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Winning Entry: The War Against Dracula

A story by Ash Ketchum ( @mypikachuwillneverevolve ), Serena Gabena ( @serenaofvaniville ), and Clemont Curie ( @this-blog-will-not-explode ).

~~~

It all started in a deep, dark forest!

The forest was often known as the Woods of No Return because it marked the lost trail to the castle of one of the most powerful monsters in the world, Count Dracula himself! And the trail was being followed by a team of three brave heroes set to finally end the millennia long war that the vampires had raised by using human as their unsuspecting cattle.

There was Sir Ashton the Noble, an esteemed pro monster hunter of his time, packed with a team of expert companions especially trained for taking on the supernatural lead by his second in command, Pikachu the Brave.

There was Dr. Mechanical, a reformed mad scientist with skills in understanding the balance between life and death as well as capturing and destroying things beyond the physical realm with his powerful extra robotic arm.

And then there was Serene the Magician. She was skilled in potions and the mystical arts and broomstick riding! She joined the team to get revenge on Dracula for killing her mother and trainer 5,000 years ago. She keeps herself eternally young with magic and potions.

Humanity had been at war with Dracula for centuries, and had finally turned the tide in their favour. However… the fiendish vampire was content to keep his livestock, as he viewed them, in line.

He needed to make a grand demonstration of his power over his herd.

So, he fortified his stronghold, and began construction on a weapon of unimaginable destructive power… one that could wipe out whole cultures and swaths of humanity…

To cull the herd… as he called them… until they fell into line and realized their resistance was futile, and that the life they had lived in ages past under his shadow was preferable to annihilation…

And the sad part was…

Dr. Mechanical had a secret… and he was willing to do anything to not only save his fellow man… but to protect it as well…

The forest was one of the first defenses against intruders to Dracula’s fortress. Walls were one thing, but the denizens of the forest were another. Mythical creatures that Dr. Mechanical had never deigned to dream of… but that was why she was here…

She knew of all their greatest weaknesses. She could help them traverse the woods without falling prey to Dracula’s minions!

The creatures in the forest were the same as any ordinary Pokémon you might find, but they had their hearts locked up by Dracula’s evil magic!

They were always attacking wildly and without any remorse!

But Serene knew that the secret to getting past a horde of wild, vicious, heartless Pokémon was by getting past their sense of smell. So she sprayed the three of them with a magic cologne that completely made them invisible to the noses of the Pokémon. Even the largest, most powerful Heracross couldn’t manage to notice them!

The bushes rattled with the movements of Pokémon around them. A huge Diggersby leapt out!

"Look out!" Ashton screamed as he drew his Slayer’s Sword almost on instinct.

The Diggersby saw the glint of moonlight off of Ashton’s sword and leapt directly towards him!

"Sir Ashton! Watch out!" cried Serene.

He rolled out of the way and blocked one of the fierce attacks by holding his sword out as a shield. Pikachu jumped to his back to keep the other one busy. “Augh! I thought you said they couldn’t see us!” He grunted.

"I said they couldn’t smell us!" she replied. She glanced towards Dr. Mechanical. "Do you have a plan, Doctor?"?

Dr. Mechanical’s glasses glinted in the moonlight and he let out a devious chuckle, “I always have a plan, my lady magician! Time for science to push our way through this forest! Mechanical Gear On!”

Wobbling slightly at first, the steam engine on his back hissed to life and his arm began to move back and forth, plucking the diggersby from Ash’s grasp. The arm wound around and around until it threw the angry rabbit into the bushes, colliding with a nasty “thunk” against the nearby tree.

Ashton was breathing heavily as Pikachu came back. “Thanks for that…”

Dr. Mechanical let out a laugh the robotic arm switched from its mechanical hand to a large saw blade and he told his companions, “I think we’ve been discovered, we’ll have to cut the way to the castle for our time will now be surely limited!”

He began slicing his way through the vegetation.

"Are you alright, Sir Ashton?" Serene reached into her bag for a magic potion. "We must make haste behind the doctor." She handed him the potion. "This should restore your strength. Please drink it."

He looked at the bubbling syrup suspiciously before popping the lid open and drinking it. “Sometimes being a normal human is weird…” He mumbled. "Pikachu." Pikachu agreed.

Then they followed right behind the others quickly.

Dr. Mechanical’s device, while noisy, managed to get them through the dense throrn thickets of the woods, while having to fend off a few minor attacks from the mal-content pokemon of the forest until they finally beheld the long steep road leading up the mountainside to Dracula’s Castle.

"… Ugh… that’s quite the climb… I don’t think I have the lung capacity for this…"

"Can’t you just use something else in that crazy machine of yours to fly us up there?" Ashton asked.

"Leave this to me!" Serene stepped forward.

She stepped forward and clasped her hands together. “Accorde-moi des ailes et fuyons!” Suddenly, a pair of huge, glowing wings appeared on her back! “Grab on, you two!” She offered them both a hand.

Dr. Mechanical, if somewhat hesitantly, took her left hand.

Sir Ashton was skeptical. “Uhh…what if we’re too heavy?”

Serene smiled reassuringly. “It’s magic, m’lord. You won’t be too heavy.”

Ashton shrugged. “That answer works for me.” He tightly clasped her hand just in case.

Face flushing slightly, Serene flapped her wings and took off into the sky, holding Dr. Mechanical and Sir Ashton as she soared up the mountainside. She gracefully flew up to the top and landed safely, gently setting down the noble monster hunter and the good doctor.

They now found themselves standing before the great gate that lead into Dracula’s castle. A huge, wooden drawbridge was their next obstacle.

Also, Serene’s spell ended, and the magical wings disappeared.

"Thank you, My Lady Magician," Dr. Mechanical said. "I think I can help us breach the castle’s outer defenses… though… My Good Sir Swordsman… you should be aware that the moment that bridge comes down, there will be a multitude for us to battle ahead. Are you ready?"

His eyes widened in interest to that. “…How do they know we’re here??”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, “They’ll know once I lower the drawbridge since they’re on lockdown currently while he finishes the ultimate weapon!”

"Alright!" He drew out a sword as Pikachu jumped down next to him in an attacking stance. "What’s the plan then?"

Dr. Mechanical’s glasses lit up once again, “I’ll need you and My Lady Magician to hold them on the bridge, keep them lined up as narrow as you can so you are not overwhelmed by numbers. If you fight them one by one, their numbers will count for nothing. In the meantime, I’ll use my Mechanical gear to dislodge the hinges for one end of the drawbridge such that it will tip over at an opportune moment, dumping them all into the Feraligatr infested waters of the moat below! It will take me some time though, they are well crafted…”

"I am sure a warrior as skilled and experienced as Sir Ashton and his partner are will find these creatures to be no threat." Serene boasted. "I will assist him in any way I can with my magic." She looked to Ashton. "I am ready when you are."

Ashton smiled at Serene and held his sword up for combat. “Let’s go!”?

Dr. Mechanical looked to them as they readied themselves at where the drawbridge was slated to land. He nodded and pressed a button, hearing the whistling of his steam powered gear activate. The arm extended to lengths that strained even his technology, but in the end, his arm managed to cut the chains holding the drawbridge up. It lowered with a sickeningly loud crash and pounded the dirt in front of them.

Almost instantly, a horde of angered monsters, charged across the drawbridge, screaming and growling and roaring all the while. Serene began chanting a spell, her hands clasped together. Sir Ashton leapt forward as soon as the bridge lowered and pushed the monsters back by forming a line like the doctor had requested. He would knock one monster into another one and release Pikachu to round up the ones that made it out of the line. He was using the warriors in the front as a shield to guard himself and the rest of the team from the other monsters but he was also trying to give Serene space to channel her powers. Ashton may have been VERY skillful at fighting the supernatural but every good monster hunter knows it’s best to fight fire with fire.

"How long do ya think that’ll take to charge?" He called back to Serene.

Dr. Mechanical was currently using his robotic arm to unscrew bolt after bolt on one end of the drawbridge. Already, the sway of the bridge was beginning to show as each monster pushed its way onto it.

"Give me another minute, my good sir swordsman! I’ll have these beasts done for in good time! But we need to make sure the majority are on the bridge, else we will have a good number to contend with in the courtyard beyond. Dracula is nothing if not single-minded, and he hopes to obliterate us by sending all his demonic minions against us in one fell swoop…"

He chuckled beneath his breath, “And that will be his downfall…”

She smiled at Sir Ashton, her eyes flickering like blue flames.

"O flammes de l’enfer , amener à eux la colère du seigneur du feu … Mur de Feu !"

And fight fire with fire she did. A trail of flames erupted from the ground and snaked it’s way from Serene towards the monsters. As it pushed between Sir Ashton and the horde, it flared up, creating a wall of flames that pushed the monsters back and away, towards the side of the drawbridge, where Dr. Mechanical’s plan would send them into the drink. The Flame Wall kept the creatures corralled there. “Now, Doctor!” Steam continued to flare out of his backpack until the point where it began to scorch the back of his neck. Regardless, he pressed in his task until at last, the final bolt for the far corner of the drawbridge withdrew from its home.

The drawbridge let out a contentious groan of wood and steel as it tipped down suddenly. Flinging many mosters into the moat immediately, while the rest clawed frantically as they slide down to meet the same fate.

Dr. Mechanical smiled, almost letting out a maniacal laugh as he once did a while ago.

But those were different days. Not the days of laughter anymore.

He was here with determined purpose.

"Ok… now that most of them have been dispatched, I’ll repair the bridge with all haste, take a moment to breath. We may have defeated the bulk of his forces, but Dracula has much more to offer us in terms of the trials ahead!"

Serene noticed the burn on the Doctor’s neck as Ashton and Pikachu regrouped from the fighting. She took a healing ointment and rubbed it on the back of his neck. “Thank you for your assistance, Doctor,” she said with a kind smile. “I know not your quarrel with Dracula, but it is good to have you along side us.”

Ashton raised a fist. “I’m here to make Dracula pay for trying to rule over humans. We’re not gonna let him just get away with this!”

Pikachu nodded. “Pika pika!”

Serene’s eyes clouded as she put her ointment away. “I am here because the fiend Dracula slayed my Mother, the sorceress Gracia. I am going to avenge her and slay the fiend.”

Dr Mechanical elected to stay silent for a moment, adding to his companions reasons, “I am here to right a wrong gone far too long. And to protect… to protect.” he finished though his eyes looked distant as he spoke. He steam engine on his back jolted and he looked up to see the robot arm had finished its job, and the drawbridge had been secured and leveled for their use once more.

He drew in a deep breath and stepped forward, “We must make haste… the weapon is nearly complete. And he will destroy everything and everyone he needs to… just to ensure that humanity is beneath his heel for all time. And the first to die… we can’t let it happen!”

In a surprising display, Dr. Mechanical lunged forward in a determined, if slightly sluggish run.

Serene and Ashton watched the Doctor head forward, looked to each other, nodded, and then followed behind him as he headed into Dracula’s castle and the first of the trials before the Fiendlord himself.

Just inside the castle was a large stone door, blocking the steps that would lead higher still into the castle. And standing in front of that stone door was a creature that was half-Tauros, half human… the Minotaur, a brute of strength, and one of Dracula’s enforcers.

The Minotaur snorted. “I thought I should stay behind and wait for the tasty humans to come and play. If you want to get to Lord Dracula, you have to get by me!”

Sir Ashton drew his blade once again as Pikachu took an offensive stance. “We won’t let you or anyone else stand in our way!” He charged the creature with his sword, and Pikachu charged as well. The Minotaur easily smacked them aside, and they slid across the ground.

Serene rushed over to their side. “Are you alright, m’lord? That creature seems to be sheer physical strength! Perhaps we should outthink it rather than outmuscle it…”

Dr. Mechanical put a finger to his chin, and then shouted to him, “Hey! You remember me, right!”

The beast turned to the scientist and snorted, “You… what are you doing here….”

"I’m sure that Dracula would bestow great rewards on the one who captured me after I…"

He looked to Sir Ashton and Serene and hesitated, but went on vaguely, “…after I did what I did. So… aren’t you going to try and claim it?”

The minotaur let out a loud boistrous laugh, cupping the massive cudgel in its hands, “Hmmm…. I bet I could get twenty dinners for giving you to the master…” He advanced on Dr. Mechanical, turning his back to Serene and Ashton, “Come here little man… I’m going to string you up and serve you to our lord… one way or another… don’t make this difficult.”

As the beast advanced on Dr. Mechanical with alarming speed, his eyes grew wide in terror as he realized his plan was working… perhaps a little too well. He turned to flee, using his robot arm to fling errant rocks strewn about the courtyard to little effect other than to antagonize the beast.

Serene’s eyes widened as the minotaur charged their companion. Quickly she began chanting another spell. “Pouvoirs du gel , froid de l’air et la terre gèlent! Glaciate!” Extending a hand outward, a chill wind blew past the Minotaur and the ground beneath him frosted over with ice. The minotaur’s feet slipped out from under him and he crashed into the ground.

"Ashton! Lay the finishing blow on him!"

Without another thought Ashton leapt forward toward the beast with one blow toward the floor and the fight was done. He tried to catch his breath soon afterward.?

Dr Mechanical haunched over, catching his breath as he saw the beast felled behind him.

"Thanks guys… that … was a little too close…" he motioned to the impact crater of his cudgel right behind him.

"Thank goodness…" Serene took a breath. "That was a close call." Her attention turned toward the heavy stone door. "But what now? How do we proceed?"

"Anytime." Ashton admitted with a nod before readjusting his gaze to meet the stone door. "We could…blow it up."

Dr. Mechanical looked to the door and shook his head, “It’s the second trial. The first was the guardian itself, the second is the barrier you see before you.”

He motioned to the grab slap of stone before them blocking their way, “We need someone whose heart is untainted by their true purpose. Either destined for the greatest good, or the greatest evil.”

His gaze fell as he said the words.

Serene’s gaze also fell. “My purpose… is vengeance…” she admitted to herself. But she looked up, her eyes meeting Sir Ashton’s. “…But you, m’lord, are here only for the benefit of humankind, correct? You are the one who’s heart is pure enough to open the path forward.”

"What does that mean?? How do I know if my heart’s untainted?" He looked forward confused. "And even if it IS me how am I supposed to get past THAT?! …Do I tackle it?"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu added.

Dr. Mechanical stood beside the door and motioned to it.

"You need only touch it. If you are indeed worthy of it, one way or the other, it will open to you."

"What if I’m not? Will it lit me on fire or something? And how do you know about all these booby traps anyway?"

Serene’s attention was drawn by that question. “…M’lord makes an interesting point. How are you aware of these traps, Doctor?”

Dr. Mechanical let out a short laugh, shaking his head, “It’s…. trust me. If you’re not worthy, it won’t do anything. It wont’ stir, it won’t cause you any ill will. It’s sole purpose is to keep others out, or others in…”

?11?:?26? ?PM He looked to Serene with a half worried look, “I… uh.. well… I knew that there would be many defenses in place… so… I did plenty of research. Visited the most reliable repetoires and libraries and pored over endless tomes… yes…”

Ash shrugged. “That makes sense to me I guess.”

"Pikachu!"

Serene looked to the Doctor and nodded, her eyes showing her worry. Still, there were more important matters. “The door, Sir Ashton.” She took a few steps closer to him and waited.

"Yeah…the door…" He remembered as he looked at its large intimidating presence. "Well…here goes…" And much to his own surprise the boy who fought monsters for a living was able to move the stone away from him like it was made of fragile ice and his face showed surprise every step of the way. "Woah…"

"Chuu?"

Serene smiled. “You are indeed worthy, Sir Ashton. As if you were Chosen for this very calling.” She held up a hand and a small flame appeared. “It’s very dark higher in the tower. Allow me to lead the way.” She looked to the doctor, then to Ashton, her eyes lingering on him for a moment, before she began climbing the stairs.

Dr. Mechanical followed in the rear as Serene led them and Ashton took the middle. He looked about worried for the group as they crept forward through the long spiral staircase until at last, they found its end and a large runed door stood in their way, it’s sigils’ glowing in alternating colourations.

The scientist let out a deep sigh and told them, “This… I’ve never been able to understand… it’s magic beyond my comprehension. Only a skilled mage can manipulate it, and Dracula himself is one such being who has this ability…”

"It looks like a door to me…" Ashton commented.

"This is…" Serene let out a gasp. Her eyes studied the door closely. "This is my mother’s handiwork."

"Your mother?" Ashton asked. "Didn’t she die forever ago or something?? Are you sure it’s from her????"

She approached the door and held a glowing hand up towards the door. “…it is not entirely her work. Clearly the Fiendlord’s malefic power has changed it a bit. But I recognize my mother’s spellweave.”

She looks back at Ashton. “My mother was slain by Dracula. The monster must have stolen the enchantment from her before she could finish it.”

The doctor cocked his glasses forward as he inspected the door, “The dark lord has a habit of appropriating others’ work… of this I’m sure…”

He backed up nervously at the thought. “Heh heh…you can…steal enchantments?”?

Serene held up both hands to the door. “I believe I can unravel the enchantment. But beyond this door is likely the Fiendlord himself, since it would take a high caliber magician to manipulate it. We must be prepared.” She looks to her companions. “Are you ready?”

Dr Mechanical nodded to Serene, a determined look on his face, “Ready…”

"Now…w-wait a minute!" Ashton began. "Don’t we need some sort of a plan first?"?

"I won’t be able to prepare a spell immediately since I will have just opened the door," Serene explained. "Our first move is either yours or the doctor’s."

"I mean you’ve got a coat of magic around you and he’s got his super mechanical arm…but all I need is an arrow to the knee and I’m a goner!"

He drew his sword to his side slowly. “I’m no good to anyone dead.”

Serene smiled and approached him slowly. “You are a brave and true warrior, Sir Ashton.” She smiled and reached into her cloak, taking out a amulet. “Take this, m’lord. It… was my mother’s. She entrusted it to me for my protection before I left on a training journey… and now, I entrust it to you. It will keep you safe.”

He took the item and looked over it carefully. “…Does it make me invisible or something?”

"Trust in it," she said. "It will shield you." She gave him a gentle smile.

The doctor looked apprehensively to the door, “We must make haste, the device could be finished at any moment…”

"Alright…" Ashton began, readying his sword and Pokémon again. "I’m ready when you are."

Serene hummed a few bars to herself and then began to sing. As she did, she began to strum the air in front of her as if it were a harp. The door began to glow, and it seemed that the runes began to fly off of it as the song continued. Beautiful music filled the air, and the lights danced all around them.

As the song reached it’s conclusion, the door began to open…

Ashton took a few steps back. He was more than ready to attack and he felt safer with the amulet but because of his more vulnerable state in the group he was still cautious of possible ambushes.

The Doctor stepped through the threshold first, cautiously, his arm probing forward in an attempt to ward off would be guards seeking to ambush them.

Yet… they entered a completely empty, desolate throne room.

Well… almost desolate…

At one end sat an opulent blood red throne, at the other, leading outward to an extravagant balcony overlooking the pitch black night outside, was a large, steel device that resembled a canon, only lit with a great many blinking lights.

Dr. Mechanical paused and muttered to himself, “Why isn’t anyone working on it… it was nowhere near finished…”

Despite his whisper, his voice managed to echo in the room, allowing Ashton and Serene to hear before a loud, deep laugh boomed from behind them.

The runed door slammed shut of its own accord and from behind the velvet drapes lining the throne, he appeared.

The Fiendlord, draped in black and red, his sharp and wicked features glaring at them, “I would think you’d learned to not underestimate me… old friend…”

His voice.. and his stare were levied directly on the Doctor.

Serene let out a gasp. “You… you were his accomplice, Doctor? You willingly assisted the Fiendlord?!” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She felt nearly faint as she steadied herself on Ashton’s Shoulder.

Ashton held her up closely as he backed into a corner with his sword drawn and Pikachu at his side. A corner was the absolute best spot a warrior could go during an ambush as it assures him that there will be no attacks from the rear or most sides. Anything that came toward him would be forced to approach his vision and Ashton was counting on it as his eyes continued to scan the dark room in search of the mysterious voice. He only acknowledged the words a little bit. “Doctor, what’s going on here?”?

Another low, rumbling laugh made it’s way across the room as the Dark Fiend tread down the steps from his throne, completely ignoring Ashton and Serene and advancing in the Doctor who recoiled slightly and drew back towards the machine.

"Yes… Doctor… tell them. Tell them of how you hid your failings and crimes against humanity. Tell them how you planned to help me subjugate your fellows simply so that you could be spared their fate. Tell them… just how wretched a creature you are. A betrayer who betrayed his own grayed principles by committing yet another betrayal."

He turned his wicked gaze towards Serene and Ashton and bore a fanged grin, “The creature that led you here was once mine. And he did so… not at my bidding perhaps… but at my manipulation. I needed to bring you both here to eradicate you… the one who fights for and would lead humanity to victory… and the daughter of the one whose magics I have mastered. Both of you… at the head of an army… could destroy me. But alone… here… you are worthless.”

He turned his satisfied gaze back to Dr. Mechanical, “And it’s all because this cretin feared for the life of the only human idiotic enough to show him compassion… and the threat of her life being wiped away…”

He let out another cruel laugh, his acidic words drawing over the doctor like a shadow “Your betrayal was merely an orchestration set in motion by me… and it worked… perfectly.”

Ashton wasn’t really paying attention to most of what he was saying. Instead he slowly slipped a hand into his backpack as the monster kept monologuing and he handed a clover of garlic to both Serene and Pikachu.

With the third clover he buried the tip of his sword in the foul smelling plant and prepared for attack.

Serene took the garlic and immediately recognized the use. She crushed the clove in her hand and placed it in her cloak.

"I don’t really know what’s going on…" Ashton admitted "but I know who’s going down!" And he lunged at the vampire king with a ready battle cry as his sword aimed straight for the monster’s back.

"Sir Ashton!" Serene cried out.

The Vampire felt the presence of the noxious wafting over as Ashton advanced, quickly grabbing hold of the cowering, whimpering Doctor and spinning around, putting him directly in the path of his sword.

"Ah ah ah…" Dracula taunted, "Even a vile traitor like this has … some value to you. You cherish all human life do you not?" Dracula’s sharp nails dug into Dr. Mechanical’s neck, and he squirmed anxiously.

"I… I’m sorry… Sir Ashton… Lady Serene… I… wanted to right my wrongs… I … I didn’t realize… this was his plan…"

Dracula’s toothy grin widened at the words of his once colleague now turncoat as he dragged him back to the device, “You see… even after you fled… the device was nearly complete… and all it took… was a bit of HER mother’s magic to enhance it beyond anything you could have ever dreamed up. Science is potent… but alongside magic… that is TRUE power. And you’ll see it demonstrated as I use it to destroy the village of that dainty little lady you love so much. As is the price of betrayal…”

Suddenly, pure anger seemed to rush into the Doctor’s eyes and he clicked a button on his surcoat, causing a jet of hot steam from the gear on his back to blast the face of the vampire causing him to slam back into the device as Dr. Mechanical dove out of the way in desperation, turning to face his former master with a deadly glare.

Sir Ashton backed up along side the doctor with his sword still drawn. “Ha! Serves you right! You’re telling me you used to work with this guy but you didn’t even know his mechanic parts are all attached to his back?! Holding the enemy’s sword against your throat is the sure sign of a poor warrior!” He held his stance in front of the doctor before the vampire. “Don’t worry Doctor! When we’re done here he won’t be harming anyone!”?

Serene stepped forward. “You… you blackmailed the Doctor into leading us here…? You threatened his loved ones…” Her eyes narrowed, staring at Dracula. The images of her mother’s death once again began flashing in her head. “You killed my mother and stole her artes…” Her eyes settled on Ashton for a moment. “…and you dare threaten Sir Ashton and myself?!” Her emotions began to rage. Waves of magical energy began to pulse off of her. “I will end you.”

She looked to Ashton. “I need to borrow Pikachu’s strength for a moment for a spell. May I?”

"What…what do you mean?" he was confused.

"It’s an electrical spell," she explained. "I need to borrow his power."

"Ask him. Not me!" Ashton shouted.

She looked at Pikachu. “Will you assist me, Pikachu the Brave?”

The small rodent had been keeping close to the ground most of this fight and surprisingly had uttered no electric attacks as of yet but he nodded surely to her. “Pi-Pikachu!”?

"It will take some time to prepare the spell. I will need the two of you to keep him at bay and prevent him from triggering his device." Serene said as she picked Pikachu up.

The doctor nodded as he looked to Ashton, “I do not expect your forgiveness, my good sir swordsman, but in this dire hour, I ask of you to fight with me… to aid me in atoning for sins that I will yet still pay for after all this is done…”

Ashton handed the scientist a large wooden stake with a cheeky grin. “Hit him with your best shot!”

The doctor smiled at Ashton and gave another nod, “I’ll do my best… I need to do better, I must do better…”

"Have at thee!" The hunter exclaimed as he held his sword outward toward the monster without so much as moving from his position. They began staring each other down.?

Serene began to levitate Pikachu before her. “I dwell amidst the abounding light of heaven…” Her incantation began, and Pikachu began to glow.?

As the vampire’s attention was diverted onto Ashton, the doctor strafed around, attempting to find a way behind the vile fiend as he hoped his plan would go unnoticed.

Ashton began to walk in a circle along opposite the vampire with his sworn pointed forward. Both seemed to be waiting for the other to charge them but Dracula was no fool. He could smell the garlic tipped blade of Ashton’s metal that had ended many a monster. And Ashton would never be reckless enough to rush a prepared vampire while in plain eyesight, especially this one.?

The circle moved slowly and dangerously. Both of them knew this stand off could not last forever.

But Sir Ashton soon smiled as the circle made too much progress.

He was now standing right next to the machine aimed out the window as his opponent was too focused on the stand off itself. “Bad move.” He teased and his blade arose once more to strike the machine itself and slice the top half of it clean off and out the window.

Several glowing blue circles began to form around Serene’s arms and Pikachu as well as one spinning in front of the rodent. “…Thou art at the gate to the Underworld…”

The doctor screeched out and dropped the stake he was carrying, and ran over the machine, now sparking with both electric and magical energy.

"No no no no no no no no… this is bad this is bad…" he muttered urgently, "It’s… focus compartment is completely gone, it’s going to lose the capacity to confine the power to a beam… it’ll decimate the whole valley…" he looked out the verdant greenery beyond and muttered a single world in dismay, "Shauna…"

"What? I broke it! That means it can’t be used anymore right?"

The doctor, still focused on inspecting the machine shook his head, “No no no no no no… you just destroyed the… the part that makes it aim for specific targets! It will deploy a wide beam and irradiate the entire valley. In a day, everything in this valley will die…”?

"Well then why don’t we just send it somewhere else?!"

"There’s no time!! I need to…." he pressed a finger to his chin, "I need to set the self-destruct…"

"Well did I at least KIND OF help fix the problem?!"

He turned to Ash, “it’s the only thing fast enough to prevent an overload discharge on the valley!”

"WATCH OUT!" The doctor shouted to Ash as the vampire, seeing his opportunity in their distraction, lunged at Ash.

The doctor, however, found his wits, and used his robot arm to trip up the vampire in the blink of an eye.

"A MAGIC SPELL MIGHT BE APT AT THIS MOMENT!" he cried out.

Her eyes opened, sparkling and crackling with energy. “Come forth, thunder of the gods!”

"Woah!" Ashton leaned to the side and his backpack fell open pouring out everything: potions, stakes, holy water, garlic, and it was sprawled throughout the floor. "All my hunting gear!!"?

"THIS ENDS HERE!" Serene shouted. "INDIGNATION!"

A flood of energy shot from Serene into Pikachu, and from Pikachu an enormous thunderbolt erupted, blasting into the Fiendlord’s body, charing him and launching him backwards.

"Is…is he dead?! Do I need to stake him?!" Ashton asked with a sense of urgency in his voice. "Or do you think leaving him in a castle full of garlic and holy water about to self destruct is good enough???"

As they debate the issue, the doctor is frantically pulling at a support hatch on the side of the device to little avail, cursing himself as he and his robotic arm fail to dislodge it.

"What’s the damage, doctor?" Ashton asked.

Serene leaps forward and grabs the stake the Doctor had dropped earlier. She approached Dracula, a dark glare in her eyes. “Better safe than sorry.” And she plunged the stake into the monster’s heart.

Dr. Mechanical strains against it, “I …” he looks about the perimeter of the hatch and groans as he sees small runic markings, “He’s sealed the control panel with magic… it’s like he knew I would try this…”

"Here!" He tossed the doctor the amulet he had on. "It’s magic and it protects whatever wears it right? Wrap it around your arm and punch through the panel."?

The Doctor’s eyes bulged at the idea, but he realized that the idea was… as far as he could tell… sound. He wrapped the amulet’s chain around his fingers, with the crest facing out from his fist. He did as instructed, and instantly, the runes flickered and faded. He pulled the hatch off without any issue.

The innards of the machine flickered with lights and buttons and he quickly began manipulating the system.

"Hurry, Doctor!" Serene pleaded as the machine continued to crackle and spark.

After a few more button presses and a few haphazard wire connections, he stepped away. The machine to exude a low buzzing noise that began to quickly grow in intensity…? “I think… that’s it…”

Ashton made his way over to the door and kicked it open for everyone. “Last one out is an ordinary human!”

The doctor gave one last look at the pile of ashes that was his former master and gave a disdainful look before pursuing his two companions, going as fast as his ill-nursed legs could carry him.

As the trio approached the cliff outside of Dracula’s castle, Serene once again chanted “Accorde-moi des ailes et fuyons!” And once again, two brilliant wings appeared on her back. She took the doctor’s hand on her left and Sir Ashton on her right (and Pikachu moved to Ashton’s shoulder) as she took off from the cliff, carrying them into the sky. Behind them, the device began entering it’s death throes.

"Should we cover our ears?!" Ashton asked.

As the device reached critical mass, a massive explosion of bright white shot into the sky, wrapped in a veil of purple energy, the combination of science and magic that Dracula had spoke of. The light enveloped the entire plateau on which the castle once stood. They had to look away to avoid being blinded. Once they looked back, the entirety of the castle was rubble, and only a crater remained…?

"Too late! Ouch! Yeah! I probably should have covered my ears!"

Dr. Mechanical, who had, took them off and saw how Serene had winced, “Sadly… our saviour had no such luxury,” noting how both her hands had been occupied carrying them.

"What do we now though?" Ashton asked.

Serene shook the ringing from her ears. “I think we have a village to visit and a girl to meet,” Serene said with a smile, looking down at the Doctor. “If you would be as kind as to guide me to where I should land?”

Dr. Mechanical let out a deep sigh and directed them a clearing not far from a village nearby.

As they landed, the doctor stood before them and bow his head profusely and repeatedly, “I know that words will never be able to demonstrate my regret… for any and all actions, today and in the past. I cannot ask your forgiveness, but I ask of you, your mercy in this time. Please, allow me to make amends for my crimes against humanity, so that I may one day be… ” he looked to the village wistfully, “…worthy…”

"Don’t worry about it!" Ashton insisted holding his hand out one final time. "We’re friends right?"

The doctor let a small, relieved smile cross his face and he tentatively reached out to take it, shaking the hand of the hunter and warrior.

Serene placed her hand on the hands of the other two. “Not only is the Fiendlord slain, his castle obliterated, and humanity free from his tyranny,” she said with a smile “but we saved this village from destruction. You are a hero, Doctor. Never forget that.”

The doctor’s gaze looked to the both of them, and then suddenly fell as he realized tears were welling in his eyes, “Thank you… both. You’re… both great friends and… I’m privileged to know you. I’ll never forget you, or today…”

"Neither will I." Ashton promised.

"And I won’t, either!" Serene added.

The End

#winning entry #submission