Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight Voices ❯ Sybilus 1 ( Chapter 3 )

Sybilus - Part 1

Victoria walked the meandering dry path of the Haunted Wood uselessly. Another Aisha stalked passed her dripping in blood - fresh and crimson. Cautiously Victoria pulled at her hood, covering her face and crept to the protection of the Brain Tree to let the creature pass. Victoria sighed; she was glad the sun still had dominion even over the darkest areas of Neopia.

Victoria felt lost after what had happened with her dear friend Anita. She stroked the tree's oozing bark hoping it would fill her with some kind of inspiration. Anita was gone - Victoria had to face up to this. If one good thing had come from Anita's death it was that now William was hers and hers alone - but that should be no consolation as the departure of Anita had left William heart broken. Ever since the scene in the kitchen he had not ventured out from the house. He had said nothing, not even shown the crack upon his face of a half-distant smile. The only absolution of his unhappiness would be the demise of Count Von Roo, the black hearted villain who had stolen away their darling Anita.

"I will find you," Victoria resolved.

"Find whom?" A red Scorchio revealed himself from the other side of the tree. Perched upon his brow was a black felt top hat, tipped slightly to the side. He wore a black dress suit complete with red waistcoat and white bow tie. Clasped in one claw was a moehogany cane, embedded with Elephante ivory and topped with a golden scroll clasp.

"Count Von Roo!" Victoria cried.

"Oh no my dear," the Scorchio said calmly, "my name is Doctor Sybilus however I do fear I can help you on you vampire hunt."

"You fear?" Victoria questioned

"Why yes," Sybilus said as her took her arm, "the Count is a dangerous creature."

Slowly the new friends, united by the solitary topic of Von Roo walked to William's parlour house.

As she entered the atrium Victoria was smiling. She bade the doctor to take his seat and then ran up the marble staircase to fetch William. William was not in his room.

Victoria cautiously walked the landing. Every door of every room was open and so she was bathed in the early evening light. Slowly she peered into every opening until eventually there was only one more room - that of Anita's.

"William?" Victoria called timidly to him as he stood over Anita's bed, the sheets tidily folded and tucked the way she had left from how it seemed so long ago.

"Willie -" Victoria continued.

"Don't call me that!" William snapped shaking and heaving bent and broken, "she used to call me that."

"I have someone to see you," Victoria smiled as she placed a paw on his shoulder but William tore away.

"Anita?" William shouted hurriedly running to his room and undoing his tie, "she's come back?"

"No William," Victoria sighed glancing away as the Zafara bumbled through his tie drawer in his dresser, "his name is Dr Sybilus."

William halted and looked up at Victoria, "Then I suggest he finds someone who is ill."

"But William," Victoria said as she grasped at his hard arm, "the doctor knows about the Count - he can help us."

William became possessed with a driven hate at just the image of the name; a new candle burned in his eyes and he pulled out of Victoria's hold. Excited he flopped down the stairs calling back to Victoria, "Where is the Doctor?"

"In the lounge, " Victoria cried after him as she ran to the top of the staircase, leaning over the cold banisters, her eyes following William as he bounded through the hallway.

"You know how to kill Count Von Roo?" William accused rather than asked Dr Sybilus pinning the professor to the settee.

"Ah you must be William," beamed Sybilus.

"You know how to kill Count Von Roo?" William repeated.

"William," Victoria went red in the cheeks, "how rude!"

Victoria pulled William off Sybilus and then pushed the Zafara into a seat.

"Sir," Sybilus brushed himself down, "I am Neopia's leading researcher for the dark Neopian - Balthazar."

"I don't want tips on how to feed an over sized Lupe, I want to know how to kill a vampire," cried William angrily wishing he had not left his room.

"Ah," interrupted Sybilus, "but I am compiling a new edition of the Neopian Book of Dark Neopets. Before I merely researched for it, now I am writing it!"

"So Dr Sybilus can help us defeat the fiend!" Victoria sang with a new life.

"Well not exactly," Sybilus added.

"Huh?" William felt as though he was going to faint.

"You see Von Roo is the last on my research list - that's why I'm here," Sybilus began to squirm.

Victoria began to blush at the thought of inviting this lunatic into their home.

"So you cannot help," William grunted with a sense of triumph.

"Now wait," Sybilus said in a panic, "evil is as evil does - we can use my knowledge of Balthazar to defeat the evil Count. And after tonight I will know for sure his weakness for tonight I will follow the Count's every movement."

"Oh you mustn't!" gasped Victoria, "He'll kill you!"

"Not if observed correctly," the old fool smiled.

"You must tell me everything you know," William said as he calculatedly moved to armament cabinet, "Count Von Roo will not rise from the dead a second time."