“You best start believin' in ghost stories, Miss Turner, you’re in one!”

-Pirates of the Caribbean

Brendan stretched and sighed, booting up his PC for a well-deserved night of gaming. While he loved going to Valeria’s house and hanging out with her overnight, sometimes it was nice to just relax alone. He watched the opening credits of the game begin, and loaded up an old save file he hadn’t touched in… had it really be years? He chuckled as he equipped his sword and shield, venturing into the game’s world.

There was a tapping at his window, and he stopped, removing his headphones and glancing outside. He fought a laugh as he saw Valeria floating outside his window, tapping the glass eagerly.

Brendan smirked, then walked over, sliding the window open slightly, “yes?” he asked in an amused tone.

“The volves are tracking the scoundrels who stole my books,” Valeria said uncertainly, “I have little to do and I vas vondering…” she grinned sheepishly, her fangs jutting out, “I know you vanted to have a night to relax alone but… could I come in?”

“Nope,” he laughed, causing her to scowl.

“Vhy not!?” Valeria said in a slightly indignant tone.

“It’s my night off, and if I let you in here, you’re going to start running your fingers through my hair, talking about how famished you are, and how you just want to taste a few inches, then before I know it I’m being rolled between your palms like a toy while you tell me I’m cute,” Brendan said. He smirked at her reaction, “come on, tell the truth, you came over here thinking you’d talk me into an extra feeding.”

“Maybe,” Valeria, scowled, crossing her arms and hovering slightly higher. A sudden smile passed over her pale features, “I vill get in there Brendan, and you vill be feeding me tonight!”

“Oh really?” he asked with a laugh, “Valeria, you are explicitly not invited into my house.”

“You are not the only vun who lives here!” she cackled, hovering away.

“Alex!” Brendan yelled.

“What!?” she called from her room.

“Don’t invite Valeria in the house,” he shouted.

“Got it,” she called back.

Brendan put his headphones back on, returning to the internal debate on whether he would specialize in archery or two-handed weapons for this playthrough.

…

Valeria hissed in annoyance, hovering in slow circles around the residence. If Trent had been there she could have ordered him to invite her in, for her part Alex had just drawn the blinds when the vampire had tapped on her window. With a sigh she hovered up to the rooftop, sitting next to the chimney and planning her next move.

She raised an eyebrow as she saw a pizza delivery van pass on the road, then gave a small smile that just ever so slightly poked her fangs out of her mouth.

…

Brendan’s gaming was interrupted by the doorbell, and he scowled, standing up and taking the headphones off. Briefly he wondered if the vampire had given up, she hadn’t tapped on his window in a good fifteen minutes.

Does she think I’m going to be tricked if she just rings the doorbell? He wondered. He got to the door and peered out through the peephole, waiting there was a pretty normal looking pizza delivery guy, a pudgy middle-aged man who hadn’t shaved in a few days from the look of him.

Hesitantly Brendan opened the door, “Hey, I didn’t order a pizza,” he said suspiciously.

“It’s from… Trent,” the delivery driver said, holding up the receipt, “he says it’s to show there are no hard feelings.”

Brendan raised an eyebrow, then smirked, “okay, well, before I invite you in, do you want to ask me if I would like any cheese and peppers? Napkins perhaps?”

The delivery driver cleared his throat, “Do you vant any cheese or peppers?”

“AHA!” he said, laughing.

The illusion vanished, and Valeria scowled, holding the pizza box, “Let me in!” she demanded, “I brought you food, now you should be my food!”

“Nope, it’s my night off,” Brendan said, a little smugly.

Behind him Alex appeared from her room, the lights of her PC illuminating the living room. She stopped and sniffed the air, then smiled, turning towards the door.

“Is that a pizza? Bring it on in here I’m starving!”

“ALEX NO!” Brendan shouted, but Valeria just cackled, leaping at him with her arms outstretched. He was swept off his feet as she flew through the house at blinding speed, leaving the pizza box to clatter to the floor as she carried him into his room and slammed the door behind them.

Alex blinked, then looked at the pizza box that had been left on the floor, the steaming pie calling to her senses. With one last glance at Brendan’s door she scooped it up, then scurried back into her room.

…

Valeria cackled wickedly as she pinned Brendan to his bed, her iron grip unbreakable on his arms as she pulled him into a playful hug.

“Uh oh, I am in the house!” Valeria teased.

“I uninvite you!” he grunted, feeling the air pushed from his lungs as she squeezed him tighter.

“Too late!” she giggled.

He felt his size start to dwindle away, her arms became as thick as tree trunks as his clothing pooled around him, her pale fingers slipped beyond the fabric and held him in place while she moaned happily, drinking in his size as he shrank before her.

Brendan sighed, resigned as he fell back into her soft palm, “happy?” he asked with a wry smile.

“Very,” she smiled, hovering off the bed with him in her palm. She looked over at his PC, and with a frown gently descended into his chair, placing him on the desk while she narrowed her eyes and looked over the game he’d loaded. “This is a video game?” she asked curiously, picking up his controller.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty popular one,” he began, “see it’s about this province that’s torn between rebels called the storm-“

“Be quiet Brendan,” Valeria ordered, eyes intent on the screen, “I am trying to determine vhat this man is saying… Dawnguard? They are… hunting vampires?” she scowled, “clearly they are the villains of this game, no?”

“Well,” Brendan began, “the uh, whole thing is complicate-“

“This seems simple enough,” Valeria mused, tapping buttons on the controller and watching Brendan’s character move. She giggled as she figured out how to swing a sword, “is clumsy but… amusing!”

“Hey,” Brendan said with a smile, looking up at his cinema screen sized monitor, “you’re really getting the hang of it, if you grow me back I could-“

“I’ve already devoured the energy harvested from you,” Valeria said sheepishly, “but you can give me tips from here…” she picked him up, slowly bringing him to her cleavage, where her the pale moons of her breasts waited, gently she eased him between them, a single finger coming down and pressing him deep into her cleavage, with only his head sticking out.

“Uh, okay, I guess this works too,” he grunted, squeezed by the massive orbs on either side, “that guy can sell you stuff,” he tried to gesture, but his arms were pinned in place by her soft skin.

“Hehe, this is fun!” Valeria said, venturing further into the game world, “now to find this Vampire Lord Harkon and save him from the evil Dawnguard!”

“I guess this is a vampire playthrough now…” Brendan muttered, watching as Valeria transformed his character into one of the undead.

…

Alex took a bite of the pizza, chewing slowly while she looked at the large sigil she had drawn on the floor. The pentagram had been easy enough, but the points of each star were capped by tall energy drink cans, the white designs shimmering slightly in the light of the scented yankee candle, the only one she’d had, in the center.

“Okay, Dan,” she muttered, looking back to her screen. She typed a response to the Discord chat, “I’ve done everything, this seems a little silly…”

Hey, just repeat the chant and it’ll all become clear, okay?

She sighed, “I call upon the spirit of Dan Carter,” wind appeared from nowhere, ruffling the blinds. For a moment she squeaked, then steeled herself, “I have prepared the offerings,” she bellowed, “food from own table!” she tore open a bag of doritos from her stash, splashing the chips over the circle, “the finest drink!” she gestured to the energy drinks, then fought another squeal of fright as they all cracked open at once, the crisp sound echoing in her room as the candle flickered.

“SENDING FRIEND REQUEST!” she shouted as the wind howled, scattering the dorito crumbs, “SENDING FRIEND REQUEST!”

The lines on the pentgram lit up, and smoke billowed out from nowhere, slowly coalescing into a form floating above the candle, at first a misshapen blob, then a man… a young man, with a scrawny physique, ruffled hair, and glasses. The wind blew one final time, blowing out the candle and shutting down all the electronics in the room, leaving it completely dark except for the soft blue glow of the hovering figure.

He blinked, then smiled, “Hi, I’m DannyPhantomFan4Ever, you’re Alex, right?”

…

Trent hugged Lupe tightly as she brought the motorcycle to a stop on campus, it always looked ridiculous, his massive form hugging the relatively tiny woman as she drove the bike, but Lupe loved those little outward shows of… well, he told himself it was leadership, he had a feeling she’d describe it in a more vulgar way.

“You smell ‘em?” she asked, pushing the kickstand out and sniffing the night air.

“Yeah,” he growled.

The two of them had sniffed around Valeria’s house, and on her orders were tracking the thieves, the scent trail had brought them back to campus, and the two werewolves were closing in. What exactly they’d do when they found the thief hadn’t been discussed, Valeria had only ordered Lupe to do “what she thought best.”

“Are we gonna eat them?” Trent asked suddenly.

Lupe stopped, then laughed, “Trent, come on, do you want to eat people?”

“Not really,” he muttered.

“There you go then,” she chuckled, “personally I didn’t think your arm tasted all that appetizing. We’ll just wolf up and I’ll bet whoever was dumb enough to rob a vampire will piss themselves and give everything back, we’ve just gotta find them is all…”

“So, we’re just going to follow orders like good dogs then?” he asked, peering at the darkened buildings.

“Hey, I’m having a great time, look at us, we’re out here hunting people, we’re involved in cool shit, this ain’t bad” Lupe said with a toothy smile, “and besides, if little miss fangs lost magic books, we really should get them back. I won’t pretend I’m miss social responsibility, but that magic shit in the wrong hands is ugly.”

“What do you know about it?” Trent asked, following her towards a large office building.

“Not a lot,” she admitted, “I’ve only been a werewolf a few years, but I’ve heard enough talk that I never picked up a spellbook…” she sniffed the air, and gave a long wolflike howl at the waning moon, the sound echoing off the campus buildings as the dry fall leaves skittered across the sidewalk. “I’ll bet whatever spooky shit is being messed with though? It’s a million times worse in this town.”

“Really?” Trent asked, “what’s with Stokerville anyway?”

Lupe just shrugged, “magic stuff is more powerful here, it’s one of those places where things can just sort of happen, you know?” She jiggled the handle of the building door and scowled when she found it locked. Her armhair grew longer, and a pair of wolfen ears sprouted as she growled under her breath, flexing her fingernails as her talons sprouted. “Most places you can’t just turn into a wolf whenever you want either,” she grinned, watching as Trent took her lead and began to manifest his own lupine traits.

Lupe growled as she slammed herself into the door, causing it to buckle. Trent grinned then ran at it himself, easily smashing through the side door and knocking it clean off its hinges.

“After you,” he chuckled, waving her in.

…

“What was that?” Howard called frightfully, looking around at the banging noise somewhere else in the building, “someone is breaking in!”

“It’s just the wind Howard,” West called, “Stein, how are we doing?”

The three of them were in a large auditorium, preparing a pair of glowing tesla coils on either side of the large slab that Stein was currently strapping herself into.

“I feel… ALIVE! ALIVE I TELL YOU!” she cackled, watching the electricity race up the twin coils on either side of her.

“Okay Howard, you throw the switch,” West shouted, taking cover out in the auditorium’s seating section.

“Why do I have to do it!?” he asked, watching the towers of electricity rising on either side of Stein.

“The machine is extremely…” West paused, then gave him a false smile, “experimental, and I want you to have the… experience! That’s what interns get paid in, so it’s got to be worth something right?” She patted the copy of Die Vermis Mysteriis, “besides, I have to read the incantation.”

He rolled his eyes, I’m beginning to think that maybe spending my extracurricular hours with a pair of mad scientists was a poor decision… West seemed to guess his thoughts, and she gave him a smirk, and then a wink. Then again…

He sighed and ran towards the boxy device to the side of the electric coils. The energy was beginning to arc over Stein as he threw the switch, causing the lights to flicker as a final blue burst of lightning rocked over the room’s ceiling.

“Klaatu,” West began, starting the chant, “Barada…”

“MORE POWER!” Stein shouted.

The magics seemed to energize the strange technology, driving the blue bolts of lighting that raced up the tesla coils into a curious swampy green, that cast the entire auditorium in a sinister light. Howard looked up in fear, his heart pounding as the mix of mad science and long forgotten sorcery swirled overhead. Numbly, he reached for a handkerchief in his pocket, patting the beads of sweat on his clammy forehead.

A terrible ripping sound echoed through the room as the leather straps holding Stein on the testing slab split in two, the doctor’s laughter bouncing off the illuminated ceiling as she let herself step off it, the thud of her increased weight highlighting her steadily increasing stature.

“My growth device!” Stein crowed in triumph, “it works!” she looked down eagerly at Howard, seeming to stretch away from her as her size increased. She was nearing the top of the auditorium, and she braced for the impact, a grin on her face as though she expected to burst through it. The energy crackled to an abrupt halt when her head was inches from the auditorium’s high ceiling, and she scowled, disappointed.

“Excellent,” West breathed excitedly, snapping the ancient tome shut, “combining the esoteric knowledge with our own understanding of unusual energies-“

“Magic,” Howard called.

“We’re not using the M-word!” Stein said sternly.

“We literally just performed a magic ritual, complete with a creepy chant, you’re thirty feet tall!” he gestured at the enormous doctor, who just grinned down at him.

“It’s just as of yet unexplained science,” West insisted, “now, according to my calculations-“

“I’m guessing you three are the assholes who broke into Valeria’s house?” A woman’s voice interrupted their discussion.

The three of them turned to see the pair of werewolves, standing in the open auditorium doors. West gasped in shock, stumbling backwards over a row of seats and scrambling for her bag. A moment later she came up, glowing syringe in hand and hair flustered.

“I-I’m warning you, one jab of this and you’ll be bug sized!” she stammered.

“Looks like your friend over there is more into growth than shrinking,” Trent said, giving a grin that he knew would show off his wolfen teeth.

“Just give us back the books and we can forget we ever saw… whatever the hell this all is,” Lupe said, gesturing to the enormous scientist waiting on the stage.

“Hey, I know that kid!” Trent growled, pointing down to Howard, “you’re in that film class I took to round out my schedule!”

“Uh, no, must be someone else,” Howard lied nervously, suddenly very thankful he was closer to the immense Dr. Stein than the two… are those werewolves? The day kept getting stranger.

“Whatever,” Lupe laughed, “you three idiots stole from a vampire, we’re not even the olive on the shit sandwich you just served yourselves up, come on Trent!” she turned to go.

He blinked, “We’re not just gonna-“

“That one’s got a weird syringe, and that one’s huge,” she said pointing at Stein, “let’s just come back later with Valeria and make it a sure thing,” Lupe said with a shrug.

Trent growled one last time, then followed the smaller werewolf out of the building.

“A vampire!?” Howard exclaimed, “uh… professors, maybe we should give the books-“

“NEVER!” West shouted.

“indeed,” Stein said, crossing her arms, “besides, with this new growth technology I can-“ She suddenly gripped her head, moaning as if struck by a sudden migraine. The other two watched as Dr. Stein slowly drifted back down to her original height, blinking in surprise as she became level with Dr. West once again. “No…” she moaned, “it’s not fair! I need more power!”

“Cheer up doctor,” West said with a grin. She appeared behind Howard, and he winced as the needle stuck him, a moment later he felt the familiar sensation of his clothes falling around him, and then the firm grip of the powerful fingers wrapping around him as he fell. West held the tiny student in her hand, doll sized, as she brought him over to a pouting Stein. “Try holding Howard for a minute, that might make you feel better.”

Stein sighed, taking the naked and still stunned Howard in her hand, playfully running a rubber gloved finger over his chest and smirking slightly as he squirmed in response. She liked her lips as the finger traced lower, finding the erection that always seemed to spring to life the moment Dr. West shrank him.

“It’s not the same as being big,” she said with a wry grin, “but… yes, playing with a shrunken man almost scratches the itch.”

“G-Glad I could help,” Howard stammered, struggling to hold her finger back and failing as she casually continued to explore his body. He hissed, then shivered as the slightest movements of her hands overwhelmed him.

“Aw, you two really are the best friends a madwoman could ask for,” Stein laughed, casually pinching Howard’s thighs and enjoying his red face in response to her explorations.

“And don’t worry Francine,” West said, coming up behind the other scientist, “soon you’ll be holding Howard in your hands at his full size, while you tower over everything!”

“You’re so nice to say that,” she said, licking the tip of her glove and beginning to play with Howard’s manhood in earnest, “but if there really is a vampire West, we should probably just give up what we’ve taken.”

“Absolutely not!” West said angrily, “science will be victorious!” She grinned down at their poor assistant, trapped in Stein’s hand while the mad doctor casually stroked him off, “isn’t that right Howard?”

“R-Right,” he stammered, his eyes rolling back in his head.

“He makes such an adorable little lab rat,” Stein muttered as he began to cum across her gloved fingers, spasming helplessly against her tight grip, “the behavioral science team left a mouse maze set up in the basement, and I just have to see you in it Howard… West, can you make him maybe half as big as he is now? I don’t want him cheating by looking over the walls.”

“That sounds delightful,” West said, grinning down at him, “what do you say Howard? If you beat the mouse’s time you’ll get a prize.” She gave him another smug look that communicated exactly what the nature of that “prize” would be.

He weakly managed a thumbs up as the giggling scientists carried him off. As he went limp in Stein’s hand, he wondered for the millionth time if there was a way out of this mad trio he’d accidentally joined, and more bizarrely if he actually wanted out…

…

“So… how’d you die?” Alex asked the ghost once she’d calmed down slightly.

“Wow, that’s a little rude to ask someone the first time you meet them!” Dan said with a smirk. Alex just stared at him, and he sighed, “I was on the tail end of a two-day gaming binge, I’d just finished exams and I was going to go until I crashed.”

“Okay, understandable,” Alex nodded, she’d been there herself after all.

“So I started getting tired and chugging energy drinks,” he continued, “one after the other, just tossing them behind me when they were done like some kind of slob.”

Alex looked at the piled empty cans behind her own gaming chair, and bit her lip, but said nothing.

“So then I decided to play the scariest game I could think of, to keep myself awake,” he said ominously, “and it was so scary that…” he clutched his chest, “my heart stopped!”

Alex blinked, “you uh… died because you got too scared playing a horror game?”

“Yesssss,” Dan said, exaggerating a sorrowful ghostly moan.

“What game?” Alex asked curiously.

“Resident Evil, why?” he asked.

“Uh… really?” Alex asked, stifling a laugh.

“What, the latest one was really scary!” he protested.

“Okay,” Alex giggled.

He scowled, “Anyway, when you die logged in to Steam, you get to haunt the internet, it’s in the terms and conditions.”

“Really?” Alex asked, “I’ve never read them.”

“Nobody does,” Dan said with a grin, “and I’ve been haunting the internet and causing chaos for years, people think it’s the trolls, but they don’t know how many of us ghosts are online these days. I play a lot of league, being dead takes being AFK to a whole other level.”

“So why did you want to meet me?” she asked uncertainly.

Dan seemed to shimmer a moment, “well uh, I figured that if you were the kind of girl who was going to try to date a werewolf and a vampire, maybe I’d have a ghost of a chance?” He almost had some color return to his transparent cheeks, “and uh… you seemed nice, you’ve got good taste in games… anime…”

Alex felt her chest flutter, maybe a supernatural romance was in the cards for her after all?

…

Valeria scowled, looking at the imminent dawn coming over the horizon, “blast! I spent the entire night playing video games!” She fished the tiny Brendan out of her cleavage, “has this ever happened to you?”

“Yeah, it’s part of the experience,” Brendan said, stretching and yawning, “are you going to try to fly back to your house?”

“No, I vouldn’t make it,” she muttered, squinting her eyes against the first rays of dawn, “might I stay here, vith you?”

“Yeah, you can stay here,” Brendan said, “I can draw the blinds or-“

There was a rush of movement, and he blinked as he realized that Valeria had flown under his bed, her golden eyes glowing in the dim light. She squeezed him against her cheek, her happy hum reverberating through his body as she grabbed a discarded sweater of his, using it as a makeshift pillow.

“Are you going to grow me back or-“

“No,” she murmured sleepily as the dawn rays crept across the room, leaving the underside of the bed dark, “vill snuggle you, vhen you grow back naturally you can go…”

He felt himself yawning, and decided to make the best of things, sleeping away the early morning hours clenched in Valeria’s hands beneath his bed. It was hours later before he blinked awake, groaning and struggling to escape her iron grip. No matter how he struggled she didn’t seem to stir, and finally with a muted chuckle he managed to slip below her arms, causing her to mutter in her sleep and turn over. He stretched, grabbing some of his clothes to go start the day, then paused. He looked back quickly, then pulled the comforter off his bed, slipping it under the mattress and over the sleeping vampire as well as he could.

“Sweet dreams,” he whispered, making sure the blinds were drawn before he turned off the light and closed the door.