Hellfire on the Other Side Book 2

Chapter 48

   A couple hours after the eventful catch-up with Clara, Charlene is at home while Shane rides around New Orleans on his motorcycle. He often finds that it's a great way to clear his mind. Especially after big moments like that. He stops at the bayou to collect his thoughts. "Alright, Shane. You just found out that your best friend was a part of a whole legion of villains, dead or alive, for almost thirteen years," he mutters to himself. "C'mon, Shane. How is this the craziest thing to happen to you? You've almost died, thought you lost your best friend, and you're on the verge of becoming a villain, thus forcing your wife to kill you, potentially causing your best friend to go after her." He stops for a moment and comes to the realization that the last thing hasn't actually happened yet. "Well, at least it won't happen for a while." He sits on the bench and looks up at the sky.

   Suddenly, a cool breeze blows by. Shane is surprised, as it's the middle of summer. It didn't take him long to realize what was going on. He smoothly moves his head to the right before a shard of ice nearly grazes his face. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, Eris," he says. Eris descends from up above on a small snow cloud. "Ooh, graceful," says Shane. Eris smiles and says, "Thank you. I wanted to look as cute as possible." She sits next to him and puts on her ice shard earrings. Shane scoffs. "So what brings you here?" he asks her. "Would you believe me if I said that I wanted to apologize for causing you to get corrupted?" Shane just groans and turns away from her. "I'll take that as a 'no' then," says Eris. "Well, good. Because that's not why I'm here at all." "So why are you here?" Eris scoots closer to him and pulls him closely. "So I could distract you long enough for my partner to work his magic," she whispers. Shane pulls away from her and gets up from the bench. "Eris, what the heck are you talking about?"

   Shane feels a strong surge of magic energy go through his head as Midas comes up from behind him and places his hands on his head. "Hahaha!" Midas cackles. "We finally got ya!" Shane is as stiff as a statue, fighting to resist the magic energy. "What the-?! What are you doing?!" he shouts. Eris chuckles maliciously. "Oh, it's very simple, Shane. Midas here's been practicing spells. And the one he's using on you is to bring out the absolute worst in you," she says, slowly walking towards him. "Basically, we're just speeding up the corruption process!" Midas interjects. Shane groans in pain as the magic continues to surge through his body. He can feel the corruption accelerating. He tries to fight it, but by Midas stops casting the spell, it's already too late.

   Shane falls to the ground, trembling. The corruption is starting to take full effect. "Is it working, Midas?" Midas jumps up and down, laughing excitedly. "Oh, yes, it is!" Eris and Midas watch in enjoyment as Shane suffers the corruption's takeover. "No! I have to fight it! You don't know what you've done!" Shane shouts. "We know exactly what we've done, Shaney!" Midas exclaims. "We've just turned you into your best self!" "Don't worry, Shane. It'll all be over soon," says Eris. Shane lets out one final wail before the corruption completes. His body goes limp, then thuds onto the ground. Eris and Midas stand in suspense, waiting for the end result. Shane slowly rises from the ground and stretches. "Shane?" asks Eris. After a moment of silence, Shane finally speaks: "Shane? Sure, that's my regular name. But if you'd like, you can refer to me as," he turns around to face them. His eyes are glowing purple, like back in Arendelle, "Shadow Master." Eris and Midas smile with glee. They did it. Shane is now one of them.

   The newly-corrupted Shane looks at his clothes in disgust. "Ugh, these rags. So dull and basic," he says. He snaps his fingers, changing his clothes into Shadow Master's attire. "Ah! Now this is more my style!" He summons his new cane, which resembles Dr. Facilier's, and leans against it. "So what's our first order of business?" Eris approaches Shane and gently rubs her hand on the side of his face. "You, my dear Shadow Master, are gonna go back home and continue to pretend to be your former hero self until Jocelyn gets the information she needs," she says. Shane smiles. "And what about you and Midas?" "Oh, don't worry about us, Shaney," says Midas. "Eris and I are gonna report to Jocelyn and tell them the good news." Shane chuckles and sends his cane away. Eris admires what she and Midas have done. The gang's back together, on the same side, forever. She may not have won Shane as a romantic partner, but she'll settle for a partner in villainy. Shane notices her staring. "Eris? Something you need to get off of your chest?" he asks. Eris blushes and turns away slightly. "Uh, no. I'm just... really excited that you're with your old friends again," she says. Shane tips his cap and winks at her. "Well, I better be going. My wife is waiting on me," he says. He gets onto his motorcycle and rides back to his house.

   Midas nudges Eris and laughs. "You love the new and improved Shaney, don'tcha?" he teases. Eris groans and blasts Midas with a bit of snow. "Shut up, Midas." She didn't want to admit it, but seeing Shane as a villain brought back her crush on him. "Let's get going. We'll talk to Jocelyn tomorrow." Midas scoffs and smirks. "Whatever you say, Eris."

   Back at Shane and Charlene's house, Charlene waits outside by the door for Shane to return, holding Shadow. "I hope he's okay. There's a lot of crazies late at night. I know he can handle himself, but part of me just can't help but worry," she says. Shadow whimpers, also worrying about her owner. Charlene looks at her and smiles. "Oh, who are we kidding? Shane's a capable man. He's been through way worse," she says. "Have I told you about the time he almost died?" Shadow barks, seemingly in response to Charlene's question.

   Before Charlene can tell the story, the rumble of Shane's motorcycle engine grows louder and louder as he gets closer to the house. "Oh! Nevermind! He's back!" says Charlene. Shadow jumps out of her arms and scurries over to Shane, who had changed back into his regular outfit on the way home to avoid raising suspicion. "Sorry I was late," says Shane. "I stopped by the bayou for a moment. Needed to be reminded of our first date to really clear my head." He picks up Shadow and gives her a kiss. "Good dog." He sets her down and goes over to Charlene. "Hello, Charlene." He grabs her hand and wraps his arm around her waist. Charlene is taken aback by this sudden action. "Shane, what's gotten into you?" she asks. "Well, I did promise that we'd do this at least once before I die. And seeing as that could happen at any time soon," says Shane, slowly moving his other hand towards her face, "I figured tonight would be great." Charlene catches on and removes Shane's cap. "Then let's take this inside," she says. And they do. The night passes before they even know it. By the time sunrise comes, Charlene is fast asleep while Shane lays awake, staring at the ceiling. Today is the beginning of the end.