Dr. Monty

"Dr. Monty, you must be out of your mind!", Maxis whispered angrily at me, as he took a seat with my fellow brethren. I ignored his childish demeanor as I took a seat beside him, sneaking a glance down the table at Tank Dempsey and our important guest. I glanced back at my fellow Keepers, listening to their frightened whispers as they motioned to Mr. Blackstone, who tried desperately to sink further down into his seat. Maxis cleared his throat loudly as he stood up from his seat, waiting for everyone to settle down. As soon as everyone's whispers died down completely, he spoke in the most professional tone I have ever heard yet.

"Keepers," Maxis' voice boomed loudly against the walls of the room. "I would like for you all to picture a scenario in your marvelous minds. Be very silent and think long and hard of what I am going to say. What if our heroes didn't reverse the corrupted spell that fell upon each of you? What if I wasn't freed from the Summoning Key? What if our Primis men failed their mission and the Shadowman took the children away? Who would've saved the universes and the children then?"

Maxis turned to me and nodded, before facing the Keepers again. "It can still happen, unless Dr. Monty has a solution to our problem."

I stood up from the table and made my way towards the end. "He tells me that he has a plan.", Maxis scoffed. Silently, he took his seat and stared at me as the other Keepers turned their heads in my direction.

"I do, Maxis. So listen." I snapped. I turned to my fellow brethren with a forced smile. "I want to assemble a team of survivors that went rogue after the apocalypse. They may be judgmental, but their skills in combat might be useful in our time of need." The Keepers whispered frantically to each other in their native tongue, before turning to face me again. "How can you control them?", a Keeper hissed in his language. I smirked. "Observe."

"Mr. Blackstone." I glanced at the nervous magician. He looked up at me as his entire form shivered, something that wasn't like him at all. 

But anyone in his expensive shoes would be petrified about having a dangerous, unwanted entity attached to their body, like a parasite. 

So petrified that his brown eyes widened and his large mustache seemed to have jumped when I pulled the Summoning Key from my pocket. "Come here.", I ordered.

Nero bit his bottom lip, turning his head to Dempsey for approval. Dempsey nodded, signaling Nero to obey my command. Nero took a visible, shaky breath before slowly getting up from his seat, taking his time to stand next to me. "I don't want to do this.", he whispered to me. The fear in his voice was evident that he was afraid. "Do not make me do this.", Nero begged. I looked at him with hard, blue eyes. "You'll be fine, Mr. Blackstone.", I said impatiently. 

A mix of emotions flashed in his eyes as he nodded his head in defeat, putting his trembling hands on the table to support his shaking form. He closed his frightened, brown eyes as he exhaled a long breath. The fear in him was obvious, but I hoped that deep in his heart, that he would know that I wouldn't abandon him to the Shadowman. That would be inhumane on my part.

"Shadowman...", Nero whispered in a tone that tried desperately to be calm.

I looked around to see everyone in a state of panic as the lights in the room started to flicker, the table started to shake uncontrollably, and a dark purple mist began to surround Nero's lower body. The transformation was beginning. I looked down at Nero's trembling hands, witnessing a pair of dark gloved ones about to cover Nero's. Nero snapped his eyes open, looking down in horror as he realized his time in control was nearly up. He gritted his teeth, as his hands were covered completely. I slowly looked up from his hands to the rest of his form to see my old friend's eyes glaring at everyone in the room.

"Jesus Christ...", Tank muttered in disbelief, looking at the Shadowman with weary eyes. The Shadowman chuckled darkly, clasping his gloved hands together. "Meet the Shadowman once again, gentlemen.", I spoke as the Keepers began to speak frantically in their language. "He was one of our own before the Apothicons took him away. He and the Apothicons have destroyed almost every universe in existence and will most likely continue, until the mortals are long gone."

"A shady sorcerer fused with an even shadier demon is willing to fight against his creations?", Tank asked, gaining nods of approval from Maxis and the Keepers.

Maxis was the one to voice his. "Mr. Dempsey is right, Dr. Monty. How can we trust an individual that murdered his wife for money and an individual that placed me in that damned Summoning Key to escape his imprisonment?"

"You're an expert at taking a lady's life, Maxis.", Dempsey muttered as he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Not to mention you were a part of Group 935, after all. In my book, you're just as bad as them."

Maxis glared down the table at Dempsey. "You would be in Wunderbarer Traum with Richtofen's whore if it wasn't for me valuing you as...special." His tone grew darker. "Do not make me reconsider my decision."

"Enough!" I banged my fist on the table, causing everyone to be silent. The Shadowman let out a low chuckle, amused at the situation unfolding before him. I ignored him as I regained my composure.

"A sorcerer or demon and despite their dark reputation, both men can do many great things." I turned to the Shadowman, looking at him. My former friend glared at me, his smirk falling into a disgusted frown. After so many years, it was still difficult to accept the truth that he would never revert back to his original, charming self. The influence of the Dark Aether and the Apothicons had grown too much for him to simply go back. I frowned deeply, looking past his angry eyes. "Go get it.", I commanded.

The Shadowman looked down at the Summoning Key in my tight grasp and then looked up at me. I challenged him with my hard eyes, daring him to do something regretful. He frowned deeper and closed his eyes. I took a step back as the purple mist climbed up on his body, covering him from his hat to his feet. The others watched carefully as the purple mist died down quickly, revealing no sign of the Shadowman's presence. 

Tank Dempsey was the first to act as he jumped out from his seat, looking around the room. He grabbed his gun from his holster, switching the safety mode off. "Where the fuck is he, Monty!?", Dempsey barked as he aimed his gun at different directions of the room.

"He'll be back.", I simply stated, gripping the Summoning Key tighter in my hand. In that moment, the purple mist seeped through the corners of the walls, catching everyone's attention. Dempsey aimed at it as it passed him and the others at the table, stopping right in front of me. I watched it carefully as it began to form the shape of a person quickly, before the mist decreased, revealing the face of the Shadowman and his upper body. With a groan, he shoved something to my chest as he stepped away from me. Fortunately, he didn't knock the Summoning Key out of my hand, which was most likely his motive to shove the object so hard into my chest. 

"Is that what I think it is?", Dempsey asked, widening his eyes. The Keepers whispered among themselves, staring at the Kronorium in my arms. "Mein Gott...", Maxis breathed out. "I thought it was lost after the war..."

"If I can control the 'powerful' Shadowman to bring me the 'lost' Kronorium, then perhaps I can control the others as well." I looked at the Shadowman with a smirk. "After all, everyone has a weakness." He growled at my comment.

"Explain, Dr. Monty.", Maxis demanded. I chuckled as I looked at everyone.

"Without the Summoning Key and Mr. Blackstone's body, the Shadowman would not listen. Without the fear of the Shadowman's control over his well-being and my help, Nero Blackstone wouldn't follow my orders. Without promising her that I would ensure her a reunion with Dr. Richtofen, Lily Davis wouldn't be interested. Without offering them a pardon for their crimes, Salvatore Deluca and Billy Handsome wouldn't listen. Without ensuring that I would find a way to bring back 'the voices' in his head, Samuel J. Stuhlinger wouldn't listen. Without the promise I made to him about finding a way to heal his wounds and unnatural abilities, Nikolai Belinski wouldn't listen. But most of all, if I hadn't offered him a way to see his beloved Abigail Briarton again, Marlton Johnson wouldn't have thought about my plan."

Tank Dempsey sighed, sitting up in his chair. "If those freaks are willing to fight," He looked at the Keepers. "Then I'll be on board with Monty's plan." The Keepers whispered to each other again, before turning to me. "So be it."

I nodded, turning my attention to the Shadowman, who was eyeing Dr. Maxis from afar. "Thank you for your cooperation. We'd like Mr. Blackstone back." The Shadowman narrowed his eyes, while the purple mist began to vibrate violently against his body.

I was unfazed by this, though I knew that it was one of his ways to attack. Without a second to lose, I gripped the Summoning Key as hard as I could, making sure to slightly damage the light blue writings. The Shadowman's eyes widened at this as the purple mist around him began to faze out. He let out a pained scream as the mist, with some trouble, covered him from head to toe, disguising his weakened expression. The mist disappeared, revealing a frightened Nero Blackstone as he hugged himself as he shook violently.

"You didn't tell me it wouldn't be that long!", Nero sputtered out as he looked at the Summoning Key. "I don't want to do that again!" He looked at me with eyes that showed nothing but fear. "Don't make me do that again!"

I groaned, waving him off as I looked over at Tank Dempsey. "Dempsey, take him back." He nodded as he placed his hand on Nero's shoulder, guiding him to the door. I cleared my throat as I looked at the others in the room. I smiled. "When can I send them out?"

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Sorry for the short hiatus, y'all! I'm hoping to update this from now on! Hope y'all enjoyed! Be sure to vote, comment, and follow me! Bye!