When last we saw our daring, death dealer - Dillinger D'Marco, he did the unthinkable, he saved a life. Thus resulting in a head on collision with a tree, Dillinger swerved to avoid impact with a deer and put himself in incredible peril in the process. Perhaps, this was karma finally collecting its dues or maybe, this was an indication that Dillinger, wasn't suited to play the hero. Who's to say really? One things for certain, his chances of walking away from this situation, were growing slimmer by the second. Smoke billowed from the engine as flames began to lap at the sky, while Dillinger remained hunched over, laying smushed against the steering wheel and unconscious. After that crack to the skull he took, it was a wonder that he was still alive but with the steady flow of carbon monoxide he was inhaling, that living condition of his probably wouldn't continue for too long. No, Dillinger's fate seemed practically signed, placed in a stamped envelope, sealed and addressed to be delivered to the grim reaper, right about now. However, serendipity can occur in some of the most bizarre ways and right before the car exploded, Dillinger disappeared. Literally. He dematerialized. Leaving behind a crimson afterglow, he vanished into thin air and then the car detonated. It was almost like he was deleted from the scene hitherto it becoming fatal. The fire danced and spread to the surrounding trees as toxic, green clouds loomed menacingly above and Dillinger was just... gone.

Moments later, Dillinger awoke to find himself in a darkened room. Laying in a bed, with the covers drawn over him and his face buried in a massive heap of pillows, he couldn't have been more confused or more comfortable. Ever. It was a weird place to be in and from what he could see; which wasn't much given the lighting, this wasn't his bedroom. Though, even if it was, there would still be a cause for puzzlement. Since the last thing that he recalled before it all went dark and he woke up here, was crashing into a tree. Had someone witnessed the wreck? Did he get pulled to safety? Was this the bed of his savior? Or did he die? Did the beginning of his afterlife start here? In an unfamiliar bed? Alone? In the dark? Could this all be a dream? These were the questions that plagued his mind as he continued to lay there and gather his thoughts. Thoughts that would soon become even more askew as a small, grey man; standing barely the height of the bed, stepped into view. Dressed in a tiny, black tuxedo, he was completely bald, with a tight, thin line of a mouth and round, baseball sized, obsidian eyes that sunk in deep, like miniature caverns. They bore no shine or gleam, like normal eyes might, when encountering even a limited amount of light. No... these were black, lifeless, portals to nothing, that were now directed at Dillinger as the little, grey man, began to speak.

"You're presence is requested by the Queen."

That was enough. Dillinger jolted upwards, tossing the covers to the floor as he sprung out of bed. Still fully dressed in his attire from earlier - black boots, black slacks and a black button down, left completely unfastened and worn over a black t-shirt, Dillinger displayed zero evidence that he was ever in a car crash at all. His face was free from bruises or contusions and he felt no pain. The only thing that lingered was confusion and a sinking sensation of dread as he feared madness finally won and this was it, claiming its hold over him. He shuddered and looked around the room and the darkness gazed back, before slowly fading to the soft glow of candlelight. As a dozen candles; spread all about the room, came to life with light. Revealing the opulent refinements that a wealthy lord in love with the color black, might own. Dillinger returned his focus to the small, grey man and sighed.

"So this is insanity, huh?"

"No, this is Castle Bloodthorn and Queen Valeska is waiting on your arrival, though I suggest you change into something a tad more appropriate before you meet with her."

Dillinger glanced down at what he was wearing and raised an eyebrow in inquiry as he turned his attention back to the small, grey man.

"Something more appropriate?"

"Yes, those are common clothes and the queen is not a common woman. Here, allow me to aid in the adjustments, since I'm sure you wouldn't have even the slightest notion as to how you should go about doing that, given your ignorance on... well, everything."

The grey half-man giggled and raised his arms as he gave a quick clap of his hands. Almost immediately after that, from every corner of the room, a shiny piece of darkness slithered towards Dillinger. Crawling along the floor and gliding through the air, they migrated in shapeless, black masses. Slowly affixing themselves to his body, they rapidly disintegrated any and all fabric in their way. Until they dominated his entire body, forming together they merged as one and soon resembled a sleek, solid black suit, spiked leather boots and a black cape, with a silver skull clasp. Dillinger gazed down at his fancy new threads and started to laugh.

"The queen must be a fan of Hot Topic."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. Hey, what should I call you? I feel like I should be addressing you with some formality, especially since you dressed me and all. That was weird by the way. Never do that again. Hahaha! I say that like I'm expecting a recurrence of this! God damn! I really must be outta my gourd!"

Dillinger sighed.

"Fuck it. Might as well enjoy the ride cause there's no use in fighting the crazy train, after it hijacked you from the side of the tracks, right? Right. So... what do you go by, little man?"

"I am Bhalbaeg."

Bhalbaeg placed his tiny, grey hand on the center of his chest and bowed graciously.

"Now, come with me, the Queen awaits."

"Well then, lead the way, Ballbag."

"No. You are mispronouncing my name. I am Bhalbaeg."

"Whatever."

Bhalbaeg motioned for Dillinger to follow him and Dillinger complied. Exiting the bedroom, they both made their way down a long, dark corridor, that slowly became illuminated as they progressed through it. On the walls, that appeared to be constructed of ebony and cerise stone and mortar, there were painted portraits; of both humans and hideous creatures alike, with eyes that seemed to follow Dillinger and Bhalbaeg, as they passed by. One of which, resembled The Creature OF The Black Lagoon, dressed in a full suit of elaborate, gold armor. Dillinger tried valiantly to stifle a laugh but to Bhalbaeg's dismay, he failed. By this point; however, they reached the end of the hallway and a set of solid, black oak doors, now stood before them. Etched in strange, symbols and decorated with detailed carvings of skeletons, deadly looking beasts and ghouls of the most frightening variety, all dressed for battle and in the midst of war, it was most assuredly a memorable sight to behold. A weaker man wouldn't have been able to witness it and walk away. Due to its graphic nature, realism and mystic properties, staring at it long enough, would meddle with your mind and invade your thoughts, till you believed that you were actually in the middle of combat, yourself. Then the sounds of screams, the clash of swords and the smell of blood, fire and death, would seize you as you continued to look upon it, unable to move. After that, you'd be lost. Trapped in the forgotten realm of the fight. Nothing else would be real to you anymore. There would only be you... and the war. Dillinger, on the other hand, simply pushed through these doors and kept moving.

And on the opposite side, there existed the throne room, where Queen Valeska, sat in wait.



Her eyes trained to him as soon as he entered the room, she watched while Dillinger approached the throne and smiled.

"My... goodness, you're the splitting image of your father, aren't you?"

"I would hope not, since my father's a corpse."

"Ah, you don't know yet, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Well, I suppose that answers my question. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed but I'm also not at all surprised. It was foolish to entrust such an important task to... them, or rather... to it, but this was his will. Now, he isn't even around to fix the issue and I'm stuck with the clean up."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you, sweetie. You would have blown up, if it weren't for me and sure, that wouldn't have killed you but it would have put you out of commission for a few hours, so I intervened. I saved the day. You aren't in pieces because of me. You're welcome for that, by the way. Plus, waking up here is a lot less traumatizing, than waking up in the morgue. For everyone involved. Trust me on that one."

"I don't understand. You saved me from being blown up. How?"

As soon as the question left his lips, images of the crash surged through his thoughts. Taking control and overrunning his mind, it was like a video of the previous events played back for only him to see. The experience was intense and when it was over, Dillinger dropped to his knees. Wild eyed and confused, he gazed up at Valeska as she burst with laughter.

"Sorry.... but you're so pathetic, it's funny."

She sighed and quieted her chuckles.

"Listen, I'd explain more to you, if I could... if I were allowed, but I can't... I'm not allowed. If your grandfather was still alive, maybe he could've shone some light on the matter but he's not, so I'm afraid we're at sort of a stalemate here. Until you discover the truth on your own, my hands are tied. I don't like the arrangement but I'm not the one who came up with it. Blame your father. Or those meddling, busy bodies you've got working for you. I'm just an amused bystander in all of this."

Valeska pushed a wayward strand of hair back into place and rose from her throne, slinking towards Dillinger, she offered her hand to him, to which he accepted and she pulled him to his feet. From there, she locked eyes with him and before he realized what was happening, she was kissing him. Savagely. Like a carnivorous animal devouring a piece of meat. It was fierce, lustful and extremely salacious but it also ended as quickly as it began and then, she pushed him aside and walked past him.

"It's not cheating if we're family. Besides, I merely had a taste, it was practically innocent. No need to tell him about this. Right?"

No need to tell him? Who the fuck was she talking about? What was going on? Was this real? Who the fuck was she and why was she saying they were related? Did he almost get hard from a relative? Oh fuck. What the fuck! This was some seriously, messed up bullshit. And it couldn't be real, could it? Dillinger's head hurt. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"I guess not."

"Good."

Queen Valeska turned back to Dillinger and smiled.

"I know none of this makes sense but it will soon and when it does, I just want to make sure we're on the same page."

With that, she reached behind her and when she brought her hand back into sight, she was holding a small, glass sphere. Tossing it to Dillinger, her smile left and her voice went cold.

"Here. You'll need that for what you're about to deal with back home."

All happy smiles again.

"Have fun!"

Before Dillinger could utter another word, he vanished from sight and Valeska returned to her throne. Some days she felt like the only one who could get things done around here, was her.

TBC