Aribar had FINALLY been released from his encapsulation... and much to Star Steel's... and ONLY Star Steel's... surprise, he appeared VERY different. His skin and hair had paled, his fangs had grown significantly, and his eyes were an even more evil shade of red than before.
"*yawn* Hey guys! Did I miss anything?" ...Despite his devilish appearance, it was the same old Aribar.
"All Questers, please report to the Big Room"
Aribar and company reported at once to the Big Room, where Mewtwo filled them in on the situation.
"It seems that after our little run-in with Zio at Death Mountain, we forgot to clean up a little mess he left at Kakariko village..." Mewtwo activated the screen, showing a gang of rather silly looking Goombas with skullcaps adorned with the letters "QH" on them. The Questers couldn't help but laugh.
"No problem!" Said Gibby eagerly. "We'll have them all cleaned out in no time!"
"I'm afraid not."
"...What?"
"I'm going to have to ask you all to stay here while Aribar handles this alone."
"What!? That's nuts! We can clear them all out easily if we're all together!"
Mewtwo closed his eyes and shook his head.
"According to our reports, Zio posted at least one of his vampire cronies there... and what's more, they are on orders to bite any Questers they encounter. It's best that we send one who will be unaffected by their bite... unless you all WANT to become blood sucking creatures of the night under Zio's control?"
"Uh.. no... that's all right... I think we should leave this one to Aribar..."
And with that, Aribar warped on over to Kakariko village. The first test subjects of his new vampire abilities: A group of 5 Quester Hunter Goombas.
"It's a Quester!"
"Let's git' 'im!
In a very short amount of time, Aribar had clawed apart several of them, and sucked the blood clean out of another. Two of them tried to run, but one of them just wasn't able to escape as Aribar leaped at it and smashed it to pieces. The other one escaped into the House of Skulltulla... but Aribar had something a little more important to deal with as a pair of Stalfos (with "QH" tunics) ran by carrying a purse, followed closely by the Cucco lady. As soon as the Stalfos realized that they were stronger than the Cucco lady (took them a while to get it through their thick skulls), they turned around and scared her off with a quick "GRRRR!" Aribar rushed up to them.
"Hey! Give that lady's purse back!"
"...It's a Quester!"
"Let's git' 'im!"
"Heh. That's what the Goombas said..." ...just then, a much LARGER stalfos dropped in. "...Aww piffle."
Even with the aid of their big friend, the Stalfos soon crumbled to dust... well, two of them, at least. As the big one fell, one of the smaller ones made a run for it, screaming "HE'S TOO STRONG! AHH!"
Aribar picked up the purse from the bone dust, and made his way to the Cucco lady's house, where he returned the purse... right before she tried to sic the Cuccos on him. He rushed IMMEDIATELY to the House of Skulltulla, not wanting to be made into chicken feed, and slammed the door behind him...
"...Hahahaha.... welcome, Aribar Hunter... I see you've become very powerful.. Meier would be proud if he were alive today."
Aribar turned his attention away from the door and to the source of the voice... in the shadows stood a man about 6'5". His skin was pale, and his white hair came down to his shoulders and hung in front of his eyes. He wore a dark green overcoat.
"Who are you?"
He looked up at Aribar, showing his blood red eyes, which sent chills up and down Aribar's spine. "You may call me Kraigan. Now... I'm going to give you a choice..."
Aribar backed towards the door.
"...You will never be accepted by your friends... they shake with fear whenever you pass by, expecting you to go for their neck. They will eventually try to destroy you... you will never be accepted by society. They fear you more than your friends do. They will shun you for as long as you live... but... there is one organization that will not turn you away... and that is us. The Quester Hunters."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because you and I are the same, Aribar... if Vampires cannot trust their own kin, who can they trust? Now, are you going to join the Quester Hunters or not?"
"Why don't YOU join the Questers?"
"..Hahahahahaha... idiot. If you decide to turn down my generous offer, then I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to kill you. It is a pity... you'd have made a wonderful Quester Hunter. I won't waste my time on a pitiful whelp like you, though... Marcus!"
A bony vampire in a cloak dropped down from the ceiling.
"Yes sir?"
"Dispose of Mr. Hunter for me. I have some other business to take care of." With that, Kraigan leaped out of sight, and the fight between Marcus and Aribar began with...
"EAT SUNLIGHT, VAMPIRE SCUM!"
Aribar flung the door open... and much to his dismay, it was night out. He slapped his forehead as Marcus stepped forward, staring directly into his eyes.
"If you will not join us willingly... then I have no choice but to bring you under my power!"
Aribar felt his mind being bombarded... but extremely weakly. Obviously, Marcus had tried to hypnotize Aribar, but didn't quite have the strength to do it. So he turned invisible and started attacking Aribar from behind, while sicking Goombas at him left and right. Luckily for Aribar, he was able to recover from any wounds he had taken by drinking the Goombas' blood, and managed to strike Marcus down with his razor-sharp claws. As Marcus fell, his corpse burst into a million dazzling multicolored lights... and Aribar absorbed them... gaining Marcus's charm ability!
Well, to make this long story a little shorter, Aribar received a small amount of coinage from the residents of the House of Skulltulla, a bottle from a grateful and remorseful Cucco lady, and a good nap once he got back to the stadium... the question is... what do the Quester Hunters have in store for the future? And how much OTHER territory have they occupied?