Granny was looking towards the mark Norbert caused on the tube, taking her eyes off of it to look at Norbert. Norbert, who looked away under the intense gaze, whistling to himself as he spun the staff in the air as nonchalantly as possible. Feeling Granny's gaze move off him, Norbert looked to see the what had caught her attention.

She found the older woman crouching down, looking at the metal box at the base of the tube and not seeing anything there. She started to press down with a finger on parts of the base. Norbert is not seeing any change in the item at all.

About to change his vision to see magic, Norbert faulted for a second, remembering what Granny had said before about not harming himself with what he could see—a memory of when Luck made the same warning resurfaced.

Changing his mind, Norbert remembered the mist still in the air, trying to kill him. Turning around so as not to look at Granny, Norbert inspected the air, confirming that it was reduced but still there, now able to see his hand when his arm was fully outstretched. Turning back to average, Norbert looked over Granny, seeing that she wasn't showing any signs of being affected.

"How come you’re fine?" Norbert asked her.

Granny looked up from her work with a twinkle of joy. "When you're as old as me, a bit of death vapour isn't going to do much. The real surprise is that you're still standing." Granny said.

"Foiled that plan.” Skelly said, annoyance tinging his voice.

Norbert looked up at Skelly. "What do you mean, foiled?" Norbert asked the creature putting stress on the sentence, an idea already forming in his mind.

"Well, you were meant to die after shortly entering this section of the hall, and definitely when you entered the cells; drop the staff, unleashing its power for me to absorb to get out of this prison." Skelly responded.

Norbert clicked his tongue in annoyance at what the creature had just admitted to. "I thought we were friends, buddies, homies. Not stabbing each other in the back the first chance we get." Norbert said, clutching his heart as he turned away from them.

Skelly looked down at Granny, who was trying to dismiss the conversation. "Is he always like this?" He whispered to her. Norbert was still able to hear the conversation perfectly.

"From what a little birdy told me, yes, and he gets even worse with his vampire buddy." Granny said, shivering after finishing the sentence thinking about how the two of them would be after the tails that Obsius had told her.

Norbert turned around, looking at them with shock. "I am not that bad, and his name is Count von Count, and we are not buddies." Norbert exclaimed to Granny , folding his arms up in front of him.

"Oh really, from what I heard, you two are practically a married couple, always sticking together." Granny retorted.

"If we always stick together, then where is he? Why isn’t he here?" Norbert asked her.

"Couples fight." Granny responded, ending the conversation with that quick reply as she moved to the back, investigating the tube that contained the creature, moving to the tubes on the back.

Norbert followed her as she made it to the box, shaking her head as she looked at it. Wrapping on the metal box with the part leaking with her knuckles twice, she shook her head.

"Any information about the research lasted?" She asked him.

Norbert shook his head. "Only from Skelly over there, saying that he was created from the creature you pointed out before. Meant to kill champions for the Mountain King, or something along those lines." Norbert explained to her.

Turning around from the box she was investigating, Granny said, "Did you say that?" She asked him.

Skelly, shrugging his shoulders, "What can a man do to get out of a prison." He said.

Granny just shook his head. "This is ridiculous, the two of you. Just set him free and deal with the consequences yourself. You were going to do that anyway." She said as she climbed up the rubble tower before hopping out of the lab and to the prison cell section.

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Norbert scurried after her up the rubble and jumped up, looking for a second at the cell he entered from. Without a trail, Granny was no longer there, not even a brief second of Norbert looking at her coat before leaving.

Shaking his head in annoyance, turning back to Skelly. "So, still going to uphold the agreement?" Norbert asked the creature.

Receiving a nod, Norbert placed the staff leaning on the research table as he unsheathed his sword. After talking with Granny, the energy within his body had recovered. Standing still for a second, his body flooded with it as he waited to confirm that the amount it was recovering was quicker.

Feeling it comes back quicker than before, not feeling exerted at all, Norbert stood up again, sword raised above his as he did a practice swing. Holding it up again, Norbert breathed in sharply, filling his body.

"Third time a charm", He said as he swung the sword with all his might.

CRACK

SHATTER

UUURGH

Norbert heard the tube shatter as someone cried out. Feeling liquid pooling at his feet, he was happy that his boots were mostly waterproof. He was shaking one-off, confirming that the liquid wasn't eating it away before placing it down again, eyes raising to the tube, knowing it had finally been cracked.

Surprised at what he saw, Skelly was slumping over on the other side of the tank; some of the tattered robes were at the bottom. The sword stuck in the tank, Norbert making it halfway through before he couldn't push it.

Cracks weren't throughout the tab as Norbert left the sword where it was, for fear that if he moved it, the entire thing would shatter on the ground.

But the part that surprised Norbert the most was looking at Skelly, leaning over the sword, pinning him to the back, watching as he was slowly dissipated into green smoke only for that part of the skeleton to reform again.

Norbert watched with a shudder as he pushed himself up, off as high as he could. Starting to stand up, the sword he was using as support slipped out of the tank, and Norbert grabbed it before it could clatter to the floor.

SPLASH

A pile of bones at the bottom of the tank was still half filled with water, the cracks on the side slowly leaking outwards. Norbert sheathed the sword as he carefully stepped up to the creature. Looking down at it, Norbert waited several seconds, wondering what the creature was doing.

Breathing in and out several times with no change, Norbert, wondering what was happening, changed his vision to view the magic. Leaning closer, Norbert could see the once static green mist was now turbulent.

He was rushing out of the creature twirling in the air before getting sucked into another section. Like this, the mist looped around, the distance it was going out slowly getting smaller and smaller. As Norbert continued to look around, the haze that had once engulfed the room was now lessening.

Now, he could see where the staff was, even without the light it created. Walking towards the staff, Norbert sat on the bench, picking it up as he passed it between his hands, waiting for Skelly to move.

Several minutes passed before the rattling of the skeleton's bones stopped; grasping the edge of the tube, Skelly pulled himself up, liquid dripping off him. Norbert looked back, seeing no more mist being shot out of him, now circling just above its skeleton-like private cloud.

Standing to its full height, easily dwarfing Norbert, Skelly stepped out, Norbert watching as the mist followed after him, not leaving a trail anywhere. Norbert happy at what he was seeing, not wanting Skelly to be a walking natural disaster that killed everything around him.

Stepping forward, Norbert held his hand out, seeing the two horns go backwards as Skelly looked up towards Norbert. Skelly, grasping his outstretched hand, Norbert pulled the creature up until it gained its footing and continued advancing.

Finishing at full height, Norbert looked up, craning his neck slightly to see Skelly's face. Flexing his fingers in the hand that was outstretched, confirming that they were all functional.

Looking around the room, seeing the staff behind him still on the table, Norbert went over to pick it up. Turning around and looking at Skelly, Norbert asked the question now on his mind: "What now?" He asked the creature.

Skelly did not respond to his questions; Norbert only heard limbs cracking as he slowly stretched his hands above his head. Norbert watched as his arms were exposed as the scraps of cloth the figure wore came down.

Finally, Norbert saw him lower his hands, a smile creeping on the skeleton's face. Standing there, Norbert looked, waiting for something to happen.

"Now, we part ways," Skelly said as he walked away, heading towards the exit from which Norbert had come. Standing on the pile of rubble, he looked backwards, Norbert rooted on the spot, not believing that the creature would move on.

"But before that", Skelly said as he rushed towards Norbert.

Taking a step backwards, Norbert hit the research table, his elbow smashing into it, dropping the staff. Before he could realise what was happening, Skelly had the staff in hand, leaning over Norbert as he clutched his arm.

The creature lowered its head so Norbert's nose would touch Skelly's as if it were a regular lowered its best felt the gaze sweep over him, harrumphing before Skelly spoke "A penny for your troubles." He said before flicking Norbert on the forehead.

Norbert reeled backwards, flying to the back of the room as he crumpled to the ground, feeling something trickle past his eyes.

Fluttering his eyes open, Norbert watched as the creature's rags spun around; when Skelly should have been seen again, instead, it was nothing—like the creature just walked around an invisible corner.

Unable to keep them open, Norbert's eyes came crashing down, the last thought hoping the darkness wouldn't be on him again.