Numbers of the Night

[Beauregard]

Thanks guys, but where's Bo gotten to now?

I am terrably sorry Mr Count, sir. I got caught in traffic.

But, I am here now. Will give you some feedback laters.

Boo!-Regard

 

[The Count]

That's quite all fright Bo. Just glad you're here now. Will see if I post some more later today. Oh, and don't let the puns mislead you. You'll see what I mean.

 

[The Count]

Chapter 8

The yawning moments of sunlight were a welcome relief to Mr. Grimness. That seemed like ages when last he saw a morning dawn. But that was far from his mind as he found himself near the lower edges of the castle, searching the pathway leading him to the next boss battle.

As usual, the marble number lay shrunken in his belt's tubes. This time, a pumpkin flanked by a few flames marked the tube with the number 4. And this search was proving to lead Edward further downwards.

The gutters lining the lower reaches of the castle welcomed Edward to their realm, hiding the little critters who dwelt here. Upon arriving, he stood on the sidewalk curb, a large sewer grate visible from beneath his narrow perch. All he could do for now was follow the path forwards down the slope, hoping he'd reach the end of his mission unscaved. The water poured along the chute of the gutter alongside him, fed by patches of momentary rain. Rocket Rats kept swarming him as he moved, before shooting a spark from their electrified tails. Edward cleared the lot of them away with his cannon, before finding himself in a real pickle.

The only down to the next sidewalk was to slide down the nearby chute. Covered in cold water, Edward was a bit hesitant about using this to reach the sidewalk ledge. None of his little toys would help him now. He gulped for a brief moment, and took the plunge. Once on the second sidewalk, he quickly found some more Rocket Rats advancing on the spot where he lay. Mr. Grimness picked himself up, blasted away the nuisances, and dusted him before moving onwards. Little water bubbles surfaced from time to time, proving useful for target practice since they contained life and weapon energy pills released at random. Besides this, Edward had to contend with the Gator Jaws. As he continued his pace, dark scummy green alligator mouths were visible on the walls of the castle's outer banks. These jaws would snap out at passers-by in a timed sequence. It was up to Edward to know which jaw would snap at what time, and maneuver his way avoiding a loss of a chunk of his life energy.

At the end of this block, another slide awaited and more Rocket Rats down below. Realizing that his meter was almost depleted, Edward blasted away at everything in sight. The rats never knew what hit them, and the bubbles appeared like mad bursting and surfacing in greater numbers. A flurry of action only helped Edward refill his gage and soon the walkway ahead was cleared by the time he reached the familiar creaking door. Inside, another female voice greeted Mr. Grimness. The high-pitched voice served to match the piping flute music heard throughout his travels in this section of the castle. "Of course!" It slowly dawned on Edward, it was the pipe music that led all the rats directly to where he stood. Too bad he couldn't have lured them away with a whistle the way Kermit had taught him.

The queen of the rats, Gutter-5, approached and demanded an audience with Edward. A simple enough feat, since they were both locked inside her own chamber. The round yet somewhat pointy shape of her ears, the hooking snout, the barbed tail all identified her as a massive mamma rat. Her eyes blinked as she came forth, growing accustomed to the dim light within her lair before the fight truly started. She started things off with a spark from her wired tail, quickly slinking back into the shadows from whence she summoned smaller swarms of Rocket Rats to fight for her. Edward saved his bat-blaster blasts for the rampant rodents, fueling his life and weapon energy meters with the pills left behind. He then switched to his newest gadget, as he called "Headless Roller!" The flaming pumpkins rolled along the ground and helped his cause immensely. If the bombs reached Gutter-5, they could be detonated by hand, lowering her own life meter. But if it was timed just fright, the pumpkins explosions weakened even more when the shock of her own electric attacks was added to the mix. The battle was over much quicker than either had anticipated, and Edward was greeted by another storm cloud. This one was snatched by one last Rocket Rat, liberated by a final blast from Mr. Grimness's cannon upon grabbing the marble number 5.

 

[RedDragon]

And yet another great chapter Ed. Keep it coming man.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile to tell you how I like it, but let me tell you Ed, I really like it! It's very intruiging and entertaining! I'm on the edge of my seat!

 

[The Count]

Thanks to all who've posted here so far.
And now, cause you've been sooooooo good...


Chapter 9

In a second, Edward Grimness noticed the darkness surrounding him now. Lit torches hung in the niches of the wall iluminated the walkway. At the first chance he got, he inspected his belt to find the entire left side of tubes filled up. "Hmmm, guess the 5's inside this one marked by a rat then." Edward thought to himself various thoughts while carefully proceeding on his path.

He was now located in the one thrill ride installed into the Count's castle, a trip through the hellish firepits themselves. The station, where he knew the torches were placed, was the first segment of the area. Small blackened hands reached out from holes in the wall, scurrying back in should they fail to snare their target, at least the ones that managed to avoid the blast from Edward's trusted bat-blaster. As he moved downwards along the flights of stairs, he noticed the Serpent Watchers were present once again. "Not bad," he remarked softly more to himself than to anyone else, this'd make it a bit more interesting as he reached the beginning of the firepits ride at the bottommost point of the shaft.

The stream of lava went on for miles it seemed, it's bright reddened hues playing off of the smoky black-red shade on the walls enclosing the river. How would Edward make it across? If he used his taxi wheels, that'd just plunge him downwards and the mission would be over then and there. No, this had been forseen when planning the castle's attractions for the coming tourists. The grayish marble marker slid downwards into the lava at his feet before him. Ah yes, these boards would ferry a passenger across with no problem.

Once he stood on top of the gravestone, his feet were snapped in place and the ride began. Armed with a charged bat-blaster, the board started its way through the first straightaway section. Fire Balls shot upwards before plunging back into the protective flow of lava. If there was any energy to be gotten here, it was at one's own peril. At the end of this portion, a fiery gusher pushed the boogie board upwards to the next section. Not only were there Fire Balls to tend with, but Comet Tails zoomed in through the air over head. If timed just fright, Edward could flag one of these down and have whatever energy pills they carried fall on the stone within his safe reach. As the thrill ride continued, the lava river took a plunge downwards. Edward braced himself for the long slide, but the splash merely subsided into the volcanic waterway. Just one more section and the ride would be over. Some more Fire Balls and a couple of Comet Tails, and the landing would be in sight. Arriving at the landing station, Mr. Grimness jumped off from his mount and was ready for the coming battle as soon as he opened the creaking door.

Inside the familiar hallway, he spotted a round mass of fire heading for him. This fiery orb had a streaming jet of fire trailing in its wake. "A Comet Tail? What's that doing in here?" And then he saw them, a line of Comet Tails zooming along above his head in the hallway. Checking his gage, he realized these were here to provide target practice. That way, he could finally have a means of replenishing his energies after the trip along the river of lava. Filled up to the brim, Edward knocked on the door before him.

"Who dares enter my realm?" bellowed a deep voice, belonging to Nero-6. This boss was definitely a demon. There was no mistaking its ash gray skin, the two short black horns on its head, the squat shape of his body, the claws on its stubby arms and legs, nor its fire-filled breath when he spoke. "Let's get spooky!" was Edward's only response, and with that the fight began. Nero-6 disappeared into the yawning mouth of the furnace behind him, only to reappear on the other side of his room. His breath became an instant flamethrower, reaching far in front of him. Edward's only choice was to jump and try to get behind the demon. "Electro Tail" came his cry when attempting to attack Nero-6. The whiplike rat tail protruding from his cannon provided him with an electric discharge. This served to spark the fires inside the demon's belly, causing him to have momentary explosions before it could launch an attack of its own. Crouching near the chimney stacks and sending sparks into its belly whenever possible, Edward was able to win the battle quickly. Then, to his astonishment, two portions of the wall opened up above the furnaces on both sides of the room. The left side held the storm cloud and marble number 6, the right space contained a black batlike device with a big crossbones X over its chest. "Ah ha! The X-it device!" But which to grab first? If he went for the number, he'd automatically be sent to the next section of the castle without a chance to return. But if he got the device, he could leave any portion of the castle to return at a later date whenever he chose. His mind made up, he went for the X-it device first, snagging it with the help of a pumpkin bomb. This explosion shook the batlike gadget from his perch into his waiting hands. Seeing as how it worked so well the first time, he used another pumpkin bomb and soon dematerialized after clutching the number 6 in his firm grasp.

 

[TogetherAgain]

...woah...

I love it, Count.

 

[The Count]

Thanks... Hey! Wait a second! What are you doing here Lisa? Now finish that story of yours or we'll come nag you.

Nah, J/K, post whenever it's ready. Got some more in store, not sure when it'll get posted.

 

[RedDragon]

Another great chapter, but you're not done yet. Post More!

 

[Beauregard]

Avicardo: I loved, it, loved it, like, it.
Statler: What is he doign here again?
Waldorf: Oh, he just likes to hang around.
Statler: Do, ho, ho....was that funny?
Waldorf: No, not really.

Excellent Count!!!