Chapter Summary: Slither reveals some disturbing news he has discovered during his time with Dummy girl, and Casper takes it upon himself to protect Thatch by stealing.

Casper hurried down the hall, the sound of his own shoes setting him on edge. He was tempted to faze out of his clothes so he could sneak around and find Slither easier, but it seems that wasn't needed yet. No one was in the halls anyways. As he turned the corner to the nurse's office he saw the door open, the bright light of the office flooding into the halls, stopping right before Casper's feet. He quickly ducked right back around the corner, his back pressed against the cold stone wall. He carefully listened and he heard the oh too familiar sound of wood hitting stone, then if he listened closely, he could barely hear the sound of fabric dragging. Slither's robe.

Casper held his breath, even if it wasn't needed and carefully peered around the corner to see the two. The nurse's office door had shut behind them, leaving them in the normal dim light of Scare School.

The snake-like monster was looking pretty tired, having to rely on Dummy Girl to help him along. He was moving slower than usual, and Casper could see, even if his purple robes hid it, his tail movements were sluggish but careful, as if he was trying not to move a certain spot of his tail. "Okay you big dummy," Dummy Girl started in her horrid voice, "let's get you to bed early. Honestly, I don't even think that check-up was so bad." She easily said, not even noticing Slither's discomfort.

"She removed scales." Slither countered weakly, then just dropped the subject. He was too tired to deal with her attitude, and he was still undercover so it wasn't like he could actively argue with her, not even a little bit. "T-thank you for helping me." He mumbled after a moment, even if he truly didn't mean it. In the short time, Casper has actually gotten to know Slither he could tell when Slither was lying or not. Seems Dummy Girl didn't bother to get to know her so-called friends at all! The slightest change in Slither's facial expressions could change the meaning of his words in crazy ways.

"Well, of course, you need me." She said confidently, turning her nose up snootily. "We're friends and I need to make sure you're in tiptop shape! After all, I'm a kind generous person to my friends," she claimed with utterly no truth to back it up. "Now are you ready?"

"For the plan," Slither whispered softly, his eye nervously darting around the wall as they slowly made their way down. It was then Casper noticed they were getting close, but he wanted to hear more. He needed to know. As much as he wanted to trust Slither, Slither was Thatch's friend. Would Slither really keep his word and tell them? Was he being too distrustful...?

"Yes." The puppet giggled happily. Her laugh made Casper's gut twist. Plan? What plan? He had to move back now, they were coming his way. The ghost quickly looked around and spotted a door just behind him. He floated off the ground and quickly opened the door, relieved to find it unlocked. He ducked into the classroom, keeping the door cracked open so he could watch and hear what was going on. He no longer felt guilty about leaving the sad vampire, he needed to hear this. It was important and for the betterment of their relationship.

"Even with Kibosh, it won't change?" Slither mumbled softly.

"Course not. And we're doing it tonight." Dummy Girl decided firmly, looking ever so excited. It made Casper's gut turn into a ball of knots.

"But we agreed next week-"

"Silence... now shush, oh shush you sleepy snake." She said in a mocking motherly tone, placing her hand over Slither's mouth. "You're going to go rest in bed, and when it's time I'll come wake you," she said simply. "Everything will go according to plan, correct?" Slither nodded weakly and sighed, not bothering to say a word in protest. He just looked too tired to.

"I'll get everything ready."

"Good, you know Slither, you bring great comfort to me," Dummy Girl started to say. Casper was having trouble hearing, they were out of his sight now. He sighed, looking down at his clothes before he regrettably fazed out of them and turned invisible. He just had to hear this plan! The ghost quickly flew after Dummy Girl and Slither but kept a safe distance back. Casper must have missed part of the conversation, which was annoying but he knew what they were saying anyway.

"I'm glad you trust me-"

"Well of course. If I didn't you know what would happen." She said happily, her arms wrapped around Slither's. It would be cute, looking like she was snuggled up to his side as if they were dating; but Slither's depressed, tired eyes told a different story. "Now, get," she ordered coldly as they came in front of the boy's dorm. "Tomorrow Casper and Thatch will be gone."

"All according to plan." Slither loyalty mumbled as he went into the boy's dorm, just keeping his gaze low. The large wooden door shut behind Slither silently and Casper watched the deranged sister of Pinocchio. Casper glared at Dummy Girl, safe and unseen. The puppet was laughing, looking ever so pleased with herself as she went into the girl's dorm. Casper hesitated for a few moments, debating whether to get his friends or not, then flew through the door into the boy's dorm. He could see Slither just climbing into his bed, curling up and letting his eyes shut. Casper felt bad, but he couldn't let Slither rest. He needed answers. The ghost turned visible and landed beside Slither's bed, resting a hand on his shoulder.

The gray monster opened his eyes and looked up at Casper, then wordlessly he sat up with a sigh as if he had been expecting to be woken up at any time, of course. "You're here early." He muttered weakly. Slither adjusted himself on the bed and Casper could see Slither's robes slide off his tail as the snake monster wrapped his tail under him like an extra cushion to rest upon, though he was treating a certain spot still hidden under the purple cloth very carefully. Casper had a feeling he didn't want to see that spot.

"We need to talk." Casper frowned, trying to keep firm with the much more scary, but very gloomy and tired monster. He wanted to take charge, but he had a feeling even if he was as useful as a sleepy Ra right now Slither would still just say anything, seeing as that was what Slither's job was.

"We do..." Slither duly agreed, the end of his tail shaking briefly, making that threatening rattling sound. Casper naturally flinched, but he understood Slither mostly did it when he was distressed or emotional. "It's happening tonight. Dummy Girl is going to get you and Thatch banished." Slither mumbled tiredly. "She has evidence of you and Thatch being together."

"So? We're not afraid to hide it!" Casper puffed out his chest, much like Thatch so often did. Casper wanted to protect Thatch for once, not the other way around. It was his turn to take care of everything.

"You should be," Slither sighed tiredly but had an underlining understanding look in his gaze. "You don't get it. Yeah, most of the students get it, but the teachers, nor does Kibosh know. She has photo evidence of you two and she plans to expose it to them." Now that was a worry. Students had little power against other students, but the teachers could expel him, or banish him! And Kibosh... He was just... Kibosh! Oh, he was already missing Alder and Dash, if only Dummy Girl did this last night they could have handled this, but now it was too late and the two-headed headmaster was gone!

"How?" Casper asked, his chest tight with fear. "How did she get evidence?"

"Ra," Slither spoke in his normal monotone voice

"Ra wouldn't betray me," Casper said defensively, but his eyes naturally drifted over to Ra's sarcophagus. "He's my friend. He wouldn't..."

"Not in his normal state of mind," Slither said to comfort the ghost, resting his striped arms on Casper's shoulder, looking at the ghost's face carefully. "Anything Ra revealed was not of his own accord, he had no control over himself, Casper... Haven't you noticed it?"

"It...?"

"He's sleeping more than usual. He's always exhausted especially this past week. Dozing off in classes? Harder time waking up in the morning? When we're asleep Ra is awake." Slither almost whispered. His eyes kept darting to the door, careful, calculating. He didn't want to get caught. Too much was resting on telling Casper everything he learned.

"How do you know?"

"Dummy Girl told me... Casper, we're monsters learning our powers. You saw Ra, how he can relive any memory." Oh, now that was a problem. If Ra showed Dummy Girl his memories... but Ra would never betray them. Casper's expression said it all and Slither continued. "Ra was forced. As Ra found his ability, so did Dummy Girl. She's a puppet Casper. In some mockery of life, she has the ability to control people like they are a puppet, and when she does so they have no memory of it ever happening if she wishes it." Slither revealed, his gaze dropping down quickly. He removed his arms from Casper's shoulders and rested back on his coils, his rattle shaking loudly as he nervously looked around them.

"That can't be right..."

"She has no power over stronger monsters, they can break her control but students like us are helpless... She can't control ghosts either. They have to have a physical body. That's why you're such a threat to her. You got me and Thatch away from her, and she can't stop you." Slither encouragingly said. "She won't do it around a lot of people, which is why she gets so annoyed when Thatch is always with you, because even with her powers she can't remove Thatch from you." Casper didn't know if that was a comfort or not. He felt terrible about leaving Thatch again, but he told the vampire to stay with Mantha and Ra. And as long as Ra was with Mantha and Thatch, all was ok. Until they got Dummy Girl under control they needed a buddy system.

"What can we do?" Casper asked, his shoulders slumping. It already seemed so impossible. He had no clue what to do, but Slither was watching him like it was the clearest thing to do.

"You're a ghost, take the camera she has, all the evidence is in it. Destroy it, then I will plant the Blood Blossom in her nightstand. Tell Kibosh you found more of it and the source. We'll get Dummy Girl in trouble. Casper you just got to get rid of that camera."

"Where is it?"

"With her," Slither muttered. Casper sighed heavily and looked away. Of course, where else would it be? He'll have to sneak into the girl's dorm and steal it, then either just ruin the photos or just destroy the camera- he could do it in the incinerator! He'll just throw it in there and that'll be the end of it it all. Casper grinned widely, hope filling him. He could do it, he'll just have to be careful.

"I can do this," Casper whispered, almost to himself. Slither allowed a small smile to creep onto his face for a moment before it was gone. Slither didn't like to display positive emotion for long periods of time.

"Do it, Casper, protect Thatch, please. Don't let my... brother be hurt." He begged. Casper nodded in determination, but deep down inside he wondered; why was he really doing this? His love for Thatch was a clear answer, but it felt selfish- as if the only reason he wanted to protect the vampire was just for himself. But, was there anything wrong with being selfish for just once? He wanted Thatch, he wanted the vampire just to himself, that big smile and his laughter filled him with joy. It felt horrid being so selfish about Thatch, but the vampire was his, and that vampire needed protection.

As Casper turned away from Slither he felt purely determined to protect his Thatch, his Bat-Boy. "Rest up Slither, you did a good job." He encouraged gently before he walked towards the door. Casper figured he might as well do it now when there were little people around. As the ghost exited the boy's dorm he carefully pushed off the ground, floating in the air as he turned invisible. He went across the hall and simply fazed through the door, not even bothering to peer in first. He knew everyone was still at dinner, and only Dummy Girl could possibly be in the dorm.

He gave a quick glance around, noting it was the same as the boy's dorm. Boring, gray, cold and a lot of creaky beds. His blue eyes snapped to Dummy Girl, who was sitting on her bed, fiddling with the camera. He had silently hoped she would have left, but luck was not on his side.

The ghost glared and flew over, watching Dummy Girl as she hummed ever so happily, cleaning the lens of her camera. Of course, she had to have it... With it directly in her hands, there was nothing Casper could do to get it. He'll have to distract her. He glanced around the room, and the only thing his eyes landed on was the exit he just came from. So, he flew over to the large wooden door and knock loudly. He then watched as Dummy Girl growled, placing the camera under her bed before she jumped up and marched over to the door angrily to open it. Casper swiftly used this time to fly over to the bed, grabbing the camera and lifting it. He had to be careful not to move the camera when she was looking now. He kept his eyes on Dummy Girl as she peered into the hall, stomping her foot angrily when no one was actually at the door. Casper carefully started to fly, going high up near the ceiling. No one ever looks up when they're searching for something.

He stayed near the walls, his heart pounding in his chest as Dummy Girl slammed the door and marched over to her bed, only to freeze when her camera was missing. Casper could see her jaw hang open on her hinges, then she started to search. She ripped the blankets and pillow off her bed, flipped the mattress and starting to look all over the floor. All the while Casper floated towards the door, holding the camera to his chest. He noticed it had one of those handy straps so he placed it around his neck so he could use his arms.

He was so close... Once Casper was over the door he started to float down. He needed to open the dumb door to get the camera out. Dummy Girl growled angrily, kicking her pillow to the center of the room. Then, as she glared at her pillow she noticed her camera, which was strangely floating.

"Casper!" She screeched. Casper really thought it was mercy Dummy Girl wasn't a banshee. He quickly let himself be seen, no use hiding it.

"You're not getting away with this!" He said bravely, quickly opening the door and flying out, going straight into the boy's dorm. He pushed the boy's dorm doors quickly and rushed in, and as he turned to shut them he saw Dummy Girl charging right for him. Casper quickly grabbed the door and started to push, but the evil puppet got her hand through, desperately trying to grab the camera.

"Give it! Give it back you dumb ghost! You'll pay! GIVE IT!" She screamed. Casper flinched at her yelling, her voice was enough to make anyone's ears bleed. Then her wooden hands grabbed hold of the camera and started to pull it. Casper winced, the strap yanking against his neck. He quickly grabbed hold of the camera to ease the pressure off his neck while he also placed his feet on the door, keeping it from opening anymore.

"You're not going to stop us! Give up Dummy Girl." Casper yelled. "You leave me, Thatch and all my friends alone! You're done, you got no one!" Casper snapped, tugging on the camera harshly. Dummy Girl almost lost her grip, but through the opened doors he saw her smiling.

"I'm not alone. Slither!" She yelled loudly. "Get the camera, stop Casper!" She ordered. When Casper turns his head he saw Slither standing there, woken from his uneasy and very brief sleep. Slither watched what was before him, then went over, letting his long striped arms wrap around the camera. "Yes Slither, yes take it!" Dummy Girl yelled, laughing as she watched. "Open this dumb door as well!"

Slither pulled the camera away from the door, making Dummy Girl lose her grip, and he also pulled so hard Casper was pulled back, his feet off the door to let it open. Dummy Girl quickly shoved the door and rushed in, eager to cheer along with the much stronger monster.

Casper held onto the camera tightly, his eyes wide as he looked up at Slither. For a brief moment, he thought Slither was going to take the camera from him. The gray monster was watching Casper carefully, then his eyes drifted down to the camera. For a moment Slither actually looked confused, but then Slither slowly unwrapped his arms from around the object and turned to Dummy Girl, hissing distastefully at her.

"Out." He ordered back. At Dummy Girl's plain confusion Slither actually dashed forward- this was the first time Casper ever saw Slither move fast. It was terrifying. His hidden snake half was pure muscle after all, and when he wanted clearly he could book it. Casper now realized why Slither always moved in a slow sluggish manner, if he went fast it would surely give someone a heart attack.

Slither towered over the much smaller puppet, hissing in her face, his forked tongue briefly flicking out. "Get out!" He yelled in her face. Casper flinched, his eyes wide in shock as Slither actually raised his voice. It trembled a bit with the effort, but that didn't make it any less frightening when the pale monster showed his sharp fangs, probably something he learned to do from Thatch. When she refused to step back, whether in shock or stubbornness he wrapped his arms around her body, tightly wrapping her up from shoulders all the way down to her ankles. He lifted her off the ground, over his head as he slithered out of the dorm and out into the hallway. He glanced up and down the empty halls, then tossed the wooden monster to the stone floor as if she was nothing but a sack of dirty laundry. He stopped and listened to the satisfying sound of wood hitting against stone, along with her yells of betrayal and general pain. Slither watched her, his eyes narrowing. He took note that she was not broken, no snapped limbs or injuries. Slither was mad, but he had a feeling Thatch would be displeased if he found out he'd broken Dummy Girl. But since she wasn't, then Slither had nothing to worry about.

So, without a single worry, the snake monster turned his nose up and slithered back into the boy's dorm, slamming the doors behind himself with his extendable arms just to make it clear that Dummy Girl wouldn't be getting her dumb camera back.

Casper was just floating there, slack-jawed and partly curled around the camera in a protective manner, just hovering a bit off the ground. He was a bit speechless, having seen Slither actually try to be scary, and so aggressive as well was terrifying. But, they were monsters and Casper just had to assume he'll have to get used to this. He knew as they grew each student would only get more and more scarier.

"Slither you..."

"You did it," Slither spoke in his soft, gloomy voice as if he did not lift up a fellow monster and throw them halfway down the hall. "You got the camera." He offered a small smile. Casper nodded, slowly uncurling and letting his feet touch the cold stone floor. He looked down at the camera, deeply frowning. He needed to destroy this but, he also wanted to see what was on it. Surely she couldn't have gotten much out of Ra, right? Slither was watching Casper's expression, seeming to understand his need for knowledge. "Keep it. As long as she doesn't have it, what's the harm?" Slither innocently asked. "She's powerless. She has no friends, no Blood Blossom, no camera. We're safe." He said oh so willingly to the ghost. Casper just felt himself smile as he watched the gray monster.

"Slither, thank you for being my friend." The friendly ghost said happily. Slither's gray face turned a few shades pink and he quickly looked down, his hair hiding his face like a curtain, as always. It was cute, and Casper could finally see why Thatch was so fond of Slither. "You must be tired," Casper stated, "you should go back to sleep. The others will be finishing with dinner by now." He figured everyone was slower because it was a Friday. Wow, a whole week back from school from the weekend at Thatch's place. So much had changed.

"I want to see Thatch," Slither muttered as he glanced towards the door. Casper was able to see the worry so he quickly decided to remedy that.

"Oh he's fine I'm sure. He's with Ra and Mantha, remember? I'm sure the three of them are heading back here right now." He said positively. "I bet you're hungry, you didn't eat dinner did you?" Slither shook his head no so Casper floated over to Thatch's coffin. "I'm sure Thatch won't mind if you eat some of his blood worms, just a small snack before bed?" He offered.

Slither tore his eyes away from the door and followed Casper over to the coffin, watching as the ghost opened one of the many hidden drawers. This one was stuffed with all of Thatch's hidden snacks. Casper frowned a bit, a bit confused. When Thatch showed him this drawer it was stuffed with candy, and now it...was still utterly stuffed. Maybe Thatch just wasn't in the mood for candy lately? But then again, the vampire wasn't eating at all either. Casper grabbed a bag anyways and handed it over to Slither.

"Hey, Slither? How often does Thatch need to eat?" Casper innocently asked as he sat on top of the closed coffin, resting the camera in his lap. Slither was struggling to open the bag of candy due to the fact he had no hands, and Casper quickly took the bag back and opened it as if he was taking care of a young child. He handed the now opened bag of candy back to Slither, who contently popped a few pieces in his mouth before he answered the ghost.

"As a living vampire he needs to eat every two to three days if it's normal food, and if its blood every three to four," Slither said ever so simply. Clearly, Slither had memorized Thatch's health needs. "He also sleeps lightly and generally only needs 4 hours of sleep to function, but can function off of 2, though it makes him really cranky and aggressive."

"Oh..." Casper deflated. "Slither... I don't think Thatch has been eating," the ghost mumbled softly. He watched Slither, gauging his reaction. Much to his surprise Slither was nodding in agreement.

"I noticed too, I just haven't had time to force him to eat, not with everything else going on... He's going to fall ill very soon, I can tell." Slither muttered softly.

"How so?" Casper frowned deeply. "What's going on? What'll happen?"

"The symptoms are already showing. He's sleeping heavier, he has more mood swings going between peaceful to aggressive, but actually rarely getting into fights anymore." Slither started to list off as he munched on the candy. "I've noticed it, he's ok with Ra for one moment then ready to fight the next, but he always backs down."

"I thought he was just trying to get better," Casper mumbled, feeling a bit put down. So all that progress he thought he had was Thatch being sick?

"He is, but such extreme emotions might not be what it seems," Slither muttered in thought, the end of his tail rattling, but it was almost completely silenced by the weighted robes the serpent wore. "Haven't you noticed he's sleeping heavier? Like the other night when we were talking. I was actually up and moving for a while before I shut the door on my tail, and only then he woke up?" Slither frowned deeply. "That's not normal."

"Oh, you're right. A bit ago I was sleeping in Thatch's coffin." He started, and at Slither's distrustful look Casper held up his hands. "Only sleeping." He defended quickly to defuse the overprotective snake. "I woke up before him, even moved around and he didn't wake up."

"Exactly, that's not like Thatch." Slither sighed, finishing the bag of gummies. "It happens every time. He gets a taste of home and he gets homesick all over again."

"He's homesick?" Casper frowned. Slither just nodded, stretching tiredly. The ghost briefly glanced towards the clock. Any moment now everyone would be returning. "We'll have to make sure Thatch eats tomorrow then." He said stubbornly as he slid off the top of Thatch's coffin. "Head off to bed Slither, I'll take care of Thatch." He patted the monster's shoulder, guiding him back to bed where he tucked the tired monster in. Slither fell right asleep, his arms coiled around his pillow, cuddling it as he fell asleep. Casper sighed happily, watching Slither contently for a moment before he went back to Thatch's coffin. Hiding the camera in here was probably the best thing he could do. As he opened the lid he heard the doors open. He could hear several sets of footsteps as all the students were returning from dinner. Casper quickly removed the strap from around his neck and placed the camera just in the coffin and climbed in, shutting the lid behind himself.

He didn't want to be bothered, nor did he want anyone to see he had the camera. The ghost boy scooted around, finding that hidden pin in the mattress and pulling it to reveal Thatch's secret drawer, filled with all sorts of colorful ducks. Casper grabbed the camera, carefully setting it on and moving the ducks so the camera was half-buried in the colorful rubber animals. He then shut the lid and settled down on the mattress, figuring he could just stay here and wait for the vampire anyways. He felt like sleeping beside Thatch, knowing now that they were safe from Dummy Girl's attacks.

As Casper started to doze off in the coffin he heard the lid open, light shining in for a few brief moments as Thatch slipped in, carefully moving around the sleepy ghost as if this was just the most natural thing to do. Casper adjusted a bit as the vampire laid down beside him, pulling the ghost to his chest in a protective manner. No words were exchanged, when Casper opened his eyes he could see the vampire already just settling down to sleep, looking far too tired than he ever should. The ghost frowned, and out of instinct, he wrapped his transparent arms around the vampire in a hug, acting like he was just cuddling close. In truth, he was comparing his size to Thatch, and Casper could easily tell the vampire was rapidly losing weight.

Casper moved his hands around, carefully feeling along Thatch's side. The vampire was much skinnier than before, and that only confused the ghost. How was Thatch getting skinny so fast? Sure the vampire wasn't eating but... did vampires need to eat more in general to other monsters or humans? Casper recalled Jimmy saying humans can go 3 days without water, and a whole 3 weeks without food. If one thought about it that way then Thatch really had to eat a lot, maybe that's why he's always eating candy, he's constantly got the munchies! Casper frowned deeply, already feeling angry with the vampire. How dare Thatch not take care of himself! If Thatch didn't eat tomorrow Casper would take Thatch to the nurse, or worse... He would call Thatch's mother.

But for now, he'll let the exhausted vampire sleep. Casper nuzzled close, watching Thatch's steady breathing, and just to make sure he wasn't imagining anything Casper purposely pushed on Thatch's chest, gently shaking him. All he got was a whine and Thatch annoyingly swatting at Casper a bit before he settled right back down. Casper watched him angrily but tried to understand. Thatch was homesick. That's all... Can't get mad at that... Damn it, Thatch.