood-" "Understood what? Living forever? Seeing cultures evolve and change? Loving forever?" She fought back the tears to no avail. "Please. Bring me across..." /PRESENT/ LaCroix sat on the edge of his bed listening to the rapid patter of Elise's heartbeat. "Please... Bring me across..." The mumbled words forced a smile to his lips. She had been dogging his son for weeks to come across, and Nicholas wouldn't oblige her. The General pushed back the sleeve on his robe to expose his wrist and contemplated the options. "She said she wants to come across... Well my pale friend. Your wish will be granted shortly." *** Elise felt herself being pulled from the sadness of her memories with a sharp prick at her throat. The pain instantly faded and she felt cold foreign memories flow through her. *Not Nick's.. Then whose?* A flash of an Egyptian tomb and a sickle flooded her mind and just as suddenly faded to black as the warmth caressed her into death. *** Elise's heart was nearly stopped when LaCroix forced himself from her and his fangs pierced his wrist. "Drink from me, little one. You will get your wish." The blood flowed slowly into Elise as she lay, pale and near death. Her heart slowed even further as LaCroix waited for her to swallow his gift to her. *** *It's warm here.* The desert sands felt warm beneath her bare feet and the sun beat upon her head and back. A doorway stood in the distance, but it seemed only a few steps before she faced a hooded figure. "You must choose. Your life, as you know it, ended tonight at the hand of another. You can follow me into the light, or return to the darkness." "Just like Nicholas' memory of his death. I've seen this place before..." The reality of her situation set in. "Ohmygaw... No.." She felt a moment of panic as she stood on the threshold of life and death. "Choose!" The robed figure stated as the doorway it stood in grew brighter. "The light, or the darkness." *** It seemed to be forever before Elise took her first swallow, but it had only been seconds. Now she had a death grip on her maker's - her *Master's* - wrist, and fed from his veins until he no longer permitted it. "Hungry..." A groan fell from her lips and LaCroix supplied her with the first of four bottles of the Raven's finest stock he hid in his room for just such an emergency. *** She remembered drinking until she was full. The wine was full-bodied and lush, with a wonderful bouquet - a very unusual one. It smelled familiar, and yet she knew it was much more pleasant now than it was a few hours ago. The first hunger fog lifted from her mind as she set down the last half of the bottle and glanced at it. The Raven's logo stared back at her and she realized what she had just imbibed so rapidly. Her gaze lifted from the green glass to the face she dreaded worse than anything. LaCroix sat next to her on the bed smirking at her ever so slightly. "Welcome to the nightshift, Elise. We will have a wonderful lifetime together, I'm sure." Elise bolted upright and scooted toward the headboard as she let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Noooooooo!!!!" NightAngel (at Elise's request) :)= Welcome to the dark side... ********* To Be continued.....