20 Flamboyant Vlad

Hiding in the shadows of an alleyway is a short completely white-skinned man, his back was hunched over and he wore a long cloak that covered most of his body. He had a large bag on him that contained multiple jars and pins.

A little Impling girl stumbled into the alleyway, holding some cash, "...Mr Vladimir?" The Impling girl cried out, her voice shaking like she had just finished sobbing moments ago. The cloaked man looked up, his blood-shot eyes glowing in the dark. "Over here!!" He said in a hushed voice.

"I have the money" the girl explained, Vladimir immediately snatched the cash, examining it to ensure it was genuine. "...Hmmm...looks real enough...but that won't cover the fee" He stated. The girl looked down and proceeded to take off her shoes, "You like collecting things, right? I obtained these shoes from the Greed Ring, and I'm sure you know how expensive things are over there" the girl explained. Vladimir grabbed the shoes and examined every nook and cranny of it, "...Yesss...it certainly looks expensive...doesn't smell that way though" Vlad stated, "Very well...you're here for your sick mother?" He asked, the girl simply nodded in response.

"I have just the thing for her...you say she has a disease? A disease that prevents her from moving nor talking? She is stuck in a vegetative state, isn't she" He asked, "Well...just have her drink this tonic, and she'll be better in no time" Vlad stated, handing a small vial of yellow liquid. "This will really work?" The girl asked him, "I only sell genuine products!! If it doesn't work, then I will pop open my veins!!" Vlad said in an offended tone. "Okay Okay!! Thank you Mr Vladimir" the girl exclaimed, taking the vial and hurrying back home. Vlad simply had a slimy smirk as he examined the cash and shoes, placing them into the bag that he was carrying.

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"Flamboyant Vlad...on the surface, he seems like a trader, a collector and a healer...but he's really just a scammer. He sells fake antique items, fabricate stories about the items in his collection...and any real valuable items that he DOES get his hands on, he'll never sell...but worst of all, he lies about being a medical healer...he creates fake medicine using water and food coloring, and then sells these 'medicine' to desperate people" Stef informed Damon and Leroy, "What a real scum...almost as scummy as corporate lawyers" Damon growled, "He travels around the Pride Ring constantly, it'd be hard to track him down...but there might be someone who knows his whereabouts" Stef explained. "...Y'know, I've heard about this 'Flamboyant Vladboyant' fellow before...I was having a fight with some Bird-Dog, and at one point he pulled a sword, bragging about how he got it from this Vlad guy over at the Pentagram city center...the sword ended up snapping in half" Leroy explained, "But Anyway, we can probably start there" Leroy shrugged...

As Leroy and Stef made their way to the city center, Damon stayed behind, letting them lead the way since they're more familiar with the layout of Hell.

"...So what's the deal with the bow? Most dudes find it more convenient to use guns" Leroy pointed out, "Arrows are quieter...and I hate guns" Stef explained, "And also, My pa taught me how to use a bow back when I was a child, so I might as well use a weapon that I'm already trained with" she shrugged. "I tend to use my fist...or a bat" Leroy said with an arrogant smirk, "...that's real badass" Stef said with sarcasm, Leroy didn't pick up on the sarcastic tone though and he thought she was being genuine.

They soon reached the city center, where millions of sinners, hellhounds and imps were roaming around. "Okay...so last I heard, this Flamboyant bird-brain was selling his wares over by the Unholy Statue" Leroy said, pointing at a large marble statue of Lucifer. There was hundreds of people gathered around the statue, but none of which matched Vlad's description.

"Hmmm...Y'know, there has to be some way of contacting him...I heard that he occasionally sets up meetings with people...if only we knew someone who could contact him" Leroy mentioned. "Well, there is a club right there, Club Kaiju" Stef mentioned. "Oh yeah, Damon and I survived a shootout in there. We might find someone in there who knows Vlad" Leroy said as he entered the club with Stef and Damon behind him.

When they entered, they immediately heard a loud roar from one of the tables, Missi Zilla had a man pinned to the table. "Oh fuck-" Leroy jumped back in surprise, knocking himself right into Stef.

"Oh hey, my friend, come over here!!" Another voice yelled from behind them. Damon turned around to find the blackjack dealer who they played a game with several days ago.

"Oh hey!! It's you again" Leroy muttered, remembering how he tried to claims their souls last time. "My friends, sit down!! Can I get you anything? Perhaps some shrimps and cocktail?" The Dealer asked. "...Shrimps don't exist down here-" "SO!!!" The Dealer interrupted, clapping his hands loudly. "What brings you back here?" The Dealer asked, ignoring the sound of Missi Zilla biting and brutalizing the man on the other end of the room.

As Damon explained everything to the dealer, Stef pulled Leroy aside. "What's the deal with this guy?" Stef asked, "What do you mean? He's evil, just like every single person down here" Leroy shrugged, "I know, I know...but he's just so...'passive aggressive', did you guys meet in the past?" Stef asked. "Ohhh yeah, he tricked us into dealing our souls...if we won then we gain money, if we lose then we end up having our soul eternally bound to him" Leroy explained, "Now that I think back on it, that game was it entirely worth it, we ended up losing the weapons that we had spent the money on"

"AH!! So you're looking for Vlad? Well I might be able to help" The Dealer grinned, "Usually I would ask for something in return, a 'I suck your dick, you suck my dick' type of scenario...but I'll make an exception this time, because I really want to see that slimy bastard get his comeuppance...I have a number, call it and tell him you're hoping to 'Check his wares', that's a secret code. He'll give you a location and you will meet him" The Dealer stated, writing on a piece of paper and handing it to Damon.

"Why are you helping us" Damon questioned, "Again, I want to see that Ugly Austrian prick in the ground, he's fucked tons of people over...and it looks to me like he has finally fucked over the wrong person" The Dealer smiled, "Toodles now!! Bring back some cutlet of his flesh if you'd like, have fun!!"

The three of them went to a phone booth and dialed the number, after a few rings the call was answered. "Um...hello, I would like to...'check your wares'?" Damon said, "...Parking lot of LuLu World, half an hour, don't be late" the voice on the other end announced, before hanging up abruptly.

"Well...it looks we having a meeting to attend" Damon stated, "Leroy, don't lose the Exterminator Spear, and Stef...keep it cool" Damon stated, "...I am cool" Stef grumbled. "We gotta hurry, getting to LuLu World will take quite a while" Leroy stated, "and we'll need a car"

"I've got that covered...I learned about this back when I was a Soldier for the Rocco Crime Family" Damon said as he took out a needle and began to pick the lock of a nearby car. He unlocked and opened it with ease, getting into the driver's seat. Leroy opened the door for Stef, who lightly punched him on the shoulder and looked away as she entered. "Seatbelts" Damon mentioned, before he rode off towards the famous LuLu World...

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