Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

"Such fear in your eyes, Barnacles. Osmond didn’t tell you any nasty little lies about me, did he?"

Her bright red eyes flash to the demon standing next to Barns. The look is enough to chill even the Demon Lord to his spine.

She’s standing close to them both, mere steps away. If she held out her hand, she would be able to softly graze Barns’ cheek with her velvety and pale flesh.

She’s wearing a kimono as always, one with a soft, flowery pattern that serves as a stark contrast to her otherworldly vampiric beauty. Barns remains tense in her presence - the sultry aura she’s known for still hangs heavy in the air, but he’s finding it a bit easier to resist her today.

"Ah, there he is," Francois smiles, gliding past the two men toward Eldrie. The former vampire is approaching cautiously.

"A gift?" he asks once he’s close enough to be heard. He dares not take another step.

"Don’t look into her eyes!" Osmond commands, but it’s already too late. Eldrie and Francois lock gazes. The young man is frozen in place.

She smiles big and wide, her fangs fully visible, as she sees Eldrie’s red eye. To a Master Vampire such as herself, the significance is not lost on her one bit. She can see Adon’s and Adea’s aura both within him.

"I see you have fulfilled the terms of my request," Francois says, her gaze lingering on Eldrie for just a moment before her sinister glare fixates on Osmond. "You must be here to claim your reward."

Barns finds himself entranced, taking an unwitting step in Francois’ direction. He’s close enough to smell her. The air around her is light and fragrant like roses wilting on a tombstone. It’s as intoxicating as it is unnerving.

"That’s right," Barns says, steeling himself. "Twenty thousand souls. You good for it?"

"You men are so eager to take what you desire," she hums playfully. "But who should I satisfy first, I wonder?"

Eldrie moves forward, the seduction of her earlier gaze propelling him closer and closer. Osmond watches him with a careful eye.

"Me," Osmond states. "Francois, you are making me nervous. Can you, I don’t know…roll back on the pheromones? These two look like they’re half-done already."

She flutters her eyes at her demon brother. "I can control my allure as much as you can control your fascination with a certain little Princess," she says with a smile. "But don’t worry. I shall spare them both the pleasure of my touch. I only want to enjoy the fresh air."

Her attention shifts skyward and she takes a deep breath, filling up her blackened lungs with the cold and clammy air of the Pale Court. She exhales with a satisfied ’ahh’.

"I will miss the smell of all these humans," she muses. "I’ve grown so used to them."

She reaches into her kimono and withdraws a golden locket. She dangles the chain from the tips of her fingers and rattles it, making a clinking metal sound.

"For you, little Eldrie," she says, beckoning him closer. He walks to her side, his eyes wide with fascination. She drops the locket into his out-turned palm, careful not to let her skin and his touch.

"It is filled with a small amount of ashes. It should prevent that eye of yours from ever running wild, as long as you keep this on."

He accepts the locket and looks down at it. Something about it seems familiar - and then it hits him. This locket once belonged to the love of his life, Incantra.

"Where did you…"

He winces in pain. The memories he has of his life as a vampire have somewhat returned, but they are still disjointed and foggy. He sees a glimmer of Incantra and him both standing here in the Pale Court.

’That’s right,’ Eldrie thinks to himself. ’This is far from my first time here.’

He pockets the locket, not wanting to dwell on the memories it brings back to the surface - not now. But that doesn’t stop Francois from prying.

"Do you remember why she gave that to me?" Francois smirks.

Eldrie takes a deep breath. "Yes," he says. "So I would have something to remind me of her, if she should ever die."

Eldrie’s mind flickers. It seems Incantra’s will has been fulfilled.

"Thank you, Francois."

The vampiress turns to Barns. "And I have not forgotten your gift either. As you wished, I shall have my humans march to Dimartino. As they leave the fog, so too will their souls return to them."

The marching humans halt in eerie unison, their heads swiveling southward as if pulled by an unseen force. One breaks from the pack and begins to shamble in the direction of Dimartino. One by one, the other soulless humans begin to follow in a line, moving slowly but surely toward civilization.

Barns shudders as he watches it all happen - the sight is creepy, but he’s happy for it.

Francois crosses her arms as the first of her humans leaves the city.

"Now all that’s left for you to do, Barnacles, is decide what you will do with me."

Her words strike him. He hadn’t considered it - not yet. But Francois was now part of the Kingdom of Dimartino too, in a way.

"What do you think is next?" he asks.

"I will stay here, of course," she smiles. "But you have found yourself an ally in me. You have done me a great favor, as have I for you. I look forward to our future collaborations."

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Francois shifts and begins to head back to the Vampire Lily, but not before Barns stops her.

"Francois. Some day, I will end the apocalypse. That means killing the First Vampire, and vanquishing the vampire line. Can you accept that?"

She pauses. "Barnacles, it is the only reason I decided to help you," she says with a knowing smile. "For it is the gift that I hope you will some day give me. To end my cursed existence forevermore."