(Don't) Say My Name - Chapter 1

Vlad Plasmius floats above a smoking hole in the wall where a cell door once stood quite solidly. "Are you willing to work for your freedom?"

Freakshow stands up, dusts himself off and grins up at his rescuer, noticing a female ghost floating behind him, "Anything would be more interesting than this. What do you have in mind?"

Vlad paces in front of his newly 'hired' employees, "I have released you both from your respective prisons to do me one favour in exchange for your freedom. Should you refuse or fail me then I will promptly return you to live out the rest of your miserable lives behind your cell walls. Understood?"

Freakshow ignores the threat pointedly and turns to the ghost at his side to introduce himself, "Freakshow. What were you in for?"

"Ember, I replaced CD's from all over the continent with my own to grow my fan-base and powers. I got caught trafficking 'human contraband' between portals but I always managed to slip away because I was getting stronger. I got stupid. The Warden surprised me by overshadowing a fan and caught me." She shrugs, "It was a good gig while it lasted, I know what to do now when I'm free. What about you?"

Freakshow whistled appreciatively at Ember's creativity, "Very nice. My story isn't nearly as exciting. I was-"

"If you two are quite finished, I'd like to get to the part where you do my bidding before continuing on wasting your freedom blabbering about the past."

Ember and Freakshow stiffen, angry but silent, waiting for the volatile hybrid to reveal his intentions.

Satisfied, Vlad starts pacing, "I want you two to create a spell for me. Combining a gentle application of mind-control with musical hypnosis should do the trick. But I must stress how delicate this spell should be. The subject needs to feel completely in control of their faculties and accountable for all feelings that may arise." He turns to face them, "I want you both to create a spell in which the subject feels affection towards me every time I utter their name. Is this within your area of expertise?"

The two look to each other and deliberate.

"It could work by tampering with their memory…"

"Memory won't work, my powers are more focused on the present, not the past." Ember tilts her head in thought, "How about a small filter in the eardrum? We could make the filter rearrange any words said to sound endearing…"

"No that'll be suspicious if this subject is not already used to receiving endearment. It would not change feelings, just sounds. Considering the affect of the spell I'm assuming you aren't on friendly terms with the subject, correct Mr. Plasmius?" Freakshow turns to Vlad.

"Obviously not." He growls back, rolling his red eyes.

Freakshow hums but ignores the attitude, turning back to Ember, "What else could we do? How's your hypnosis work? Do you normally create filters, because that's not exactly hypnosis you know…"

Ember shakes her head, "No, my music creates suggestions in the mind. No filters, I work with the hearts of my fans, manipulating their impulse control and gut-instinct. How do you normally do your thing?"

"It's actually a pretty funny stor-"

"While you two continue to dilly-dally in idle conversation, I have some rather important business to attend to at my desk. Can I trust you both to complete this task without my supervision before the week is out?"

Ember rolls her eyes and presents the middle finger to Vlad, who scoffs. "We need some deets before you go, old-timer, and it won't take that long for one silly spell."

"Alright, what information do you need?" Vlad is getting too excited to rise to the name-calling. Sooner than a week?

"The name of the subject, duh."

Vlad smiles, "Daniel."

"…you mean Baby-pop? That's who this is about? Why?"

"I wouldn't expect a low-level one-hit-wonder ghost girl, nor a lonely human with an unhealthy amount of ghost-envy to understand the complex workings of even the simplest of my plans. I will suffice to say if all goes according to plan, young Daniel will no longer run from me and either become my protégé or simply fall out of the ghost business for good. I do not really care either way."

Ember and Freakshow both frown at Vlad as he walks away, Ember pulling her eyelid and sticking her tongue out for good measure. "What a dick!" She grouses. "I mean, if he's so goddamned smart why doesn't he do the spell himself! Oh wait! He needs our help! Idiot! Pissing me off then asking for a favour…" She shakes her fist at the doorway before crossing her arms.

Freakshow agrees thoughtfully, an idea forming in his mind. "Hey ghost girl, want to have some fun with this?"

"I like the look on your face. What do you have in mind, human?"

Freakshow gestures for her to come closer, he whispers in her ear, "Lets make the spell go both ways."

Ember pauses before realization has her laughing uncontrollably. "Y-you mean when the kid...? Ha ha ha ha! Yes! Ohhh yes I love that!"

The two grin evilly and take a seat at a work bench, beginning their work with renewed vigor.

The best part about the whole thing is, Vlad never mentioned what kind of affection he wanted. So the two cackle and crow, Ember warms up her guitar and they spend the better part of the evening twisting spells and notes into one hell of a show.

Vlad jumps and transforms when his study door is thrown open, banging off the wall loudly, startling the peace and quiet he was enjoying. Freakshow and Ember stand in the entryway, watching with amusement as Vlad tries to brush it off nonchalantly. "Does this rude interruption mean my spell is done already or did you two just grow bored with your freedom and wish to return to your cells?"

"It's all done, Mr. Plasmius, your spell is ready for application. Would you care to learn how we did it?" Freakshow asks politely.

Ember steps forward excitedly, "We decided to use a combination of Freaksh-"

"No. I don't care. So long as it works the way I specifically requested, you can spare me the long-winded details." Vlad cut them off abruptly, moving closer to them and folding his arms.

Ember pouts and replies, "Fine. When do you want to start?"

"Obviously as soon as possible. What do I need to do?"

Freakshow cuts in, "Unfortunately we need you and the kid to be in close proximity of each other when the spell begins. It will bounce from you to him and back again."

"Yeah! Just start a fight with him or whatever and then I'll show up and blast our tune at you guys. I'll act all drained from the spell and you can 'capture' me and haul me away. This will give him a break to let it all 'sink in' and not be suspicious when I just leave again. Capiche?"

Vlad hums thoughtfully and the two employees sweat, hoping he will take the bait.

"I understand. All of this makes sense to me. We will do this straight away, come, I will teleport us to his home. He should be in bed at this time."

Freakshow and Ember exchange victorious smirks and step forward. This show is about to get really interesting.