Sorry it's taken SO LONG with this. Life has been total chaos the past few weeks since we started taking in foster kids and between that and my work schedule changing AGAIN there hasn't been a chance to write lately.

Just Good Fiends

Francis Tower was not the kind of man who took any nonsense. Even when he had been a super hero using the identity of the Discipliner, he was known for his stern and uncompromising attitude.

But that had been years ago. Now he had a different job, but one still as important; he was the truant officer for Sky High. It wasn't that there were that many kids that actually did play hooky when they were studying to be super heroes, but there were the occasional few like the former students Speed and Lash who had had their little bouts of "something better to do than school" days.

He had gotten notified that a sidekick had not reported to class, nor had there been contact from her home that she was ill in any way. It was probably nothing major, but EVERY such happening needed to be investigated.

He arrived outside the Violetta home in the aftermath of the downpour that had virtually brought most of Maxville to a dead stop. Such weather wasn't natural, and that probably meant some villain somewhere was using a weather control machine or a kid with the same power had just powered up.

A brief conversation with Mrs. Violetta confirmed that Magenta had left the house as usual, though in a bad mood. Unnoticed by either adult, a small figure hid off to one side and overheard everything. When Tower headed back to his car to return to Sky High and report to Principal Powers, he was unaware that he had a small stowaway in the back of his official flying car.

Tower arrived back at Sky High just as a bus was loading up with some of the students. He saw his old buddy Coach Boomer was with the kids, and didn't remember there being a field trip scheduled for today.

"What's up?" Tower asked Boomer.

"That Magenta kid went and got herself self-shanghaied to Monster High of all places. Powers just got off the phone to the principal there and we're headed over as a bunch of "school diplomats" to make all nicey-nice with the freaks and get her back."

"Sounds dangerous," said Tower, though inwardly he was itching to get in on the "fun", "need some extra backup?"

"I wish Frank," said Boomer, "but maybe if things get hairy…and they probably WILL…you can lead the charge in."

While the two were talking and the students were occupied wondering and discussing what they might be getting into, no one noticed the small figure that slipped from the back of Tower's car and onto the bus as Ron Wilson was getting the directions to Monster High from Mr. Medulla, who admitted he had an old friendly rival who worked there as a mad science teacher. The small figure slipped under the last row of seats and remained absolutely motionless, ready for anything.

The bus ride to Monster High was uneventful, though everyone admitted they never thought about what may be in the dark old growth forest in the mountains outside of Maxville. It was as if there was something that made people just not notice it, and everyone wondered if that was caused by the presence of Monster High as a sort of defense for the school.

"So what do you think IS there?" Will asked, his mind racing with thoughts of all the monsters he knew his parents had fought over the years.

"Dude," said Zach, "it's probably all creepy and dark…probably smelly too. I bet it's got it's own graveyard full of rotting zombies hungry for human flesh, and brain sucking aliens and hot looking chicks that are really vampires whose mouths open REALLY big and…"

"And your girlfriend is right in the middle of it," came a gurgling voice behind him, and Zach turned to find a hideous zombie lunging for him from the seat behind.

Zach, of course, screamed like a little girl and slammed his head on the ceiling of the bus as he jumped and tried to run.

"Gotcha," laughed Charlie as he shape-changed back to his normal form.

"Alright you two," barked Coach Boomer, "Glow Worm and Carbon Copy Kid, for the rest of this trip you're assigned to each other as buddies. Same goes for Stronghold and Flower Child, and Acid Spitter and Six-Arms. You're to watch each other's back at ALL times, especially once we get inside. I'm told this is supposed to be friendly, but I'm not taking ANY chances."

"Coach," said Will, "how do you know so much about monsters?"

"Experience, Stronghold," said Boomer, "especially with zombies. I can't stand zombies…mummies either. And if ANYONE ever tells you to memorize a magic phrase…you BETTER memorize it. Stay away from any freaky looking old books and ALWAYS know where you can find a good chainsaw."

"Uh, even if you have super powers?" Will asked.

"ALWAYS…know…where…a…chainsaw…is," said Boomer, speaking slowly to be understood.

They found the school, and even Layla was taken aback by the size and age of the trees that hid the school from view. Unless someone knew EXACTLY where to look, they'd never find the school unless they literally ran into it.

The bus settled down outside the moat surrounding the huge castle, and the students disembarked as Coach Boomer watched for any movement from the building. The drawbridge was down and everything seemed quiet, and to Boomer that was the problem.

"Let's head in nice and slow people," said the coach, "at the first sign of trouble I want every kid back on the bus and I'll cover you. Ron's to get you back to school and send help, so don't worry about me."

With that the group made their way across the drawbridge, trying not to look down into the dark, slow moving water and trying to make out the dark shapes swimming beneath the surface. Even normally happy Layla felt a little scared by the surroundings and silence.

As they entered the deserted courtyard they were approached by a little man dressed in a dark suit with glasses perched on the end of his nose and a friendly smile on his face.

"Welcome everyone," said the little man, "I'm Mr. Krooger, principal here at Monster High. I do wish your visit was under more pleasant circumstances, but we'll try to make your short stay as pleasant as possible."

"We?" repeated Coach Boomer, "so far you've been the only…person we've seen since we got here. You having a half day of school or something?"

"Actually no," said Mr. Krooger, "I thought it might be best if I greeted you by myself before you meet the rest of the students and faculty. I don't wish to alarm anyone, but you might find a few of them a little…intimidating. Not that they're really dangerous, it's just that…"

"THEY ARE DANGEROUS, YOU PITIFUL LITTLE FOOL," bellowed a thunderous voice "AT LEAST THEY WILL BE AGAIN!"

Suddenly the inner gate to the courtyard slammed shut and the drawbridge rose to close firmly at lightning speed. At the same moment it began to get darker, as if the sun had gone out, and torches set into the walls burst into flames, providing the only available light.

"I KNEW it," growled Coach Boomer as he grabbed Mr. Krooger by his lapels and pulled him off his feet. "This was a trap, wasn't it you little…"

"I….I don't know what's gong on," babbled Mr. Krooger, as startled as the others, "it's almost as if…oh no…"

"Yes, you simpering little insult to all who walk the night," said the voice as it lowered in volume but still echoed throughout the courtyard, "it is indeed as you, and all humans, fear. I have returned!"

With that a blackness oozed out of the darkness and took the shape of a tall hooded figure. The sinister shape hovered in the air like a malignant cloud reeking of evil.

"Lord Darkness had returned, and every monster in this school that resists me will be my slave, even now all the others in this school are held spellbound, awaiting my commands. As for those who willingly accept me…"

Out of the darkness stepped Radu the vampire along with his girlfriend the witch Samantha Sanderson, the hulking pieced together creature Boris, the reptilian Snakecharm, the wereowl Talon and other creatures.

"You miserable little traitors," snarled Mr. Krooger, easily breaking free of Coach Boomer's grip as he turned his attention to the rogue students, "do you have ANY idea what that…that THING is?"

"We know he's the way to ultimate power," said Radu with a sneer, "and we're going to have all of Maxville as our reward once the school is his!"

"Dude," Zach said to no one in particular, "I feel like we just walked into the middle of a movie. Just who IS this…dude?"

"Lord Darkness was the former ruler of all monsterdom," replied Mr. Krooger, "he was the reason monsters are so feared and hated to this day. It took a combined effort of our most powerful monsters and early super heroes to defeat and depose him. We thought he was destroyed for good, but…"

"But Darkness CANNOT be destroyed," finished the swirling black figure. "It has taken me a long, long time to finally be able to gain enough strength to contact these new followers, and with their aid I shall again become powerful enough to rule ALL of those who dwell in the night!"

"Alright," said Coach Boomer, "enough with the lengthy exposition! Kids, get back to the bus…LIKE I SAID!"

The last three words were blasted out by Boomer's sonic voice, actually knocking some of the weaker monsters off their feet and setting the nearest stone walls to slightly groan.

The kids scrambled into action, but not like Boomer had said. Will took to the air and tried to tackle Lord Darkness, intent on using his strength to force him to the ground. To his shock he instead passed directly through the black shape, feeling like he had walked into a huge freezer and shivering from the cold.

"Little fool," sneered Lord Darkness, "did you think I would allow your dirty little paws to touch me? Get them, my followers!"

With that the bad monsters attacked. Talon took his man-owl shape and flew into the air to attack Will, but one super strong punch knocked him back down to slam into the hard cobblestones of the courtyard. Boris tried to attack, but instead was brought to a full stop by another of Boomer's sonic blasts. The giant spider "Frisky" leaped at Jake, who instantly sprouted his four extra arms, and was able to grab the wriggling horror in three different wrestling holds with his six limbs. Snakecharm was unable to use her hypnotic powers, as she was busy dodging the "spit wads" of acid being spat at her by Malcolm.

"Dude," Zach yelled to Charlie, "turn into something…turn into Warren and fireball'em!"

"I can only LOOK like someone, you moron," Charlie yelled back, "if we were being attacked by hot chicks THEN I'd turn into Peace and get all their phone numbers!"

"Then LOOK like something that would scare these freaks off!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know…that guy from the movie a couple of years ago…"

"Could you be a little more VAGUE?"

"That monster hunter guy the Australian guy played!"

Charlie's form shifted and changed into a tall, serious looking man with long dark hair and wearing a black cloak and wide brimmed hat. The look was perfect, and several of the monsters stopped in their tracks and a couple even stepped back as they whispered the man's name.

Radu seemed amused by the whole thing as he flew into the air and landed a few feet away from his intended target.

"Don't be afraid," he hissed soothingly as he approached the pretty redhead dressed in green, "it will hurt only for a second, and then you'll know all the beauty the darkness holds."

Layla wasn't sure what to do, so she tried to reach out and contact any plant around and hope for the best. To her surprise small brambles began to pop up between the cobblestones, and they instantly grew into huge, twisting vines adorned with sharp, wicked looking thorns. Though they looked vicious, Layla did not receive any negative feelings from the huge tangle of thorns, but rather gratitude at a chance to be free and grow. Without hesitation they attacked Radu, snapping around him and grabbing him fast. To the vampire's horror he found he could not escape the brambles, and was even unable to turn into mist to get away.

"Wild roses," said Layla, "one of a few plants vampires are powerless against…guess I learned a few things reading "Dracula" after all."

"Impactus!" screeched Samantha Sanderson as her wand blasted out and struck Will, sending him slamming into one of the walls.

"Note to self," whispered Will as he shook his head to clear the cobwebs, "VERY vulnerable to magic."

Samantha grinned until she saw her boyfriend helpless in the grip of the swarming rosebushes and realized Layla had trapped him.

"You let my boyfriend go!" shrieked Samantha

"After what you just did to mine? Not likely!" Layla angrily returned.

"Enough," bellowed Lord Darkness, "this is idiotic! You miserable fools cannot even defeat a group of teenagers?"

"Teenagers with super powers," said Will, having recovered and now hovering in front of Lord Darkness, "and I suggest you surrender before the ADULTS show up."

"Brave, aren't you boy?" Lord Darkness, if he had a face, would have smiled at Will's foolish bravado. "Well, let's see if you do so well against…this!"

The tower wall exploded as a small mountain of black and purple fur and muscle smashed out and rose up on its hind legs to roar before it attacked.

"What is THAT?" said Will, stunned by the sight of the creature.

Layla's heart almost skipped a beat as she realized what they were looking at. Though gigantic, the creature did resemble a guinea pig, and the unusual color of the thick fur left no doubt.

"Will," Layla cried, "don't hurt her! That's Magenta!"

Will was shocked at Layla's statement, but did not doubt her at all.

"What did you do to her?" Will yelled at Lord Darkness.

"I reached in and found the darkness within her," replied Lord Darkness, "all that live have it within them, I simply can bring it to the fore and use it to control them. Let me demonstrate…"

He then turned his full attention on the slavering beast and said two words.

"Destroy him!"

Without hesitating the monster coiled it's stubby though powerful legs underneath it and leaped into the air, surprising Will as she slammed into him and knocked him from the sky. The two fell to the ground with a terrific impact, with Will underneath.

"Magenta," gasped Will, surprised at the strength that his transformed friend was displaying, "I'm your friend…you've got to break free of his control. I…I don't want to hurt you…"

The only reply from the beast was a deep growl as she forced him completely to the ground. Her mouth then opened to reveal foot long saber fangs dripping some kind of green ichor. She was slowly moving in on the struggling Will, about to sink her fangs deep into his neck when…

"NO! MAGENTA…STOP!"

From atop the wall the small figure that had snuck all the way to Monster High leapt down and landed in the courtyard. Without hesitating he dodged his way through the many figures to stand before the great snarling beast. Everyone was shocked, especially Zach, who recognized who he was.

"Cyan," Zach yelled as he saw his girlfriend's precocious little brother, "get away from there! She'll squash you!"

"No," Cyan repeated as he looked up at the monster that was his sister, "it's my fault she's here and like this! I've got to save her!"

Everyone on both sides remained silent and motionless, watching to see what happened next as the huge creature seemed to pause as it looked down at the little blue-green haired boy. It drew in great puffs of air to catch his smell, and looked closer at him.

"Please Magenta," said Cyan, his voice quavering, "don't do this. I'm sorry I made you mad this morning. I didn't mean to…I just wanted to sneak this into your diary…"

He pulled out Magenta's diary from one of the pockets of his green cargo pants, which caused the beast to utter a rumbling growl. He then opened it and showed the birthday card he had bought for her which read "to my Super Sister from your number one fan".

"I didn't mean to make you mad…I never do. I get so tired of Mom always treating me like a baby, and I know it drives you crazy too. I wanted you to know I love you…you're the greatest sister I could ever want…I'm so proud of you and I think you're a great super hero. Please…come back to us. I love you." Tears were now rolling down his cheeks, and his chest heaved with repressed sobs.

A strange purring sound came from the beast, and then its solid black eyes became the same beautiful purple color they would normally be. The beast then threw back its head and let loose a strange chittering roar as it shrank down and the thick fur disappeared. In moments Magenta was again herself. She started to stagger and nearly fell, but Cyan caught her and used all his strength to hold her up.

"Hey monkey boy," she said in a tired whisper, "I love you too…just don't tell anyone."

"Who'd believe me?" he joked back.

"This is IMPOSSIBLE!" roared Lord Darkness. "How could a mere human throw off my power?

"You never learned from your last defeat," said Principal Krooger, "just as there is darkness in everyone, there is light as well, and that is something you have no power over!"

"Then I shall have to take a more direct approach," snarled Lord Darkness, and with a wave of his "hand" sent a blast of force that threw everyone across the courtyard to slam into the walls, except for Magenta and Cyan, who had been beneath him.

"Now, my little ones," hissed Lord Darkness as he started to descend upon the siblings, "let us see just HOW strong this little love bond of yours is…"

"I don't think so dude," said Zach jumping between the two and the approaching horror, "back off or else!"

"Or else what, you miserable little fool? You haven't even shown any super powers this entire time…what do you think you can do to me?" Lord Darkness reached out with his hand, ready to throttle Zach.

"This!" said Zach, and he let loose his glow as bright as he could, lighting up the entire…okay maybe only ten feet of the courtyard around him, but the effect was still the same, and it was definitely one nobody expected.

Lord Darkness's hand, which was nearly at Zach's throat as he lit up, disintegrated in the light of Zach's glow. Lord Darkness screamed in anger and pain as the glow began to burn at the rest of him. He tried to get back but Zach, knowing on some instinctive level what was happening, started advancing on the shadowy being. Lord Darkness fell back, unable to rise into the air again. He now seemed solid somehow, and there was even a muffled thud as the robed figure made impact with ground. No one noticed that the darkness that had overtaken the castle was also lessening by the moment, and it was starting to look like pre-dawn morning light wise.

Lord Darkness tried to crawl away, but more and more of his form was vanishing, devoured bit by bit by Zach's glow. Finally, with a scream of rage, Lord Darkness disappeared altogether and the sky overhead was clear again. Through still cloudy, shafts of sunlight could be seen shining through, and it felt to everyone like a great weight had been lifted off the shoulders of everyone there.

The defeated evil monsters groaned almost in unison, and a few tried to escape but were quickly captured as the other students and faculty members, freed from their paralysis, started coming into the courtyard to see what happened. Chief among them were Fang and Claw, who were both relieved that Magenta was okay. She quickly introduced her new friends to everyone, but then turned to the real heroes of the hour.

"Well," she said with her indelible smirk, "nobody's going to believe that a green monkey boy and a walking nightlight defeated the boogeyman and saved a whole school of monsters from being controlled and attacking the town."

Both looked a little crestfallen, until Magenta kissed them both on the cheek.

"But I know the truth, and you're both my heroes. And anybody who laughs at that has to answer to me."

"Well, this has been just PEACHY," said Coach Boomer with sarcasm thick enough to cut with a chainsaw, "but if we could PLEASE just get everybody back on the bus and get back to Sky High before something else freaky goes on here I'll be eternally grateful."

"Not so fast, Mr. Boomer," said Mr. Krooger, approaching the class, "while we're on the subject of gratitude I'd like to extend mine…indeed that of EVERYONE here at Monster High for saving us from Lord Darkness and his minions. If not for you he would not have played his hand too soon, and we could not have fought him off on our own. You young people are already on your way to becoming wonderful super heroes, and I want you to know that you will always have friends here. As a matter of fact, I'd like to extend an open invitation to everyone at Sky High for a school mixer here in a couple of weeks."

"A couple of weeks," said Will, "you mean…"

"Yes, on October 31…and believe me, we throw one DEVIL of a Halloween party…so to speak."

The End