Author's Note: I don't usually update more than once a week but think of this as a way to make up for my two-month absence, so surprise!
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Dwayne was able to keep Lily distracted by teaching her how to cook pancakes; the girl was very eager to learn but also very good at getting messy. While cooking he also told her funny stories, mostly about Paul and a friend of theirs named Marko, they'd mentioned him once before and from the sound of it, he was funny like Paul.
Pancake batter was smeared on her face, but she didn't seem to care or even notice as she laughed, "So, Marko really can talk to birds? That's sooo neat, can he teach me to do that?" The ghost let out a non-answer noise, but the happy girl didn't pay it any mind as she continued, "and he got one to leave worms in Paul's hair while he slept that's gross but kinda funny!" Dwayne nodded.
"He wouldn't do that to me though right? I don't like worms..." Dwayne assured her that he would protect her from Marko's pranks when they met one day and the two continued their impromptu cooking lesson along with the storytelling session. That story of Marko's bird and worm prank was just one of the many pranks and high jinx he told her about during their conversation.
Also, Lily was happy to know she'd meet Marko too someday and the idea of having another friend made her happy as did the promise to make sure he kept worms away from her, the birds would be okay though she thought despite never having seen a real one up close at they didn't wiggle around and have no eyes... things without eyes were creepy.
Shortly after that, they ate, or rather she did and then they cleaned up both the kitchen mess and the one on her. Around that time was just after nine when David and Paul came back and to her disappointment told her she should get some rest, "But it's not even that late..."
"True but those friends of your grandma will be coming over and trust us they're no fun at all," Paul tells her truthfully.
She pouts, "That's hours away though."
"Unfortunately, it's not I have really good hearing and they said they would come over sooner than we invited them so off to bed," David tells the young girl.
"The weird voiced guy said that?" She gets a nod in response and frowns, "He really is rude, he should get grounded." Lily folds her arms and mumbles, "Or a serious time-out!"
Paul grins wide, "I couldn't agree with you more."
"However, that means good little girls need to get ready for bed now." Dwayne tells her, and she huffs, "Don't worry one day you'll be able to stay up all night long with us and we'll have a blast." David promises.
"Yeah late-night parties are great with us, you'll love it," Paul adds while pumping his fist up in the air.
Lily smiles at them before uncrossing her arms to hold out her pinkie, "Promise?"
They all thought she was being adorable, but David wouldn't give into it, so he looked to the others with a raised eyebrow knowing one of them would.
It was Dwayne who offered his pinkie finger in a promise and with that the boys make sure she's tucked into bed. David waits by the door and Dwayne tucks her in with a, "Good night, little flower." While Paul grabs a stuffed dog that he saw laying in a pilled of her things that seemed to have been dumped out to give to her to cuddle before they all take their leave. Only Paul turns invisible and goes back through her bedroom door afterward to wait and make sure she actually falls asleep.
About half an hour later she does thankfully because the vampire spirit was getting antsy, it was almost like she knew he was there with how long she watched the door before her eye lids dropped closed and her breath evened out. That couldn't be it though or she would've said something he tells himself.
After that he quietly leaves and goes to the kitchen to grab a chair before bringing it back up and shoving it underneath her doorknob because even though they silenced her room like the did with Star's earlier that night one could never be too careful at least that's what both David and Dwayne agreed on.
Paul guessed they had a point though because now if she woke up there wasn't a chance for her to see anything she wasn't supposed to. He was doing her a favor really, wouldn't do to scare her this early on.
That done he meets his fellow ghosts' downstairs.
"Lily asleep?" David asks from his position against the wall, he didn't need to lean on anything but the fact that he could do it was reason enough to. Paul nods, "Yeah and locked in."
David stands up straight to stop wasting his energy and glances up and listens for her breathing before determining Paul wasn't mistaken.
"Good now we wait, only twenty more minutes until they're set to arrive."
"The kid was right though we really should punish them for arriving before they were told too." Paul says wickedly, "What did you have in mind?" Their leader asks.
"Well if the bathroom wasn't so close to Lily's room I'd say that they could both probably use a bath but another time maybe?" He looks hopeful and David just grins, "Maybe." While Lily's room was silenced, and she would not hear anything taking place upstairs if they did go up there it wouldn't do to have noisy frogs opening her door and waking her up so for now, they'd stick to the plan.
"So, is everything ready then?" Dwayne asks as he had not done anything due to being with Lily for the last few hours and only hearing things from their shared mind, it wasn't the same as seeing what was being done though so he decided to ask.
"Yes, and this time we have the home field advantage." David states.
They boys were still sore about that one and now was the chance to rectify it and get some good old revenge at the same time, "Do we need to worry about Max?" Paul finally decides to mention the one person or rather a thing that had been bugging him since earlier this evening.
"No, he's powerless tonight given that display earlier." David knew he'd not be able to so much as try and whisper to anyone among the living at least for tonight.
"The question is when and where did he get that energy?" Dwayne inquires, "Good question..." Their leader wasn't sure either and that was worrying because if he got it once then he could do it again, but no way it would happen fast that was probably years' worth of energy that he blew all at once.
"...Maybe he ate our leftover pizza man?" Paul adds seriously making the other two look at him in surprised silence for a moment before considering the possibility that he might actually be onto something.
"That's actually likely that he pulled some energy from that meal, but we didn't leave that much." Dwayne answers just as solemnly.
"He's like a vulture so he'd make due." David declares before looking at the clock it was almost time but there was one more person to talk about before they got into position. "And Star won't be an issue?" Dwayne was the only one who hadn't seen her tonight and knew that the woman could be a nuisance if left unchecked.
They all knew this as she had been a thorn in their side almost from day one, out of all of their mistakes she was the worst. They all believed that even Michael hadn't been as bad of a mistake in their eyes and he was the one that actually killed David but well he was dead himself now and he unlike them wasn't coming back.
"Nah, not tonight she's out cold but don't worry tomorrow night things will get interesting," David answers confidently. "I thought that was tonight?" Paul tilts his head in confusion.
David smirks, "Tonight's the appetizer, tomorrow's the main course."
"I can't wait." Paul licks his lips dramatically.
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Edgar and Alan Frog had known the Emersons since they were both young and fresh vampire hunters. They had met and saved the family's lives as well as many others over the years, but it was the Emersons that they stayed in touch with.
Though for a brief time they had lost touch with Star and Michael when they moved away and married but after the death of Michael's mom, the couple moved back to Santa Carla and into the house Michael's mom had left them, the house that was left to her when her father passed.
The very same house that the Frog brothers were convinced the Lost Boys evil spirits still plagued.
In fact, Edgar was sure that's what caused the elder Emerson's brother's death five years prior. Alan wasn't as convinced oh he believed that the vampires they offed left something of themselves inside of that house that remained to this day but he believed Michael's death had been as it appeared to be a simple accident.
Because Alan knew without accepting whatever still remained of the vampires that once terrorized them they could not possibly harm anyone and the Emersons would never do something like let a vampire or the remains of one into their home, their lives again.
No, it was unthinkable.
Even they weren't that stupid.
Edgar, however, thinks once a vampire always a vampire even if it's only a half-vampire and thus he believes that Michael gave in because he couldn't help himself and now he was sure that Star was headed down the same path. It was Alan though who was worried that the little girl, the granddaughter might actually be the one in trouble.
He'd warned Star against letting her stay, but she promised to have a stern talk with her granddaughter and explain to never let in strangers, but he had a feeling this talk would or rather by this point went over the girl's head as the strangers in question could be invited in by will instead of words.
Whatever the case may be both brothers hoped they would be wrong and that once they arrived that things would be fine but that incident with the cross still clung to both their minds and so they were coming prepared.
Holy water, crosses, stakes, exorcism books, talismans, prayer beads, the works.
They had fought these enemies once before and were confident in their ability to do so again if the situation called for it.
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Pulling into the Emerson's yard they saw the porch light was on and looked at each other and then to the clock on their truck which read.
10:12 p.m.
"Are you ready for this?" Edgar asks his brother while shoving an extra vial of holy water into his jacket. "I was born ready." Is Alan's reply as he checks the prayer beads around his neck before grabbing whatever else he might need.
Then the two get out of Edgar's truck and slowly survey their surroundings, Alan glances to the padlocked shed it looks the same as ever but they both give hands and eye signals that only they would understand before they decide to approach it cautiously with Edgar in the lead with his gun full of wooden bullets and Alan bringing up the rear with his crossbow.
After ten minutes of circling the shed, Edgar tries to see inside and upon seeing nothing suspicious yanks on the door and then jumps back raising his gun but nothing happens the door remains locked.
"...Alright, the shed's safe." Edgar tells his brother who then nods and they both spread out and carefully walk around the house from front to back and then back to the front.
"Yard is clear," Alan tells him and his brother nods.
"...Time to check out the house." Edgar's gruff voice says as they both quietly approach the porch and once they are both standing at the door Alan looks at his watch it reads, 10:37 p.m.
Still earlier than planned so if this is a trap they still have the advantage they think as Edgar raises his hand to knock on the door but when he does so the door moves and both brothers jump back.
"Edgar it's open!" Alan shouts in surprise, "I know that! Come on let's go!"
They nod together before bursting in weapons raised.
-
A few minutes before that found Paul is looking out the window bored, "If I wasn't already dead this boredom would kill me..." David snorts, "Even I didn't think they'd still be in the yard after arriving nearly half an hour earlier talk about paranoid."
Dwayne just stands stoically in his corner by the broken stereo waiting patently and Paul wonders vaguely how he does that. If only Marko was here to kill the boredom right now the ghost thinks before looking back outside and excepting to not see any change.
But he does they're finally walking to the front door.
"Oh, I think they're coming!" Paul exclaims.
"Finally!" David's tone is nothing short of annoyed if he hadn't been so determined to stick to his plan he would've already gone to get them in the yard but no this time their prey would come to them not the other way around.
That was his last thought before the idiots who call themselves vampire hunters burst inside weapons raised.
Only to see an empty hallway and so the two run into the Livingroom with a battle cry to find that it too is empty as well.
"Think we scared them away?" Edgar whispers to his brother as they both scan the room with their eyes nothing looked out of place but the rug at the foot of the stairs, was that run always there Alan thought before brushing it aside as unimportant.
"Maybe... but let's check the whole house to be sure." Alan whispers back.
David is at first amused that they charge in screaming and now the two are whispering like they wouldn't know of their presence by now given their entrance. He hadn't really known what morons the two were before they helped kill him and the boys but over the years he's witnessed their stupidity and wondered just how they could've been taken out by such a rag-tag team of imbeciles...
It hurt his pride... he'd make them pay for that.
The ghosts watched as the two did those weird hand motions from outside again before they started to look around the room, moving from the Livingroom to the kitchen, and to various other rooms before lastly stepping in front of Star's room.
Edgar pushed the door and it opened easily enough, then nodding to one another they charged in ready for anything at least that's what they thought instead there was nothing no sign of Star just a bed that didn't look slept in and an otherwise empty normal bedroom with no sign of foul play.
"Guess this means we go upstairs now?" Alan asks and Edgar nods when suddenly the light goes out and the door slams shut resulting in the two scrambling for the door and the light switch.
"The light won't come on!" Alan yells out at almost the same time as his brother's own shout, "The door's locked!" Even as he said this he kept jiggling the handle in hopes that it would open. Alan, on the other hand, pulled out his trusty flashlight and turned it on only to have his shaking hands drop it as the room turned icy cold.
"It's them!" Alan shouted as his brother abandoned the door for the flashlight on the floor. With flashlight in hand, he twists around the room looking at everything but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Alan gathers his wits to hold out a cross in front of him and pull out the exorcism book, "It's too dark I can't read it!"
Edgar shines the light on the book with one hand and firmly holds the gun with the other, that's when Alan starts reading the ancient Latin words and then things start to fly around the room some hitting them most hitting the walls it's absolute chaos but neither realize it was mostly harmless things still Alan powers through stuttering and butchering the words as if his life depends on it and then it all abruptly stops the light comes back on, the door opens and everything floating stops and drops to the ground.
"It worked! I did it!" The man cheered and Edgar nods wondering how much more they can charge for exorcising vampire spirits when "Boo!" He screams and drops the flashlight as a form appears directly in front of him.
His now free hand helps to grip his gun and without thought, he fires with a scream and the wooden bullets pass right through the apparition who laughs and vanishes as a cry and thud reaches his ears.
"Alan!" He rushes to his brother's fallen form, "You shot me!" His wounded bleeding brother cries out in pain gripping his side where blood is seeping through. "No, it was that twisted sister reject I shot him!"
Alan just groans in response as laughter reaches their ears, "Don't bleed out on us now, that'd be so anticlimactic!" Edgar turns and raises his gun in the direction he heard the voice come from, "Where are you aiming? I'm over here." It taunts so he turns again to another spot and seeing no one again nearly cries from frustration when a voice whispers right next to his ear, "I'm behind you."
He whirls around and shoots again only to stop quickly and gasp, "Alan!"
His brother grunts and Edgar drops the gun in disbelief at having shot his brother again, "That's- but you were-" He looks to the spot he'd last seen his brother and sees nothing not even a drop of blood before looking back to the image of his brother in front of him whose stomach is bleeding and the previous bullet wounds are nowhere to be seen, was this all a trick?
Edgar jumps away from him in confusion, "Stop playing mind games you sick bastards!" He shouts and hears more than one voice laughing now and he can't tell how many there are or where they're all coming from. Not being able to take it he runs from the room leaving his brother who isn't really his brother he tells himself, "Alan!?" He calls out hoping to find his real brother but not seeing anything.
Edgar can't leave without him, so he makes his way back to the Livingroom and screams for him again, "Alan, where are you?"
Looking towards the stairs he runs for them only to feel the cold sensation come back full force, his breath is coming out fast and the elder Frog brother could plainly see it given the temperature, but it didn't stop him from making it nearly to the top of the stairs but before could completely make it up he felt something behind him and spun around fast to see a smirking figure standing two steps away from him.
"Stairs are a dangerous thing, humans should be careful not to trip and fall down them." His mind flashed back to Michael and he suddenly felt he was looking at the man's killer.
Taking the words as they were meant to be taken; as a threat he fled but didn't get far before the earlier figure appeared out of thin air before him, "Ah, ah, Upstairs is off limits there's a little girl trying to sleep, and you wouldn't want to wake her up, now would you?" David taunts and the human backs away from him but tries to be aware of how close he is to the edge of the stairs at the same time.
Just then a scream reaches his ears and he cries out, "Alan?"
"What do you know that sounded like it was coming from downstairs," Paul says suddenly so close to him that Edgar can feel the coolness radiating from his form and so he does the only thing he can think of and pulls out a vial of holy water and uncorks it with practiced ease before throwing it at the monster beside him only to have it splash the wall instead.
He receives a sinister grin for his efforts, "More holy water?" The one who he knew to be the twister sister look alike's face was suddenly terrifying and more demonic than anything he's seen thus far. "...I wanna kill him David please?" His eyes never leave the human as he asks for permission.
David chuckles, "You know the plan, not until tomorrow night but feel free to have some fun tonight as long as you don't let him escape."
"Oh, he won't." Edgar then stupidly tries to run down the stairs only to misstep and take a hard tumble down them. Everything goes black and he knows no more.
"...This time it wasn't me." David says somewhat bewildered as Paul looks put out over the turn of events, "He better not have broken his neck like Michael cause that's way too fast and I have so many ideas!"
Dwayne appears then and looks up at them from the body at the bottom of the stairs, "He's not dead... but did you notice we didn't get to use up even half of our plans because they knocked themselves out of commission..."
David shrugs, "Doesn't matter put them with Star so we can deal with them tomorrow."
Dwayne nods but then stops suddenly looking up, "She's awake."
"I'll go check on her." Paul offers only to be hit over the head, "Ow what's that for?"
David glares, "I'll check on her you get that face of yours under control... it's worse than usual." Paul looks surprised before reaching up to touch it, "Oh... yeah, I should do that."
That said Paul helps Dwayne with the Frogs and David goes to Lily's room.
-
A few minutes earlier Lily had been sleeping soundly went something woke her up so she groggily sits up and looks around wondering what woke her. Not finding anything the girl yawns and goes to grab her stuffed animal to go back to sleep when her arm accidentally knocks said stuffed animal off of the bed so Lily being sleepy tries to reach for it without getting up from the bed only to fall out of bed instead.
"Ow..." Now more awake she grabs the stuffed dog and stands up and surveys her room, nothing is out of the ordinary, but her eyes are suddenly drawn to her window which has the curtains closed curiously she opens them and looks out only to see... nothing well nothing but rain.
Strange.
For some reason Lily thought that there was something there, wait... there's a person? The rain was coming down pretty steadily so trying to make out who wasn't easy in the dark, rainy night but maybe... is that grandma Star?
"Lily?" The girl jumps and turns around to see David standing there observing her, "What are you doing up?" The tiny brunette shrugs, "I dunno... I just woke up." He looks from her to the window and walks over to look outside of it as well, "Did you see something?"
For a second Lily thinks to say no she didn't because it was probably her imagination, her grandma was in bed and couldn't walk but then the figure she thought she saw was slow and moved weird so... maybe? But didn't grandma Star not like the rain... or was she confusing her with her mom hated it?
"Lily?"
The girl pulls herself from her thoughts, "I-I think so?" David's eyes scan the yard not seeing anything unusual, but he turns to her, "What did you think you saw?" Lily decided to tell him just in case because if her grandma was outside then she probably needed help getting back to bed and the young Emerson wasn't big enough to do it.
"I thought I saw grandma Star... but she's hurt and wouldn't be walking around, outside in the rain, right?" David smiles at her, "I don't think she would, but I'll go check just in case now you go back to bed because tomorrow night is going to be exciting and you'll need all the energy you can get."
Suddenly forgetting about the mystery of her grandma's appearance outside she turns her curious gaze to the ghost beside her, "What's happening tomorrow night?"
"It's a surprise but if you don't get to sleep then you'll be too tired to find out and miss it."
Her eyes widened at the thought, "Okay I'll go back to sleep!" She hurriedly climbs back into bed and lays down pulling up her cover, "See I'm going to sleep." Lily's eyes close, "I'm asleep now!"
"Good night Lily, sweet dreams little sister."
With that David vanishes and mentally tells Dwayne to make sure she goes back to sleep while he checks on a stubborn old lady and makes sure she's where he left her. Turns out she's not. Annoyed he tracks her down and finds her soaking wet and barely standing on one leg and gripping the phone.
David walks up to her from behind and she's shaking and he's sure it's not completely from the rain it's as if the woman is aware of his presence at her back. "David..." He smirks well that answers how aware she is, the once-vampire then grabs the phone out of her wet hands before yanking it from the wall and throwing it to the floor.
"Who were you trying to call Star?"
She shakes her head, "Please David... let us go."
"Your Frogs are already here but then you probably already knew that seeing as their eyesore of a truck is in the yard." He runs his hand through her soaked hair and she cringes, "Star... are we going to have a problem here?" The woman finally loses the strength to stand and crumples to the floor.
"...No." David stares at her pitiful form, "...Your right we won't because everything is set for tomorrow night so how shall you spend your last day?" She doesn't answer so he interprets her silence for her, "Sulking... well, you did always seem to enjoy that. Alright if that's what you want then I won't stop you, but I don't think that's the right kind of attitude to be showing an impressionable little girl."
Star's head shoots up, "Leave her alone you said-"
David bends down to her level and looks her right in the eye, "That I don't want your mopey-ness catching so you can keep those frogs your so fond of company since it's their last day tomorrow as well."
Star was trying to control he shaking voice and body she had to stay strong for her granddaughter, "But Lily-"
David sighs glad to almost be rid of the broken record that is Star, "Will be fine without you no better than fine she'll be perfect without you. She doesn't need you, she has us now."
Star's dark eyes widen in fright, "What do you plan on doing to her!?"
"I'm not going to do a villain monologue and spill all of my secrets this far into the game Star."
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Next chapter titled: Bloodbath Party