Full Moon Rising, Part 2

When Mona and Dil entered the kitchen through the French windows, they found Tommy in the middle of a bowl of cereal.
  “Oh, hey D,” said Tommy absently. “Who’s your friend?”
  “I’m glad you asked me that, T!” Dil exclaimed. “This is Mona the Vampire!”
  “What?” Tommy scoffed. “She doesn’t look like a vampire to me.”
  “Then let me oblige you, Tommy,” Mona offered generously, and transformed into her vampire form.
  “Jesus Christ!” Tommy exclaimed.
  “Wow, that’s so cool!” Dil enthused, eagerness shining in his eyes.
  “Now I have your attention, perhaps we can talk about Angelica,” Mona suggested. “Her life is in terrible danger and I need to find out what evil monster is baying for her blood. I need you two to help me convince her to trust me.”
  “Whoa, this is too much to take in,” Tommy boggled, shaking his head in vain. “Angelica’s already completely bummed about having to stay here, without us telling her that some monster is trying to kill her!”
  “Well she has to believe it!” Mona exclaimed. “If we don’t save Angelica, the world as we know it could crumble away to dust!”
  “We’ve got to help Mona with her mission, T!” Dil exclaimed. “We have to decide what to say to Angelica before she…”
The kitchen door suddenly burst open and Angelica stomped into the room, glaring around accusingly at Tommy, Mona and Dil.

Lily jiggled up and down impatiently on Charley’s bed, waiting for her companion to arrive.
  “Oh, Charley, why must you keep me waiting?” Lily fretted, almost bursting with anticipation. “I need you here with me!”
A strange noise suddenly caught Lily’s attention. It was a snuffling, scratching sound, and it was coming from Charley’s built-in wardrobe. Lily’s curiosity was pricked. She went over to the wardrobe and pressed her ear to the door. The noise intensified, and Lily fancied she could hear the sound of an animal breathing behind the door. Upon closer inspection of the wardrobe, Lily found that the door was padlocked shut, but the key was still in the padlock.
  “What’s he keeping in there?” Lily wondered. “Oh, he must have bought me some sort of pet as a surprise present! Charley, you’re so wonderful!”
Lily turned the key and removed the padlock. At once, a terrific snarling filled the room as the wardrobe door burst open. A very hairy creature forced its way into the room, growling and snarling ferally. It was about the same height as Lily herself, but its arms and torso bulged with muscles underneath a thick layer of brown, matted hair. The creature’s countenance was wild and angry, and it regarded Lily with a malicious look before roaring once again.
  “Oh, help!” Lily cried shrilly. “Charley, save me!”
The hairy creature leapt at Lily. Before its matted chest filled her vision and forced her to the floor, Lily got a clear look at a strange mark that was etched into the creature’s skin with defined red scars. It was a triangle with a circle inside it. The two lines of the triangle’s top point continued upwards to make a diagonal cross, and the circle had several spoke-like radii originating from its centre.
  “Eek!” Lily screamed as she toppled to the ground. “CHARLEY!”
Charley skidded into the room, set down his two bottles of Sunny Delight, and stared in horror at the scene before him.
  “Lily, what have you done?” Charley boggled. “You’ve released the creature!”
  “Save me!” Lily wailed piteously. “I can’t breathe!”
Charley darted over to the creature. Grabbing it under its hairy, sweaty armpits, he wrestled it off Lily and began to force it back towards his closet.
  “The padlock!” Charley yelled at Lily. “Get the padlock ready!”
But Lily had had enough. She bolted from Charley’s bedroom, down the stairs, and back to her own house as fast as her legs would carry her. Once there, she shot upstairs, ran into her bedroom, slammed the door, and collapsed onto her bed, panting and exhausted. When she had recovered somewhat, Lily noticed that her room was almost in darkness. The open curtains let in what little daylight there was left, etching the room with a weak bluish light. Lily reached for her bedside lamp, but stayed her hand as a commanding voice suddenly called out to her.
  “Stop!” it hissed urgently. “Don’t turn that light on!”
The voice had come from the foot of the bed. Lily looked over to her computer desk, where she fancied she could see a small shape slinking behind the computer monitor.
  “What’s going on?” Lily asked nervously. “Who are you?”
  “Don’t worry about that now,” the mysterious visitor replied in his rasping tones. “Just pin back your ears and listen, Lily; there are things you need to know.”

Tommy, Dil and Mona looked at Angelica’s black expression with unease. As no one seemed to be saying anything, Tommy broke the silence.
  “Hey, Angelica,” he said lamely. “Did you enjoy your coffee?”
  “Never mind about that!” Angelica snapped. “What’s that crazy girl doing here?”
  “She’s not crazy,” said Dil. “She’s a vampire and she wants to help you.”
  “Oh please, not this again,” Angelica sighed. “I don’t have the time or the patience for…”
  “Listen, Angelica, the fact is that your life is in danger,” Mona cut in. “I can help you, but you have to work with me on this.”
  “Why should I?” Angelica retorted. “I don’t believe that you’re this vampire heroine you claim to be, and I don’t believe that some mysterious monster is suddenly going to turn up here and try to kill me!”
  “Look, Angelica, I know it sounds a bit far-fetched, but maybe you should give Mona a chance to prove herself,” Tommy suggested. “You’ll be kicking yourself if you just dismiss her help and then you get attacked tonight by some horrible hairy monster with sharp teeth.”
  “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen,” Angelica snorted derisively.
  “I will prove myself to you, Angelica,” Mona vowed. “The night is fast approaching. As soon as it’s dark, I’ll be able to show you just what I’m capable of.”
As Mona heard herself say this, her jaw dropped open and her hand shot to her mouth in alarm.
  “Oh no, I can’t do it tonight!” she exclaimed in dismay. “Already I can feel the full moon rising… Christ, I have to get away from here as quickly as possible!”
Mona shot out of the French windows, leaving Tommy and Dil staring after her in bafflement. Angelica crossed her arms and grinned smugly.
  “There, I told you she was crazy,” Angelica stated. “Good riddance, I say. I’m going to watch TV now, and you’ll both leave me alone if you know what’s good for you.”
Angelica stormed from the room in her usual temperamental way, as Tommy and Dil stared at each other in surprise.
  “What was all that about?” Tommy wondered.
  “You got me, T,” Dil shrugged. “But there’s obviously something up with Mona.”
  “And Angelica still doesn’t believe that she’s a vampire,” Tommy pointed out. “Why couldn’t she just grow her fangs again to prove it once and for all?”
  “We need to give this whole deal a helping hand,” Dil decided. “I’ll find Mona and talk to her – you take Angelica.”
  “Sure thing, D,” Tommy agreed. “She’ll never believe me about this stuff, though. Hell, I’m not even sure I believe it myself!”
  “We have to believe it, T,” Dil was adamant.

Dil caught up with Mona in the back garden. She was just about to leap over the fence and disappear into the night.
  “Hey, Mona, wait up!” Dil called. “What’s wrong?”
Mona whirled around to stand facing Dil, panic showing on her face. Although she was desperate to get very far away as quickly as possible, Mona forced herself to stay put. She trusted Dil and found his slightly eccentric approach to life strangely reassuring. She wanted him to know the truth.
  “As soon as the moon rises, I’m going to turn into a werewolf!” Mona cried. “I have to get as far away from you lot as possible, or I might accidentally kill someone!”
  “Whoa, heavy,” Dil remarked, not sounding particularly shocked or alarmed by this revelation. “Is there any sort of supernatural monster that you can’t turn into, Mona?”
  “It’s just the two of them,” Mona assured him. “I really want to get rid of the werewolf within the next month, but there’s nothing I can do about tonight’s transformation. I’ll be back in the morning, I promise. In the meantime, keep working on Angelica!”
  “Yeah, sure,” Dil agreed. “Are you going to be okay?”
  “I’ll find somewhere safe,” Mona nodded. “But I must do it quickly – I can feel the creature stirring inside me. I’ll see you tomorrow, Dil.”
With that, Mona vaulted over the fence and disappeared into the night. Dil made as if to return to the house, but a flurry of movement in the dark shadows of the garden caught his attention. Dil went over to investigate. Just behind the garden’s largest tree, Dil saw a small figure peering through a hole in the fence.
  “Hey there,” Dil said casually. “My name’s Dil Pickles. Who are you?”
The small figure whirled around in alarm to look at Dil. In the near-darkness, Dil saw the creature’s long trunk-like snout and waving antennae.
  “You jumped me!” the creature said nasally in accusatory tones.
  “I’m sorry,” Dil hastily apologised, staring intently at the small figure. “Wow, you’re some kind of alien, aren’t you?”
  “In your terms, yes,” replied FX. “You don’t seem particularly surprised to see me.”
  “Heck, I see aliens all the time,” Dil said casually. “I haven’t met one like you before, though. Where are you from?”
  “Twinkle-Twinkle,” replied FX. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
  “What are you doing in my garden?” Dil pressed. “Is there something I can help you with?”
  “I doubt it.”
  “Are you something to do with Mona the Vampire?”
  “You know of Mona the Vampire?” FX asked interestedly.
  “Sure,” Dil grinned. “She’s here to save my cousin Angelica from some evil monster.”
  “Ah, excellent,” FX approved. “I knew the reason for her visit here would be something like that. I’ll start drafting my report for the Intergalactic Council immediately.”
  “You mean you’re doing a report on Mona?” Dil asked for clarity. “You’re not trying to prove she’s evil or something, are you?”
  “No, no!” FX assured him. “I’m trying to prove she’s good. You mustn’t mention me to her, though – it could result in… consequences.”
  “Okay, I won’t mention you,” Dil agreed. “I’ll just do my best to help Mona save Angelica, so you can write a good report about her.”
  “Excellent,” FX smiled approvingly. “Well, I must return to my ship now. It was nice to have met you, Dil. Rocket and Roll!”
Dil watched FX disappear in a green flash. His eyes were sparkling with pleasure.
  “Wow, cool alien powers,” Dil enthused. “That was five-by-five!”

Mona ran and ran for all she was worth. As the full moon rose in the night sky, Mona felt the change beginning to overcome her. She felt hairs sprouting all over her body. She was overwhelmed by the urge to run on all fours as her limbs transformed into lithe lupine legs. Her face grew into a bestial snout, and she howled wildly into the night. The werewolf inside Mona was now loose. Unable to control herself, Mona licked her lips hungrily and turned around, retracing her steps towards the house she had left not long before. This scene was watched in a purple watery haze by a concerned spectator. In his pyramid tomb, Mum-Ra’s dead eyes watched intently from beneath a red cowl as the werewolf leapt back over the garden fence.
  “This is a complication I had not foreseen,” Mum-Ra mused to himself. “If Mona is having problems with her werewolf side, it could interfere with my plans most detrimentally.”
Mum-Ra watched the werewolf clawing at the kitchen door, and forcing its way into the house. Straightening his back and spreading out his red cloak, the evil mummy came to a decision.
  “If Mona kills Angelica herself before my evil plan has even got underway, all my preparations will be ruined!” Mum-Ra cursed. “Mona will then be unable to sacrifice herself in order to save Angelica, and she will yet live! That cannot be allowed to happen! Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mum-Ra, the Ever Living!”
The awesome transformation took place as Mum-Ra’s withered features bulged into enormous muscles. Without pausing for a second, Mum-Ra the Ever Living rose high into the air, intent on giving his evil plan a helping hand.

Angelica was more than ready to get into bed, go to sleep, and draw a veil over the latest day in her life. She felt belittled, harassed, frustrated and annoyed, and she had had more than enough. When she had finished in the bathroom, she pulled on her nightdress, yawned sleepily and opened the door. A terrifying sight met her eyes. There was a large wolf-like creature right in front of the bathroom door, and it was roaring and salivating.
  “Jesus Christ!” Angelica yelled in fright, and the creature dived for her. Angelica ducked instinctively, and then shot out of the bathroom. The creature skidded around in a circle, and then followed its prey back out onto the landing. Angelica screamed loudly, which led to the door of Tommy’s bedroom being flung wide open.
  “Whatever’s wrong, Angelica?” he asked, yawning slightly.
  “It’s some sort of horrible monster!” Angelica screeched, rushing over to Tommy and clinging onto him tightly. “It’s after me – that crazy girl was right! Save me, Tommy!”
Tommy stared in alarm as the werewolf stalked towards him and Angelica. Reaching just inside his bedroom doorway, Tommy’s hand closed around a large folded-up camera tripod, which he sometimes used in his amateur film work. As the werewolf leapt at Tommy and Angelica, Tommy swung the tripod at it as hard as he could, connecting squarely with the creature’s face. It yelped and flew backwards, hitting the ground with a terrific thud.
  “Yeah, how do you like them apples, huh?” Tommy crowed in exhilaration.
  “What is it, Tommy?” Angelica whispered fearfully.
  “I think it’s a werewolf,” Tommy replied.
  “What are we gonna do?” Angelica fretted. “I don’t suppose you have any silver bullets in the house, do you?”
  “Never needed them,” Tommy grinned sheepishly. “But we have to get rid of it somehow.”
The creature suddenly leapt to its feet, and lunged at them once again. Tommy brought his tripod up to meet it, but it was powerfully dashed from his grasp. Instinctively, Tommy punched the creature with his other hand, causing it to stagger backwards ever so slightly. Angelica then cannoned into the werewolf for all she was worth, sending it toppling to the floor once again.
  “We can’t keep this up forever!” Angelica shrilled.
  “We need Mona the Vampire!” Tommy exclaimed. “Man, I wish she hadn’t rushed off like that.”
The werewolf began to rise to its feet once again. However, before it had righted itself, a red flash of lightning occurred in front of the creature, and Mum-Ra the Ever Living appeared, barring its path. As Tommy and Angelica watched in awe, Mum-Ra hoisted the werewolf above his head and disappeared in another blinding red flash.

Out in the back garden, Mum-Ra held the werewolf down on the lawn by its shoulders. The creature snarled and writhed, but Mum-Ra did not release his iron grasp.
  “You have to fight this, Mona!” Mum-Ra commanded powerfully. “Your werewolf side is as nothing compared to the vampire within you. The vampire can drive out the werewolf – it can do whatever you want it to do. The vampire is who you truly are; what you truly are – let it out!”
The werewolf began to howl alarmingly. As Mum-Ra continued to pinion the creature, the wild howl gradually changed into the piercing tones of Mona’s own voice. Her werewolf hair retracted into her skin, her limbs reformed into human arms and legs, the hair on her head blackened, and her werewolf fangs shrank slightly into vampire fangs. Confused and disorientated, Mona the Vampire stared blearily up at the colossal form looming over her.
  “What’s… what’s going on?” Mona mumbled. “Who… who…?”
  “That’s it, child, let the vampire out!” Mum-Ra commanded. “It has a job to do – Angelica’s life must be saved!”
  “Mum-Ra?” Mona queried in disbelief, sitting bolt upright all of a sudden. “What are you…?”
But Mona did not finish the question, for she was now quite alone in the garden. Staring absently around her, Mona began to remember something of what had transpired. She remembered running away from the house, then returning, and she seemed to remember Angelica screaming loudly.
  “My God,” Mona breathed. “The werewolf did this. But the moon’s still out – what’s keeping the werewolf at bay? It must be the vampire, like Mum-Ra said. But was he really here? Ooh, I can’t handle this!”

Back upstairs, Tommy and Angelica were still in shock.
  “Where is that crazy girl?” Angelica fumed. “Why wasn’t she here when we needed her?”
  “We have to find her as quickly as possible,” Tommy asserted. “But she could have gone anywhere!”
All of a sudden, Dil’s bedroom door burst open. Dil came out onto the landing, wearing a pair of shorts and a bobble hat with ear-warmers on it.
  “She’s in the garden,” Dil reported blithely. “I’ve just seen her wandering about down there.”
  “Why wasn’t she up here when we needed her?” Angelica wondered.
  “Maybe she was,” Dil muttered quietly.
  “We have to go down and tell her what happened!” Tommy exclaimed. “Come on!”
The three of them rushed downstairs and into the back garden, where Mona had got to her feet and was dusting herself off. She looked up as Tommy, Angelica and Dil approached her, showing Angelica her fanged form for the first time.
  “Thank goodness you guys are all okay!” Mona exclaimed in relief. “For an awful moment I thought that…”
  “Mona, I need your help!” Angelica interrupted sharply. “You were right – there is some evil creature after me, and it wants to kill me. I won’t question you anymore, I promise – you just have to save me!”
  “That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Angelica,” Mona grinned. “Let’s get busy.”

Lily stared intently at her computer monitor, trying to catch a glimpse of her mysterious visitor. However, she could make out no definite features in the darkness. Lily was sure that the creature was quite small, and had two piercing green eyes that shone out of the shadows. She supposed that it must be some sort of minor demon, although its voice sounded strangely familiar.
  “Go on then,” Lily obliged her guest. “What do I need to know?”
  “You are needed, Lily,” the rasping tones hissed softly. “Your help, support and advice are needed desperately by someone very close to you.”
  “Charley?” Lily asked hopefully. “Does he need my help with the monster in his closet?”
  “Forget about that for a moment,” came the reply. “Think of someone else close to you, who has been going through some changes recently.”
  “Oh, you mean Mona,” Lily realised. “I know she’s started her period, but I’ve helped her all I can with that already.”
  “There is more to the situation than you know,” hissed the voice. “The natural activation of Mona’s monthly menstrual cycle has caused the unnatural activation of her monthly werewolf cycle.”
  “Werewolf?” Lily repeated incredulously. “Oh, no!”
  “Yes!” continued the voice, in strangely yowling tones. “Normally her vampire side keeps the werewolf locked deep inside, but now her system has been thrown out of whack and she cannot control the werewolf within her. Mona needs your help to deal with this, Lily.”
  “Why mine?”
  “Because the emergence of the werewolf is connected with her periods, Mona does not feel able to talk to just anyone about the matter. You are the only one she really trusts – you are the one who has been with her through thick and thin; through the very best and the very worst of both of you. I have seen inside her heart - Mona desires greatly to speak with you about her most intimate problems, Lily, and no one else will do.”
  “Then why hasn’t she asked me about the situation herself?” asked Lily.
  “She does not feel able,” the visitor replied. “The two of you fought bitterly just recently, and then Mona was called away on an urgent adventure. However, she has been tricked, and would very much appreciate your help with this matter as well, I expect. Mona needs you, Lily, in so many ways – you must go to her.”
  “Hey, hold the phone a minute here,” Lily frowned. “Just who the hell are you, anyway? How come you know so much about Mona?”
  “No one in all the world has a better insight into Mona’s life than I do,” came the elusive answer. “I know all there is to know of her, and I know that she needs your help, Lily. Starting periods is traumatic enough for any girl – or so I believe – but it must be far worse if you start turning into a werewolf as well! Mona needs you, Lily. Please, don’t let her down.”
  “I do want to go to her,” Lily admitted quietly. “I desire nothing more in the world. But we parted on such bad terms – how can we forget such a major argument just like that?”
  “It was only a silly quarrel!” spat the visitor. “Mona has forgotten it already, and so should you. There are more important things at stake.”
  “But Mona was so mean about Charley. I don’t know if I can forgive her for that.”
  “Mona has every reason to feel hostile towards Charley, as do you! Think about it, Lily – he nearly killed you and Dottie. How can you forgive him for that so readily?”
  “I… I… I don’t know,” Lily admitted sheepishly. “It’s just that, every time I think of Charley, I feel so wonderful inside. Everyone loves him – he’s the most popular guy in town!”
  “Then the world has changed,” the voice intoned mysteriously. “By Charley’s foolish machinations, I’d wager my last whisker. Think about what you’re saying, Lily – Charley put you and Dottie in such incredible danger! You would all have died down that hole if not for the fact that I…”
Here the voice stopped short, and Lily was sure she could hear a hissing curse of self-reproval.
  “I knew I recognised your voice!” Lily exclaimed. “You’re the one who got us rescued from the hole, aren’t you? Just who are you? Are you some kind of guardian angel or something?”
  “Of a sort, yes,” the hissing voice allowed. “You must trust me, Lily – use the Dream Caverns to go to Mona, first thing in the morning. She needs you more than ever.”
  “Yes, I will,” Lily agreed. “Of course I will! If Mona needs my help, I won’t let her down.”
  “That’s all I needed to hear,” purred the visitor. “Farewell, Lily.”
There was a flurry of movement by the computer monitor, followed by a soft thud as of something landing lightly on the carpet. Hoping to catch a glimpse of her mysterious visitor, Lily flicked on her bedroom light. All she saw was a flash of brown disappearing out of the window.

FX was tapping away at the computer console in the rocket ship, making a start on his report about Mona’s latest adventure. Max and AB were watching a recording of his meeting with Dil on one of the monitors.
  “Been fraternising with the locals, FX?” Max asked casually.
  “Hmm?” FX queried, looking up from his work. “Oh, no, not really. I just spoke to this kid while I was looking to see where Mona had run off to.”
  “The King clearly told us not to interfere with Mona’s missions in any way,” AB pointed out. “If he finds out, that glowing report of yours won’t be worth the pixels it’s made up of!”
  “Come on, guys, I barely said two words to him,” FX dismissed the incident. “I haven’t affected Mona’s mission in any way – I just got some information about it, that’s all. Dil won’t say anything about me, and even if he did, I get the distinct impression that no one would believe him.”
  “You’ve still lost that objective distance,” Max pointed out. “The more you interact with the people involved in Mona’s missions, the harder you’ll find it to stay out of them yourself.”
  “Oh, don’t be so silly,” FX breezed. “I know my boundaries.”
  “So if we see things suddenly start to go wrong, you won’t have the slightest urge to go and help?” asked AB doubtfully.
  “We all have our urges,” FX replied casually. “But we can control them. Besides, even if I did overstep the boundaries, how would the King know?”
  “The Intergalactic Council has eyes and ears everywhere,” Max pointed out ominously.
  “Yeah, and do you know who’s acting as their eyes and ears in this time and place?” asked FX. “Us, that’s who! Just chill out, guys, okay? I know what I’m doing.”

Angelica and Tommy were sitting at the kitchen table, looking at Mona expectantly. Dil had insisted on making everyone a cup of tea with lots of sugar.
  “That’s what you need after a nasty shock!” Dil declared blithely as he danced around in the kitchen. “Hot, sweet tea all round!”
  “Yeah, thanks Dil,” said Tommy, who was still slightly overwhelmed by the whole situation. “So, Mona, how are we going to get rid of that werewolf?”
  “Ah, yes, the werewolf,” Mona said awkwardly. “Well, the thing with that is, we, erm… don’t need to worry about it anymore.”
  “Why not?” demanded Angelica.
  “I managed to kill it,” Mona replied, thinking fast. “Out in the garden, just now. It won’t bother you again.”
  “Oh, well, that means I’m safe then, doesn’t it?” Angelica realised. “Congratulations on another job well done, Mona.”
  “Look, I don’t think we should assume that this is the end of the matter,” Mona insisted. “Whatever evil force sent that monster is bound to try and get to you again. My mission won’t be finished until we’ve found out the identity of this evil force and put it out of action.”
  “Oh, I see,” Angelica sighed. “How are you gonna do that?”
  “I’m going to stick to you like glue until this evil power makes its next move,” Mona explained. “Then I’m going to take things from there.”
  “Great,” Angelica muttered, subdued. “My own personal bodyguard.”
  “How long do you think it’ll be before the next attack?” asked Tommy.
  “It shouldn’t be too long at all,” Mona was sure, bearing in mind that the first attack had not really happened yet. “I’m sure things will start to happen very soon indeed.”
  “Then I’m going to bed,” Angelica asserted, draining her teacup in one gulp. “Wake me when it’s Judgment Day, won’t you?”
  “Yeah, I think I need to get some sleep as well,” Tommy realised. “See you all in the morning.”
As Tommy and Angelica left the room, Dil came to sit down with Mona. He still wore his usual slightly mad but affable expression as he spoke to her.
  “So, you didn’t manage to get far enough away in time, huh?” Dil asked.
  “So it would seem,” Mona replied. “It was really scary, Dil - I couldn’t control myself at all!”
  “Well, now you’ve got a whole four weeks to sort out the problem,” Dil pointed out. “Should be plenty of time for you to get rid of whatever’s really after Angelica, huh?”
  “Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Mona agreed. “I’m sure whatever it is will make its move soon – I have to keep my eyes and ears peeled.”

The next morning, Tommy’s best friend Chuckie came over. He was soon sitting in the lounge with Tommy and Angelica, and Tommy was relating the story of the previous night’s adventures.
  “Wow, Tommy, you’re so brave,” Chuckie marvelled. “I never would’ve had the guts to attack a werewolf like you did.”
  “He didn’t attack it,” Angelica remarked dourly. “He defended himself against it; there’s a difference.”
  “I was defending you as well, Angelica,” Tommy reminded her pointedly. “You were the one who was clinging on to me for dear life, remember.”
  “You’ve always been the brave one out of all of us, Tommy,” Chuckie continued admiringly. “For as long as I can remember, you’ve been the one to get us out of hair-raising scrape after hair-raising scrape.”
  “You know how it is, Chuck,” Tommy grinned suavely. “I do what has to be done.”
  “Just listen to you, Tommy Pickles,” Angelica scoffed. “Acting like you’re the big hero. I’ve told you this before, and I’ll say it again. You’re just a backyard baby with a diaper full of dreams!”
  “Not this time, Angelica,” Tommy pointed out. “This time, it’s for real.”
As if to remind everyone of this fact, Mona and Dil chose this moment to enter the room. Dil was holding a small satellite dish in the air, which was connected to a portable CD player. Dil had a wire running from this device into his ears, and his face was pinched in concentration.
  “Are you picking up any signs of demon activity?” Mona asked.
  “No, not yet,” Dil reported. “But I get the distinct feeling that something’s on its way.”
  “What the hell are you two doing?” Angelica smouldered. “Here I am in mortal danger and you’re wandering around playing secret agents!”
  “Relax, Angelica, I’m on the case,” Mona assured her. “Dil’s just helping me in his own unique way.”
  “I’m a unique individual, just like everyone else!” Dil declared, and then he began to make strange whistling noises as he moved the CD player around like a dowsing rod.
  “I can’t take much more of this!” Angelica fumed. “I’m going crazy here.”
  “Do we know exactly what sort of hideous monster we’re looking for?” asked Chuckie curiously.
  “No, we don’t!” Angelica snapped. “And I’m starting to believe that there isn’t going to be one at all!”
  “We can’t take that chance, Angelica,” Tommy opined. “What if that werewolf was just the tip of the iceberg?”
  “Er, guys…” Dil began.
  “Yeah, like I believe that!” Angelica stormed. “Maybe I was right in the first place. Perhaps you are crazy, Mona!”
  “I think there’s something…” Dil attempted to continue.
  “I don’t believe that thing was a werewolf at all!” Angelica shouted. “It was just a really big dog… with rabies! In fact, I don’t believe that a monster is ever going to try and kill me, so there!”
  “GET DOWN!” Dil exclaimed loudly, and then the lounge window smashed inwards in a colossal explosion, spraying tiny fragments of glass everywhere. Tommy, Angelica and Chuckie threw themselves to the floor as a large red demon with razor-sharp claws burst into the room, roaring ferally and salivating profusely.
  “You were saying, Angelica?” Tommy yelled.
  “I suppose that’s a dog too, is it?” cried Chuckie.
  “All right, shut up!” Angelica wailed.
  “What is it, Mona?” Dil asked calmly.
  “Demon; I don’t recognise the breed,” Mona replied. “I think we can guess why it’s here, though. Draw the curtains, quickly!”
Dil rushed to complete this task, while Mona changed into her vampire self. She threw some lightning at the demon, causing it to roar in pain, and then she engaged the monster in mortal combat. The two staggered and wrestled around the living room, while the others hid behind the furniture. When the creature caught sight of Angelica, it suddenly broke free of Mona’s grasp and reached towards the blond girl with its glinting claws.
  “Eek, help!” Angelica screamed. “There’s something dripping off its claws!”
Mona upped her lighting onslaught on the creature, causing it to roar in pain and whirl around to face her. Mona could clearly see green gobbets of poison dripping from the demon’s claws, which were undoubtedly intended to kill Angelica. Mona knew what she had to do. Leaping at the demon with unfathomable speed, she grabbed its wrists, being very careful to avoid the claws, turned the demon’s hands to face its body, and plunged its own claws into its hairy red chest. The demon howled in anguish and collapsed to the floor, before disappearing in a colossal explosion of red and green light.

Dil undrew the curtains as Tommy, Angelica and Chuckie got to their feet, and Mona returned to her human form.
  “Well, that was a close one,” Mona remarked casually. “Thanks for the heads-up, Dil.”
  “Mona, you saved me,” Angelica mumbled, somewhat distractedly. “I… thank you.”
  “Hey, it’s what I’m here for,” Mona grinned.
  “Wow, that was some demon,” Tommy remarked. “I thought the werewolf was bad, but that…”
  “Looks like we need hot, sweet tea all round!” Dil declared. “To the kitchen, everyone!”
Dil ushered Tommy, Angelica and Chuckie out of the room. Mona would have followed them, but her eye had been caught by the sight of someone very familiar running down the front lawn towards the broken window. As Mona stepped forwards to confirm her suspicions, the newcomer smiled joyfully and waved vigorously.
  “Mona!” she cried happily. “Oh, thank goodness I found you!”
  “Lily!” Mona exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

In his pyramid tomb, a red-cloaked figure swept his decaying claw-like hand over his bubbling cauldron, dispelling the image of Mona finishing off the poison-dripping demon. In the spectator’s eyes, anger burned.
  “This cannot be!” Mum-Ra fumed furiously. “Mona has intercepted my acolyte before it had a chance to reach Angelica. How could this have happened? My carefully-laid plans, completely ruined!”
Mum-Ra’s eyes darted back to the cauldron, where a fresh image had formed. The evil mummy looked upon the dozing form of George Jamell, lying languidly in his bed while the morning sun beat through his window and onto his defiantly closed eyelids.
  “Still, perhaps all is not yet lost,” Mum-Ra mused, his anger abating. “What about my lazy little ally there? This plan may still come to fruition, if he can add the more personal touch to it. I must instruct him very carefully, for the timing must be precise, but I think I can engineer a situation whereby this could still work. Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mum-Ra, the Ever Living!”
The awesome transformation took place yet again, and Mum-Ra the Ever Living was on the move once more.